Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Friday 10 February 2012

10 February 2012

Mardy Diary writes: So it seems on my return to diary duty that my primary function is to report on the weather (and the whether). Looking out of my window now it all looks fine, and there was only a smattering of snow left when I went to work - so it's all OK, I'm sure. Yeah, I live 80 miles away from Blundell Park, but the weather can't be that different over there. It's at sea level and I'm up in the hills and what...? Oh. Seems like it's shovels at the ready then, but the club seems optimistic that the game will be on. Not even a mention of a pitch inspection anywhere, so I guess we'll have to wait until the morning to find out what's happening.

Team news then, and we continue to inhabit that strange world where we have almost a full squad to pick from (see our match preview for more details). It's funny how the injuries disappear when a team is on a good run isn't it? Is it players playing through the pain and not wanting to lose their position, or more that when a team is performing badly no-one wants to turn up - either physically or mentally?

Either way, those days are long gone for us. Long gone. Yes, this is New Grimsby. We win stuff. We get in tussles at the right end of the table. Sometimes we play a bit of footy (that second goal against Bath was a bit lovely, wasn't it?). Who is this failing Grimsby you talk of? Not round here, mate. Fickle? Me?

Of course, these good runs do attract the fickle, and Town are hoping to attract a few more with the Target 5,000 campaign. And while it's great to see the crowds returning to Blundell Park, I always get a bit apprehensive when the fickle hordes come wandering back (especially if accompanied with a cheap ticket deal). Why? Well, think about it. These are the fans who were first to wander off when things went wrong, who haven't been there to see the changes over the last few months, who won't know that while the run has been great and we've dug in for the results, we've also had a fair bit of luck go our way and the games have been a bit patchy at times.

We still have games where we play rubbish one half and amazing the next, but this time we're able to kill teams off when we get the upper hand. I worry that those who were the first to leave when times were bad will be the first to turn on the team if we start badly on Saturday. The big difference at Blundell Park of late (for me, anyway) is the change in the attitude of the fans from hostile, to despair, to indifference, to encouraged, to buoyant, to ecstatic. It's a gradual change, that and if you haven't travelled that path you may still be at the hostile stage.

But if that's all I'm worried about (yeah, OK, I'm still a bit worried that York might actually be any good and give us a good beating) then things must be pretty good, eh? So although I couldn't be there with a spade clearing the snow today, I have been sat here fingers crossed for the game to go ahead tomorrow. And I remember this feeling, a distant memory, of actually looking forward to a game. Must have been about ten years ago.

Anyway, England. Lolz! Seeya.