Cod Almighty | Diary

"As for Charlie, he joins the other 600 or so players looking for a new club"

28 January 2015

Well, if Town don't get out of non-League this season, I reckon that's the end for your original/regular Diary. Life in this tinpot league is nothing short of unbearable. Just look. Match tickets still cost less than twenty quid, and pies come in below a fiver. You go on away trips and get to change ends at half time. The Conference lets corporate freeloaders like Cod Almighty publish fixture lists without paying £82,093. And the other team's chairman treats travelling Mariners to a pint before the match and a pie ahead of the long journey home. Exactly how much longer must this nightmare go on?

Other notable points from last night's seismic win at Eastleigh include debuts for new signings Christian Jolley and Gregor Robertson, a rousing display from loan star Ollie Palmer – complete with match-winning first-half goal – and an earthquake of 2.9 magnitude with an epicentre approximately 1 kilometre northeast of the centre of Winchester. While this is all very exciting, the Hampshire tremor fails to impress in comparison with the 2008 Lincolnshire quake, epicentred 15 miles from Grimmo, which registered a respectable 5.2 on the Richter scale and inspired a chant of "Earthquake survivors!" during the Football League Trophy northern area semi-final between Grimsby Town and Morecambe a few days later.

So, is there any chance of keeping Palmer a bit longer? The lanky frontman's strike at Ten Acres – his second in three games since joining on a short-term loan from Mansfield – has prompted many Town fans to call for the club to secure his services until at least the end of the season. Many Town fans and Paul Hurst, it would seem. "As things stand, Ollie's last game of the current deal is Forest Green [away on 7 February]," explains the diminutive Mariners boss. "We have spoken about things, and we are hopeful we can maybe extend that." Yeah, we've completely forgotten who that loan midfielder was who stayed about nine minutes and then went to Boston too.

Last up today, The One That Got Away, episode 406: Charlie I'Anson has gone on loan to Real Oviedo. The 21-year-old former Town defender, you will recall, departed unceremoniously from Blundell Park in 2012 and fairly quickly secured a deal with Elche of Spain's top flight La Liga. Still, at least I'Anson's attitude is no longer disappointing Rob Scott, and that's the most important thing in all of this, eh.