Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 19 April 2004

19 April 2004

Mariners chairman Peter Furneaux is keeping his options open as to Nicky Law's future at the club - but a decision could be made soon after the season's last game at Tranmere on 8 May. In a superb exclusive Cod Almighty interview conducted on Saturday by the estimable Paul Thundercliffe, the heavy metal head honcho reveals, among other things, that no decision has yet been made as to extending Law's managerial contract at Blundell Park - which, as things stand, expires next month - but that "we will assess things before the summer". Furneaux adds: "There is no point paying people over the summer if we are not going to keep them, players as well. If it's working and the players he's recommended are working then we will make a decision, and if it's not working then we will also make a decision." The Diary hereby calls upon GTFC to take a leaf out of Tony Blair's book and put that decision to the people of Grimsby in a referendum - dispensing, of course, with the usual requirement for a minimum turnout to ensure the validity of the poll. Five per cent probably wouldn't cut it on the European constitution, but it's good enough for us.

Well, Town might finally have started playing football the right way as they eked out a win over a desperately poor Rushden side on Saturday, but the media charged with chronicling their exploits are not functioning quite as they ought. The front page of BBC Humber Sport carries a link to some match, somewhere in time, that finished GRIMSBY 2-0 BLACKPOOL, while the Grimsby Telegraph has bought into its readers' propensity to recast surnames in the plural, headlining a piece quoting the Mariners' manager LAWS URGES MARINERS TO BELIEVE. Hey, we've all had Brian on our minds lately.

No such problems are in evidence at Town's official website, despite warnings of a "decline in the technical standards of the site". The keeper of the OS, Mr Dale Ladson, "has had a 'happy event' and will be away from his desk for a few days", explains the site. Well, the Diary fully understands that these are dark times for all of us associated with Grimsby Town Football Club, but is it really necessary to give their staff the week off just because the team has won a match?