Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Thursday 27 March 2008
27 March 2008
Do you remember the good old days of the Diary? When I used to write six days a week? And I told you what I was having for lunch? And where I was going out drinking? And Town were getting relegated every year and Danny Butterfield was leaving on a free transfer because the club didn't know how the Bosman rules work? Ah, yes. Back in the good old days we had some laughs. And most of them were at the expense of Teamtalk - the commercial football website that was even more clueless than the Diary and used to reel off hilarious inaccuracies about the Mariners on an almost daily basis. Don't you miss those days? Well, they could be coming right back, because Teamtalk has just found an interview with John Fenty (Con) and recycled it into a short item with a cock-up that ranks alongside the site's finest vintage. Amid a plethora of the chairman's characteristic Unspeak about the Fentydome's "seven-day income streams", the author of the piece refers to the club's "new Conoco Stadium close to the town centre". Ah, if only it were, Teamtalk - if only it were.
Let's move on - from an issue of no relevance to the Mariners' visit to Wembley this Sunday, to the reserves' game against York at Blundell Park last night. A full and satisfying match report on the superb new official website reveals that the only goal of the game was scored by Town substitute Steve Davis in the 72nd minute. No-one was injured. No-one died.
"In Wednesday's Diary you say that you 'see the issue of which division Town play in as a little more important than an inconsequential paint-themed bauble'," begins an email from Brian Robinson, reassuring me that someone is reading after all. "Pardon me, but a look at the last accounts for the club clearly shows the importance of these inconsequential baubles. We are in debt and we need the cash so this isn't the time to be proud and sit on your high horse bemoaning Town's success. I'd guess that we will get a six-figure sum from the fixture which will go some small way to relieving the financial pressure on the club so let's just get behind Town and have a great day out on Sunday." GTFC will get a six-figure sum whether they win or lose at Wembley though, won't they, Brian? So if you will insist on doing the chairman's job for him and worrying about the bank balance, then surely the outcome of the Dulux Cup's two-legged area final was far more significant than what happens this weekend? Naturally, like every right-thinking football supporter in England, the Diary wants Town to win on Sunday, as I want Town to win every game they play. I don't think we will, but it'll hurt much less than having to spend another year in the fourth division. Every bugger else seemed to give up on promotion, though, the very instant the final whistle blew against Morecambe the other week. Now, where's that high horse? Giddy-up, boy!
And that's me done for a bit, as your regular Diary has just decided I'm having a week off, so I'll see you on Monday 7 April, and the guests and stand-ins will see you through more than capably until then, I'm sure. There's one last email before I go though. "Has anybody mentioned that the clocks go forward this weekend?" asks Eve Barnard. They have now, Eve. Thanks! But will Paul Bolland do likewise? Go forward, I mean, not mention that the clocks go forward. Ideally, I guess, he'll do both. Goodbye!