Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Monday 21 April 2008
21 April 2008
Almost-fit striker Nathan Jarman has told the Grimsby Telegraph he is "sick to death" of the disheartening string of defeats that has seen the Mariners plunge, in less than a month, from ninth to 15th in the league table - the same position in which they ended last season. While Jarman again caught the eye at Bradford on Saturday, and Alan Buckley's team performed well as a whole, Town recorded their eighth defeat in the last ten games thanks almost entirely to two bad mistakes by Tom Newey. While the manager has acknowledged quite forcefully that his left-back was in error, Newey's display at Valley Parade is far from the only stinker he has had in recent months, yet Buckley has persisted in selecting the player. Jarman at least sounds like he's got his head screwed on the right way, though - so ne'mind about missing the play-offs - we'll finish in the top 10 and build some confidence going into next seaso... oh.
Last Tuesday, when GTFC announced that there would "HOPEFULLY" be an announcement about the club's proposed new stadium last Thursday, the Diary playfully offered odds on a range of names being revealed as the 'anchor tenant' required to get the Fentydome and its outdated, unsustainable concept of exurban retail and leisure development up and running. Four days on from last Thursday the club is still to make an announcement of any kind - even one announcing that the announcement was postponed and would be announced later on instead. Things really do look bleak for the project if even Mad Harry's developed cold feet.
"Thank you for honouring me with a page on your site," writes Dave Chambers, who last week penned an excellent piece all about why we should still be happy even though everything is rubbish. "I will forward it on to all my mates. On a more serious point, was there supposed to be an announcement about the new stadium? And if they wasn't I hope you are going to make a big point about it. I'm absolutely bored of the club's constant teasing on this issue. What happened to the days when we were promised news of the weekend's team and the sniff of a signing?" I think it's all on Mariners World now, Dave - a snip at just four quid a month and free hairdryer sound effects with every interview.
"I'm sorry, I fell asleep. Did we work out what the news on the new stadium is?" writes Durham Diary in an email. Well, not exactly. DD goes on to remind us that GTFC have postponed the forthcoming 2008 v 1998 exhibition match - and has spotted method in the SNOS's punctuation madness. "Good to see the club has realised that of the players on either side set to appear, only John McDermott is a legend. It would have really annoyed me if they'd called it a 'Legends match', since none of the others are, but by calling it 'Legend's match' they are rightly accepting that the match exists for his McDermottness alone. Good on them. Wonder how it makes all the other players involved feel." It still amazes the Diary that the club originally scheduled the match to take place before the current season ends - although at least it was only going to precede the chronological end of the season on 3 May, rather than the actual, effective end of the season on 4 March.