Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Thursday 23 June 2005
23 June 2005
The Mariners will begin next season with more than one midfielder on the books after all now that Notts County's Paul Bolland has signed a two-year contract at Blundell Park. The player becomes the second ex-Magpie in two days to flutter to North East Lincs in pursuit of Russell Slade's shiny things after the acquisition yesterday of Steve Mildenhall, though Bollands, as he is sure to be shortly rechristened, has a longer association with Meadow Lane, having joined from Bradford in 1999 and scored seven goals in around 180 appearances. If you hadn't already surmised the same from his seven goals in around 180 appearances, and from his description on Town's official website as "hardworking", "committed" and "never-say-die", 25-year-old Paul is being signed to replace Stacy Coldicott in the strong defensive midfield role rather than Thomas Pinault in the creative attacking midfield role. Whether there still is a creative attacking midfield role in the GTFC line-up remains to be seen, particularly given that the club's only other central player, Scunthorpe cast-off Terry Barwick, was also described as "combative with a good engine" when he joined the other week.
But never mind about that, because today is the most exciting day of the summer - the day the fixtures are announced for next season - and the big news you've all been waiting for is that Town will play 46 league games in the 2005-06 campaign against 23 opponents at home and away. The first of these is not against Torquay but Oxford, at home on Saturday 6 August, while at the end of the same month the Mariners are penned in for a mouth-watering bank holiday fixture against fierce local rivals Rushden & Diamonds. The New Year holiday programme sees another traditional derby clash against nearby Carlisle, while Lincolnshire neighbours Leyton Orient make the short journey to Blundell Park on Easter Monday.
Followers of Knut Anders Fostervold's cycling career will note with interest that the former Mariners left-back has achieved a number three position in the Norwegian championship, his performance topped only by a couple of guys who featured in last season's Tour de France. "If he had started some years ago I think he would had been in France with us," said one of them, Thor Hushovd. If only.
Two Diary readers have already emailed on the hot topic of Steve Mildenhall's forthcoming nickname, and Mark Stilton suggests all we have a guess at the moniker soon to be affixed by the new keeper's teammates and manager and then revealed in a hilarious interview exclusive to Mariners World. "Will it be Milds, or Mildo?" asks Mark. "Both are quite comical. Or perhaps the rank outsider: Mildeno." Phil Watson, meanwhile, asks: "Mildenhall? Isn't that an RAF base? We really are going to be playing aerial football next season aren't we?" before raising the stakes in the nickname sweepstake by declaring: "If he's not nicknamed 'Mildred' by October, then I'm Menno Willems." Schtop! Thiss nickname izh not ready.
"I must protest at the Diary's request for readers 'who have had Sir Elt's pleasure' to email in," writes Mark Wilson, retired army major, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. "I am not homophobic and I believe all of us should 'live and let live' but CA is about football and not homoerotica. If any of your readers do want to discuss homoerotica they should go to the OS and liven up the messageboard there, which currently appears to be the forum for mud slinging between 12-year-olds. Toodle-pip!" You know what they say about homophobes, don't you, Major Mark? That's right: they're all gagging to take it very hard up the arse.
Over to John Pakey next. "Good to see the legends are still involved," he writes, forwarding a link to the Non-League Daily which brings us up to date with the mighty Paul Futcher's latest activities at Ashton United. "Give him a few year, maybe he could be a hit for the Mariners again?" suggests John. "Yes I am killing time before I clock off my shift today." Which, by a stunning coincidence, now seems to be exactly what Brian Laws was doing with the Mariners before he managed Scunthorpe. In fact, hadn't Futch applied for the Town job when Laws got it? Spooky.
Anyway, folks, that's it from your regular Diary for another week, but forget ye not to come back tomorrow for Friday's traditional guest outpourings. I'm off to drink iced tea in a cold bath.