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Diary - Thursday 2 July 2009

2 July 2009

Since their club signed Joe Widdowson and Barry Conlon at the end of last season, Grimsby Town fans have spent the summer speculating feverishly about the identity of the goalkeeper the Mariners will sign this summer, pausing only to remark that we could do with another central midfielder to play alongside Peter Sweeney if we get him, a couple of wingers, and perhaps some cover at full-back. Town manager Mr Michael Re-Newell, meanwhile, has ploughed a contrary furrow, confounding their ceaseless chatter with negotiations to bring in a 283rd striker in the form of Adrian Forbes, and has now identified Chester centre-half Paul Linwood as the latest player he would like to add cover to areas that Town's squad is already quite strong in, just so he can have a cheeky giggle at people on messageboards going "eh?". Poor Chester, of course, came off worse last season in their battle with GTFC to avoid 23rd place in the fourth division, and football fans everywhere know perfectly well that any player at all who is contracted to a club down near the bottom of a league table will never amount to anything, except possibly John McDermott all the times Town did rubbish with him in the squad.

The interminable transfer saga of Peter Sweeney's £80m move to Blundell Park edged a percentage point or two closer to completion with the news yesterday afternoon that he has reached an agreement with third division Leeds United on the termination of his contract. Sweeney exclusively told the Grimsby Telegraph earlier this week that there was a "very high percentage" chance that he'd be on his way to Cleethorpes as soon as he wrapped things up with Leeds, and indeed Town's superb new official website, showing no signs at all of perturbation about being scooped by the Telewag, reported this morning that the much-coveted midfielder would be expected at BP for talks today. In the meantime, here's Sean Hughes showing us the right way to sing the player's theme tune.

Diary reader Alan Richardson has sent quite a long email, and it's two o'clock already so we'll just run a bit of it today and save some for later. On pubs with a Town connection - the subject raised in yesterday's Diary by David Elvidge - he writes: "The obvious Fisherman's Arms in Cleethorpes (can't remember the name of the street but the one-way street than ran up to JDs - when it was there). There's also a pub in Stamford (where I now live) called the Hit or Miss - seems to perfectly describe being a Town fan." Eve Barnard, meanwhile, asks: "Do guest houses count?  I found this one when looking for somewhere to stay in Shrewsbury - it's Tudor so therefore black and white, but it's also situated on Fish Street. Tenuous? Yes." Yes! Especially when, on the same street, you could pop for a pie and a pint at the CA team's favourite Salop hangout, the Three Fish. Can't believe nobody mentioned that! diary@codalmighty.com is the address to keep them coming to; I'll be back on Monday and Idle Diary will be wearing the number 12 shirt tomorrow. Toodle-oo!