Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Tuesday 12 November 2002

12 November 2002

Blundell Park continues to give Holby City a run for its money as Paul Groves announces in a Radio Humberside interview that Danny Coyne and Simon Ford are receiving treatment for achilles injuries. Coyne, worryingly, has been carrying his for a week or two, and the strain was worsened in last Saturday's victory against Stoke. Groves also declared his intention to bring in another striker, but no names have been mentioned.

The Grimsby Telegraph reports that Paul Raven has turned down a three-month loan to third division Scunthorpe. Town's kid brother club had their bid to borrow the veteran defender approved by Paul Groves; but the player himself turned down the move in favour of a spell at Lilleshall to recover from his ongoing thigh problems. The standard of football is probably better there as well.

The Telegraph's wordplay today switches from the martial to the equine as it reveals that Market Rasen horse trainer person Michael Chapman has joined the board at GTFC. The war theme persists, however, as the usual homilies about the new director being a lifelong fan, Lincolnshire born and bred, ya-de-ya-de-ya, are followed by a curious non-sequitur about his dad having been in the Dambusters 617 squadron. Which is nice, but as far as we're concerned, Mike, your old man could have fought for Hitler as long as you've got a few bob.

Sluttish Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock continues to sniff round Town's sloppy seconds, this time with a bizarre bid to snatch Steve Kabba. The striker's mega-successful loan with the Mariners was abruptly terminated last week, when his parent club Crystal Palace grounded him. Warnock is likely to be disappointed in the short term, given that Palace are short of personnel up front; but a cynical Cod Almighty would not be at all surprised to see the Blades boss and enemy of humankind get his man at some point.