Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Wednesday 10 November 2010

10 November 2010

A decent performance and draw away from home, against a side with a strong record on their own patch. Had this been achieved in the context of a winning run, the supporters would go away quietly satisfied. Because it happened after another half-dozen games without a win, though, last night's 1-1 at Cambridge is prompting many Town fans to unprecedented levels of militant protest against the Fenty/Woods regime. Furious supporters are threatening not to attend the Mariners' next home game against Barrow a week on Saturday if the weather hasn't improved by then, and some have even gone on the internet to say they don't like being in the GM Vauxhall Conference very much.

Your original/regular Diary came to the conclusion some time ago that the removal of Neil Woodses should not even be on the agenda and the manager should be left to get on with the job. Partly this is because John Fenty's usual cunning strategem of sacking a manager when Town are in the bottom half of their division only ever seems to make things worse. There's also the fact that Russell Sladeses got off to a very similar start to Neil Woodses, not many years ago, that a bunch of cockends held up a 'Slade out' banner in the Pontoon, and a few months later we came within a whisker of promotion. And let's remember that none of us actually know whether Woodses has any idea about tactics and things like that, because we all know fuck all about that sort of thing really.

But let's look at what would happen if Woodses were to get the heave-ho. Oooh, who's going to get the job next? Oooh, I think it should be so-and-so. Oh, it's not, it's thingummy. Will he be any good as so-and-so? Don't know. Let's give thingummy a chance and see. Oh, he's loaned two players from Rotherham. Oh, they've gone. Now he's paid up the contracts of some players signed by the last manager. Hmm, we haven't won many games yet. Let's give him a chance though. Look, he's signed some players permanently on 18-month contracts. They sound good. Oh, we still haven't won many games. Should we start thinking about sacking him? No, not yet. Now's he's paid up some more contracts. Just one or two more signings. Oooh, a 20-year-old midfielder who came through the ranks at Derby and made one substitute appearance in the League Cup in 2008. We still haven't won many games though. Let's sack him. He clearly doesn't know how to motivate players or do tactics. Thingummies out! Oh, John Fenty has sacked him! Well done, John Fenty! Oooh, who's going to get the job next? Oooh, I think it should be so-and-so...

So there's one reason above all else that I believe we should just leave Woodses in situ and see what happens. And that is that sacking the manager has become the most utterly fucking tedious thing imaginable.