Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Wednesday 8 August 2007
8 August 2007
A key feature of Town's pre-season friendlies this summer has been the side's inability to convert possession into goals. Another has been Lord Alan Buckley's open-minded and scrupulous insistence on giving a fair amount of time to all his available players. A third has been the tantalising prospect that Isaiah Rankin might be up for playing a bit of football in the forthcoming season. And another has been the unanimous verdict of all the Cod Almighty team who have been to the matches that Jamie Clarke - ostensibly signed to replace legendary Mariners right-back Sir John McDermott and given the number 2 shirt accordingly - is in fact anything but a right-back. All is not lost, however, as Clarke seems competent enough playing in central midfield, and this is presumably the subject of a Mariners World interview with the player today which is headlined Clarke After A Midfield Berth. I say 'presumably' because if you try and click through to the interview from Town's superb new official website you get an error message telling you to relocate the page and remember to update your bookmarks. Which is probably a fair point since the Diary still uses the same bookmarks I made out of a cornflakes packet and some glitter glue in 1981 under instruction from Blue Peter.
Speaking of replacements for Sir John McDermott, Justin Whittle is in today's Grimsby Telegraph, speaking of his honour at being asked to add the role of club captain to his existing job of team skipper. "My legs haven't quite gone yet!" grins the huge 36-year-old ex-army defender terrifyingly. Come to think of it, was Whitts' new role ever announced officially by the club? I don't seem to remember it happening, and a search on Town's superb new official website fails to yield any relevant headlines. I guess the search thing must be broken, eh.
In 30 years' time Simon Grand may be remembered by Grimsby Town fans as little more than a footnote to a strange transitional season when Alan Buckley returned to the club for the third of his six spells as manager, but right now he's the name on everyone's lips at Christie Park. The 23-year-old defender arrived in January at a Blundell Park completely devoid of centre-back cover for Justin Whittle and Nick Fenton, only for Myspace Mariners prodigy Ryan Bennett to emerge and usurp his claim to a position. Grand has now either been released and signed for fourth division newcomers Morecambe on a one-year contract, or was given a new deal at BP but has just wound up in Lancashire after being named for the friendly at Gainsborough the other week and following directions given on Town's superb new official website.