Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Wednesday 22 November 2006

22 November 2006

He was meant to be cheered into Blundell Park by a joyous throng waving palm leaves. They were meant to play like gods and ascend unto the second round of the FA Cup. As it turned out, the throng numbered only 2,657 and a lot of them muttered dirtily all night about not wanting Alan Buckley back, and Town lost 2-0 with a ponderous performance and an own goal from Justin Whittle. Bubbles are burst, reality checked, honeymoons over, and the manager freed up to focus on improving the Mariners' desperate position of 22nd in the fourth division. Well, it makes a change from saying "concentrate on the league". "I was a little bit disappointed with our play in the last third," said Buckley, and I never thought I'd have to type that again after 2000. "We haven't got enough devil about us." Thankyou for choosing Diary Railways for your 13:59 journey from Heaven to Hell via Grimsby Town Football Club; refreshments will be served when the transfer window reopens in January.

Hey, come on, it's not so bad. Nick Fenton is in such excellent form at the back that he made the Football League's fourth division team of the week thingy after his performance at Wycombe last Saturday. Feeling better yet? Turn your gaze to the Grimsby Telegraph, where the manager reveals that he has "had about six or seven conversations with a [second division] club about players", and with any luck this will mean players that might come and play for the Mariners, rather than that Al has just been on the phone to Tony Mowbray or Phil Parkinson gossiping about Danny Murphy's bald spot or the latest indiscretions of El Hadji Diouf.