Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Wednesday 13 July 2011

13 July 2011

What's the definition of optimism? Buying a season ticket for Grimsby Town this summer? One of the Cod Almighty team took a stroll down to the club shop yesterday to do just that. There he received some excellent, helpful and professional service from a sales assistant and the club's commercial manager, who admitted to some pleasant surprise at this year's brisk season ticket sales. Right now the club has currently done £30,000 more business on this score than at the same point last year. Consider the less than impressive record of Shorty and Shouty on piloting Town through the arse end of last season. Consider the way Deadly John (Topcon)'s GTFC have let us down shamefully every single time over the past eight years or so. And the supporters' glass looks impressively half full.

Another definition of optimism? Expecting the Premier Sports TV deal to make any money at all for the clubs of the Football Conference. When that broadcaster admitted in April that subscriber numbers "did not reach the point where revenue sharing became an option", the only surprise was that it did so via a Facebook update rather than a press release. Undaunted, PSTV has started off again for the 2011-12 season. Three of Town's games are among the first 14 to be screened. Two Saturday fixtures have been switched to a Friday and a Thursday night. One of those is the visit of Luton to Blundell Park in October. So that's GTFC losing tens of thousands of pounds in gate receipts for the privilege of being watched on the telly by two men and a sleeping cat.

Chris Beeley has emailed the Diary to draw our attention to the new youth team profiles on Town's superb new official website. "What a great read!" enthuses Chris. "Not only do we see young lads with names like Blaize with no apparent sense of modesty (see 'your strengths' section), but some appear to be art dealers too - 'Best Monet of career so far'. Nice to know the old adage of having an alternative if you don't make the grade still holds true."

Your original/regular Diary turns, then, at last, to the elephant in the room: Mr Alan John Connell. Town chairman Deadly John (Topcon) has issued his weekly statement of the player's unavailability (except in the case of non-derisory bids), this time taking the opportunity to have a dig at Luton. Hatters boss Gary Brabin, you might recall, was recently heard Barry Fry-ing about how Connell's agent said the move is all go. "It's a horrible way to carry on to speak about another club's player like that," says Deadly John (Topcon). "It appears there has been contact with the agent and if there has it is out of order because Alan is contracted to us."

Indeed. And let's just remind ourselves what happened when Shorty and Shouty conveniently resigned from Boston United at the exact moment when Grimsby Town were knocked back by their first five choices for manager. In the words of Deadly himself: "David [Newton, Boston chairman] refused permission for us to talk to them. The news had clearly got through to Paul and Rob and they knew of this club's interest by then." Yep, totally out of order.