Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 4 July 2005

4 July 2005

Town's newest trialist is an international, though rather than carrying the alluring mystique of Senegal or Congo he is disappointingly European in origin. Twenty-four-year-old attacking midfielder Ciaran Toner is the holder of two caps for Northern Ireland and will join up with the Mariners at that army thing they're doing this week, wherever that was. Toner began as a trainee with Tottenham but made the bulk of his 90-odd league appearances with Leyton Orient from 2002 to 2004 before joining Lincoln last summer, where he seems to have been closer to breaking teammates' noses than breaking into the first team for very long. Despite his unacceptably UK-based footballing history, the player is sure to have the Grimsby Telegraph lining up the printer/photocopier headlines already for a variety of situations: to wit, returning to a struggling team after an injury (Slade Adds Fresh Toner), being released on a free transfer as another player arrives (Slade Replaces Toner), and doing an Ashley Sestanovich (Toner Runs Out).

So, anyway, I expect you'll be wanting me to give you some kind of succinctly acerbic summary of what's happened with those two African lads, won't you? You know. The two African lads who people keep saying are French. Or "continental". Right. Well, a week ago it was all over the BBC and Sporting Life that Town were just about to either sign Makhtar N'Diaye and Jean-Paul Kamudimba or, at the very least, take them on trial. Town's official website said, aha, that's what you think, no we're not, there are a couple of foreign types coming to that army thing with us but not those two. Then, over the weekend just gone, it turned out that one of them was indeed Makhtar N'Diaye, and the other was Madjid Benhaddou, but that they've both now buggered off back to France (which where they've been playing recently, I think), so none of it really mattered anyway. Which is kind of what we all expected to happen all along. Hey ho.

Town have switched next season's home game against Cheltenham to a Friday night. They haven't said why. They haven't asked us if we minded. They've just done it. This brings to three the number of home games already changed to Friday nights next season. Email customerservice@gtfc.co.uk if you would like to share your thoughts with the club on this matter.

On the day when Steven Gerrard has broken off contract negotiations with Liverpool, signalling his intention to leave the club he has supported all his life just after captaining them to the European Cup, because despite having two years left on his current deal he feels they haven't been quick enough to increase his salary from £80,000 a week to something between £90,000 and £100,000, the Diary would like to finish with a mighty shout to Ian Saberton and Ian Preston. RAAARR! Pretty mighty, I'm sure you'll agree. Ian and Ian are two Stafford Rangers fans who have just visited 158 English football grounds in ten days, during the course of which they displayed the Cod Almighty URL outside Blundell Park and rather more importantly raised over sixteen hundred groats for their supporters' trust, Macmillan cancer relief, mental health charity Mind, and Let's Kick Racism out of Football. The tireless twosome are still collecting after the event, so if you wish to put Gerrard to further shame by adding a quid or two to the hat then this page will tell you how.