Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 18 October 2002

18 October 2002

Disproving reports earlier this month, leading scorer Steve Kabba has now been cleared by his club Crystal Palace to stay with Town for the rest of the season. The three-goal hotshot's mercurial dribbling skills have bamboozled several opposition defences and possibly even himself since he arrived on loan in August; and whether Kabba stays is now down to the player himself. We think he will, because he knows we like him.

Jamie Pollock says he is one week away from match fitness. The former Middlesbrough, Manchester City and Crystal Palace midfielder, who has been playing on a non-contract basis for Town reserves for the last few weeks, has told the official site: "I'm feeling pretty good now...what I need is to be playing in the league." Before joining the Mariners Pollock went 18 months without a game after falling out with the management at Palace.

Injury-prone defender Paul Raven may return to the Mariners' line-up for tomorrow's home game against Rotherham, subject to a late fitness test. Young right-back Iain Ward, who was recently named in last week's Nationwide First Division Team of the Week for his performance against Watford, should be fit, but first-choice centre-halves Steve Chettle and player-manager Paul Groves will miss out again. Chettle will sit out the next four to six weeks with his troublesome back while Groves' calf is still playing up. We told him he should have made do with a hamster.

Rotherham - who have nearly cleared their allocation of 1,850 tickets for the match - have defensive problems of their own, with Rob Scott and Chris Swailes both suspended. Manager Ronnie 'Ipswich are on the phone' Moore otherwise chooses from a full-strength squad.