Cod Almighty | Diary

Favourite shirts

16 December 2013

Miss Guest Diary writes: Well, the lucky shirt continued to work its magic on Saturday and saw Town safely through to the next round of the FA Trophy. It's a pity it couldn't do anything about the biting wind and the complete lack of atmosphere, but that would probably have taken a miracle.

I was surprised to hear quite a few people at the match praising The Hive, Barnet's new ground. Isn't it amazing how easily people are seduced by a bit of shiny new plastic and a drop of hot water. Yes, the stewards were very helpful and friendly, the refreshments reasonably priced and there was that hot water – and hand-driers! – in the toilets. But the ground itself managed to be bleak and desolate in the middle of an affluent part of north London and the wind whipping across the surrounding fields felt every bit as cold as one from the North Sea.

The Hive has only one proper stand at one side, plus a dozen concrete steps at each end and a few rows of seats in front of a looming building on the other side. It doubles as Barnet's training facility and that's what it felt like – a training game. The fact that it was a Trophy game in front of a small crowd didn't help, but it's hard to imagine there ever being much atmosphere. Maybe some atmosphere could be generated with a bigger crowd when Town play them in the league, but that fixture clashes with the next round of the Trophy on 11 January so will end up being a midweek game. Given that Harrow Council has ordered the club to demolish the stand and remove the floodlights for contravention of planning laws, we may never find out.

Town's match against Kidderminster on Thursday has been designated a "memory game", with the club linking up with the Sporting Memories Network to raise awareness of dementia. Fans are being encouraged to share their favourite memories of Town and wear their favourite shirt to the match and can gain admission for £10 using a voucher from the Telegraph. There will also be a half-time parade of Town legends. It's too much to hope that Wayne Burnett will be there – but his golden goal at Wembley is, and probably always will be, my favourite Town memory.

I was hoping to bring you news of Town's opponents in the next round of the trophy, but it seems the FA won't be releasing details until 1pm and I have a lunch date to get to. And where did I find that out? Maybe the FA's website, or a national newspaper? No: extensive Googling turned up the information on the official website for Tamworth FC. No wonder some people consider this a tinpot competition.