Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Thursday 10 February 2011
10 February 2011
A few weeks ago, knowing Pontoon fans rolled their eyes at the sight of Councillor John Fenty (TopCon) doing a John Gummer as he self-importantly strutted by, munching a Town burger to prove how absolutely delicious and inexpensive they are. Your Guest Diarist daydreamed with a veggie companion about how good it would be if we ran a catering hut serving chimichangas, falafels and other deep-fried spicy delights.
But the precedent has already been set by those nice people at Forest Green who have gone a step further and actually banned red meat from being sold at their ground. So the pies will be chicken balti at the express instruction of vegan chairman Dale Vince who said: "If red meat was not good enough to feed our players, then it wasn't good enough for our staff, fans and visitors too. At its worst it means once every two weeks watching a football game without being able to eat red meat. Anybody that really needs it can bring a ham sandwich or something if they wish - that's no problem."
That last sentence makes a complete mockery of Fenty - whose risible attempt at claiming that food and drink really ought to be bought inside the ground provoked the desperately embarrassing Flaskgate episode. Dale Vince (whose name sounds like that of a commercial radio DJ, not a bloke who runs an electricity company) has class, something I'm sad to say our chairman rarely, if ever, demonstrates. Leaf and book spring to mind, eh?
Bryan Hughes, who, remember, has hardly played for a twelvemonth, has a problem with a tight achilles. Having myself had to retire from the dizzy heights of Sunday league football with a similar problem, I can sympathise. A sudden step-up of training activity is very prone to make this muscle complain. So whether it settles down for him to make his home debut remains to be seen. Manager Woodses, in his filmed match preview for the hoi-polloi, spoke at length about how knackered the first teamers were at the end of the January match marathon, saying that although fitness levels were high the excessive travel and the lack of recovery breaks had taken their toll. None more so than with Bradley Wood(s), who the manager realised "had played the last couple of games on positive attitude and adrenaline alone".
With Cummins suspended and Hughes a bit doubtful, Michael Leary has been ignoring his remarkably swollen ankle and is anxious to figure in first-team plans. Ridley is training better every day, so Woods has said thanks but no thanks to Lincoln and sent Joe Anderson home from his brief stay by the sea. The manager will prefer to either play Ridley if fit or to continue with the visibly refreshed Bradley at left-back.
Cambridge don't seem to be as good a side these days as when we fought out a draw with them in a decent game of football back in November. They sold their best player that day to Luton in January and have quite a few injuries so their team will be youngish. Add to that they've sacked Martin Ling and lost five league games on the bounce, as well being knocked out of the cup by Alfreton, who hit six past them. So you see, well, an upset on the horizon, frankly - all they have to do actually is pick Daryl Clare for once and our fate will surely be sealed. Read our factfile for more information and conflicting predictions.
Anyone who thought that the Telegraph would just capitulate and allow Town to dump the weekly "we've been a bit shit lately but we'll get better soon, honest" player interview will get a shock today as notorious heterosexual Peter Bore and home debutant Rob Duffy have both been talking to the Telewag in time-honoured vein. Peter 'I'll Play Anywhere, Me' Bore has decided this week that he will play where he's put but prefers right-back really, whereas Duffy just wants to score at home. But there's more news about injuries from the manager, who reveals that young Andi Thanoj is close to a place on the bench because Hughes is even more doubtful than he was a few paragraphs ago.
So we got through all those games in January and not a lot has changed league position-wise, with a play-off place remaining tormentingly close but just as elusive as it has been all season. Mid-table obscurity by mid-March, or one of those oh-so-tantalising 'just miss out' seasons? Let's see. See yer.