Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 26 June 2006

26 June 2006

If everyone drowns when the ship goes down, do you blame (a) the brave mariners who gave of their deepest reserves of strength to get the lifeboats out; or (b) the daft bastards who built cardboard lifeboats? Few figures emerged with any credit from Town's catastrophic 2003-04 relegation season: one was Grahams Rodgerses, finally installed as permanent manager two years and three months too late, while another was Isaiah Rankin, the forward brought in from Barnsley for a loan period that was hindered by injuries but still reaped four goals from 12 games - not bad at all in such a rubbish team. Though GTFC slipped out of the third division, Rankin stayed up, signing for Brentford 25 months ago, where his name hit the scoresheet 19 times in the two seasons since, before he was released this summer by the Bees' new manager Leroy Rosenior. What? Oh. Er, he's just signed for the Mariners on a two-year contract. Booooo Rodgers boooo, signing good players with all of six weeks to go until the new season begins.

Speaking of the new season, Grimsby and Torquay have switched the two matches they will play as a part of it from Saturday afternoons to Friday nights. A statement on the Mariners' website declares - offering no explanation as to why - that the home game has been brought forward a day to Friday 22 December while the away fixture moves from 27 to 26 January. The Diary had been planning for some time to attend the match at Torquay next season, as Plainmoor is a ground I have never previously visited, but like most other Town supporters I will now be unable to do so. It's another result for Friday football.

Four may be the number of Mariners fans who will be cheering on the side at Torquay come 26 January 2007, but it is also the number of pre-season fixtures the club has lined up for this summer now that a visit from second division Stoke City is on the agenda. To meetings with Doncaster (17 July), Lincoln (20 July) and Rotherham (24 July) has been added a rendezvous with the Potters, who will visit Blundell Park on 28 July. Admission to these friendlies is priced at a more reasonable five pounds again now that the tax people are off Town's case and they got a few quid for Rob Jones.

If Tony Blair and George W Bush are men with blood on their hands, Dan Humphrey is clearly a man with time on his, as he is the only reader to have emailed about the challenge set by Lastminutedotcomdiary last Friday to name all the BBC and ITV World Cup pundits who have played against Town. That said, even Dan balks at naming them all, declaring simply: "There are so many; if pundits includes commentators. How about who HAS not played against Town?" I think he's put the wrong word in capitals there. "Gabby Logan, Leonardo, Ray Stubbs, Jim Rosenthal," begins Mr H, clearly having overlooked Leonardo's ill-fated loan spell with Macclesfield Town in 2004.