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Diary - Tuesday 7 October 2003

7 October 2003

Mike Edwards' expenditure on petrol looks set to be temporarily halved after Town captain John McDermott was yesterday banned from driving for 42 days. Macca clocked up a speed to rival his appearance record for the Mariners in July as he zoomed up on the A1(M) to Middlesbrough after a relative in the town was injured in an accident, reports today's Grimsby Telegraph, and was also fined £300 with £65 costs by Harrogate magistrates' court yesterday. "I have got lifts in," explains the player. "It won't affect my training." The speedophile right-back was also penalised in March for excessive automobile swiftness but now admits: "It was wrong - I have been punished for it and fair enough... I don't speed any more - it has opened my eyes." The conviction should also spell an end to terrace mutterings about McDermott having lost a yard of pace recently.

As Town fans lament another injured player being brought back into first-team action before recovering match fitness, Iain Anderson's cameo in last weekend's QPR match may soon be followed by premature returns for messrs Cas, Coldicott and Pouton. The club's official site today reveals the latest on the wounded trio, to wit: Cas is having the stitches in his knee removed this Friday, but not by Jon Beswetherick; Pacy Stacy is still in bits and won't be back before Santa's sleigh bells have been ring-jing-jingling; and the bad news for the Mariners' new scoreboard is that Alan P, far from looking at a big retirement pay-off from the PFA, has been "given the green light to step up training". Stand by for another red card epidemic.

But just as the death of the Queen Mother was ruined by a 4-0 defeat at Birmingham, so there are new availability issues to dampen the spirits of Grimsbyites thrilled by the prospect of Pouton's return. Jason Crowe has missed training this week "with illness", imparts BBC Humber, and with Darren Barnard away doing nothing with the Welsh squad this weekend Town could be a bit stuck for someone to play left-back at the Withdean. If Simon Ford recovers from whatever it was that he had, then Mike Edwards could move out there; but the former Hull man, who has excelled as Ford's replacement in central defence, would be the first to admit that he didn't have much fun on the left against Peterborough a month ago. Well, perhaps not the first but possibly in the first few pages.