Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Wednesday 9 July 2003

9 July 2003

After the signings of Iain Anderson, Marcel Cas and Des Hamilton to (hopefully) strengthen the Town midfield, Graham Hockless has reminded Town's management not to overlook the club's youth products. After reaching the fringes of the first team late last season, the rookie midfielder fired the winner - an excellent long-range dip - in last night's pre-season curtain-raiser against SD Portmany. "With Stuart Campbell injured he got a chance last night and he's done himself no harm at all," Paul Groves tells today's Grimmo Telegraph. Around 300 Town fans saw their side run out 1-0 winners, with Cas playing right-back while Wes Parker began on the bench. Anderson, who many hope will fill the Mariners' left midfield berth next season, played in Cas's anticipated right-wing position, while Tony Crane and Hamilton also debuted for GTFC.

Bradley Hughes has become the third goalkeeper to leave Blundell Park this summer following the departures of Steve Croudson and Danny Coyne, whispers Town's official site under its breath. The club's management couldn't speak highly enough of the 19-year-old stopper on his arrival in Cleethorpes from Watford last summer, but Hughes' subsequent performances in reserve and friendly games did little to justify the faith shown in him; and while praising Andy Pettinger for his showing against Portmany last night, Mariners Net mentions in an aside that Hughes has been quietly ushered away.

Next season's goalkeeping main course to Pettinger's starter remains uncertain, though the Grimbly Tello reckons Aidan Davison is very much back on the menu. It was thought last week that talks had broken down over a deal to bring the peripatetic custodian back to Blundell Park, but Groves insists: "We are still pursuing our number one target. We are hopeful that we can strike a deal."

Remaining with matters of netminding, Tony Butcher lives up to his name by taking a ginormous meat cleaver to the Diary's clearly ill-considered remarks yesterday about Marlon Beresford. "Nobody asked you," snaps the match reporter extraordinaire, "which is just as well, as he's rubbish. On £10,000 per week at Middlesborough you know. A disastrous kicker and woeful flapper, like a mix between the bad bits of Crichton and Wilmot. Burnley fans are happier now he's gone. And I'm happy now there's no chance he's Blundell bound." Well, I wasn't suggesting Town give him ten K a week; and just because someone's earning that much, doesn't mean they're a bad player. Unless Lennie Lawrence signs them.

And speaking of former Town managers, but this time of half decent ones, Alan Buckley has shown again that his old habits die harder than anyone's by making Northampton defender Daryl Burgess his first new signing at Rochdale. The calamitous acquisition of his old charge Paul Raven may have been the straw that led to Buckley's sacking by the Mariners in 2000; but that hasn't stopped the man staying with what he knows best, as Burgess, inevitably, played under Buckley during his entire spell at West Brom in the mid-90s. In a bewildering world of change, the Diary salutes Al for sticking firmly to his very sticky guns.