Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Friday 23 October 2009
23 October 2009
You've got to hand it to him. The Grimsby Town chairman is the absolute master of the unexpected volte-face. And he is as good at handling the club's PR as Gordon Brown was on YouTube. The single common denominator in Town's inexorable slide towards the perceived ignominy of non-League football and eventual bankruptcy is Coun John Fenty (Con). Yes, the man who has lent the club a million plus on very favourable no-interest terms, but who insisted on complete shareholder and director compliance as the price, has stayed resolutely in his building, inventing new ways to seemingly thwart any hope of either a financial or footballing recovery.
Harsh words, and believe me it pains your Guest Diarist to write them. But even when we got within a gnat's hair of going up under Russell Slade, Fenty managed to cock up the negotiation of Slade's contract renewal just in time to dispirit the squad and totally demotivate the manager. Anyone who listened to the Radio Humberside Sportstalk programme last night will have heard good old Burnsy tell the story about how Fenty convinced a load of people to pay £300 a ticket for a dinner and witness Slade sign his new contract. Mr Burns went on to tell his listening population that it was only after the starter that he realised there was a fly in Slade's soup and he wouldn't sign. Oh, I hear you cry - that was just Slade overplaying his bargaining position like a greedy man would. But you know the old saying goes something like: once is an accident, twice is a coincidence; the third time it is enemy action. With managers Fenty is guilty of friendly fire. Six times in six years.
So, as The Fishy predicted yesterday morning, Bennett has gone to Peterborough. For those not following the saga minute-by-minute as you have to with the superb new official site posting announcements and then completely changing them minutes later, I should point out that first Bennett was announced as having gone on a three-month loan with a permanent move to follow when the transfer window reopens. Then this was replaced with another announcement that Bennett had gone just to have a look and was now returning to discuss the idea with his family. This morning came a third announcement: that Bennett had indeed left the club on loan "with a view to signing a permanent deal in January". Chairman Fenty has hastily rushed out a statement claiming that GTFC did not instigate Bennett's disposal and that those pesky agents had been talking behind everyone's back and engineered the move. Whatever - he's gone.
The chairman, with woolly words and unexpected deeds, has succeeded in unsettling everyone. Fans are confused and upset, players are confused and demotivated (although Neil Woods says they are not - but then he would, wouldn't he?), and small shareholders like me are angry with the lack of coherent strategy and clarity of communication. Mike Newell, whom everyone applauded as an appointment, may well have turned out to have feet of clay. But that doesn't excuse the endless round of kneejerk decision-making and terrible PR. Get a grip, councillor - and quickly. You are the common denominator.
As for tomorrow's tough away game against the top-of-the-table Bournemouth, Neil Woods has a long list of injuries and suspensions. Atkinson and Heywood are injured, Bennett has been loaned out. So Linwood and a kid at centre-half then? Quite why Bennett couldn't have stayed for one more game is puzzling, isn't it? Stockdale has had a minor operation which will allow young Wood to continue his fine run of form. Widdowson has trained once, but a reaction may set in again so he is doubtful. The Jarman and Proudlock are totally crocked, of course. But wait - Boshell is no longer suspended, so he can compete with the horribly out-of-form Clarke and the static enigma that is Mendy for a midfield slot alongside Sweeney. Forbes and Akpro are rumoured to be the front pairing.
Speaking of Sweeney, I am grateful again for the BBC's Dave Burns' explanation that, when asked, the club said he is neither fat nor unfit - "that's just the way he is built". Hard to say that without sniggering, isn't it? For more on tomorrow check out the Cod Almighty pre-match factfile which is full of useful and useless information in riotously equal measure. See yer.