Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Wednesday 25 May 2011

25 May 2011

If there's one thing Grimsby Town Football Club could always be relied on to get right during the past decade of disaster - and let's face it, there can't be more than one thing - it's the playing surface. Year after year, relegation after relegation, as bad has turned to worse on the pitch, the pitch itself has continued to win plaudits and award after award for groundsman Mike Phillips. Just as the first thing you'd expect Deadly John (Topcon) to invest in this summer is a new midfield, the last thing would be a new field.

But your original/regular Diary has opened today's Grimsby Telewag to discover that Town will be sinking a cool £25,000 into the pitch (not literally) at Blundell Park and the Cheapside training ground. For why? For the grass to be watered more, making the ground softer. This, it's believed, will better facilitate the 'high-tempo' tactics favoured by Shorty and Shouty, and could also lead to fewer injuries to players. Drawing water from a bore hole, if this aspect of the plan proves workable, will also save the club money in the long run - so full marks to the chairman for an uncharacteristically far-sighted decision. He even manages to get through an entire Telegraph interview without using the phrase 'going forward'.

While we're being kind, there are, in fact, two things Grimsby Town Football Club can be relied on to get right during the current epoch of excruciation. The second, lest we forget, is the the matchday programme. For 2010-11 Town's prog has been named the best in the Conference Premier by the Soccer Club Swap Shop: the club's fourth such divisional award in consecutive seasons. Whichever league the ineptitude of the club's players and directors drags us down to, then, we can rest assured that we will always have the best programme in it.

So can we make it a hat-trick? Well, this is, of course, Be Nice To Town's Superb New Official Website Month. So rather than dwell on the inconsistent spacing on the SNOS' front page ("QT - Part 1- Freeview... QT - Part 2 - Free view"), let's just enjoy the fact that there aren't any spelling mistakes. Bravo!