Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Thursday 8 March 2007

8 March 2007

Think of Town's 2005-06 campaign and you will think of a number of things. Steve Mildenhall. The amazing cup win over Spurs. The awful 5-0 thrashing at Lincoln. Jones the Stick. The appalling letdown of the play-off final. Gary Cohen being played in about 18 different positions, trying really hard, seemingly being singled out for 'attention' by the opposition and then receiving yellow cards for the crime of being kicked six feet up in the air. You're not going to see any of these again this time around, as Mildenhall and Jones have moved onwards and upwards, and Town only lost 2-0 at Lincoln, can't trouble the play-offs, and got knocked out of all three cups before the leaves blew off the trees. Oh, and Gary Cohen won't play this side of the summer. That's the reckoning of today's Grimsby Telegraph, which reports that after seven months on the sidelines, two weeks at Lilleshall and a trip to a specialist in Leeds, the ex-Gretna frontman is still nowhere near knowing when he might shake off the knee injury he picked up in pre-season. "Now he fears it may even be next season before he pulls on the black and white shirt again," sobs the Telegraph, overlooking the even sadder possibility that Cohen will follow Luton's Michael Reddy through the door marked 'injury rejects - this way out' when both their contracts expire at the end of the current campaign.

Not a week goes by without the Mariners' shrewd team of backroom staff conceiving of some cunning new ruse to bring in much-needed money for the club. The current week is no exception, as the club is to auction off places in a fans' team to line up against a GTFC XI in the 'Chairman's Challenge' match scheduled for Thursday 1 May. "The game will be played on the hollowed Blundell Park turf," promises Town's official website, suggesting that further funds are to be raised by renting out space below the pitch for storage or car parking.

Lastly from me before I hand you all over individually wrapped to tomorrow's guest diarist is an email from CA's very own Mark Stilton. Mark is delighted with the neologism 'Myspace Mariners', coined in yesterday's Diary to refer to Town's excellent current youth team, who would be even better if they spent less time on teh interwebz and more time honing their ballskillz, or something. "Brilliant," he writes. "Did you know their motto is: OMG!!! WTF!! Lol!!!111!!!!!? Gaz Cohen sorts them out." And may he continue to sort them out after the current season is over.