Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Tuesday 26 June 2007

26 June 2007

Bit wet, i'n't it? Still, as any accountant will tell you, Sheffield Wednesday never were very good at keeping their heads above water.

When they're not switching football matches to times when people don't want to watch them, there's nothing the sharp minds at Blundell Park enjoy more than cooking up another ingenious scheme to bring much-needed cash into the club coffers. And, let's face it, when you're a fourth division side paying £3,500 a month to players' agents you need all the ingenious schemes you can get. The latest of these, consumers, is the now-annual internet auction whereby supporters can bag themselves a token place in the squad and official team photo. Rumours of an improved financial situation at GTFC may have been premature, as this year no fewer than five places are available, though the increased revenue brought in by this venture is likely to be offset to large extent by the need to invest in a new wide-angle camera lens.

Speaking of fixture rearrangements, Diary readers will recall that Town's two matches with Lincoln next season were switched last week to one o'clock kick offs, at the request of local police, to make it less likely that people going to the match will hit each other. So great is the risk of mutual hitting, though - what with Grimsby and Lincoln being only 40 miles apart - that the fixture at Sincil Bank on 22 September has now been moved by another hour so that it will kick off at noon instead. The Diary is left wondering why the authorities are still taking outrageous risks by allowing the game to begin at all during normal waking hours, and whether it might not simply be safer for all concerned to kick off at four o'clock in the morning.

The question of Town's newly revealed schedule for the 2007-08 season has inspired Rufus Murphy to email the Diary. "Now that the fixtures for next season have been announced (albeit firmly on the leash of the infamous Football DataCo)," he writes, "I am sure, like me, you look forward to that nice glossy printed gatefold fixture list published by those nice people in the publicity department at GTFC. Last year, as you may recall, it featured a pleasing picture of Gary Croft and Luton's Michael Reddy on the front - players who were, by the end of the season, to find themselves in receipt of their P45s. The previous year it was Martin Gritton, also now making his way to Macclesfield via Abbey Road and Lincoln. So who's for the chop this year? As I said, I await the fixture listing with bated breath..." It's an interesting issue, Rufus; thanks for bringing it to our attention. If being depicted on the official fixture card is a guarantee that one's services will be dispensed with shortly afterwards, the Diary's money is on the flood warning personnel at North East Lincolnshire Council.