Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Tuesday 6 September 2011
6 September 2011
As a lifelong Town fan it's in your West Yorkshire Diary's very fabric to scrutinise a winning performance. And yes, I'm not over the moon about us employing the unusual tactic of boring the opposition to death in order to steal three points. But, given the circumstances, I can't grumble. The travelling Town fans, of course, always find their own entertainment and are a much more forgiving crowd. While Town were absorbing any quality or entertainment out of the afternoon (presumably keeping it in reserve for a game later this season when it's needed), the 212 fans who made the journey created a positive atmosphere and were rightly praised by the Shouty manager afterwards. I just hope that merriment can be transferred into the Pontoon on Saturday when Town take on Hayes & Yeading, but I somehow doubt it. Especially if they score a wonder goal in the first half like they did last season.
It certainly makes this coming Saturday's atmosphere in Blundell Park more interesting. I'm not sure how divisive Shouty's post-match rant actually was; it seems to me that while he was wrong to do what he did, the majority of fans agreed with the majority of what he said. You never know - it might have prompted a bit of unity among the fans who clearly recognise his desperation to do a good job.
The job so far remains a bit short of good. But, Braintree aside, if you compare our results so far this season to the corresponding fixtures against the same opposition from last season you'll find that we're actually four points up. Yes, I know - who'd have guessed? Well, me, as it goes, which is why I looked into it and found it out for definite. A win at home to Hayes & Yeading this Saturday will widen that gap on last season even further. See - it's not all bad!
It's also not all bad for Dayle Southwell, Town's 17-year-old forward who had to be taken to hospital with a serious mouth injury after scoring in a youth team game at the weekend. He's on the mend, but helpfully his recuperation won't involve salt and vinegar crisps, according to that jokester Robbie Stockdale. Southwell is described as a 'forward', which, to me, means he's sort of a striker but with the ability to play as an attacking midfielder. He'll end up an attacking midfielder, then. They always do.
Fellow youngster Sam Mulready will be spending the next month of his life gaining match fitness on loan with North Ferriby. The lad knocked in plenty of goals for the youth team last season and I hope this is an effort by the management duo to develop his talents and get him in a position to truly challenge Elding and Spencer for a starting berth in the first team. Too many 'promising' youngsters have been sent out on loan over the years when, really, there's never been any genuine ambition by the manager(s) to use them upon their return, and I hope Mulready doesn't become one more to add to the list.
With no Tuesday night game to lose, I'm feeling rather relaxed. An away win under our belts, renewed optimism and a home game against a side beneath us in the league to come... what could possibly go wrong?