Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 29 April 2011

29 April 2011

Dale Ladson, Grimsby Town's media interviewer, is concerned about the inconsistency and mental frailty of the Grimsby Town first team. In his subscription-only pre-match chat with the quiet half of the GTFC management limited liability partnership he asked: "How are you getting the message across to the players?" The reply was deadpan, straight out of Airplane! "In the team talk before the game."

But the ways to get that message across seem to have been exhausted with the present bunch. Your Guest Diarist expects that the passion tank is empty, the expletive bank is overdrawn, the exhortations are sounding hollow. It's a dead rubber with this lot. Just get Saturday over with, they'll be thinking, and then see how many we can get off the books as quickly as possible.

Except, of course, the chairman wants minimal player pay-offs in order to make true his brag to the press about "no cuts" and refute the Radio Humberside rumour. So will we get a nasty case of stalemate stand-off? The management duo is bound to bleat that we can't go up with this shower - we need a new shower! Ones without chips on their shoulders, ones who will do it 'our way'. No room for Charles here - we want Charlies! Our brooms need to sweep, Mr Fenty; churn costs money but it'll be worth it. Oh yes, we won't fail, the managers will insist.

Carrying on in his quietly spoken way, the nice one used all the stock words to dream how it could be: in no particular order and without thought of coherence came out appetite, hunger, desire, passion, pride in the shirt. No mention of skill, control, pace, getting behind them, quick-passing, counter-attack, decision-making, sharp-shooting. No getting it down and playing it. Play high-tempo pressing football - shit, look where playing 'pretty football' has got you. It's a new beginning - part eleven.

No wonder the chairman nearly wets himself with excitement when speaking of his new appointees. It's another untried road for him to blunder down. No doubt next season we'll beat the bottom six (which we failed so miserably to reliably do this season) but this time the top six will stuff us (the only time this year we have been consistent is in taking points off the leading bunch). So, a change will be as good as a rest, but tenth will still beckon come the spring. Whether the twosome last that long depends to some degree on the order of the fixture list.

So, Wimbledon away tomorrow. A side who disappointed at Blundell Park, to be honest, but have been consistent enough to secure their place at the top of the play-off heap with matches to spare. Thanoj is fit, Bore has had his rest and Ademeno has sulked his way back to fitness with Dave Moore. But they won't pick Charles - he missed Thursday training with the rest of the lads. So they say he's not even in contention. The voices who whisper pain inside his head have won.

Robbie Stockdale's interview was a more enjoyable one. The Yoof have done well in terms of league results and first team promotions. Four players promoted to the fringes. Four. One justifies it; four is considered exceptional. I'Anson, Thanoj, Mulready and Marshall from the second years appear to have a future. By default, one assumes, the rest do not. The second year YTs, Stockdale asserted, "have to be ready for the first team squad now. We can't afford to wait for the slow-growing ones." Harsh, but fair I'd say.

So one last match to trek to for the faithful few, and a local game for the London lot. One last afternoon listening to internet commentary or Ceefax checking for a few more. And then relief. A chance to recharge our blind hope batteries. But that season ticket decision just gets harder and harder and some good fans will understandably fall by the wayside. But, despite it all, we'll still be here, raking over the board's coals and finding the odd nugget of gallows humour I hope. See yer.