Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Tuesday 28 June 2005

28 June 2005

As befits a side that finished not far off the bottom of the entire league last season, the Mariners were unseeded going into today's League Cup draw - cunningly timed at seven o'clock in the morning to catch the early sports bulletins before anything more interesting happened. The seeding system is, you understand, in no way designed to ensure an easier passage for bigger clubs and is actually all about creating mouth-watering potential banana skins stuffed with fresh cream and flaked chocolate, and that's exactly what it's done in handing Town a visit to second division Derby on the evening of Wednesday 24 August. The fact that there'll be about the same number of fans there as there would be if it had been played at Blundell Park is, of course, neither here nor there.

GTFC are giving a trial to a player who is not African; nor has he just been released on a free transfer by Scunthorpe United. Anthony Doherty is a 19-year-old English midfielder who has just been released on a free transfer by Bradford City, and he is chancing his arm with the Mariners, or more accurately his leg, after having failed to earn a professional contract at Valley Parade. Indeed, his career to date appears to have been a singularly unspectacular one, judging by his Q&A session with Bantams website Boy From Brazil, in which he is asked: "What has been your biggest buzz in football so far?" and replies: "Don't know." Welcome to Blundell Park, Anthony.

Town's recent acquisition of Paul Bolland from fourth division rivals Notts County has led to a minor outbreak of what can only be described as hoo-hah, possibly accompanied by a small degree of kerfuffle. The Diary thought the 'Pies had just released him on a free, but Bolland has apparently had a bit of a go at his old club for not keeping him in the picture as to the possibility of a new contract, and County have now hit back in the gentlest possible way, saying he was getting paid by them until the end of July, and their manager was getting back off holiday on 23 June, so there was, ooh, loads of time to sort summat out, but if you wanna go off with them fishy types then that's your lookout, matey. Bolland's other half is having a babby this summer, as well, so he wanted to get things sorted out. I wonder if they're moving over to Grimsby, or whether Russ has dropped that stipulation in the light of bitter experience. And 25 is quite young to have a little 'un these days, isn't it? Possibly not in Grimsby though, where Wayward Cousin Diary had had three by the time she missed all her GCSEs.

Anyway. Thanks Pat.