Cod Almighty | Diary

Wayne is wonderful

20 July 2015

Miss Guest Diary writes: I have now seen the new-look squad play two pre-season games. The first, against Derby, filled me with optimism for the coming year; the second, at Gainsborough on Saturday, brought me back down to earth. Yes, it turned out to be a comfortable 3-1 victory. But, as with last year's game in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup, the winning goals came late on after a fairly turgid game in which Town were frequently matched by Gainsborough.

I was eager to get a glimpse of Town's new striker, Omar Bogle, who was missing from the Derby game with a swollen knee. Well, he certainly is an impressive physical specimen – get that man a larger pair of shorts! But, at first sight, he wasn't as convincing as a footballer, though he may well fit right into the vacancy left by our former goal machine. He managed to fluff at least four chances in the 30 minutes he was on the pitch. Let's just say his performance was sufficient to earn himself the soubriquet of "Lenny-heavy" from Cod Almighty's match reporter.

Meanwhile, Town's other new striker, Padraig Amond, converted two of his chances very calmly. He also put me in mind of a former Town striker so, for the time being, I'm going to call him Mendonca-lite.

McKeown was once again missing from the squad. As a player who never seems to get injured – he played every game last season – this caused me a little concern, which shot through the roof when the news broke yesterday that he had been admitted to hospital with viral meningitis. A quick look at the NHS website (how long before this Government makes it a subscription-only service? Sorry, I got sidetracked there) shows that this is the less severe form of the illness and usually gets better within a couple of weeks. While anything which requires admission to hospital is to be taken seriously, this is not the terrifying event it appeared to be at first. Get well soon, James.

And then there's the thrilling news that Town are going to be playing Grantham Town in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup. Originally scheduled for this Wednesday, the match has been postponed to a date yet to be arranged, which is a relief. After playing Huddersfield at Blundell Park on Tuesday, another match the following day would have put strain on both the squad and the travelling fans.

As Operation Promotion enters its final week with the current total pledged standing at £67,493, the Mariners Trust has published a list of dates when some of the rewards will be available for collection from the trust bar. Regrettably, I cannot make any of these dates and am hoping it doesn't mean I'll miss out on my signed poster of Wayne Burnett's golden goal. There'll be hell to pay if I do!