Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 29 December 2006

29 December 2006

Now then, now then, now then gentle reader. If you want the white chocolates out of a tin of Cadbury's Heroes then I have a large quantity which are surplus to requirements. Perhaps young Durham Diary can inveigle them in to his famed New Year punch, or Citizens Advice Diary can feed them to his sobbing debt-ridden customers. Or that bloke from Tetney can just drop them into the bottom of his barrel and then eat them at his leisure (of which he has quite a lot, believe me). But talking of picking sweeties from a jar, as we almost were, then your Guest Diarist has been galvanised like a bucket by all this transfer news which is floating about. But more on that later; first we will deal with tomorrow's match.

Town are at Stockport, which is not a particularly happy hunting ground. And Stockport are winning a lot at home this season which must make a very nice change for their patient fans. Indeed the County website County4life has asserted that Saturday's home match against Town is a "winnable fixture" in a news piece about how dirty those other Countyites from Trent Bridge were, and how brave those young Stockport kids were amongst the flying elbows, broken legs and bloody noses on boxing day. Apparently the match on Saturday has been designated a Hat Day and fans are encouraged to turn up wearing one. I will wear mine as I listen to the match commentary on Humberside and quaff left over port and sweet sherry until I am squiffy enough to face the white chocolates.

Listening to Lord Buckley on Mariners World recounting the various sickness and injuries afflicting the Town squad, one comment stuck out like a forged sick note: "Peter Bore limped out of training this morning with a calf strain - so he says." As for the others, young Mr Paterson has been spewing on and off all week; Bolland has gone mysteriously backwards in his recovery; Pulis has a niggling groin and Till has a minor calf strain. The Lump remains suspended, but Sir John of McDermott has graced the training pitch this week so Town have a full defensive complement once again. Buckley had hoped to revert to a 4-4-2 formation but Jones's absence and Paterson's doubt has made him reconsider - so that means Reddy is probably not adjudged fit enough to start the game alongside Isaiaiaiah 'rolling' Rankin.

The Grimsby Telegraph has transfer news old and new today. Whilst Till mulls over the Town offer prior to accepting it (I reckon - without the slightest morsel of journalistic provenance to back this hunch up), Lord Buckley has advised that he has sent a pre-Christmas message to his mate Pulis, via John Rudge, at Stoke intimating that he would like to keep Messrs Paterson and Pulis a while longer. And in the most telling piece of investigative reporting since Peter Levy fixed that streetlight at the end of Clive Sullivan Way, the piece ends like this: "And the manager said calls had already been made to stay ahead of the game before football's January sales begin on Monday." Ooh, watch this space, gentle reader.

By way of confirmation the Telegraph also tells us that the Chester match a week Saturday is now off due to their reinstatement in the FA cup. The official site reckons that this match will probably happen one Tuesday night now but which one has not yet been chosen. So let's hope for a bit of fighting spirit from the team tomorrow, and at least one away goal for the away fans to celebrate. See yer in the new year.