Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Friday 15 May 2009
15 May 2009
Did you know that John McDermott had said Ryan Bennett ought to leave Grimsby Town this summer? No. Did Ryan Bennett know that John McDermott had said he ought to leave Grimsby Town this summer? Probably not. He does now, though, thanks to John Fenty (Con), who can never resist giving publicity to a bad news story that nobody even knew about in the first place. The voice-iferous Mariners chairman has gone and told the club's superb new official website that he is "really puzzled by John McDermott's intervention", which the Diary was been unable to find any report of during five minutes of really intensive Googling. However puzzled Fenty might be by John McDermott's invention, it isn't half as much as the Diary is puzzled by John Fenty's intervention. One surgical brace, please, to keep the chairman's foot out of his mouth.
Elsewhere in the football world it's business as usual - the rich are getting richer; the poor are getting poorer; fans on messageboards are playing a deeply Freudian game of 'my support is bigger than your support'; and Glasgow Rangers defenders are being hospitalised by exploding poached eggs. The Diary is not one of those Town fans who believes cheaper tickets would really benefit the club or even attract many more supporters in the medium to long term, but one thing Mr Fenty could usefully talk about today would be the position regarding season ticket prices if Town have only 22 home games in the league next season instead of 23. Is this possible? Yes. The Football League has announced that if troubled Darlington go out of business before 23 May then Chester will take their place next season, but if the Quakers stagger on beyond that date only to go bust afterwards, then the fourth division will comprise only 23 teams instead of 24 next season. An odd decision, and one that would cost all the clubs tens of thousands of pounds each in lost gate receipts at a time when - as the travails of Darlington and many others show all too clearly - they can very least afford it.
"Very sorry to see Taylor go," writes Phil Watson to the Diary." The few times I saw him in a not very good GTFC team in the '07-08 season he was clearly the best player in black and white on the pitch. If he'd been given the number of chances e.g. Bore has been given he would have had a pretty good chance of establishing himself as a first teamer. I hope he finds another club." Comparing the relatively short shrift given to Taylor with the patience extended to Straight Peter Bore makes a very good point, Phil; thanks for your email. One can only wonder how long Mr Re-Newell might spend on this project before drawing the same conclusions as every other manager who's worked with SPB - and whether Bore might ultimately find himself offered the same chance as Taylor to settle up and look for another club before the end of his very generous new contract.