Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Tuesday 26 April 2005

26 April 2005

Early yesterday he was as anonymous as his detractors say his performances on the pitch tend to be, but the identity of the second Town player to have been offered a new contract this week has now been revealed. And what do you know, it's Jason Crowe. After receiving the fastest ever sending-off for a substitute during his time with Arsenal, Crowe joined the Mariners two seasons ago from Portsmouth following an impressive display in a pre-season friendly against Middlesbrough. Paul Groves had just signed Marcel Cas on a two-year contract without realising Crowe would shortly become available, and spent the next few months trying to get rid of him. There were trialists called Ouzo Osei and David Savage. Jonathan Aitken, recently released from prison, told Peter Sissons that "some people who have been fair-weather friends, no doubt at those Krug and shepherd's pie parties, will steal away into the night". Crowe is still thinking about it. He used to play for Arsenal, you know.

Should he swallow his pride and stay at BP, Jase the Ace will be following the suit played by Simon Ramsden, who, as we saw yesterday, has just committed his future to the Mariners - well, the next 12 months of his future, at any rate. The ball-playing centre-half (that's centre-half, Russ) has since given an interview to the Grimsby Telegraph which differs not at all from every other interview given by Town players to the Grimsby Telegraph for the past 18 months in that the player's chief point is "oooh, we've not been doing very well, have we, oooh, I know, we'll start playing better, that'll do the trick, yes, playing better, we'll start right away". To his credit, Simes adds: "Those of us who are signed up are positive about next season," which is sure to please John Fenty.

Today's Diary award for stating the too-obvious-to-be-worth-stating goes to Sporting Life, which begins a piece about last weekend's Town match with the words: "Scunthorpe boss Brian Laws believes the goalless draw with Lincolnshire rivals Grimsby could have helped his side's push for promotion." In the important sense that Scunthorpe took one point from the game, whereas they would have taken none had they lost, one cannot help but feel Brian is right about this if little else.

Shepherd's pie parties? It's no bloody wonder he got sent to prison.