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Diary - Friday 28 March 2003

28 March 2003

The Grimsby Telegraph's campaign to undermine its local football club runs into problems with the revelation that Town's failure to sign John Oster permanently was due to the player's fear of second division football rather than the club's unwillingness to fund the deal, as the paper reported earlier this week in a calculated bid to enrage supporters. Mariners boss Paul Groves has confirmed that the GTFC board was ready and able to meet Oster's wage demands but that the transfer finally foundered yesterday on the Welsh international's reluctance to sign for a club that could be in Division Two next season. This would explain why the player didn't move to Stoke or Cardiff either, which the Telegraph had provocatively suggested was a strong possibility. Conspiracy theorists are invited to speculate on possible links between the paper's recent determination to do down the Mariners and the fact that one of its senior sports reporters is a lifelong Sheffield Wednesday fan.

The collapse of the Oster deal also scuppered Groves' plans to bring in two other players. Had the Sunderland winger signed for Town, his two earlier loan periods would no longer have counted against the overall limit on loan players Town could bring in this season; but as it stands, Michael Keane's arrival from Preston has maxed it out, meaning deals to borrow Des Hamilton from Cardiff and another unnamed player had to be called off at the last minute, reports BBC Humber Sport.

Keane has been named among the Irish substitutes for tonight's under-21 international in Georgia. That's the one in eastern Europe, not the United States' deep south. Town's new loan midfielder is also expected to figure as the Republic's youngsters take on Albania next week in their bid to qualify for next year's European u21 championship.

Town fans can raise cash for the GTFC Handicapped Supporters Club, and have a ripping good read too, by buying a copy of Park Life, a one-off Mariners magazine that hits the streets of Grimsby tomorrow. Or the shopping centre, to be precise, as copies will be available on Saturday only in the town's 80s-tastic 'mall' Freshney Place, on a stall outside Marks & Spencer, so you can pick it up after you've bought your mum a sensible new blouse for Mothers' Day. The mag features interviews with Paul Groves, John McDermott, Danny Coyne and Bobby 'Dangerous' Cumming, lots of news and other features, and a piece giving a brief but intimate glimpse into the private life of the Diary, and can also be purchased at the club shop from Monday or by post (email gtfcparklife@hotmail.com for details). And it's only a quid! Stop wasting your money on the lottery and buy Park Life instead.