Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Monday 17 November 2003
17 November 2003
Iffy Onuora may not be the last player - or even the last striker - to join the Mariners this season, if Saturday's Sports Telegraph is to be believed. Paul Groves had stated repeatedly that the acquisition of Onuora exhausted the funding provided to him for new playing staff, but a report has claimed that Town were in the running to sign Barnsley forward Rory Fallon until the player moved to Swindon last week. "Sources at Oakwell have revealed that Swindon's ability to pay a fee swung the transfer on their favour," claims the paper, and isn't that just always the way. Even the more dedicated Grimsby whingers would accept that the club is in no position to be paying transfer fees, and if you ask the Diary the spectacular apathy of the town's populace would make it a bloody miracle if even one more player could be brought in on a free.
Good news for Jonathan Rowan, who is playing for his professional future this season when he isn't injured. Exploratory surgery has revealed that the intermittently promising young striker should be back in action about four weeks from now, reports Town's official site, dispelling fears that he would face a career-threatening three-month lay-off with the fissile knee panjandrum he sustained in September just as he was starting to be any good. All proud Grimbarians will surely join with the Diary in hoping local boy Jonny bounces back stronger than ever and scores his way to a new contract come season's end.
After performing in front of the second division's smallest crowd of the day on Saturday, GTFC players have pressed their fingers to the temple of the town in desperate search of a pulse with a visit this morning to Grimsby's fish market. An absorbing series of photographs on Town's official site depicts PG and a number of playing staff checking out what remains of the industry - accompanied, to his great credit, by Chairman Furneaux, who seemingly gets to don a natty Humphrey Bogart-style titfer while the playing staff have to make do with Jarvis baseball caps. When Lawrie McMenemy pulled the same stunt, 20,000 fans turned up for a Division Four match, so you really can't blame the club for trying.
Pernicious hate-sheet The Sun proves that the broadsheet press has no monopoly on ill-informed slurs against Grimsby Town Football Club by refusing to credit Darren Barnard for his own excellent display in Wales' super 0-0 draw in Moscow on Saturday. "It says much for Mark Hughes' management skills that someone who plays for Grimsby can slot straight into the national team," is the way the shit-peddling red-top chooses to express its admiration for the Town defender's performance.
If you're anything like me, you'll need something to make you feel better after that last item, and Mark Wilson is just the fella to provide it. "Don't know if you caught it or not," he writes in an email to the Diary, "but Sky Sports News are reporting morning that Terry Cooke (ex of this parish) has broken a bone in his foot playing in the clatty LDV victory over Barnsley." Excellent news, Mark, but are you sure it was the LDV? I would have expected Wednesday to have withdrawn from the competition now on the grounds that Manchester United and Arsenal aren't playing in it.
And finally today, Keith Collins - yours and the Diary's link to the outside world, otherwise known as Radio Humberside - writes to defend himself. "I would like to make it perfectly clear that I am not a 'devoted listener' to Radio Hull. I have my reputation to withhold! I set the alarm in a morning to xx:25am to catch the sports news before I get up and then only use the TP facility on the car radio for local problems. I listen to the match reports if I'm not at the game. Other than that I have CDs playing." I suppose asking which CDs would run the risk of another musical controversy, wouldn't it. "PS," concludes KC, "why on a Saturday after the match is almost always the first caller a 'Tergers' fan?" Answers on an electronic postcard, please, to codalmightydiary@yahoo.co.uk.