Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Friday 3 July 2009
3 July 2009
Where else to start but with the tremendous news that, at last, after years of struggles Grimsby is home to a brand new state-of-the-art football facility! So the project is at West Marsh at not Great Coates, but the level of support and planning on every level over the past four years - from the immediate community upwards - makes Town's persistence with the existing Fentydome proposals look unenthusiastic, unwanted, out-of-date, and pathetically handled in comparison. Well done to the people of West Marsh, enjoy your facilities, and to GTFC, time to pull your finger out and decide once and for all what the score is on the new ground. Enough of my sitting on the fence, tell us what you think. I'll just concentrate on the news.
While it is pissing it down physically and metaphorically Idle Diary's way today, the heavens are blessing Mike Newell's Revolution today (religion and left-wing politics on the Humber estuary? Should have been in the Housemartins, me.) The formalities on "the tall and rangy midfielder" who "has a wonderful range of passing with his cultured left foot" and "also a set-piece expert" have been completed, for the Sweeney has signed! That's an exclamation mark of relief that Scunthorpe didn't do their obligatory swoop, not an exclamation mark of excitement. Re-read that sentence again in the right tone. Got that?... PETER SWEENEY HAS SIGNED! YEEESSSS! That was excitement!
The ranks have swollen further with Paul Linwood's move from Chester. Well, that's what you'd think from the SNOS headline Defender Joins Town, although the article's text says the player "is expected to sign for the Mariners later today." Sometimes there is no need to comment any further than the simple facts show. Those wondering why the Town gaffer needs another centre-back get a hint in Newell's notes on the latest recruit, sensing an opportunity to further increase the level of ability in his backline options: "He was outstanding against us when we played Chester towards the end of last season." Possibly not the same thoughts of Alan Buckley after his run-in with Chester, and Kevin Ellison last season.
And the News doesn't stop there! Adrian Forbes - tried, tested, thumbs up - has been offered a deal and is weighing it up. Sure he's a bit disappointed that Super Barry Conlon and Joe Widdowson were offered deals first, but would you have shunned Super Baz? Would anyone be that foolish? I think not!
According to the Grimmo Telegraph, the break down of Warren Feeney's move to Leeds means Town could be back in the running. Of course! Feeney's obviously of the opposite mentality to players like Simon Ramsden who jump at the chance of playing for a, ahem, Big Club...
To sign off the week, let's conclude Alan Richardson's recent email to the Diary. "I clicked on the Shaun Teale link to the report of the Villa match from '94 [in Wednesday's Diary]. I wasn't at that match - stuck in France trying to pick up the World Service, but with no success I seem to remember. Whereas lots has changed in that time - 16,000 in BP, pushing a Premier League side all the way, Gary Childs, Paul Futcher et al, it was reassuring to see some things haven't changed in 15 years." Such as? "'After the whistle, 100 Grimsby fans ran on to the pitch to taunt the Villa end. Coins were thrown and the situation was moving from the worrying to the ugly when six mounted policemen cantered out to restore order.' Great to see we had a fair share of idiots back then. Possibly the same people that appear once or twice a season (Chesterfield, Bournemouth etc) just 15 years older, much fatter and not at all wiser. Makes you proud doesn't it?!"
"I also got quite excited last week by Idle Diary," Alan states making this diarist SWELL with PRIDE. "I think the punchline writes itself. I had the pleasure of attending King Edward VI School in Louth (September '87 to July '91) which can't have been that different to when the seemingly legendary Jan Boyd was teaching and Idle Diary was there. However much I rack my brains, I don't recall a Master/Miss I Diary (has he/she changed name?) and Jan Boyd means nothing to me." Skirting the obvious of Idle Diary being a pen name, I was lucky enough to have avoided English lessons with the more serious Mr Bateson, being under Mrs Boyd's wing from April 1991 until May 1994.
"Not a great story, I fully accept," says Alan before moving on to a more serious point, "but my time at school there started off by me being an object of ridicule for being a GTFC fan (Mike Lyons/Bobby Roberts and so on) through to being a veritable Pied Piper and dragging various fellow students over to places like Rotherham on a Tuesday night and then promotion to Division Two in my final year there. Is it the blind optimism about next season, a result of years of Division Four dross, or could the good times be right around the corner? In the words of the slightly less legendary Dr Sam Cooper - 'Ah, GTFC - I think you're under-achieving'." Are the bearded history master's words wise or tripe? Did you also have to suffer alienation at school due to your GTFC supporting ways? And most importantly were you educated by KEVIS's English department? You know where to reach us. See you round, yeah?