Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Friday 26 October 2007
26 October 2007
"I wouldn't go down the docks and tell a filleter how to fillet his fish," said a jovial but defiant Lord Buckley to Mariners World. "I don't go on the internet or look at your messageboards - maybe I should. No doubt there are people on there telling me how to manage the team, but after eleven hundred games I should know how to do that by now." But Buckley admitted to being perturbed by the lack of a single clean sheet this season, and described his team last week as lethargic, dull, one-paced and lacking in confidence. Despite the fact we haven't even changed the clocks yet, Saturday's game at home to Bradford is starting to look important. "The league give us a point before we kick off," says the manager, who, for the first time since rejoining the Mariners, looked fractionally below his confident best, "and that point is ours to give away." True, Lord Buckley, very true. In fact a truism of the highest order.
The superb new official website - which is bigger, brighter and more grammatically challenged every week - has continued to publish its concise and useful injury guide ahead of the match. Lord Buckley had already told us that Rankin was 'icing his groin' after limping off after training on Thursday. Does that mean a bag of peas down his pants? Your Guest Diarist felt (but resisted) an unconscionable urge to try this, for some reason. Hegggaarty is back with us, as is young buck Logan after a few days at his mam's pretending he had a bit of a knock, but actually enjoying a bit of home cooking and a night out with his mates. Can you blame him? But Bolland's ankle is turning in to a bit of a riddle-wrapped enigma thingy. He trained on Thursday (looking "bright", according to AB) but complained it was very sore afterwards. Not that I would have the temerity to offer advice or owt, but my inclination would be to wait and get him fully fit before pitching him back in. Buckley is going to ask him how he feels today, apparently.
Grimsby chairman 'Positive' John Fenty has also had a chat to the Mariners World camera. No-one else appeared to be around - perhaps Dale had left it set up while he nipped out for a pasty, and John thought he'd practice his ongoing rebuttals to all that is happening or not happening to GTFC these days. He is absolutely right in one respect though: Town are an improving side. As are Tottenham. A delight to watch, and you are always sure of a few goals to liven things up. Mr Fenty again implied that Town's budget for this season, irrespective of latterly reduced gates, was a quarter of a million in the red. The below-budget gates are just making that figure larger, he said. We started the season owing the taxman nearly £400,000 with a rigorous agreed repayment schedule. So why on Earth allow the budgeted costs to exceed the projected revenues by such an amount? Cut yer coat according to yer cloth, said Moses to a shepherd or summat. But to bleat about the situation when he has allowed it to happen is symptomatic of very poor financial management. We are a poor club, getting poorer and, bar a 'slice of footballing fortune' as the Revenue so elegantly puts it, there is no easy way out. The club is earning twenty shillings and spending twenty and six again. Ah, it must have been Micawber that Moses told?
Any road, if the club is so skint why have they spent £495 on a chocolate fountain? For Diary reader GTFCbridgford has been rummaging in the club's electronic dustbins for gossip, finding that the club has a less than perfect eBay feedback record, and that said fountain has recently been purchased. Our man with the enquiring mouse goes on to say: "I also noticed that we had recently purchased 40 Dairy Milk chocolate miniatures for the princely sum of £2.45. Presumably these are for the players' stockings at Christmas.' Now come on - you could have got those at Ramsdens, and we might need that family onside if things continue sliding from bad to worse financially.
The Telegraph has done a nice write up on the youth team, who sadly got knocked out of the Youth Alliance Cup by Mansfield - but only after a penalty shoot-out, and Neil Woods said his lads done good, rebounding well after the horrible drubbing against Hull last week. I waded through the navigational swamp that is the official site but when it got over my wellies and I still hadn't found any mention of this game I gave up, went home and ate three Tunnocks teacakes to console myself. If we lose tomorrow, gentle reader, you may have to do the same. Or drink a gallon of something strong. But at least there will be an atmosphere. I rang the club just now to find out how ticket sales are going but they were too busy selling tickets to tell me. Keep the faith, and go, eh? See yer.