Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 16 April 2012

16 April 2012

Miss Guest Diary writes: Just when you thought no-one could possibly hold out any hope of Town still making the play-offs, the Grimsby Telegraph continues to mention the possibility, although it does concede it is "unlikely". Even Shorty, in his post-match talk with John Tondeur, seemed reluctant to concede the game was up several matches ago, saying: "If we'd have won today, we'd have still been in with a chance." That sounds a bit like that old (probably apocryphal) quote from Barry Davies: "If it had gone in, it would have been a goal."

The reports and Mariners Player highlights indicate that it was a lively game with plenty of chances for both sides, with Frankie Artus and Andi Thanoj - currently my two favourite Town players - making important contributions. Looking on Cod Almighty's contract tracker, I see that both of their contracts expire this summer but the club has an option to extend. I sincerely hope Town successfully exercise these options pretty damn quickly. However, following the reports last week that Coulson is to be offered worse terms, which will effectively leave him free to go, I'm not holding my breath.

I saw on Twitter a lot of good reports about the evening with Alan Buckley last Friday which was organised by the Mariners Trust. Well done to the trust for putting on what sounded like an informative and enjoyable event. A little cynical part of me wonders how many of those singing Buckley's praises now were calling for his resignation back in 2008.

Have you voted for your player of the year yet? I know that Liam Hearn will be a shoo-in but living in the constituency of the longest-serving Tory MP didn't stop me voting Labour, so this knowledge won't stop me voting for a different player. I like to think there is always an alternative.

I've mentioned before that in my household, watching Premier League teams on TV is mostly about rooting for who you dislike least. So you might imagine that I would have wanted Spurs to win yesterday's FA Cup semi-final. But other factors sometimes come into play. Tomorrow I will be visiting my dentist in London - who happens to be a huge Spurs fan, as well as counting many current and former Spurs players among his patients. He has made fun of me for supporting Town for the last 20 years, the patronising tone increasing as Town have slid down the leagues. I did get some revenge with the League Cup victory in 2005, but it was a relatively small triumph.

After yesterday's result, though, I suspect this will be one visit when I won't have to hear anything at all about football while I'm trapped in the dentist's chair. Of course, I could always offer my dentist a new version of the Barry Davies quote: if you play for Chelsea and it hasn't gone in, it's a goal.