Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Thursday 1 September 2005

1 September 2005

Remember all those foreign trialists who Town's official website would absolutely insist were going to have a kickabout for the reserves while they were over, and then just ended up on the plane back to France or Finland without so much as a sniff of the second string? Ewww. Some have suggested that the reason was GTFC's failure to secure something called international clearance, and this, in fact, is the reason the club's new exotic foreign signing Tommy Taylor did not appear as expected in yesterday's reserve run-out against Sheffield United. Taylor's no-show may or may not, in turn, be the reason why Grezza Rodge's side were defeated by five goals to two. A Paul Wilkinson goal brought Town level at 1-1 after the Blades had taken an 11th-minute lead but four second-half goals overwhelmed the inexperienced Mariners side and it fell to Tony Crane, of all people, to convert a 77th-minute penalty by way of consolation. Well, it's one way to try and get back in the first team.

Calvin Andrew has returned to Luton after the completion of his month's loan at Blundell Park. During his brief spell with the Mariners the 18-year-old forward made one start and three substitute appearances, scoring the winning goal at Barnet last Saturday, and tempted two websites and several hundred Town supporters into applying the Grimsby name plural and calling him Calvin Andrews.

Baz Rockliffe and Jonathan Wacey have both emailed, further to earlier Diaries this week, to contend that the last time Town were live on the telly was the last game of the agonising 2002-03 relegation season, against Brighton, "where Keane pointed down hilariously at the Brighton fans after Richard Hughes's equaliser," as Baz reminds us. This proves conclusively that the Diary was abducted by aliens after the defeat at Tranmere in May 2004 and had my memory of the previous two seasons erased entirely. I must write and thank them.

A third email this way comes, from Loughborough Mariner, who has exciting news about his wardrobe. "I had mine on at the [Rushden] match and he scored, so these Macca T-shirts are obviously magical and lucky!" gushes Loughborough. "Do you think we could get Macca to be top scorer this season by the power of the Macca T-shirt? PS Feel free to use that quote in your T-shirt sales blurb!" I'm sure CA's hundreds-strong high-powered marketing team have already seized on it even as we type. Were you in the Pontoon, by the way, LM? I might have seen you wearing it.

Staying on the subject of He that is Macca, Diary readers may - nay, should - be interested and delighted to discover that this website today carries an exclusive full-length interview with the great man. And remaining still with His Royal Maccaness, James Woodhouse has emailed with a cunning plan. "A few of my friends and I have been thinking of a suitable way to mark Macca's eventual end to his playing days at BP," he writes. "We have come up with that, along with Macca retiring, the club should also consider retiring his number 2 shirt. Not sure what the FA rules would be can't think they would have anything against it though, my only thought is that is perhaps a bit 'American'. Any thoughts of Cod Almighty starting a campaign on this one?" Readers! Email diary@codalmighty.com with your thoughts on James's idea. But you know what? I think I like it...