Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 4 July 2008

4 July 2008

Let's get the filler story out of the way first for once, gentle reader. He who is tired of Guinness is tired of life. But Darren Mansaram may just have been seduced by his new club's flashy, nay tawdry, website when abandoning life in the emerald isle to join Leigh Genesis (the most forward thinking non-League football club in the UK) this week. If you hanker after seeing Flash hit the back of the net, you can see a few of his Irish goals here, complete with deafening soundtrack. God, he's 24 already - doesn't time fly?

Now to real news: Town's pre-season friendly against Mansfield has been cancelled. Neither club elaborate on why on their equally superb official websites. By the way, Mansfield manager Paul Holland may find out if he still has a job today as the press conference to announce the takeover of the club by a few local Mansfield-supporting businessmen happens later on. Holland is hoping to hang on to striker Mr M Boulding for the upcoming non-League campaign despite the former racketeer telling him that 15 Football League clubs have enquired about his services.

Town's super new official website has given us the odds for promotion next season, with the Mariners assessed as firmly mid-table just behind Aldershot and Barnet. Damn those hard-headed bookies! Can't they just see how Town's squad has been strengthened, how the Buckley magic dust sprinkled over the last 18 months will take effect now, how great and successful next season will inevitably be as we play sweeping, flowing 4-4-2 again? And all done without a single trialist. God forbid a return to those dark days when we had three or four bleeding trial players every week, it seemed like, and we spent pre-season friendlies desperately trying to work out who was who only to discover that Jason Ipoua and Charley Farley hadn't turned up after all.

And Mariners World has sprung into life again with the reassuringly soft voice of the ever-unseen Dale politely enquiring of Mr Bolland how the first day back went. In a relaxed interview, Bolland says that everyone was glad to be back and that the new signings seem like nice blokes. He didn't mention missing Toner but performed a neat verbal variation on the 'football is a funny old game' routine with regard to seeing him again at the start of next season. The Bollands are expecting a baby on 6 August by the way, but your Guest Diarist has no idea if this is a first for them. Which set me thinking that Soccerbase omits a lot of useful stuff that the average fan needs to know. Like where players live, whether they have family ties and, on a more serious note, whether they are left-footed and what is their favourite meal.

Hardly a teaser but who said this to the Telegraph yesterday? "I like taking responsibility - I've always been that sort of player. I did my best out there but it was only going to be a matter of time before other teams would suss out..." Ooh I am unfair sometimes. See yer.