Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 17 December 2004

17 December 2004

Tommy Mooney hasn't scored away from home this season. Yet. Yes, gentle reader, your Guest Diarist has returned feeling queasy at the thought of Mr Mooney returning to haunt Town fans at Blundell Park tonight. But hope springs eternal, and the combination of a plainly daft new Argentinian management team, and an inhospitably cold and dank December night match, may yet conspire to preserve Town's half-decent home record. That is to say it is Oxford who have the Argies in charge; Town remain under the control of Russell Slade whom, the official site tells us, is almost spoilt for choice up front tonight with Manasaram, Sestanovich and Cramb all in contention to play. More on that topic in a minute.

Not that Mr Diaz is apparently daft per se. He won lots of titles during his tenure as manager at River Plate, and has brought half the population with him as backroom staff. Including someone to pick the team for him called Horacio Rodriguez. According to Ardiles Junior, Diaz is "the Alex Ferguson in that country", while Diaz has gone on record as saying that England is the only country he wanted to work in. The ever-sceptical Guest Diary gives him about six weeks before he legs it clutching his Knightsbridge shopping bags.

So Town, the club 'in desperate need of a striker', have Cramb, Parkinson, Reddy, Sestanovich, Mansaram and Soames from which to permutate a potent attacking force. Given that the club is completely and utterly skint, and that new players are rarely even half as good as you want them to be, we may as well put up with what we've got, don't you think? If they are not good enough, take decisions, and get rid of at least half of 'em. "Is Stan the man?" asks the official site, bringing back memories to your ageing Guest Diarist of Stan Webb, a decent British blues guitarist who shares the nickname. But that Stan wasn't quite the man either in my opinion.

One man who thinks he is the man is an enthusiastic-sounding Colin Cramb. In the Grimsby Telegraph today he gushes forth about feeling fit and ready to preserve Town's record in Friday night home matches. Meanwhile Rodger has been babbling to the same paper about how excited he gets when Town play at home in the dark - you know, twinkly lights, zippy pitches, smelly old jumpers and steamy breath.

Church notices for today include Santa Claus in the open corner 'twixt Pontoon and Smiths (I hope he doesn't sport jeans and trainers underneath, like most modern-day grotto grots), kids' free match tickets with a paying adult, and me buying a round in the Rutland beforehand to celebrate my return to gainful unemployment. See yer.