Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Tuesday 18 October 2011

18 October 2011

"When we went to Braintree early in the season, maybe it was a case of we felt we were too good to be playing there." You suspected it and now Craig Disley has admitted it: a key factor in Town's worst result since the formation of the club in 1878 was the complacency of their players. But it should come as no surprise. Moneybags chairman Deadly John (Topcon) has been shouting out to the world at large for some years about his willingness to provide a much bigger playing budget than the operating income of the club could sustain. A club with this policy is always likely to develop a reputation among lazy and washed-up players as a good stop-off point to make an easy buck. GTFC fans found this out the hard way when the likes of Peter Sweeney won comfortable long-term contracts, and then shrugged their way to relegation from the Football League.

In no way, of course, would your original/regular Diary compare Disley with many of the no-marks who preceded him. The captain is already a strong contender for Cod Almighty's player of the season award. And as the best central midfielder on Town's books since Paul Bolland was good for a year, Disley begs the tragic question of how the club might have fared last season or the one before had he arrived here sooner. We've heard this line 2,560 times, something about not being the best lately, but we'll get better soon, honest. But when Craig looks back at Braintreegate and says: "I think the attitude will be totally different tonight," I for one am trying my best to believe him.

Tonight, of course, will see the Mariners' first ever game against Ebbsfleet United (in this or any of their previous guises). The talk is of a 'physical' game. United have started the season poorly and languish low in the table, but four points from their last two games have restored some confidence. When Dizza says: "If we want to be successful we need to go to places like Ebbsfleet and win games," it rides uncomfortably close to the sort of rhetoric Bryan Robson cranked out before bringing his Middlesbrough side to Blundell Park in 1994 (caretaker manager John Cockerill tacked the quote up on the dressing room wall, and Town won 2-1). But strip away the dismissive overtones and in essence it's true. At Stonebridge Road this evening we'll start to see whether Shorty and Shouty's big talk is going to be justified. It's only a start, of course. But there's meaning in this one.

Elsewhere, Tommy Wright may not have had Town fans rushing for the 'first goalscorer' odds during his time with the club, but that could all be set to change this week. Exercising a release clause in his contract, Wright hot-footed it out of Cleethorpes 4.8 seconds after his one goal in 14 appearances proved insufficient to keep us in the Football League. The player enjoyed a similarly productive spell back at Darlington and then played twice for Kidderminster. He has, however, just signed a three-month contract with Luton, who are due at Blundell Park this Friday evening. Bugger.

That's all from me today, but before I go, if you're one of those people who couldn't look at the cup draw against Ashington without casting a wistful glance ten years back to Anfield, then don't read about the season Town tonked Manchester United twice in two days. Bye!