Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Thursday 14 June 2012

14 June 2012

Miss Guest Diary writes: I've been looking forward to Euro 2012, pen poised over wallchart, for several weeks. But, as usual, after a few games there seems as much entertainment to be had from the peripherals as from the football. Dodgy kits (Portugal's second strip, Joe Hart's girly aqua number), Roberto Martinez's shirts (where does he get them all?), spotting extravagant hair and counting the directorial cut-aways to young women in the crowd. Ooh look - a female at a football match. Please.

And, of course, the verbal gaffes and idiosyncrasies of the commentators and pundits. Martin Keown's leg-overs were mentioned earlier in the week, but what about "the double teapot" when referring to a player standing with hands on hips? Jim Beglin's continued claim, despite at least a dozen slo-mo replays showing the opposite, that the Russian keeper made a brilliant save when, in fact, he didn't move and the ball just hit him. Martin Keown may not be as slick as some, but he has shown a refreshing willingness to admit he's wrong when a replay contradicts his original comment. Unlike other pundits who seem constantly to be seeking tortuous explanations of why the replay doesn't show what really happened.

One pleasant distraction I'm experiencing for the first time is following the tournament on Twitter. I am particularly enjoying Mighty Mariner's display of the competing teams' flags before every game (where does he get them all?), followed by news of which ale is being consumed and what betting triumphs have ensued. Last night there was a Twitterstorm about the inadequacies of Mark Lawrenson's commentating abilities in the Holland v Germany game. This reached a crescendo when he trotted out that old management-speak saw about "there's no 'i' in team" after Robben got huffy for being substituted. Lawrenson seemed bored and irritated through much of the match and I swear I heard him mutter "idiot" several times when a player misplaced a pass or failed to score. Well, there's certainly an 'i' in that word, Lawro.

But what has all this to do with Town? Absolutely nothing, which is precisely what seems to be going on there at the moment. When I was last here a fortnight ago, I expressed the hope that there would soon be some signings to inspire me to renew my season ticket. Yes, I know we've signed Andy Cook from Barrow, but that still leaves the squad quite a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

Yesterday's diary mentioned the likelihood of Scott Garner signing for Cambridge. Well, it has happened. I tell you this not because I think it momentous in any way, but so I can report the headline on the Cambridge United official website: "Everything's Garner Be Alright". And you thought the SNOS was corny.

Oh, now here's some good news: Alan Buckley has rejoined the club as part of the youth coaching team. As he is by far my out-and-out favourite Town manager, I feel any contribution he makes to the club can only be a good thing. Nothing can go wrong now.