Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Tuesday 13 March 2012

13 March 2012

Just as Frankie Artus became a fixture on Town's left flank after his half-time appearance at Lincoln on Boxing Day, so Peter Winn's energetic 45 minutes against Forest Green will probably earn him a start in the same position tonight. It's a shame for Louis Soares, who your original/regular Diary reckons has got a fair bit of ability disguised under that lack of fitness. But if Town are serious about this play-off malarky then Shorty and Shouty's team selection needs to look to the short rather than the long term. Particularly given York's league position three points and one place above the Mariners.

Andi Thanoj, similarly, is all but certain to start this evening after replacing Anthony Church at half time last Saturday. Church is officially out with an ankle injury - and this reminds me of a tweet I read the other day. It basically said: Church is injured, cuh, he's rubbish. Some Town fans have this habit, when they don't like a player, of conflating the player's proneness to injury with his all-round footballing ability. Poor Neil Woodses was lambasted by some for the signing of Bryan Hughes, who clearly still had a great deal to offer on the pitch, if only he'd been fit enough to get around it for 90 minutes. Bradley Allen was written off completely as a footballer by many Town fans before shaking off his persistent fitness problems to enjoy an excellent period with GTFC and play a major role in the Great 2002 Relegation Escape. You can probably think of more examples yourself.

So hold your horses on Louis Soares. His time may well come, even if it isn't this season.

Meanwhile, if you're wondering where the Feyenoord fans were on Saturday, the simple answer is that they had the good sense not to go to the Rutland Arms. Our friend Jeroen and his chums had a great day, if their excellent photos are anything to go by (and here it is with the dubious wonders of Google Translate).

Right, that's it. Sorry it's a bit short but if I don't get back to work now then I won't be able to leave in time to make the game tonight! Bye for now, and up the bleedin' Mariners.