Cod Almighty | Diary
Do not judge a book by its cover, or a club by its average home attendance
10 December 2013
Tonight, of all nights, Grimsby play Welling.
Welling, in case you have forgotten – and Paul Hurst certainly has not – inflicted our first defeat of the season back in August. They have lost their last four matches, departing both cups at the hands of Plymouth and Braintree and also suffering a couple of 2-1 league defeats against Luton and Nuneaton. In case you are thinking this is the kind of match Town are sure to slip up in, Welling's last point came from a 0-0 draw at Barnet, the club below us in the table, and they won the two games before that, against Luton in the first round of the FA Cup and at home to Lincoln in the league.
Welling are the kind of team – by their renown, league position and recent form – who some kinds of fans will say are the kind of team we "should be beating". They say it regularly now, and to be fair, far more often than not, the Mariners generally deliver the result we want, if not always in the manner we would like. But bear in mind, a few years ago we said it of Accrington Stanley and before that of Hartlepool. Rather than rely on our preconceptions, let's judge how hard a match it will be tonight after we have watched Welling play for a bit.
After all, Welling may have in their ranks a player who will one day match the achievements of Tony Ford. This being Tuesday, we have the frequent phenomenon of the 'colour' piece from the local paper of a team we have beaten. Middle-Aged Diary will link to this latest instance almost without comment, except to say that if Cobblers fans have not heard of Tony Ford (I won't rehearse his career details and honours here), that reflects their ignorance, not Ford's obscurity.
That factory you wondered about, Tom? Following the decline of the fishing industry, which you so originally chose to use as the focus of your article, the town is having to diversify. We are developing a burgeoning vinegar industry. Thanks for adding to our stock of the raw material.