Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Wednesday 18 August 2004
18 August 2004
The Diary couldn't decide for the life of me whether to go to the pub last night. Any other night, it'd have been a no-brainer, and Mrs Diary and I would have sat there quite happily all night quaffing pints of Deuchars IPA and bottles of Archers Aqua (raspberry is my favourite). But earlier on I'd spent an hour walking around trying to find a post office, so I was knackered. So there I was: standing up, sitting back down, couldn't decide what to do, eventually won over by the lure of resting my legs and watching Kirstie Allsop. Russell Slade has been similarly indecisive over French/Malian striker Amadou Konte: originally bringing him in on trial for some of those pre-season friendlies, sending him away again, and finally bringing him back for this afternoon's reserve game against Halifax. Other players who still seem to be on trial are another French striker, Gregory Thil; that Icelandic keeper (although they aren't playing today); that Mumford lad from Swansea; and former Yeovil and Plymouth striker Dan Bulley, whose special prize seems to be a place in the starting line-up.
Don't read this if you're eating your lunch. Rob Jones is expected to be out of action for six weeks, reports BBC Sport, and Slade is adamant that "we might have to trim the cartilage". Yeah, thanks for that, Russ, but do you think you could just be a little bit more revoltingly graphic next time?
Ooh, more thunder and lightning. Paul Groves won't find it very very frightening, though, as the legendary former Town midfielder and somewhat less successful former Town manager last night registered his fourth goal in his fifteen games since leaving Blundell Park back in February, and his first for new club York City. Assistantly managed by Lee Nogan and goalkept by Paul Crichton, the Minstermen took an early lead against Tamworth with Groves' 20-yard strike, and if all of those ex-Marinerian connections were not enough for you, you greedy swine, the ball was laid off to him by a third significant Paul, this time Robinson, who later sealed the points for York with a second goal. Yes, that Paul Robinson: the one Newcastle paid Wimbledon £1m for, and who Ruud Gullit got himself sacked by once selecting ahead of Alan Shearer. Yes, that Paul Robinson: the one who couldn't hit a horse's rump with a ukulele during three months on loan with GTFC and then got a hat-trick in Town's 8-1 defeat by Hartlepool last season. Yes, that 8-1 defeat by Hartlepool last season: the one when Pools' opening goal was scored by... Paul Groves. Cuh, eh?
If, like the Diary, you are disappointed but not surprised by the League fixture computer's reluctance to schedule Town's derby matches for bank holidays this season, then you will be utterly mortified, but not in the least astonished, to discover that the only one it did thus schedule has now been moved. The Mariners' Christmas visit to Lincoln, which was originally penned in for Tuesday 28 December ("Holiday in lieu of 26th", according to the Diary's diary, what with Boxing Day being on a Sunday and everything), has been moved back to the very much non-bank holiday date of Wednesday 29 December. This at the request of Lincolnshire police, whose regular activity presumably extends to nothing very much more challenging than apprehending the occasional potato thief. The Imps' official website warns that the match will be "strictly all-ticket for visiting supporters" - as opposed, one would imagine, to those not very strictly all-ticket games we used to have in the higher divisions, where they said you wouldn't be able to pay on the gate but always ended up letting you. Anyway - bah, humbug!
One possible explanation for Olafur Gottskalksson's absence from this afternoon's reserves game (Paul Fraser is in goal, and there is no keeper on the bench) comes from Tom Allen, who has emailed the Diary to point out that "the goalie taken on trial was forced to retire from the game whilst with Brentford, due to shoulder injury". My God, Tom - you're right! "I wonder if he claimed compensation... if so, he surely would not be allowed to play league football again." Sounds like he's not allowed to play Pontins League football again either. Can anyone explain?