Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 8 September 2003

8 September 2003

Um, yeah, OK...so I didn't "see you Sunday". Trouble was, I didn't get home until about 5pm - which, you must admit, is a pretty good night out - and there was not a great deal to record in any case: you all know by now that Town were rubbish in the first half on Saturday and a bit better in the second. And can I just say, the Diary was mightily impressed with young Graham Hockless: if you ask me then Mr Groves could do a lot worse than start him on the left of midfield at Hartlepool this Friday and restore Stuart Campbell to the centre at Chris Bolder's expense. Lest you haven't seen the league tables, the Mariners now sit 13th (and, shockingly, 21st in a table of average home attendances), which, for those whose glasses are half full, is still only six points behind the division's surprise leaders Barnsley.

This week may see a new twist in Paul Groves' epic quest for a rugged new target man, which is soon to be serialised as a major new drama on BBC2, starring Martin Clunes as the GTFC manager. Town's official site reveals that the Heskey to Michael Boulding's Rooney could arrive this week. "We've been working on getting a new face in for a long time," Paul reminds us, "and there might now be a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel." The site also confirms that Laurens Ten Heuvel's similarly interminable search for a first goal in English football will proceed away from Blundell Park, as the disappointing Dutchman has returned to Sheffield United.

And finally today, we can exclusively reveal a death threat to the Diary. In the intimidating atmosphere of my bedroom in 1980, I was told by an opponent: "If you don't get this mess tidied up I'll kill you!"