Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Tuesday 1 March 2011

1 March 2011

Idle Diary writes: Will it be Mark Cooper, Gary Brabin, we'll have to wait and see. It won't be chips, and it won't be Paul Simpson, who is too busy sorting out severance with Stockport County. "I have learned that all football jobs are good ones to have and I am sure the Grimsby one would be for someone," he said, dratting at missing out on the highly likely prospect of another severance payment in 12 months' time.

By the way, hidden away at the bottom, a bit like those end of credits scenes in the current crop of Marvel films, is something very ominous, nowhere near as exciting as, say, Nicky Fury. In fact it's worrying. So worrying I can't really repeat it, but I trust you pay attention, for I am POINTING it out. Read it yourself and laugh/weep.

Next in line up to continue the autopsy of the Woods era is Chris Casper, quick to heap praise on the Wooded one's short tenure, basically accusing those responsible for dismissing Neil of being a bunch of divs. "His reputation - especially in youth development - is second to none and I'm sure he will bounce back." While Casper is thinking all Thing on a Spring, Doctor Victor Fentystein reckons he can sew up Woods's corpse up and reanimate him "remaining at the club in some capacity". Just leave the man alone, Fenty! Let him go! Release the chains! "It wouldn't be his old job as youth team boss, however." Oh, the fucking irony of those two contrasting quotes, eh.

Talking of youthful produce, there's a nice piece on Andy Taylor, who is now rockin' the onion bag for Grimsby Borough after a spell "out of love" with football. (Which is currently the current state of mind of your Idle Diarist, thanks to the GTFC board's recent eggy repeat, but let's try to keep things light-hearted, eh.)

How do you measure success for the youth team though? By the trophies they win (that Midlands Floodlit Youth Cup win, for example) or the number of players that make it through to the full team? Was the youth team's success an unrealistic expectation riser among Town fans? It shows, though, that the gap between the youth team and being a regular member of a Football League side is wide. And while people always beat Alan Buckley with the 'not using thur yoof' stick, did he see that gap a lot more clearly than anyone else?

By the way, twelve points is a big gap to bridge, Lawrie, and not quite as big a gap as the eight points to the relegation berths. So while marathons are great, while it isn't safe we'd like a quick sprint, cheers, thanks, bye.

And finally, we'll end with the news that Chairman John is Still The Chairman John Fenty. "The board was unanimous in the belief we wanted to keep the status quo," reported Town's own John Major. And there you have it. Fenty stays, and because the board backs him. They're all as bad as each other.