Cod Almighty | Diary

You can't have your fishcake and eat it

7 November 2013

Sometimes in the youth set-up of a football club, everything comes good at once, and a very good group of players emerges within a single year group, who go on to light up the first team and win the hearts of supporters. Some of the best-known recent examples are perhaps Manchester United and Portugal, who have both enjoyed the footballing fruits of their respective 'golden' generations.

At Grimsby Town, similarly, we are now beginning to appreciate the 'two surnames and no first name' generation. It's great to see Caine Winfarrah break into the first team and make an impact right away. But your original/regular Diary wants to know what happened to Caine's former youth team peers who also had two surnames and no first name. What about Robson Burnett? What of Reece Moody and Cole Mills? Whither the magnificently monickered Oakley Luddington?

Flippant? Me? Well, it's a job and a half finding real news this week, in among all the non-stories in the build-up to some cup game or other that's apparently happening this weekend. Here's the result of a game of five-a-side. Here's an offhand remark by one of the captains, blown up in to an entire feature. Here's a story about some more tickets being bought by some people who want to go and watch a game of football. Here's the opinion of some ex-player or manager, who controversially believes the Grimsby v Scunthorpe match will be "passionate" and "a really big game". Here's a whole web page about who the referee is. Oh… here's a new Cod Almighty quiz all about Town's record in the… um, FA Cup.

Now here's some real news, and scandalous at that: there are no GTFC players in the latest England C squad! True, this may seem inconsequential to many outside the hotbed of hotbed that is North East Lincolnshire. But to us Grimsby Town fans, it's another chance to fire up our persecution complex and have a good old moan. What with Newport County last year, and the Great Welsh Conspiracy to… er… well, I can't remember now, but… and NEL council not having done… er… whatever it was they were supposed to do to get us a new stadium, I can't remember that either now… the world clearly hates us!

The sad truth is that the world doesn't hate us. And probably only a small number of Scunthorpe fans do. It's far worse than that, I'm afraid. The world doesn't hate us. The world is completely indifferent towards us.

And the great irony is that when GTFC players are called up to the England C squad, Grimsby Town fans still moan about meaningless fixtures and potential injuries.

Finally today, the home fixture against Welling United which was postponed because of whatever it is that's happening this weekend has been rescheduled for Tuesday 3 December. If that doesn't rock your world then you are truly dead inside.

Is it really nine years since that horrible day at Glanford Park? If you're going on Saturday, try not to sing a song about anyone's dead wife this time, eh? Cheers.