Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 2 February 2004

2 February 2004

Having just got absolutely trolleyed in three different cities in three nights, my body is telling me today that you can have too much of a good thing. And Paul Groves seems to agree with it: after stating last week that not having to play football very much was a good way for his football players to get better at playing football, his team has today been hosting a behind-closed-doors friendly against third division neighbours Boston, lest they forget what that round white thing lying on the grass is for. The 'under-fire' Town boss contacted his Pilgrims counterpart Neil Thompson over the weekend to suggest the practice match after both clubs saw fixtures rained off. "Their pitch is supposed to be OK after the downpour," says Thompson in the Lincolnshire Echo, "and it is a decent surface to play on anyway." I dunno the result or owt, cos there's nothing about it on Town's website yet, but the Grimbo Tello says this Thorpe character was "making his unofficial Town debut". Oh, and his loan won't start properly until this Friday now, so that he can get an extra game in. I didn't realise you could do that. And, hey, if you put some letters either side of his name it spells 'Cleethorpes'.

In other news today, John McDermott's return to action has been put back by a week to the middle of March because the surgeon is going away on holiday and Macca didn't like the look of the kid from Pertemps; the final few weeks of Jarvis' sponsorship before Young's takes over are heralded by the club shop doing a two-for-one deal on replica shirts; and Nick Daws apparently calls fans "speccies". Without the Telegraph explaining that last one, the Diary would have assumed that Town's experienced loan midfielder was referring to all the opticians in the Main Stand.

Warmest thanks go to my guest/substitute/apprentice diarist for filling in here last Friday in the alarmingly efficient manner of a Mike Edwards to my Simon Ford. World-renowned Jevvophile Matt Winn has, inevitably, slung us a vitriolic email taking issue with Guest Diary for describing the languid scouser's new role as "non-scoring midfielder" - five goals in eight games are all very well, but the white boots still look like a hand-me-down from Don Johnson in Miami Vice - and Miles Moss has come forward with a Whitby pub recommendation. The Duke of York, he says, is "a great pub... it's on the Abbey side of the bridge, and some seats look out onto the harbour (although you have to get in pretty early to nab one of those). The ale is real (they do a wonderful pint of draught Black Sheep), and the food's pretty damn tasty too." Thoughtful Mr Moss even provides a Multimap link for Guest Diary's convenience. While we're at it, then, can anyone recommend a good B&B in Cleethorpes for the forthcoming Cod Almighty editorial board meeting? We would appreciate vegetarian breakfast options and scant regard for alcohol licensing regulations.

Dentists. Sorry.