Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 3 February 2003

3 February 2003

Argentinian starlet Carlos Marinelli has sensationally snubbed a dream move to glamorous Blundell Park to join lowly Torino of Italy's obscure Serie A league. The Middlesbrough ace was approached last week by Mariners boss Paul Groves but became the third midfielder in as many weeks to turn down a loan switch to North East Lincolnshire, bizarrely preferring Turin to Cleethorpes. Without a trace of irony now, though, the Diary applauds Groves for his ambition; if we have to be snubbed then we'd much rather it be by a player once described as the new Maradona than by Junior bloody Lewis.

A few pages later in the Town manager's Little Book of Available Midfielders, then, we find that Wayne Gill of second division Oldham has today joined the Mariners on trial. The player began his career with Blackburn but was unable to break into the first team before moving to Tranmere prior to his Boundary Park switch. Unusually for a 27-year-old, Gill has made less than 30 first-team appearances in his entire career - but scored seven goals during a 12-match loan spell with Blackpool in 2000.

It could have been a different story, in any case, had that Marinelli cove read yesterday's Observer Sport Monthly before his ill-considered decision. Groves' name came up as the magazine listed its pick of the best managers outside the Premiership, just missing out on a place in the top 10 but receiving an honourable mention nonetheless, alongside Leicester's Micky Adams, Cambridge's John Taylor and Carl Shutt at Kettering.

Nippy forward Michael Boulding is targeting a return to action in time for this weekend's crucial relegation clash with Stoke after missing out on Saturday's defeat at Portsmouth with an ankle injury picked up in training last week. "I'll have a scan on Monday just to make sure," the player tells today's Grimsby Telegraph, "but I think it's okay and I should be ready to play against Stoke."

The Diary is interested to learn that Town's relegation rivals Bradford secured their victory against Ipswich on Saturday only by virtue of a sending-off for their opponents following an 'alleged' elbowing incident, leading to furious accusations of cheating. Something of a pattern emerging there, eh.

And finally, Cod Almighty's resident statistician Add-It-Up Andy has informed the Diary that the attendance of 19,428 at Fratton Park on Saturday was Portsmouth's biggest of the season so far. The Hampshire club are presumably expecting a 100 per cent capacity crowd later this month, then, when their scheduled opponents are playing in the FA Cup and Pompey spend 90 minutes stroking the ball into an empty net.