Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 10 August 2007

10 August 2007

So, gentle reader, the new season beckons us to Blundell Park. We have waited long, and agonised hard. In general we feel scared but excited. Scared of being unable to score goals ("who is our 20-a-season man?" the purple-faced moron exclaims); scared that we are light on defenders ("I'm watching you!" cries the same bloke to whoever is at right-back); scared of an indifferent start ("sort it Buckley!"). But there is nothing to fear, for Town are on the up. We have a proper manager and a decent assortment of players with a good mix of youthful potential and experience. And the pitch looks bloody lovely. What can go wrong that can't be put right over the full season? Give it a month and there will be loan opportunities as clubs settle their teams and shake out their squads. A year ago your Guest Diarist's personal hope setting was set at 'springs eternal' (only three notches above 'ebbing away'). Now it is wavering up to 'quietly confident'. This will be a good season for the Mariners. I know it.

Alan Buckley has been talking optimistically to Mariners World. Regular readers will be aware that I am prone to take the piss out of MW interviews, but today there will be no talk of stepladders or intensely irritating background music. And by the way, hats off to the interviewer (Dale) who had the bottle to ask Mr Clarke what he thought of his defending performances during pre-season. Never have I seen a man squirm for so long before a reply was summoned. It spoke volumes: but I digress. The Mariners World subscription is worth it for the Buckley-speak alone. This man speaks so confidently and succinctly that it is a joy to watch him. No bullshit, but a lot of experience and common sense.

Today Alan announced that his squad is fit and ready. Dave Moore has done a fantastic job and there are no injury concerns going into the new season. Lord Buckley confided that he is looking hard for two players - a defender and a frontman. Indeed, he made two telephone calls on Thursday about players. He is adamant, though, that he will wait for the right one. Lennie fucking Lawrence he is not. Buckley said that a home fixture against a club that will bring up to a thousand fans is the ideal curtain-raiser. Oh, hang on, he didn't say that actually: I did. But it is a FACT that you should aim to be at Blundell Park tomorrow afternoon. On a final note Buckley rightly pointed out that a loss tomorrow will not mean too much. It is a 46-game season and we are playing one of the likely stronger sides in the league. Jason Lee always causes a few problems up front and County work hard to win matches. A summation of his interview in the Telewag. You should also read the new and improved Cod Almighty factfile, which has ominous news about the referee for tomorrow's game.

So here's to a great weekend at the football. See yer.