Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 4 February 2005

4 February 2005

Your Guest Diarist suffered a caecothian moment this morning. An almost irresistible urge to predict a Town away win at Bristol Rovers tomorrow. For Christ's sake, the Gasheads can't beat anyone these days, having taken a paltry ten from the last thirty points available to them. And Town keep winning away at the moment. But, as any well-respecting head knows, caecothes is heavy shit, man, and best avoided, so I'll draw back from the brink and reserve judgment on the outcome.

Needless to say, I hope that Mr Slade perseveres with the novel idea of picking all his best players at once tomorrow. Ronnie Bull is still suspended, and Jason Crowe still injured. Whether Crowe would fall into that best player category anyway remains, of course, a point for debate among the Mariners faithful. The official website tells us that Sir John of McDermott and Jones were due to be galumphing up and down the car park before getting on the bus this morning to test their knees and backs respectively. The returning Whittle and Crane stand by, as fans weigh up whether a half-fit Whittle matches a back-rubbing Jones. Of course it does, Malcolm. In midfield there should be no arguing against the Fleming, Coldicott, Pinault and Parkinson quartet though. Flair, tackling, aggression and comedy value. All the classic GTFC virtues represented in one line of four. Reddy and Gritton will continue their increasingly successful partnership up front.

In fact young Mr Gritton says everything I have been thinking all season in his interview with the Grimsby Telegraph today: "With players like Parky and Reds in the side, you know we have the pace to punish teams and I think that's been on show away from home, particularly. Last week at Cheltenham saw Parky play a bit deeper on the left, but I think that 4-4-2 shape worked well. Personally I think that both Parky and Reds are better on the deck than when the ball is lumped up to them." Are you listening Mr Slade?

CA received a nice email from Hazel at Gasheads.com this morning: "Just to let you know that we've just put a Grimsby preview up on gasheads.com and we've linked to this site. Got to say we loved Cod Almighty, just what an independent site should be, and the Harry the Haddock pictures are quality." Thanks Haze - let's hope you don't drop too far down the table; just far enough to enable the sacking of that nasty, shouty manager of yorn.

Stuart Campbell hopes he gets randomly picked out to play from the truly enormous Rovers squad on Saturday. He has been caught rambling to the Bristol Evening Post, and seems to be under the illusion that Town fans used to sing his praises at Blundell Park, saying "he will be shocked if those fans who once chanted his name decide to turn on him when Rovers do battle with the Mariners at The Memorial Stadium tomorrow". "I don't anticipate anything too bad," said Campbell. No, nothing worse than the deserved stick intelligent fans gave you every week at Grimsby, Stu, as, no doubt, you reprise your 'missing in action' role for the Rovers. Lee Thorpe, on whom your Guest Diarist doted during his all-too-brief loan spell at Town, is suspended tomorrow. So it's up to Mr Agogo, he of the infamous wanker gesture at his manager, to do the business for the home team.

Mr Slade has been doling out the pearls of wisdom to the Grimsby Telegraph, saying things like: "We need to be tight early on and take our chances. If we can do that then we can quieten the crowd down. The first half hour is crucial in my opinion. Whoever starts the brighter will have the initiative." And, presumably, "if we score more goals than them, we can win".

That intrepid trawler of the provincial press, Si Wilson, has spotted in the Bracknell Wotsit that young Berkshire striker Luke Ramos "has also been celebrating this week after securing a place in Grimsby Town's youth set-up. The talented striker recently spent a month with the Mariners and has now been offered a place in their academy." Let's hope he grows up big and strong with an eye for goal.

Sorry this column is late - blame the following: a rat, a burst pipe, a talkative plumber and a bouncing broadband circuit. What a fucking morning. See yer.