Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 27 March 2009

27 March 2009

Your Guest Diarist has awaited a match like this for what seems like ages. Home to Aldershot - a side marooned in mid -table obscurity with a rubbish away record. And thanks to Coun Fenty (Con) finally caving in and 'devaluing his brand' by charging a fiver for tickets, it will be in front of about seven thousand 'fans'. About four thousand of these will have foregone whatever has occupied their Saturday afternoons until mid-March to grace the ground with their presence. After scoring loads of goals in the last two home matches, both in front of biggish crowds, let's hope for a third home win on the bounce to keep the pressure on. And no negativity allowed - right?

Manager Newell has told Mariners World that the buzz in the ticket office has caused a buzz around the place generally. He also explained, with some delicacy I should add, that JP Kalala's scan had revealed a complicated straining of his lower stomach muscles and that he will be out of the side for a while. Boshell, Newell said, is training and as long as there is no reaction he will be in contention. But the new Hunt is the old JP, while Kalala had seemed in his latter matches to be subsiding into the old Hunt, so the switch has occurred at an opportune time, eh? With debutant Sweeney impressing last match, the central midfield pairing for tomorrow seems obvious really.

Newell went on to make it fairly plain that the Town squad 'as is' will be the group that will see the club through to the end of the season. Having signed 13 players since he arrived, and with no fewer than 34 players pulling on a Town shirt this season, he is right to think enough is enough. I pulled a face last week when he signed Sweeney, convinced we were getting another anonymous left-footed drifter, but his assured debut was the right riposte to my feeble whinging, I'd be the first to admit. Let's just hope Preston dosn't recall Henderson, and that his back doesn't go again. The lad told the Telegraph how much he is enjoying life at Town and how much he missed the game when injured: "A year ago, last St Patrick's Day, I was in an awful state, drunk and thinking my career was finished." This year, no doubt he was drunk and hopefully thinking how much he likes playing for Grimsby. Love you too mate. See yer.