Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Wednesday 27 August 2003

27 August 2003

Gnnnnn rrrrr gnrrrr rrrrr gnn. Rrrrr! Gnrrr rrrrrn rrrr...right, OK. I can see that the Diary's tag team of audio-typing monkeys is going to struggle today, with me still recovering from yesterday's trip to the dentist, so it looks like I'm going to have to type this up myself. Which I was hoping to avoid, having recently incurred a repetitive strain injury from the words Boulding, goal, and unchanged line-up. Ow!

The mystery surrounding the contractual status of Laurens Ten Heuvel deepens with an intriguing bit of gossip that reaches the Diary from South Yorkshire way. After failing to sign the Dutch forward on a permanent basis in time for the season's opening fixture, you will recall, Paul Groves hastily agreed a three-day loan with Sheffield United to allow LTH to appear at Plymouth, with the player expected to pen a year-long 'permanent' deal early the following week. This has still not happened, of course - but Mark Stilton now understands from the editor of the Blades' official site that as soon as Ten Heuvel's three-day loan expired, so did his registration at Bramall Lane. "They were told officially through proper club channels that he had left," explains Mark, "but bizarrely were told not to put it on the website." All of which suggests that the player could be left without a club should Town decide not to keep him after all - which now appears distinctly possible after some disappointing performances culminated in LTH's omission from the team that faced Wycombe on Monday.

John McDermott's hopes of replacing the suspended Marcel Cas for this Saturday's visit to Bristol City rest on his coming through this afternoon's reserves game in one piece. Town's second XI are to take on York's at Blundell Park, and by the time you read this may already be doing so, or indeed have done so. Speaking of the stiffs, the Diary notes the current tendency of 'smaller' clubs like Lincoln to follow the lead of their wealthier counterparts in saving their pitch by staging reserve games at other local venues. Liverpool play theirs at Southport or somewhere, and the Imps, as we saw last week, have this season commandeered the use of Lincoln United's Ashby Avenue ground - so where should the Mariners' second string play their games to follow the fashion? Answers on a virtual postcard please, to codalmightydiary@yahoo.co.uk.

Did I say "the suspended Marcel Cas"? Yes, I did. The former Notts County man will definitely sit out the south-westerly sojourn after Town's appeal against the red card he was given in the League Cup defeat at Donny foundered on the cruel rocks of circumstance - or was rejected by that rubbish Hull referee, depending on your view of the cosmos. Wherever you stand on that particular hot potato, it is instructive that the FA refereeing assessor assigned to the match is much of Groves' opinion on the issue. "We've spoken to the assessor," says the Town boss in today's Grimbo Tel, "and he's agreed that it's debatable whether Marcel should have got a yellow card or nothing." It don't mean shit though, as the final decision rests with the goatophile in the black, and he's made it.

In the wake of Town's satisfying win on Monday one Diary reader appears to have been celebrating with a marathon session watching Beavis & Butthead and South Park. "I've been reading match reports and wondering about Wycombe's goalie, Frank Talia. Do you happen to know if his wife is unfortunately called Jenny?" Very amusing. And who are you? "Many thanks, Michael Hunt." Yes.

Finally, people, don't let your memories of Paul Crichton deliberately throwing the ball into his own net at Vicarage Road harden your heart to the plight of former Grimsby boss Brian Laws. Now managing third division Scunthorpe, the short-tempered poultry flinger could be facing a struggle to keep his job after the Iron's 5-0 pasting at Mansfield last night. "One word that comes into mind is 'humiliation'," says Bri. "That's the very word I used too," grins Cod Almighty's Tony Butcher. "I'm glad he agrees with me. I wonder if he shares my view of the events at Blundell Park between December 1994 and Christmas 1996?"