Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 22 December 2006

22 December 2006

Day finally dawned over Cleethorpes with a definite nip in the air, and condensation on the bedroom window of the bed 'n' breakfast where your Guest Diarist is pretending to be staying, ahead of tonight's home match against the Torquay Rivieras. Or is it misty enough to provoke talk of postponement? Let's move the fantasy on to what the five-course breakfast comprises, and worry later about the awful forecast of freezing fog.

Lord Buckley has spoken to us ahead of the match on Mariners World. Like me, he felt that Town deserved a penalty at Lincoln. Like me he felt that Town failed to close the Imps down in midfield, which cost them the game. Like me he is not contemplating suicide over it or, as me Mum would say, "owt daft like that". Alan feels that if Town beat Torquay tonight then he will have made a great start with four wins, a draw, and one loss in his first six matches. But even if we lose then the run will be adjudged creditable, he asserts. Mr Buckley is very pleased with the performance of his first-choice defensive unit and is hopeful that the back five will be restored tonight, although Justin Whittle has not been training this week after complaining of a tightening in his calf after the last match. Peter Till will return after his poorly spell, which Lord Buckley feels will add balance to the midfield. Luton's Mr Reddy will again be on the bench, although he complained of being very sore after his half-hour run-out. This was, I'm sure, in order to skip the extra training Buckley imposed after the lacklustre performance by the team at Sincil Bank.

Torquay have a few half-decent players and a new manager called Lubos Kubik, who told their official site: "It is important that we stick together as a team; if we play like we did against Leyton Orient, we will get a result." Lee Thorpe was a player I wanted Town to sign after his energetic displays on loan from us a year or two ago. And Jordan Robertson keeps scoring since coming down from Sheffield United on loan. He got both the goals when the Gulls knocked out Orient in the recent cup replay. Jamie Ward has attracted a bit of interest here and there as well after Torquay beat off interest from other lower-league teams to sign him from Villa in the summer. Ex-Torquay manager Ian Atkins has been his usual moaning self, so don't bother to follow this link to hear him sounding off.

Anyroad, it's ten of the clock and the pubs are opening. So have a happy yuletide, gentle reader, and don't forget to feed the cat. See yer.