Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 24 December 2007

24 December 2007

Saturday's draw at Stockport means that the last three league away games have netted Town seven points. An impressive return, your Leeds Diarist reckons, and Alan Buckley should be thankful for Phil Barnes's nifty late save that ensured Town drove home with a point. What it means is Town are now starting to build up a nice little unbeaten run on the road. Barnes himself has been rewarded with "The Times player of the weekend" in the fourth division for the save, and nice to see a national newspaper take note of a menial fourth division game.

Reports suggest that Town comfortably deserved to take something from the game, although a number of fans have been puzzling over the manager's decision to withdraw the mighty Lump so early in the second half. Buckley, probably pre-empting such questioning, has been quick to reveal the Lump substitution was down to the big man's ankle problem: "In the end, Jonah's ankle was so sore he couldn't carry on. Sometimes it settles and sometimes it doesn't. He was fit enough to start and he justified his pick with his first-half performance." One downside is Nick Fenton picking up his fifth booking of the season, meaning he will miss next Saturday's Lincoln match, rather than the Boxing Day game against Accrington. Luckily Rob Atkinson, the obvious replacement, had a rest at the weekend so he should be fresh, so long as he hasn't been stuffing himself with mince pies, a serious temptation for anyone at this time of the year.

But, let's put that aside. With two home games on the other side of Christmas, and against teams in our local vicinity of the division, the manager and players of GTFC have the chance to keep picking up points and haul themselves up the table. And I'm sure they will, their confidence somewhat restored. Gah, listen to me! Such unnatural optimism! Have I had a sip of port too many (does that make me a Garrafeira socialist?) or has the festive spirit touched me? Is this what it feels to be John Fenty? Maybe I could bottle this feeling and swig it before a home game. Get away from all that verbal abuse Sol Campbell reckons is dished out too much these day. Goodbye "boooo!", hello all sorts of positive phraseology I will have to learn.

Anyway, comrades, have a very Merry Christmas. And we'll see you sometime and somewhere on the other side of the Chairman's speech. You'll know what John'll say before you even watch it: "Thanks for your support, been a difficult season so far on the pitch but things are looking up, let's look to the future, get behind the players, the Fentydome move is closer, by the way if you've got £250k fancy putting it our way?" You know the drill... Now where did I leave that bottle of port? See ya!