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Diary - Friday 18 November 2011

18 November 2011

Now then. It's Friday morning and the Newport squad will be crossing the border any minute in a charabang aimed for Lincolnshire. Rob Duffy, who played for them for about five minutes, but who, your Guest Diarist has to concede, is actually Welsh, wants to play them tomorrow. Up front on his own (or as a two with any other Town striker, he hastily adds). It's not all about the goals, Rob explains, I know I haven't got many, but I'm one of those selfless strikers so cut me a bit of slack, eh?

As I ruminated in the Diary yesterday, 'twixt making the game stock and braising the red cabbage in red wine for the upcoming Guest Diary weekend curry and game feast, Town might stick with that ugly 4-3-3 tomorrow. But then again, listening to Shouty on the Mariners Player subscriber channel, they might not. Town's squad is completely injury-free, with only Coulson absent through suspension, so there are a number of permutations available which I just can't be arsed to rehearse again here.

Except the one, it would seem, that involves Ridley. The sort-of reliable left-back (except when he's not, of course) has fallen well out of favour with managers and fans. Young Townsend, who returns to Hull next week after his loan expires (and presumably to try to smile coyly at new-big-man Barmby) and fit-again-for-a-bit Green are competing, nay, vying for the left-back spot tomorrow.

After I wrote yesterday extolling the virtues of young Charlie I'Anson, regular Cod Almighty correspondent Chris Beeley was moved to write in and agree with me, adding: "I was just checking your contract tracker and notice that his contract is up next summer. What's the betting the powers that be at Town let him 'do a Butterfield'? Can I suggest that Fenty's first action post re-election be to offer the lad a fat four-year contract to keep potential suitors at bay/make sure any such suitors actually pay something if they do prise him away (also known as 'giving him a Bradley Wood')."

The rest of the Mariners Player interview is pretty boring, but it's not Shouty's fault - he can only really provide responses in the general direction of the questions he is asked. An aimless section where he's asked to rebut accusations from fans about Town playing long ball is especially puzzling. As the bigger manager asserts, this Town team don't aim to play that way at all. Long balls out of defence can be attributed to either blind panic or complete absence of inspiration by Kempson. That's not playing long ball. That's entirely down to having a leaky, panicky, mid-Conference-level defence, surely?

Newport's top scorer by a mile is midfielder Danny Rose, who has got ten so far this season. But with any luck he'll be too knackered and excited after his midweek international trip to Gibraltar. Striker Craig McAllister, on the other hand, hasn't scored since he hit that rubbish penalty in the dying minutes against Grimsby 20 games ago. And no, he didn't even score then because McKeown dropped his cap on the ball and saved it.

Tomorrow is one of the home games where season ticket holders can bring a mate for free using those vouchers. So if you've got any left, dish them out, folks - the weather's half-decent for the end of November and it's time to get down to Blundell Park of a Saturday afternoon. It's been ages; you'll get to see Mr Panther flash us a grin. And, you never know, they might just pass the ball as well as they did in the first 90 seconds last Saturday. See yer.