Cod Almighty | Diary
Who you gonna call?
10 November 2014
Miss Guest Diary writes: As has been pointed out recently by a correspondent, I have been known to express scepticism about Hurst's ever-changing formations. At the risk of fuelling this talk of me having 'a hang-up', I'm going to venture there again. Exactly what was the formation in the first half on Saturday? Some say it was 4-3-3, others that it was 4-2-3-1, or maybe just 4-some-and-Lenny.
Who knows? Who cares? The players certainly didn't seem to. Only when changes were made late in the second half and Town reverted to the good old tried-and-tested 4-4-2 did Town come into the game, and even scored a goal. And a very fine goal it was too from Shaun Pearson. I rest my case.
Saturday's game was certainly an eye-opener: if that's what a team languishing in 19th place in the fourth division, with only four wins from 16 games, plays like, then heaven help us if we do get promoted. Oxford were superior to Town in every department and it's hard to see more than a couple of our current players even getting on the bench for them, let alone in their team.
So if Town do get promoted, we will need almost a complete new squad – and where would the money for that come from? As John 'Not The Chairman' Fenty is constantly reminding us, the club is losing money and getting deeper into debt with every passing season. And the elusive life-saving new stadium seems no nearer.
There's something to be said for being the big fish in the pond and I, for one, wouldn't relish going back to the days when the aim at the start of every season was just surviving in a division.
Although we are no longer in the FA Cup, Eastleigh are, meaning that Town's game against them on 6 December has been postponed. Will we get a week off or will the game against another out-of-the-cup side be brought forward, as it was with the Tamworth game a couple of seasons ago? That would make good sense. So what's the betting it won't happen?
It's that time of year again when the club is inviting fans to pay £200 to take part in a match against a group of ex-Town players, and John Fenty. If he continues to not be the chairman, they are going to have to find another name for the match, though the Major Shareholder's Challenge doesn't really have the same ring to it.
So to the game against Halifax tomorrow night. They looked rather good on TV yesterday against Bradford and have one of those scary long throws that Town cope with so well. It looked like Halifax might even win the game until Bradford swapped a midfielder for a second striker and, lo and behold, scored twice in four minutes. Paul Hurst please take note.
Finally: something completely inexplicable.