Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Thursday 9 June 2011

9 June 2011

Shorty and Shouty have been keen to stress that panic buying and rushed transfers are not the name of their game in a bid to calm those fans baying for more ink after the signing of Gary Silk this week. This, however, has not stunted season ticket sales so far: sales in the first two days are up on last year. There have been 90 sold so far compared to last season's 70 and the SNOS is seemingly bubbling with optimism about a "great start to 2011/12". Season ticket sales are becoming ever more vital to the finances of the club, what with the relegations and the piss-poor performances on the pitch strangling attendance figures, so the 90 sold so far is definitely a good start.

Is this a sign of supporter optimism being on the up? Does it show an anticipation of a successful season under new management? It is of course important to remember that last season the club was trying to sell season tickets for the first season out of the league for a century - following an abysmal season, which had followed a similarly abysmal season, and a pretty shitty decade. The comparison between this summer and last, then, seems slightly unreliable given the vastly differing circumstances under which the tickets are being sold.

So what can be assumed from the ticket sales analysis? Well, it does suggest the club may have reached a plateau of inadequacy, a rock bottom, and the message seems to be that things can only get better. Your Part-Time Diary remembers players running out to that song when we were fighting relegation from the second division. Oh, the naivety.

It must be the humidity or the pollen or the lorry fumes or something because I've been daydreaming about a miraculous rise from the Conference and up through the leagues again, spearheaded by our management duo, whose brand of committed players and non-panic buying draws plaudits throughout the game and we get a new flat-pack style stadium on an industrial site somewhere and host under-21 internationals and re-sign a 38-year-old John Oster on a frivolous player-coach basis. Basically I really want us to do what Doncaster have done, because they used to be really shit like us too you know. Oh and we'd definitely have her as a mascot. What a load of prudes they are over at the Keepmoat.

I hope things are going to get better and that these two do know what they're doing - we don't really know yet, but they bloody better. They can't be judged on the back end of last season and they talk a good game, but is there a bit of substance behind all the soundbites? The first signing does gives an indication of the kind of players they're after though: a team of solid, Conference-experienced players, who will run around and kick a lot, that's the masterplan. No more Bryan Hugheses and no 38-year-old John Osters with these two then.

Some sad news to end today as the Telegraph reports the death of referee and Grimsby fan Derek Bray. I can't really say anything that is not covered in the glowing tributes he has already received. It certainly seems he will be missed dearly and our thoughts are with his family.