Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 27 October 2008

27 October 2008

Go, go, go, get up Lazytown. It should be lazy, what with it being My Birthday and a week off w*rk, but for your reading pleasure I've got up early so I can scoff cake and drink dandelion and burdock. Not that it's a Happy Birthday.

My next door neighbour, like most of the locals, supports "Sit-eh". It's a geography thang. Such are the perils of being Idle Diary: Idle by place, not idle by nature at this moment. There were knowing glances swapped yesterday afternoon as I raked the leaves. Yes, we lost to your ten men, my slightly puffed cheeks and raise of the eyebrows intoned. Yes, we won with only ten men, his little smile and wink confirmed. Yes, shrugging, I support a spineless team, whose dire predicament is assuaged by the two teams who started off with a handicap. I slump my shoulders and just accept the reality of being beaten by a bigger and better financed team. As Radio Leeds put it on Friday night, the difference between the two sides was the quality when given sight of goal.

Despite not being good enough when Alan Buckley was in charge, it was the same old story under the new man against Bradford, dominating, creating a host of chances, but still losing. To all those whingers and doom mongers, I say this: us Town fans got our way, we got our man, it's what we all wanted without one dissenting voice (not one), and he's looking at what he was left with first, so stop whinging. And at least we haven't got to bear the mantle of being the only team not to win a league game this season... Ah.

The aftermath? Mikey N knows what needs to be done, although the OS piece "Keeper wanted" isn't an immediate sign of desperation, just a polite way of asking you to pay 250 quid to play in goal during a fund raiser. Whether Mr Newell can immediately do the do is another matter: limited funds, salary cap, number of loans used so far, and that massive old chestnut hanging on the highest branch waiting to fall and bump you on the head at terminal velocity, actually getting players to come to Grimsby.

What remaining plans I had for today have been thrown into chaos with the short away trip to Leeds United being postponed. What away trip to Leeds United? The reserves'. Yes, I am aware how sad it would be to spend part of my special day watching the Town stiffs. How many of Friday night's starting XI will be gracing the rearranged game at the Big Club's ground on Monday 8 December? Ah well. At least there's a break from the league trauma in a couple of Saturdays, with an Oldest Cup In The World tie against Morecambe. Cake and pop anyone?