Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 28 December 2007

28 December 2007

"I would love to start and finish with 4-4-2 but I'm not sure it would do us any good." Well the average Town fan doesn't have enough fingers to separate and count the individual nuances of team shape that failed to grace Blundell park the other day so Lord Buckley's protestations to the Grimsby Telegraph may well fall on angry and confused ears. Not that ears are prone to emotional outbursts, but after a boxing day performance that was complete and utter celter it is time to draw a line under any tactical discussions. Pick the best available eleven and tell 'em to beat Lincoln tomorrow. Somehow.

"We must beat Lincoln." This was how Buckley prefaced his interview. But he will have to do it without the central midfield creative genius that is Ciaran Toner. A man hamstrung by his own ego and one that is not used to praise at Blundell park. But all things are relative, and compared to no-show-Boshell and where's-my-mojo-Bolland, Toner is the man of the moment. Except he is hamstrung and won't feature tomorrow. Neither will the suspended Fenton so perhaps it is again time for Sgt Whittle to step in to the breech. As for who plays, and who plays where, we will have to turn up to find out as the Town manager has again dodged the cameras to make the Mariners World subscription we took out look like less and less value for money.

The official site has predicted a 'bumper crowd' tomorrow but that word relative creeps in again like that second cousin you only bump in to on Christmas eve. Bumper nowadays means over five thousand. Just. Lincoln can't sell a thousand tickets and we can't attract a thousand fair-weathers so don't gloat eh?

Any road things could be worse, couldn't they? No players arrested over the holidays and the early kick off means I get home before dark. As you get older that becomes weirdly important. And you never know two poor old sides might put on a cracker tomorrow - let's go and find out shall we? All talk of not bothering to make the pilgrimage is just nonsense. This is when Town need us and when we need to be there. You know, just in case something happens. See yer.