Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 25 October 2004

25 October 2004

"Do you the Town will pick this new lad Daly up on their way to Chester?" asks Simon Wilson in an email he sent to the Diary some time shortly before Saturday. "I have the image of him stood by the side of the M62, a bit of card with CHESTER scrawled on it held up and his thumb out." Yes, Stockport is quite near Chester, and Town's non-performance at the Deva was in many ways comparable to the 'not fit to wear the shirt' disgrace just down the road at Edgeley Park way, way back in, ooh, April, was it? - the key difference being that Jon Daly scored in the Stockport game, and only created an own goal on Saturday. Tony Butcher has opined that Town were "outplayed by a pub team", and the Diary has nothing to add, nor take away, from his assessment.

Better news, again, from some of the Mariners' contingent of loaned-out fringe players. Although Graham Hockless again failed to save Leigh RMI from defeat - and managed to get himself replaced by the club's 35-year-old manager/emergency player Phil Starbuck in Saturday's 3-0 turning-over at Canvey Island - Halifax Town, and with them Darren Mansaram, go from strength to strength as a 1-0 win over Gravesend took them to fifth in the Conference table. At the foot of the same league, Northwich Victoria's amazing turnaround in form since temporarily acquiring Young Greg continues as Greg himself joined former Town reserve Mark Quayle on the scoresheet in a 3-1 away win at Forest Green. Bring 'em all back, Russ!

Shock news from Blundell Park as a reserve team is named with no trialists for this afternoon's home encounter with Lincolnshire neighbours Lincoln. Mind you, when we had trialists they never actually played for the reserves, so, hey, maybe not such a shock. Somebody in the team is called Capper, though, and I've not heard of that one. No sign of lost boy Glen Downey, though. Does he really exist? Enquiring minds need to know.

If you wanted to nip up the M180 early next month and shout abuse at people from a very similar town to your own, then you might be in for a bit of trouble, since tickets for the forthcoming derby match at Scunthorpe - the first since Town fans decided to start hating them instead of just patronising them, which is a damn shame if you ask me - have all sold out. Soz 'n' that. Maybe you could find a loudhailer and abuse ambling pensioners in Mablethorpe.

Finally today, some boring rich bloke isn't buying some boring, cheating football team, reports the newly renamed Grimsby and Lancashire Telegraph. Phew! And I wouldn't have known if they hadn't told me!