Cod Almighty | Diary

Friendly Persuasions

17 July 2026

At the end of another disappointing summer romance, we stare at the blank screens of Town news and impatience suddenly, sullenly grows. A balloon printed with "All Town aren't we?" swells to push against our skulls. Nothing to relieve the pressure except videos of jinks, high and low, at airports, on trolleys, in lobbies, on training pitches, in front of Slovenian mountains. Postcard images of smiling, diving, shooting, tanning footballers.

Jayden and Jaze take us around the Slovenian training camp in a charming YouTube video. The new JJ are a step from the previous (Slade's 'better than Amond' Hooper) and despite a lot of awkward 'likes' and 'innits' they manage to give a sense of what it's like out there for our boys. Very nice, is the conclusion. It seems amazing that a League Two club can facilitate something like this. Happy players in beautiful surroundings don't necessarily get you three points on a Saturday, but it can't hurt.

Another kit release day. Your A46 Diary, a card-carrying curmudgeon, has already done the capitalism is killing football piece for the summer. And if anything warms us to naked commercialism, it is that superb video of Maldinis past and present, so I'll not add any cynicism to what should be a busy day down the club shop. Every shirt sold is another meal in their own private Slovenian dining room.

News? Signings? A keeper? A winger? Are we still a bit short in midfield? Not now that McEachran's gone! Ha ha!

Will you be watching England's third place play off? A dead rubber to release that Town tension and pop that balloon? Bellingham, Mbappe et al in a meaningless fixture? A friendly with an unwanted medal? A 10pm kick off? Only if I'm still up, and card-carrying curmudgeons tend to have earlier nights.

So, all that's left is the final and to decide whether a brief relationship with the Spanish can extend this holiday romance. The Spanish will be wishing they had England. The world will be urging on soccer's strolling saint, its walking oxymoron (neat Messi – see what I did there?). A Spain win feels unlikely. Argentina feels scripted, neat, messy annotations from above included in the margins.

Here's hoping for a Spanish win on Sunday night and four new signings on Monday morning.