Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Wednesday 12 November 2003

12 November 2003

Town "are owed over £300,000 pounds [sic] through the Football League" and "may finally get the loan in the next ten days", declares BBC Humber Sport with ambiguity so reckless that its report is already set to feature in a new Channel 5 series entitled World's Wildest Examples of Slapdash Internet Football Journalism. Leaving aside for a moment the unanswered question of why the money is owed, there remains the more significant issue of to whom, as the report contrives to suggest both that the money will be a loan and that Town are owed it; hence the Diary's temptation to give that one a try with the Nationwide building society and see if they'll just give me the 60 grand I owe them on my mortgage.

So impressed was Paul Groves with Jason Crowe's performance in central midfield last Saturday that the GTFC manager may bring in a young 'un to replace international jet-setter Darren Barnard at left-back this weekend rather than deprive the team's engine room of his services. The former Arsenal and Portsmouth wing-back has played in six different positions this season but excelled in the middle against QPR at the weekend, prompting Grovesie - give us a wave, Grovesie Grovesie, give us a wave... ooh, sorry, got carried away there - to tell the Grimsby Telegraph: "If Crowey can go there and play like that then I'm loath to leave him out." Town's next available part-time left-back is probably Wes Parker, assuming - and very much hoping - that the excellent recent form of Mike Edwards in central defence rules him out of a sideways switch.

Giovanni Carchedi's worst fears have been confirmed with the news that the promising young AM/F has 'done' not only his cruciate but also his patella tendon, medial ligament and medial and lateral cartilages. That's what the Grimsby Telegraph says. The player was carried off early in Town reserves' 6-0 win over Darlington last week and will "be out of action for a minimum of a year," according to Paul Groves. The Diary's best wishes are with you, Gio, lad, for what it's worth, like.

Jonny Rowan will be hoping for better news when he undergoes exploratory surgery tomorrow. The Diary was prevented by several pints of Willy's Original from remembering the details of Rowan's injury reported in last weekend's Sports Telegraph, so it's a good job Town's official site is here to tell us that the player will be examined on Thursday and could face up to three months on those boring old sidelines with the triennial knee lambeth he sustained in September's home defeat to Swindon.

To complete a hat-trick of miserable tales of ill health, former Mariners striker Keith Alexander - these days, of course, playing a relatively successful long-ball system as manager of neighbouring Lincoln - faces an operation after being hurried into hospital last night. The Imps boss collapsed at home and underwent brain scans in Lincoln before being transferred to Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital, and quite naturally we all hope the likeable big fella is gonna be OK.

All a bit grim today, isn't it? On the bright side, though, the man who brought Alexander to Blundell Park, Mr Alan Buckley, now with Rochdale, has just managed his 1,000th league game in England and joins an elite group of legendary football bosses that includes Sir Alex Ferguson and, er, Lennie Lawrence. Buckley has been given a bit of glass for his pains, or "an engraved Waterford Crystal memento", as the Grimsby Telegraph has it, and would you believe he's still only 52? And congratulations are also due to... me, actually, for passing the driving theory test this morning. Hey, fans, don't crowd me.