Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 6 March 2009

6 March 2009

"I'm not gonna vote as I have never been a G.T supporter since the days of Tony Ford leaving" was a Willows resident's encouraging contribution to the Grimsby Telegraph's GTFC support message board launched today. Yeah, right: I feel a bit the same about when Mike Lyons let Bobby Cumming go but the club is bigger than all of us for fucks sake. If you support Grimsby now is the time to shift your arse and go to as many matches as you can. You might not enjoy what you see much, but we can help Town stay in the League. Town need another thousand on the gate - those noisy people who have stopped going just because Town have been a bit shit. You know who they are, gentle reader, some of them any way. Shame them in to joining you - and make sure you turn up too.

Chairman the honourable Fenty (Con) has also woken up and sensibly organised a fleet of ten free coaches to take fans to the away game at Chester. The Telegraph has also published, along with that news, exhortations from Messrs McDermott and Boylen (wahey was not mentioned once) that the team benefits from noisy support.

Manager Newell, meanwhile, has only Llewellyn (suspended) and Bolland crossed off his list of players to choose from. From the way he talked to Mariners World Elliott will make a return after his little rest. By the sounds of things he just has to pick him if Elliott is to be persuaded to stay another month after his loan ends this weekend. Sinclair, on the other hand, is dead keen to stay but the next loan period will sensibly be invoked only after he has recovered from his hamstring injury. Surprisingly Newell has hinted to the Telegraph that he may change from 4-4-2 but this may of course be pre-match bluffing. Whatever he does I reckon Stockdale, as our only player with right back stamped at the top of his CV, should be picked. So that means 4-4-2 as he is not a rampaging wildebeest but a tackling, marking animal.

Mr Newell has worked out we have twelve games left, ten of which are against teams in the bottom half. He told Dale on Mariners World that in the recent games against high-flyers and form teams we had performed decently without getting reward. Dale wants to believe some of those ten games will be easier as they are against teams becalmed in mid table towards the end of the season. Well there are as many ways to drop points as to gain them so I suggest we leave that factor aside for now mate.

If there are less than 4,000 in the ground tomorrow for the home derby against Lincoln your Guest Diarist will be a bit ashamed about the state of professional football in Lincolnshire. As for how we will do I think Lincoln are not quite as good as they think we are, and we are at least ten per cent less shit than we imagine. So, given a decent atmosphere, some derby-game attitude, and a bit better weather than bloody Tuesday night we have a decent chance. Various facets of life can be likened to a game of chess you know: and we need a queen . I guess that rules Peter Bore out then. See yer.