Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Wednesday 2 March 2005

2 March 2005

The Diary was pondering hopping onto a westbound train last night for Town's cataclysmic encounter with Rochdale - after waiting for it to stop, preferably - but on the face of it my decision to stay in the warm appears to have been vindicated by the 2-0 defeat for Mr Russell Slade's improving but still inconsistent side. Russ himself seems to have wished he could have followed the Diary's suit and stayed at home, as the GTFC boss apparently declined after the match to speak to any waiting media representatives and not just those from Radio Humberside, though this is of course assuming that there were any. Those awaiting an at least barely literate match report are advised that Cod Almighty's north-western correspondent Miles Moss will be preparing one today, just as soon as he's had his sandwiches.

Perhaps worse still than the passing up of three points is the news that Jason Crowe and Michael Reddy will be out for six weeks apiece with the hurt they felt at Spotland. Jase the Pace did his ankle halfway through, while the Redster suffered unpleasantness to the groin after just 16 of your Earth minutes. With North East Lincolnshire council having recently declared the region a striker-free zone, Michael's groin problems could prove a big opportunity for Town's largely forgotten young reserve forward David 'Once Scored A Tap-In At Derby' Soames.

Oh, and of course, Grant Holt played, and made Rochdale's second goal. So whether the elusive Mr Slade's disappearing act was due to the result, the injuries to his players, the unreliability of the pre-match team news from Spotland, or just the idiots in the Town end chanting "Slade out" is, and may remain, unknown to all humankind.

I know Wisbech is, or used to be, somewhere on the southern periphery of the Yorkshire TV region. I've been told it comprises little more than a row of sheds. I also know that every bloody time you put Calendar news on, or used to, there was a story about a lost dog from sodding Wisbech. Anyway, former Town midfielder Matthew Oswin, or former Town reserve midfielder, has signed for Wisbech Town, according to a less than life-altering website called Fenland Today. What else he's been doing since leaving GTFC about five years ago lies beyond both my current knowledge and my inclination to Google.

There's just time for us to return to last night's events at Rochdale, but strictly in the interests of ending today's Diary on a note of levity. Our old chum Tony Gallimore unexpected found himself among the, er, action at Spotland after replacing his injured colleague Greg Heald early in the game - prompting the Grimsby Telegraph to scoop an interview with the former Town left-back and bon viveur. Referring to his slight disappointment at his own recent form, the player admits: "I am not quite at the standard I was when I was at Barnsley last year." An emergency appeal to fund new signings for Steve Parkin is already rumoured to have launched by supporters of the Oakwell club whose memories of the player remain fresh.