Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 23 January 2012

23 January 2012

Miss Guest Diary writes: I suggested a few weeks ago that we might need a new name for Shouty if he kept up his calm, reasoned post-match interviews. But I spoke too soon. Having taken umbrage with a refereeing decision at Saturday's game against Bath, he let the fourth official have a piece of his mind and was sent to the stands, quite justifiably according to a friend sitting within earshot. Apparently, Shorty then had no trouble in assuming the Shouty role, so any subsequent pitchside ban will be unlikely to affect Town's future performances.

Another six goals and another Hearn hat-trick then - where will it all end? According to many pessimists, in the sale of Hearn to a bigger club and the end of Town's hopes for the play-offs and the FA Trophy. Hearn may well leave - and good luck to him in furthering his career if he does - but I don't share the view that this will necessarily blight Town's season.

Looking back at Town's results so far, in the first 18 games Town kept only three clean sheets and their record was: won 6, drawn 2, lost 10. In the last 18 games Town have kept 10 clean sheets and their record has been: won 12, drawn 5, lost 1. This remarkable upturn in form has coincided not with the start of Hearn's prolific goalscoring run but with the arrival in defence of Conor Townsend.

I was introduced to football in the Buckley era and belong to the 'build from the back' school of footballing theory. Yes, it's fun to see Town score a hatful of goals, fun to see a player get a hat-trick but, if you keep a clean sheet, then you only need to score one goal to win the game and you can never lose it. And if Hearn does go, we have plenty of players who can score, and already have scored, one goal in a game.

People have started to compare this season to '97-98, when we had two visits to Wembley. Looking back at the results from that year, Town kept a clean sheet in 35 of the 68 games they played and the top scorer was not even a striker, but a winger. I rest my case.

Jumping down off my high horse, I bring you news that the Tamworth game originally scheduled for 4 February has been rearranged to Tuesday 28 February. Hmm, a bit too far to go for a midweek game, I think. February's starting to look a bit empty for me in footballing terms, with most of the games taking place well over 100 miles away. It could be time for some culture; I'm sure there'll be a new exhibition on at the Quilt Museum by now.