Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Tuesday 2 October 2012

2 October 2012

There's nothing to lose sleep over in today's Grimsby-related news. But news it is, the kind that can make for a pretty dull read. So let's get it over with.

Sneaking in under a 'news' item about the Mariners' unbeaten away record, there is an interview with major shareholder John Fenty (UndercoverCon) which unfortunately causes us to think about his underwear. He tells us his role at the club is pretty much unchanged since he relinquished the title of chairman. The cynical translation (so naturally the one favoured by Cod Almighty) is that he is de facto chairman when results are going well, but just a major shareholder when they are not. However, he is happy and Rob Scott is happy that Adam Smith has taken charge of the youth team following the departure of Robbie Stockdale. Smith will also manage the reserves with goalkeeping coach Steve Croudson.

No doubt even happier is Andi Thanoj, who has been selected for the Albania under-21 squad, not, your Middle-aged Diary hopes, as a result of the patronising Twitter campaign some Town fans tried to get going last season. We may be inclined to treat Albania as a real-life Ruritania but it has its own dramatic history and its own concerns. And its football team, however modest, deserves better than to be treated as a passive object for our own egos. You'll gather that I'm currently making my third attempt to slog my way through Edward Said's Culture and Imperialism.

Imagine, finally, the sheer happiness of Nathan Pond, who has been named the Conference player of the month for September. We do have to imagine his happiness, as there is no interview with him as yet, but it is a safe guess he will say it is an honour to be recognised, but that the most important thing is that the team is doing well and that he does not intend to rest on his laurels. Danny North said more or less exactly that when he won a similar award a few seasons back, and was never the same player again. That's not to decry the players giving the quotes - what else are they meant to say? One of the admirable things about the tennis player Andy Murray is that he gives the impression of thinking about the questions he is asked, no matter how banal, and answering them honestly. The gleam of humour in his eye when he replied: "It's far harder for me than it is for them" when asked about the stress for his watching family during a match was a minor highlight of this "summer of sporting triumph" (as we are now legally obliged to call it).

It is a similar blend of honesty and intelligence that makes Nick Hegarty's interview for Anna Key so refreshing, including as it does the implicit insight as to why players like North, or Peter Bore, never achieved the careers their talents warranted. Go read that. It's more interesting than anything I have to say.