Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 29 June 2007

29 June 2007

It's hard enough getting promotion at any level. But when you discover that there is a glass ceiling because your ground is not deemed up to scratch, it must be incredibly frustrating. Ask fans and players of Grimsby Borough, whose plight was reported in yesterday's Telegraph. The Borough have earned three promotions in the last four seasons but only went up once due to their 'inadequate' ground facilities. Which is laughable really because the beauty of football is supposed to be the fact that all you need is a field, some players and a football. Yes, posts and nets are nice but a few woolly jumpers and a sporting attitude can be a workable substitute. Well, it was in my day.

And Stacy Coldicott reckons that we should be watching teams like Borough because they may feature players who should have made it. Stacy and his mate Mark Cund have set up a very laudable website to facilitate the scouting of non-League talent. And if you fancy a quiz that makes a change from the rather statto-based CA questions then try working out who are the professional scouts Stacy has enlisted to help him on his quest. Our much-missed yard dog turns out for Grantham Town nowadays so it will be great if he plays for them against Town in the pre-season friendly on 17 July. By the way, if you were daft enough to click through to the official site via that last link, you might have noticed the soft lads who write their copy have got us playing Gainsborough that evening. Believe me, it's Grantham.

It is in this third paragraph that your Guest Diarist should be raging at the completely crazy match commentary lash-up that Town have ended up in. Again. Last season I was cross at Radio Humberside, who appeared to me to be sneering at Town's reduced league circumstances. Not Mr Burns's finest hour. This season it would seem that the club has become obsessed with the perceived revenue opportunities from increased Mariners World subscriptions. But to go down that route necessitates investment in professional standard commentary teams. Don't forget that vital fact, Mr Fenty. And the casual listener will never get to hear the Town goals going in. Did anyone ever become a Town fan because John Tondeur excited them on the radio? The cynic may sneer at that but you, gentle reader, I hope, have enough romance in your soul to think so. Think about my old Mum, Mr Fenty. She's eighty and never even seen a computer except at my house. But she likes to find out how Town are getting on, and the radio commentaries kept her involved with the club. Now she will have to fiddle with Ceefax, I suppose. Do Town only want fans who buy tickets and subscriptions and bid on daft memorabilia auctions? Probably, but how did football get in this mess? It's a long way from jumpers for goalposts. See yer.