Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 4 March 2013

4 March 2013

Miss Guest Diary writes: Last Friday evening didn't go as planned for many of us Mariners fans. Instead of cheering the team on to a well-deserved victory and return to the top of the table, I spent nearly an hour hanging around outside a deserted Moss Rose speculating with other Town fans as to why anyone would be daft enough to travel on the M62 on a Friday afternoon. Let's face it, if the Town coach had stuck to A-roads like the rest of us, it could have gone via Ashby-de-la-Zouch and still made the game in time.

It's disappointing to note that, while Town's erstwhile chairman may have the power to hold back the saltmarsh, John Fenty didn't have sufficient clout to get the game rescheduled for Saturday afternoon. The fans outside the ground on Friday were more worried that he and John Tondeur were donning some boots and making their playing debuts.

While trying to get to sleep at the local Premier Inn, my partner and I began to reminisce about other abortive trips to see Town. Fresh in our minds was December's two-day sojourn in Newcastle for the frozen-off Gateshead match, redeemed only by a visit to the Baltic arts centre and a meal out with some old friends. I thought that might have been our longest fruitless trip, at 160 miles, until I was reminded of the time in the late '90s when we drove up to Blundell Park from our then home in Watford - over 200 miles - only for the game to be called off due to a waterlogged pitch just as we reached the Rutland Arms. At least for that one there was no hotel expense involved as we usually travelled straight home after the game in those days. We also fell foul of a waterlogged pitch in 2005, arriving at Chester's ground just as the match was postponed. This felt particularly galling as it was the middle of August.

Added to the postponements, I have attended two games - at Swindon in 1997 and at Blundell Park against Rushden & Diamonds in 2011 - which were abandoned during the match at a time when Town were losing and down to 10 men. These abandonments actually turned out quite well for Town because we drew both the rearranged matches. I have resisted the temptation to look at Town's record for winning rearranged matches because, quite honestly, I think trying to predict the outcome of future events from past ones is completely pointless. The only people to profit from such an exercise are bookmakers and insurance companies.

With Town down to fifth in the table, albeit with games in hand on most of the teams above them, fans are beginning to get twitchy. There's talk of it being better to have the points in the bag than games in hand, also of must-win games. I tend to think all games are must-win - there wouldn't be a lot of point in playing otherwise. But I know what they mean. Tomorrow's game at Forest Green does seem to have taken on extra significance with them only one place below us in the table. So let's hope Friday night's debacle has given the team extra determination to do well tomorrow.

Yesterday was the third anniversary of the death of Keith Alexander, who is fondly remembered by many fans, including blogger Too Good To Go Down. I only saw him play once, in the first ever Town game I attended, at Southend in April 1990. To tell the truth, I cannot remember anything about the actual play but, as he scored the only two goals of the game, I assume that Keith played well.

To end on a more cheerful note, I am happy to report that our old friend Anthony Elding has made a positive start to his career with Sligo Rovers by scoring on his debut in a pre-season friendly. So, the Irish football season starts in March - who knew?