Cod Almighty | Postbag

Here come the Welsh

11 May 2013

Welcome back to that forgotten corner of the Cod Almighty empire, its Postbag. Neglected by almost everyone, not least its editor, it must be confessed.

A few leaves have drifted this way. Our last edition carried a letter citing the film Clockwise. Rich Mills wrote to remind us that part of the film was shot in Grimsby, thus adding to This is England in North East Lincolnshire's list of cinema credits. Any others?

Rich also expressed surprise that of all the ex-Town managers the Royal Mail might have chosen to commemorate, they picked Bill Shankly. My own theory is they are just waiting a few years, then the queen's head will be replaced with Alan Buckley's.

Talking of ex-managers, Mark Dillerstone took issue with the list of successors to Lawrie McMenemy provided in the last Postbag. A couple of the omissions he pointed out were deliberate, but I admit I overlooked the inoffensive Kenny Swain, and, as Mark said, I am hanging my head in shame that I skipped from Newman to Booth. I have amended the list accordingly. You will have seen elsewhere that the Mariners Trust's evening with George Kerr next Friday will include several players from his era, including Joe Waters, flying in from the US. Expect tears, and other liquids, to flow.

That leaves one letter, on a now half-forgotten issue, which is published below. The close season is on us, with an Ashes series to look forward to, but if your thoughts keep harping back to Blundell Park, write to us with your matured reflections on the season gone, the season to come, and our coverage in Cod Almighty.

Y conspiraci Gymraeg (The view from Spain)

Dear Cods 

Does someone up there (in the FA) like Wrexham? Not content with raising not a voice (I see little comment in the media either) over Wrexham's blatant adulteration of the final day – playing 10 reserves against Mansfield and thus allowing them to gain promotion, their centre-back is given a straight-red with 10 mins to go. Then he's back and scoring in the first play-off semi-final leg against Kidderminster. The latter must love Wrexham, who clearly preferred not to face Mansfield in the play-offs. All a bit dodgy sir. Rather like Newport, who also preferred not to play their fellow Welshmen. All a bit dodgy sir.

Are these decisions normally taken so quickly by the FA? Does the impending play-off fixture change the routine? It would appear so. How many Welshmen in the committee? Anyone like to check? I feel a bit sorry for Kidderminster.

from Phil Ball

Letters Ed responds: Cod Almighty's Welsh affairs correspondent replies: As those living in the UK will know, the decision not to suspend the Wrexham defender, David Artell, following his red card against Mansfield was actually taken by the FA of Wales, and led to a great deal of huffing and puffing in Kidderminster and Grimsby, until Newport beat both the Mariners and Wrexham.

Two points worth making. A few idiots (and I do not for a second imagine that Phil belongs in their number) have suddenly woken up to the presence of Welsh clubs in the English pyramid, and decided it is iniquitous, largely because they keep beating us: I don't remember anyone grumbling when Garry Birtles scored a hat-trick on the last day of the season to confirm promotion in 1990, against Wrexham. Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham all predate the League of Wales by decades. Indeed, one of the early obstacles the reborn Newport faced was the ham-fisted attempt of the FA of Wales to try and coerce a club formed with the specific purpose of regaining the city's Football League status into the Welsh structure.

Secondly, it is probably an anomaly that the FAW should have juridiction on disciplinary issues involving teams in the English league structure, if only for the conspiracy theories to which it gives rise. However, we are all familiar enough with the random decision-making processes of football authorities on both sides of Offa's Dyke (and beyond) to know that there is no guarantee that the English FA or the Conference would not have made the same judgement on Artell.