Cod Almighty | Diary

4-1-2-1-13. Or something like that

24 July 2013

Hello. London Diary here. So last night we played the mighty Bradford City. I remember the days when playing t' Bantams was a regular occurrence, though nowadays it's limited to pre-season friendlies and cup games. Anyway, we lost. Rubbish! Boo! Sack the managerererssss. But wait, apparently we played good football. According to Bradford's Telewag we proved their sternest test so far, so that's good, surely? Having read various match reports and seen the highlights, it looks like our midfield really could be a tasty little so-and-so this year. There was plenty of passing, and get this, it was on the floor. None of this hoofing business.

Again, the managers opted for a five-man midfield – with no starting place for Craig Disley, who is going to have to work hard to get in that starting line-up come August. Mysteriously, Sam Hatton started in midfield, to mixed reviews, and then in the second half played in defence, to mixed reviews. Remember though, Livvo played up front and in defence, but he was properly good. Anyway, much in the same way the score flattered Scunthorpe on Saturday, it also flattered Bradford last night. But as my ugly, overweight teacher always said, flattery gets you nowhere.

I'm all for trying different formations, and the prospect of a packed midfield does excite me somewhat. My only question is why we're opting for a lone striker solution when we currently have 3,456 strikers on the books. But hey, I'm sure the managers have got it covered. This is what pre-season is all about: experimenting with different lads. Oo-er. New signing Bignot started alongside Pearson, Thomas and Doig. Have we signed Doig? Apparently we have and haven't. The back four does look good and aside from the two second-half goals last night, the back four kept the Bantams at bay.

Yesterday, Middle-Aged Diary made some great comments about footballers of yesteryear playing for the town and not just the club, and that Doig sounds like one of those players. Again, as mentioned, footballers do have a limited shelf life, and if they don't have a back-up plan for when they retire, it can be a lonely place. Doig's interview only confirmed this. I read an article in the Guardian this morning which talked about the recent death of Paul Bhattarcharjee and that clearly, like football, being an actor isn't always what it's cracked up to be. There are amazing moments, like scoring against your local rivals, reaching a cup final, being selected for an England team, but also the prospect of living out of a suitcase for a year because a manager has signed you on a month-by-month basis must be a pain in the backside. Well, for Martin Butler, that was literally the case.

So wouldn't it be nice if it was like the good old days and all the players lived in the town and played for the Town. Anyway, I wish all the players the best of luck for this season and hopefully many more. UTM!