Cod Almighty | Diary

Let's get the fuckers going

24 November 2015

One of the many highlights of We Are Town is Phil Ball's vivid description of Alan Buckley in the dugout, never letting up despite the Mariners having quickly established a 2-0 lead. Tommy Watson's head drops, after Tony Rees fails to see him in space. Instantly, Buckley is up off the bench: "Tommy! You get the fuckers going then!"

No doubt both Alan Buckley and Paul Hurst are capable of an appropriate mix of bellowing and sympathy when the occasion demands. Nevertheless, we'd be surprised to see such colour on the Blundell Park touchline nowadays. The headline quote "I have total faith in my team" in today's Telegraph initially elicits the response: "So you should. After three years, they are your team and no-one else's". Read on, though, and it becomes apparent that Hurst is not defending his team, but urging them to believe in themselves.

There is a future to determine, and it's still in our own hands. Middle-Aged Diary's first thought on checking the league table after Saturday's excellent win at Eastleigh was disappointment we haven't opened up more of a gap below us. By tonight, we could have been dislodged from third. But it just means we'll have to carry on winning.

As the diaries of the last few days have said, the Mariners Trust is doing what it ought to be doing about a new ground for Grimsby Town, and so is North East Lincolnshire Council. If you've strong views, if there's anything you think needs to be done better, then clicking 'like' on a tweet is not enough. We'll be living with the decisions that get made now for the rest of our lives, so let's make sure we get it right. If you live in the area, you need to be talking to your councillor. And wherever you live, you need to be in the Mariners Trust, making your voice heard and putting your money and your abilities where your mouth is.

As Alan Buckley might have put it: you get the fuckers going.