Cod Almighty | Diary

It seems the more I gave, the less I got

15 May 2014

In 2011 he joined the Mariners and wondered aloud on Twitter where he was going to live. Cod Almighty put him in touch with estate agent and ex-GTFC full-back Gary Croft and the rest is history. We refer, of course, to Town captain Craig Disley, who has signed a new one-year contract with the club. Disley's 12 goals this season counts as an impressive return from midfield, of course. And in these revolving door days, your original/regular Diary is just glad to have a player on the books who's been around long enough for me to remember his name.

Scott Neilson, meanwhile, has been offered new terms, along with James McKeown (off to Bradford), Alex Rodman (already left) and Andi Thanoj (pleeeeeeeease!). Paul Bignot, Aswad Thomas and Lenell John-Lewis have already had extension clauses activated (posh way of saying they're stopping another year). Scott Kerr, Andy Cook, Clayton McDonald, Sam Hatton, Joe Colbeck, Dayle Southwell, Jamal Fyfield and Jonathan Hedge have been released. Caine Winfarrah, Paul Walker and Ellis Humble have been given their first professional contracts. All of which leaves just one chilling question: what's happened to Doigy?

The Ones That Got Away, pt 1,724: Gary Mills and Russell Slade have both been honoured with divisional manager of the year awards for the 2013-14 season. Mills was notably in the running for the Blundell Park job on one or other of the 1,724 occasions Town have replaced a manager in the past half-dozen years. Town didn't get him, he got York promoted, and now his remarkably overachieving Gateshead side have just dumped us out of the play-offs for good measure.

Slade, similarly, is about to take a team to Wembley, four years after his mooted return to BP was kiboshed by passing and movement purists threatening to stuff John Fenty's Christmas turkey with their season tickets. Neil Woods got the job instead and we never looked back. Today we might be 50-odd league places below Slade's Leyton Orient side – OK, and a few more next season if they win the third division play-off final – but at least we play fluent attacking football, eh? Oh.

Last up today, could you put your hand in your pocket please? Two Town fans are raising funds for the club's youth development programme and supporters' trust with a sponsored walk up Mount Snowdon. One is my friend and fellow (albeit more prolific) Cod Almighty contributor Pat Bell; the other Dan Humphrey of the Mariners Trust. This epic ascent takes place on 29 June and more information – including how to sponsor them – can be found on the trust's blog. Good stuff! Please do support Dan and Pat if you can spare a few quid, preferably avoiding any wordplay along the lines of "and you thought Paul Hurst had a mountain to climb!"