Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Wednesday 28 November 2007

28 November 2007

The FA can be justifiably criticised for many things. Allowing tabloid newspapers to run the England team. Spunking nearly a billion pounds on a new stadium and forgetting to add the grass. Destroying the uniquely rich and competitive nature of English football by disproportionately concentrating its entire wealth and power in the hands of its top 20 clubs. And, of course, taking absolutely bloody forever to address disciplinary matters - until now. Today's Grimsby Telegraph reports that the national governing body has already decided not to bring charges against the Mariners for the pitch invasion by Cheating Bradford fans at the end of their recent match at Blundell Park - just 32 days after the game took place. "The FA has noted the actions taken by Grimsby Town FC on the day and we have confirmed to Grimsby Town FC that no further action will be taken in this matter," says an uncharacteristically lively spokesperson. It's all a far cry from 2003, when Town's then assistant manager Grahams Rodgerses lost his rag as Stoke's Wayne Thomas went unpunished for a monstrous assault on Chris Thompson in February, and the FA decided not to throw the book at Rodge at a tribunal hearing in September. The Diary wonders if they can hold off on deciding about the England job until Villa fans' moaning gets Martin O'Neill the sack.

Failing that, we could do much worse than Fabio Capello. The Diary admires the dark Italian arts of catenaccio and tense, low-scoring, defensive football - which is why, when GTFC announced last night that the team would sport a one-off "special red and black kit" to distinguish themselves from Huddersfield in this Saturday's FA Cup tie, I was getting all excited and dreaming of Buckley's battlers running out looking like AC Milan. It has fallen to the Grimsby Telegraph, though, to clarify that it's only really the red that's special, as Town will take the field against the Terriers in all-red shirts "with the traditional black shorts and socks staying put". Aw, nuts. And there's nothing traditional about black socks, of course - though anything's preferable to those white ones we had the other year.

Staying with this Saturday's moderately exciting cup clash, the Mariners will not have to grapple with their languid former frontman Phil 'The Power' Jevons. Earlier this month the player joined Huddersfield on loan after finding first-team opportunities limited this season with Bristol City - now that he's back in the second division and everything. This raised the possibility of an intriguing rematch between Jevons and Town, but City manager Gary Johnson has refused permission for the Scouse stroller to play and become cup-tied. On the face of it this would seem no bad thing for Buckley's side - the player has scored 64 times since leaving Blundell Park in 2004 - but on the down side, this means a likely front pairing for Huddersfield of Luke Beckett and Danny Cadamarteri, and when Jevons came back to BP with Yeovil in February 2005 he was flipping hopeless.