Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Tuesday 6 May 2008
6 May 2008
In a career that has taken more twists and turns than a drunken, myopic road rambler attempting to negotiate the A157 from Louth to Mablethorpe in the dark without a pair of glasses, a map or a torch, let alone a satellite navigation system, Michael Boulding has taken in Barnsley, Cardiff, Sheffield United, Hallam, Rotherham, something to do with tennis, an early retirement to set up a business, a return from retirement to play some more football, a European goalscoring debut for Aston Villa, and two spells each at Mansfield and Grimsby. Now, reports the Grimsby Telegraph today, the pacy frontman could make it a Mariners hat-trick by returning to Blundell Park from the Stags this summer. Before you faint with excitement at the possibility of Town signing a player who has just managed 25 goals in the season his team was relegated from the Football League, be mindful that the Telegraph (a) adduces precisely fuck all evidence, using a passive verb form to convey only that Boulding "has been linked with" the Mariners and hence avoiding the need to specify whether it is Alan Buckley himself who is doing the linking or merely some giddy messageboard flibbertigibbet; and (b) adds that Bradford City, who have at least three times as many fans as the Mariners, are "also being tipped" as a destination for the player. Still, maybe this time he'll be content for his employer to give his kid brother a job in the tea kiosk rather than the forward line.
Another player 'linked with' a return to Blundell Park - albeit after a considerably shorter period away - is Rob Atkinson, whose period on loan from Barnsley this season largely coincided, and perhaps not coincidentally, with the sharp improvement in Town's results after Christmas. So is he coming back or what? This time we have the horse's mouth to get it straight from, but a Mariners World interview today finds the player every bit as ponderous verbally as many of his erstwhile teammates have been defensively. Asked whether he might be back on North East Lincs on a 'permanent' this summer, Atkinson responds: "I'd like - er, well you can never say never." The gist is that he'd sooner be playing in the first team at Oakwell, where he remains under contract for the time being, but he enjoyed his time with GTFC so if he can't break through then "Grimsby's certainly an option for me". Count yourself lucky, Rob - it's compulsory for us poor sods.
Clearly spurred into action by the Diary's sarky take last week on Town's lackadaisical approach to announcing summertime friendly matches, the club's superb new official website has gone overboard with a lavish timetable revealing the pre-season programme in unprecedented detail. As well as the 19 July fixture at home to Oldham, the SNOS shouts it from the rooftops that the Mariners will begin pre-season training on 7 July and visit Winterton Rangers four days later, with subsequent trips away to Gainsborough, Lancs (22 July) and Scunthorpe (2 August), and finally begin their fifth successive season of fourth division football on Saturday 9 August. There'll be a game against Barnsley as well, adds the SNOS, but they've not fixed a date for it yet. Best make sure it doesn't coincide with any important meetings for North East Lincolnshire Council, eh?