Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Thursday 19 July 2007

19 July 2007

If there were two things that characterised Alan Buckley's earlier spells in charge at Blundell Park, they were passing and movement. If there was just one thing, it was losing narrowly to weaker opposition after dominating entire matches and being unable to convert possession into goals. There were signs of the latter as Town lost one-nil at Gainsborough last night - but should anyone be tempted to start tutting and fretting at two consecutive defeats, they are reminded firstly that it was basically the Myspace Mariners, not the first team, that lost at Winterton earlier in the week, and secondly that Town's results in summer friendlies are about as much use as the odds from the bookies in foretelling the outcome of the season ahead. Indeed, the 2005-06 campaign - Town's only half-decent season since Buckley was sacked at the turn of the century - was prefigured by only one win in six pre-season workouts, while in the summer of 2003 the side won the Copa Ibiza with victories over SD Portmany and Sant Raphael, drew 1-1 against Sunderland and beat Lincoln, Boston, Halifax, Middlesbrough and King$ton Communication$ FC, and then just six weeks later were losing 8-1 at Hartlepool en route to the perhaps most traumatic relegation Town fans have ever known. Just thought I'd mention it, like.

Readers of yesterday's Diary will recall an email from Ant Wood, who pointed out a tiny and insignificant mistake made by Town's superb new unofficial website. Fans hitting the OS to find out how to get to Gainsborough were given driving directions for Southport, Lancashire instead - an easy mistake to make, I'm sure. In between checking my inbox and the Diary being published, Rob Smith emailed to warn us as well. "Just wondering whether you had noticed on the superb new official site that the directions to tonight's friendly at Gainsborough appear to direct you to Southport FC," he wrote, "and handily provide such gems as directions from the north leaving the M6. Priceless. Presumably this superb new official site is being prepared by someone on a suitably superb salary!" Who knows, Rob? Perhaps we're being unreasonable, and on the off-chance that anyone from the SNOS is reading the Diary, they might like to drop us an email and offer a word or two in their defence.

That's all from your regular Diary this week - so have a nice weekend, everyone, but come back tomorrow first for Friday's Guest Diary. See yers!