Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 26 June 2009

26 June 2009

"Next month we shall be cleaning up politics and taking people safely through the recession," said our beloved Scottish prime minister yesterday. So having saved the world earlier in the year he will now dot some 'i's, cross a few 't's and go off on his (austere but expensive) holiday at peace. Manager Newell has had his holiday so, recession a thing of the past (phew! I hear you sarcastically retort), us Town fans can concentrate wholly and exclusively on waiting for signings and planning which pre-season games we will deign to attend. By the way, that Brown soundbite came from a speech where he thundered on (and on) about values, transparency, honesty etc. It seems to me that if you have to tell people you are honest, then you are almost certainly not.

Mike Newell is an honest man; we know that from his turbulent past. And we increasingly detect signs that players consider the Newell factor when thinking about joining Town. This means we are punching above our weight again - the first time for years. Persuading a talented young Londoner like Mr Widdowson to sign for us and up sticks to Grimsby is an excellent example of that, in your Guest Diarist's opinion. The fact that Sweeney hasn't dismissed our small beer offer out of hand is even greater provenance of our renewed pulling power. The signings to be made in the next three or four weeks will affect us all for the next year. And the signs, I reckon, are good. It's just the waiting that is an intense frustration.

I also like the impression I have gained that the manager is the most important person at the club. He decides. And that is right (within the bounds of financial possibility, of course). It came across strongly that the board asked his opinion about selling Bennett. The second offer was a substantial one - all too easy to accept. I think if Peterborough had offered more cash up front it would have been harder to resist, but with the prognosis that clubs have got to start going bust at some point soon, coupled with a natural wariness about get-rich-quick clubs reliant on flash harry millionaires, that caution can be seen as a virtue. And Newell told them to wait; that Coun. Fenty took his advice is another good sign. But gentle reader, I hasten to add that this entire paragraph is speculative - please take these ramblings with a pinch of my salt. Well, you could if the police hadn't confiscated it - but that's another story.

Town's longest-serving player took his turn to give quotes to the Telegraph today. Hegggaarty told them his long-overdue wrist operation had gone ahead and it is to my own credit that I hereby resist speculating how his right wrist came to be damaged as a teenager. Our flexible and determined left-footed friend has been around for ages and taken more stick than the average Spanish donkey to whom he has also been compared. But last season was undeniably his best and the knack of creating goalscoring opportunities for others now and again, coupled with his enthusiasm, makes him a good player to have around just now. More power to his right arm, eh? See yer.