Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 22 August 2008

22 August 2008

Sometimes the team plays absolute crap and the powers-that-be panic, give in to the pressure from the media and the fans, dump the manager, and spend large amounts on the payoff and hiring a new one. And the team goes on to perform even worse despite the new broom. I'm talking about England, of course, but the pattern could be construed by some to apply to Grimsby. Although whether Lord Buckley is McClown or Capello is of course a very moot point. To your Guest Diarist he's more of a Bobby Robson, I hasten to add.

Wherever we are in the economic cycle, Buckley desperately needs a decent error-free performance tomorrow at home to Chesterfield. The good news is that Chesterfield goal machine Jack Lester definitely won't feature. The bad news is the midfield injury epidemic has now officially spread to Town's back line. Stockdale is very unlikely to be risked as Buckley told Mariners World that a game now could put him out for "two to three weeks". Hope has also injured his ankle in training, which means that confidence-hit Ryan Bennett will have to play right-back and centre half, which is a tall order for anyone.

The alternatives? Play Clarke at full-back (whenever I think of Clarke doing that my toes curl in embarrassment like when you accidentally catch your parents doing a big snog when you are twelve). Or revert to wing-backs. The strategy of having no reserve full-backs will haunt Town more than once this season. And tomorrow looks likely to be one of those days. On the other hand Mr Hope might magically recover. It wouldn't be the first time an injury crisis 48 hours before a game dissipates before kick-off, would it?

As for midfield, Buckley has told the Grimsby Telegraph that despite a run-out in the week, it is too soon for the return of the Bosh. Buckley made no mention of his preferred front line - probably because no-one had the sense to ask the question - although he pointedly mentioned the good performance against the Spireites last season being partly due to a 'fit Northy'.

As for the striker signing story, it would seem from the Telegraph that Town made an offer for a signed player but the club concerned decided to hang on to him. All credit to the chairman for trying to boost the squad with effectively his own money. On balance your Guest Diarist believes that another experienced front player is needed: this would also provide the opportunity for one or two of the younger players to have a spell on loan with a Conference club. This on the basis that if it did Hegggaarty some good, it might help alpha-male-in-the-making Peter Bore. It will almost certainly be easier to get someone on loan in a month's time, though, than signing a decent player in deadline week.

And now, as they say, to your emails. Rachael has been in touch to excitedly announce: "Not sure it's really Words for the Diary but I thought you'd like to know that your superb website has now reached academic fame as I've managed to wangle in a couple of references to it in into my MA dissertation. You can now all call yourselves honorary doctors or something!" Well, thanks for those kind words Rachael - by the way, tell your web person at work that there is only one 'L' in 'client', would you? And send us a copy of the tome if you like - I promise to read it - well, the bits about us anyway.

Poet not in residence at Cod Almighty Towers Al Wilkinson has this to say after my virtue-extolling The Wire reference yesterday: "Ah, The Wire, now there's an example of how much can be done with an old format. Yes, that is a reference to television and football and Buckley. I haven't seen the fifth series yet and I'm currently re-watching the first four in preparation for its release; they really do get better and better. I'm more excited about that than I am about Town I think." It's one of those things - you are either in the game or out of the game. Me? I am definitely in the game, thick and thin.

Don't forget it is a noon kick-off tomorrow, folks. See yer.