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Diary - Tuesday 17 January 2012

17 January 2012

You'd never have believed me if I'd told you just three months ago that, in the first fortnight of 2012, there'd be a lot of buzz and positivity about Grimsby Town FC. You'd have scoffed if I'd told you the team would suffer just one defeat in 17 games. You'd have shaken your head if I'd said the Mariners were second favourites for the FA Trophy. You'd have snorted if I'd mentioned GTFC's vastly improved use of social media. And you'd have screamed with laughter if I'd referred to Sunday tabloid rumours that Chelsea were to bid for one of our players. Actually, that last one probably still holds true.

But here we are, on the mid to late January day when your original/regular Diary traditionally fills in my tax return, and all looks rosy-ish. Apart from Town's game at Southport on Saturday 18 February being brought forward to the Friday night on account of the Conference's disastrous deal with Premier Sports TV. But you can't have everything, as my mum used to say every time I asked her for a Raleigh Grifter with a built-in CB radio.

Another game to have fallen victim of circumstances is a reserve/friendly-type fixture which was supposed to go ahead this afternoon against Town's Lincolnshire neighbours Plucky Scunny. If you're wondering why the Diary hadn't mentioned this game already, which you're not, that's because it was only announced yesterday afternoon, after Miss Guest Diary had filed her copy. The Irons have declared their pitch as frozen as a Conservative heart, though, so the game's off, denying new acquisition Kiernan Hughes-Mason and recent absentees Bradley Wood and Charlie I'Anson some valuable minutes.

One of the several things Miss Guest Diary did mention yesterday is the last time Town went on a winning run as long as their current one. Sam Metcalf has emailed the Diary to say: "I managed to get to all those seven winning games in the spring of 1990. The run was started off by a great goal from Keith Alexander against Doncaster, which none of us could quite believe he scored - Keith included; and ended with a really tense game against Lincoln. Dave Gilbert scored with one of the hardest struck pennos I've seen - straight down the middle. I think there was nearly 7,000 inside BP that day, and it was an amazing atmosphere. We took a lad from our school who was a Lincoln fan to stand in a packed Pontoon, and he was terrified throughout that we were going to out him. About ten of us got the train to Halifax the next Saturday to see the run come to end. Still, ace, ace days..."

Thanks for sharing, Sam. Wonder if Town fans in the early 2030s will be talking about the club's current little upsurge similarly, as the start of something special. Now, is it three more FA Trophy games before Wembley, or four...?