Cod Almighty | Diary

It's a 'must-not-draw' game, Brian

6 October 2015

Unleash the dogs of war. Tonight Town play Gateshead, and the blood shall thunder, the sabres will rattle and the buckles will be swashed. "We've got to stick the knife in," says Jon-Paul Pittman. A win is "imperative", adds Craig Disley, before promising that someone soon is going to get "a good hiding".

As a Welshman in our midst, Middle-Aged Diary has accepted that opportunities to talk rugby are pretty limited among Town fans. Nevertheless, you may have noticed that on Saturday night England got themselves eliminated from the World Cup they are hosting. The former New Zealand coach Graham Henry pulls no punches in today's Guardian. After bold comments from English players before their defeat by Australia he asks: "Why did the England management allow their players to talk such drivel? It's one of the reasons teams love to beat England – they talk a good game."

We know enough about the Town squad that comparisons between them and the braggadocio of many an English rugby player are unwarranted. England coach Stuart Lancaster spent four long years trying to build bridges between the England team and the English public. In Grimsby we got there in a few months: think back to the John-Lewis Christmas ad pastiche and players joining in the fun of wigs at Woking.

We trust, then, that Pittman and Disley will keep their word. We're all familiar with the 'must-win' game and its cousin the 'must-not-lose' game. Town are in danger of introducing us to the 'must-not-draw' game. There are draws and draws, of course. If, after 89 minutes of full throttle action, we rescue a point in the 90th then I'll caper round my living room as I hope you'll be dancing on the Pontoon, applauding in the Main Stand and cursing yourself for having left early from the upper Findus. What I don't think we can take too much more of is 90 minutes of what Pittman accurately calls "fencing" with the opposition.

The best thing about the Aldershot game three weeks ago was the way that, once Town got on top, they made absolutely sure they stayed there. Let's see more of it. If you can, get to Blundell Park tonight and roar yourself hoarse. It sounds to me like we are on a promise.