Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Tuesday 19 August 2003

19 August 2003

In the light of recent events, GTFC could be forgiven for putting off another trip to Belle Vue in favour of washing the kitchen floor or defrosting the freezer, but the club decided yesterday to tweak the nose of terror and bring John McDermott back into action in a reserve friendly back down the road at Donny. The Diary-synonym-exhausting defender missed most of pre-season with sciatica, and I really must start finding out what these horrible-sounding conditions actually are when I write about them. Town's second XI lost the game 2-1 but Macca came through unscathed and is targetting a return to first-team action to coincide with Marcel Cas's suspension for the trip to Bristol City on 30 August. Which would be nice, eh. Des 'The Strangler' Hamilton and Iain 'Poleaxe' Anderson will also miss the trip south-west and the two subsequent games.

All of which brings us neatly to the latest news on the Mariners' recent rash of red cards; specifically, that Graham Rodger - the assistant manager who some fans have decided to call Rodgers and dislike for absolutely no reason at all - insists that far from becoming the Butchers of Blundell Park, Town have been perfect little angels so far this season. "We've played three games and had three players sent off, but I haven't seen one bad tackle from any of our players," says 'Grezza' in today's Grimmo Tello. The paper also reveals that the disciplinary hearing Rodger himself faces for getting a bit stroppy at a match back in February has been put off until September, and isn't that just the kind of razor-sharp, cutting-edge organisational prowess that has won the FA the respect and admiration of football fans worldwide.

Now there's no point Grimbarians slagging off their hometown when the national media can do it so much more effectively for us; but it can't be denied that there are still some stupid things going on there that you don't see so much of these days in some of England's more cosmopolitan locations. One is people who say: "I don't like spicy food." Another - as anyone will testify who sat in the Pontoon for the Leicester game last season - is racism, and Cod Almighty's Mark Stilton is writing a piece about it. Mark would like to hear from Town fans who have witnessed racism at Blundell Park, or who would just like to state an opinion about it; so if this means you then please email him at mark_stilton@yahoo.co.uk. Cheers.

And finally today, let's hear it for Mariners midfield legend Tommy Widdrington, who has succeeded where so many others before him have flagged and failed by earning a contract with Macclesfield.