Cod Almighty | Postbag

Letters with a gladsome mind

7 November 2015

You do still write to us. Now and again.

Are our diaries too long?

You don't have enough articles... Ah, I see that these have been rebranded as a Diary.

Diary's should be short, about the events of the moment, not a platform for a long ramble about personal memories. The patience for article-diaries is not infinite.

I appreciate you have a new team of diary writers who need time and space to develop their own voice and style. But they need guidance and editing.

from Bill Thompson

Letters Ed responds: We know from feedback on Twitter that many readers are enjoying the entries from our newer diarists. We'd welcome hearing what you hope for from the Cod Almighty Diary, both as to its content and length.

Welcome from Wales

Wrexham fan here. Just dropping by to say I really like your site. Its content and attitude towards football are to be commended. On a personal level, it is very refreshing to see your encouragement and delight in having a dash of Welsh spice in the English football system.

All the best.

from Thom

Letters Ed responds: Thanks Thom. The diary that prompted Thom's feedback, and most of the articles it linked to, were written by someone from Aberystwyth, but aided and abetted by the rest of the CA team.

The message remains the same

Where to begin?

Regular readers of Steve Bierley's pieces should by now be very familiar with his take on Paul Hurst's management of the club. If not, a read of his latest effort might save you the bother of looking them up because although the words might change the message remains the same.

His evidence for a lack of progress is selective, as a quick glance at Town's Conference finishing positions attests. He also seems to have forgotten, or at least failed to mention, that Pádraig Amond and Omar Bogle are Hurst signings. Furthermore he cites the lack of a declaration of intent from the manager (I'm guessing something along the lines of "We're gonna win this ***ing tinpot league" [Deletion by author - Ed]) as a weakness.

Might I suggest that Steve be bound and gagged (your choice of lockup) until promotion this season is impossible? Or if we do go up, throw away the key.

from Lee Johnson

Letters Ed responds: Invited to respond, Steve couldn't help himself from replying to the threat of incarceration with "In Hurst I'm trussed." We welcome articles from authors expressing different points of view, and since Lee wrote we have published a more upbeat article fom Jase Ives. 

The personal touch

I ordered my seat for the Harrogate cup game over the phone. Yes, I got a seat; I'm old and knackered. Sue me.

It was hand delivered at lunchtime - put through my door in an unstamped envelope, no extra charge. Presumably Harrogate must have a bloke driving around Yorkshire in a van doing just this job. What sort of business model is this? I know postage is bloody expensive post-privatisation, but this can't make any financial sense, can it?

from Phil Watson

Letters Ed responds: Better than the See Tickets customer experience

Knocking in the rebound

On the side of St Aidan's church, there was a poster with a picture of a footballer; possibly a Town player, but my poor old eyes couldn't make him out from a moving No. 9 bus. Above the picture, the words: 'OUR GOAL'. Below: 'JESUS CHRIST'.

Add punctuation and intonation as appropriate for this year's strike force. Then do the same for last year's.

from Phil Watson

Another begging letter

Hi Shaymen Down South,

My name is [Name removed out of respect for someone who has to earn a living somehow], and I'm working with [A more or less reputable bookmaking company, m'lud] and they are interested in being included on your website links page, and I wanted to see whether you would be interested in discussing this in more detail?

I believe codalmighty.com is an excellent website that serves exactly the sort of targeted demographic that would make it an ideal link partner.

I look forward to your reply, and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you in further detail.

Kind Regards,

from Wage slave

Letters Ed responds: We'd take your praise a bit more seriously if you did not address us by the name of another fanzine from another club, and you had picked up on the fact there are no commercial links on the site. As it is, the only reason we are tempted to write back is to see if you can tell us about our targeted demographic as we've been running the site for 13 years now and still don't know who reads it.

Thanks to everyone - well, almost everyone - who has written. Send your letters to feedback. You can also follow us on Twitter using @codalmighty