Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Wednesday 20 August 2003

20 August 2003

There's no stopping 34-year-old comeback kid John McDermott, who makes a second reserves appearance in three days at Lincoln this afternoon as he chases match fitness following a lay-off with sciatica. The Diary has discovered since yesterday, courtesy of www.sciatica.org, that sciatica is the name given to "pain, weakness, numbness, and other discomfort along the path of the sciatic nerve", and from Aliveat55.com that "pain often radiates down the buttock or leg. It can range from a tingling, burning, pins-and-needles feeling to excruciating, shooting pain that makes standing up nearly impossible." My eyes are watering just thinking about it. The match kicks off at 2pm, and updates can be had from Town's official site, which also points out that the Imps' reserves play home games at Lincoln United's Ashby Avenue ground, thus embarrassing the Diary, which I am sure referred on occasion last season to Town's second string travelling to Sincil Bank. Paul says Le Big Mac won't be up to facing Luton this Saturday, though; and let's face it, it's a brave man who can face Luton at the best of times.

Welsh international Darren Barnard - possibly Town's best player so far this season - is like a kid on Christmas Eve as the principality prepares to take on Serbia & Montenegro tonight. By claiming a point in Belgrade tonight Wales would guarantee at least a play-off place in the race for Euro 2004 qualification, because they've suddenly become quite good since Mark Hughes started managing them; and the Mariners left-back is crossing his trembling fingers. "If we don't get beat we're down to the play-offs," he tells the Grimsby Telegraph, "and we'll only need one win from the last three games. Fingers crossed, we could go to Italy and get a result." The Diary would like to wish Wales all the best but is a bit reluctant to in case Wales thinks I'm being a patronising English bastard or something. I'm not quite sure how it all works really.

Oh, and destitute Oldham have finally gone into administration. Does the Diary have an over-active imagination, or could Mr Groves be holding off on a permanent contract for Laurens Five-O in the hope that the Latics may be unable to sort out a new deal with Clyde Wijnhard?