Cod Almighty | Diary

We only sing when we're fishing

13 April 2015

Miss Guest Diary writes: My other half has been saying all season – in fact he said it before the season started – that Town were going to finish fourth and fail in the play-offs again. Sometimes I have been inclined to agree with him, but mostly I have been in the 'this could be Town's year' wishful thinking camp.

So I'm happy that Town have proved him wrong by securing third spot. I'd like to think that this means the team will go at least one better this year and get to Wembley. And maybe even win there. But Saturday's non-performance against Wrexham has drained me of all optimism. Securing automatic promotion was a really long shot after the draw against Gateshead, so the game was pretty much a dead rubber, but that was no excuse for how Town played.

To be fair to Paul Hurst, he summed up the performance honestly, admitting it was "poor", that there were "countless things wrong" and most of the players were "off their game". What worries me is that he seemed rather mystified by the whole affair, admitting to John Tondeur that he will have to think about "why that performance has occurred". Why did the players seem to lack energy? Were they nervous? Had they trained too much, or not enough? I wanted to shout at the radio: if you don't know, who does?

And then what's happened to Carl Magnay? He has achieved almost iconic status in the last couple of months: a giant banner, his own song and a gaggle of fans in Magnay masks at Alfreton. I too have put him on a pedestal: he has been in danger of replacing wonderful Wayne as my all-time favourite Town player. But he has fallen off that pedestal with a real bump in his last two games: missing challenges, underhitting passes and, horror of horrors, passing the ball out of play. I know the team is more than just one player, but his influence seems so great that I really fear for Town's promotion chances if he doesn't recover his form.

Town's defence has also suffered another blow with the news that, just when Gregor Roberston was really starting to show his worth, the knee injury he suffered on Saturday will keep him out for at least two weeks and maybe longer. On the positive side, Toto managed to negotiate Saturday's game without a further booking. This takes him past the second yellow card amnesty of the season and the knowledge that he would get a two-match ban for his next yellow card. Which is just as well because Josh Gowling, the player brought in as cover and who had an excellent debut at Alfreton, now has a mystery foot injury. Could it be something in the water at Blundell Park?

But no matter how pessimistic I am feeling, I will be there at Southport on Saturday to cheer the team on. And at every other game too. After all, if we make it to Wembley it counts as an away game and our away record is second to none in the Conference this season. However, can I just make a plea for the crowd to sing a few of the more traditional songs. Some of these modern chants seem less like inspiration and more like energy-sapping dirges. Continued chanting about Hurst's black and white army gave the players a visible lift during the Gateshead game – so more of the same please. UTM.