Cod Almighty | Diary

Drinka pinta milka day

28 October 2013

Miss Guest Diary writes: The magic of the cup: I’ve been wondering over the weekend about the origins of this slogan. It sounds like something dreamed up by marketing men, doesn’t it. You know, like those catchy phrases from the 60s and 70s created by now-famous writers slumming it in advertising agencies. Slogans that told us cream cakes are naughty, but nice; or urged us to go to work on an egg.

Whoever coined the one about the FA Cup being magic probably wasn’t thinking about the fourth qualifying round. Don’t get me wrong: I enjoyed myself at Blundell Park on Saturday. But that had more to do with not having to queue for my hot chocolate, or in the ladies' at half time, and the opportunity to chat to friends about their holiday in Sharm-el-Sheikh or the colour of the carpet in their new garage conversion. It was also nice to see Town win quite comfortably and Andy Cook score his second goal of the season, but it wasn’t cheap and it definitely wasn’t magic.

But forget all that... Scunny at home in the next round! Now that’s a magical prospect. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a sell-out, and it’s on my birthday too. Bring it on.

Whatever the result of that game, the Mariners Trust is endeavouring to keep our interest in the cup going for as long as possible by launching a raffle-cum-sweepstake where you can ‘win’ one of the teams in the fourth round proper. Whoever has the team that eventually wins the FA Cup will scoop the jackpot. Anyway, you can read all about it here.

In last week’s diary I brought you news that Paul Wilkinson will be playing in the Chairman’s Challenge game and, not having seen him play, was forced to rely on the reminiscences of match reporter Tony Butcher. This week brings news that Wilko will be joined by his old strike partner, Gary Lund. I do have my own recollections of Lundy – not at Town, but when he played for Notts County.

I saw him first at Wembley in 1990 in the third division play-off final against Tranmere. I was very much a football novice at the time so I innocently asked my companion whether Lund was playing in a special decoy role as he seemed to spend a lot of time near the action but not really involved. I was told that: no, he wasn’t a decoy trying to avoid the ball but actually a striker trying to score. In our house ever since then, players who fail to get too close to the action are said to be 'Lunding'. I’ve even seen him doing it on Match of the Day, and once on a highlights programme when he and his team’s keeper were the only players not involved in a mass brawl.