Cod Almighty | Diary

Cuthbert, Dibble and Grubb

22 October 2025

BOTB here, filling the midweek lull – or perhaps adding to it – and bringing you the latest from the GTFC vanguard. 

There is a little smidgeon of news actually – Gillingham defender Hutton has had his red card overturned after his desperate last ditch ground-to-air wrestle on Kabia last Saturday. I think this is probably the correct decision, although unfortunately, oh dear, it comes too late to change anything about the result. Since Max Clark smacked George in the chops later in the game the Gillinghams should have ended up with nine men anyway, so justice has sort of ever so slightly been done in a peculiar way.

I didn't dislike Gillingham as a team as much as I disliked Colchester. I can understand players getting emotional and frustrated in a football match – that's to do with passion. Colchester are all about controlled and pre-strategised nastiness in order to gain an advantage – that's cynicism. Yes, pre-strategised. It's a word. If it's not in your dictionary then your dictionary is broken and you need a new one.

I mean, Bobby Cumming – otherwise known as 'And You Shall Know Him By His Trail of Dead' – was not immune to some skullthuggery when riled, and he's one of my GTFC heroes. But you could never describe him as a cynical player, he just utilised his tendency to violence as a force for retribution. Indeed, it wouldn't be going too far to describe him as a superhero and write a comic book about him. Yes, I said skullthuggery. Not in your dictionary? Get a new one mate. 

Last night Swindon drew 2-2 with Notts County, which puts them in the top three at our expense. There is of course some ex-GTFC managerial interest in that game – Notts County manager Martin Paterson once came to Cleethorpes on holiday. Look, I try to avoid mentioning the MK Franchise, Ian Hollowhead and Alisteir Cowley but it's getting harder and harder to write diaries without doing so. If we make any more enemies pretty soon the whole thing will be in code. And I just mentioned all of them anyway. Look, we all know they exist. I vote for their reintroduction into the narrative. If I'm not here next week, tell the police to search Cod Almighty Towers.

Big times for GTFC coming up: Saturday, away to Crewe, Crewe, Barney McGrew, then Brentfords on the Tuesday and Ebbsfleets on the Saturday. You can't complain about a lack of variety in our opponents can you? It must be confusing as a player when the man you're marking is a contemporary one game, a premiership superstar the next and a forklift driver the next. Must be hard to decide just how hard to kick them. Bobby Cumming would have been an equal opportunities kicker, no doubt.

Watching the highlights of Ipswich v Charlton, I noticed (as did the commentator) that a Charlton corner-taker put both arms in the air before taking the kick. Wow! The previous code was of course one arm in the air for a short corner, one arm for a long corner, one arm for the near post and one arm for the far post. The introduction of the two-arm manoevre can only spell trouble and confusion for footballers everywhere. I blame the influence of continental coaches and their fancy dan ideas. 

So, lots about to happen, not much happening today. That's my summary.

UTM