Cod Almighty | Diary

Holding out for a hero

18 August 2014

Miss Guest Diary writes: Since I started going to watch Town in 1990 I have always had a 'favourite' player in the team. Not in the ooh-you're-amazing-can-I-have your-autograph sort of way that I had with favourite pop or movie stars when I was a teenager. But because I find it makes the game more interesting to have a particular player to focus on – a bit like that player cam thing Sky Sports used to do. Let's face it, sometimes these days we all need something to liven up the game. And I don't mean letting the opposition score a breakaway goal in the 86th minute and then conceding a penalty in stoppage time.

Before Town's revolving door policy of squad building, I would sometimes have the same favourite for several years – but this is very rarely possible nowadays. So it was, after the departure of Andi Thanoj, that I needed to pick someone new for this season. After seeing two games last week, I have settled on Carl Magnay, who put in solid performances as right-back against Nuneaton and right wing-back against Dover; this despite actually being a centre-half.

I was predisposed to like Magnay after hearing a radio interview where he referred to Town as a "big club" and, when talking of his previous club Gateshead, more or less used that dreaded phrase so often applied to us in the past: "no disrespect to the likes of". Having seen his Twitter handle @CarlMagnay_Icon, you could be forgiven for thinking he's a bit of a bighead, but all was explained during the interview. Apparently as a 17-year-old he won some kind of TV talent contest called Football Icon and his prize was to sign a professional contract with Chelsea. It's a shame he hasn't made it yet in the League, but I'd like to think he will get there with Town this season.

I don't want to talk, or even really think, about last week's games themselves, or what formation was played. I'm was hoping that when we got Scott Neilson back from suspension and Aswad Thomas back from injury, Hurst would see sense and revert to a 4-4-2 formation with players in their correct positions. But now I see that Thomas is going to be out for six weeks with a fractured fibula. At least Hurst says he is looking for a new left-back, which means he won't be playing three at the back again. Doesn't it?

And on the subject of defenders, can anyone suggest a reason why the shirt Toto wore on Saturday bore the name NSALIA instead of NSIALA? Apart from sheer incompetence, of course.