Cod Almighty | Diary

Hear the trumpets blow

12 January 2016

God clearly despises the FA Trophy. It rained last night so we still don't know whether we shall play Wealdstone or Weston-super-Mare on Saturday, if indeed we have a game at all. The two clubs will try and play their match at Paulton Rovers tomorrow. If they are unable to, or if the game ends in a draw, our match against the eventual winners will be postponed until a week tonight. It probably wouldn't be fair to ask them to play at Blundell Park on Saturday morning, the winners staying on for a second game in the afternoon, would it?

It is of course a well-known fact that matches in the Football League never fall foul of the weather. But if anyone wants an example of #tinpot organisation, does anyone apart from Middle-Aged Diary remember the days when the Football League Trophy had preliminary groups of three? Each of the three teams in the group had one home game and one away. In the event that all three group games finished with, say, 1-0 home wins, there was no alternative but to replay all three fixtures. Fixtures that struggled to drum up four-figure attendances in the first place.

The Telegraph's coverage of the Mariners is today devoted to an interview with Pádraig Amond. He is, as you'd expect, enjoying scoring goals and enjoying being part of a winning team. What we might not have expected even two years ago is that he gives the distinct impression that he is enjoying playing and scoring for us. Remember Dayle Southwell complaining of being abused on a night out after Town had lost in the play-offs? Remember any number of cynical stiffs happy only when taking that share of our money that Mike Newell threw at them? In the long run, this warmth of feeling might not make a difference – Podge has a living to earn – but in the meantime it adds to the glow of being a Town fan.

Cod Almighty likes to think it has played its part in making Amond feel at home through its insistence on the 'á' in Pádraig. Until yesterday, we had been calling this character an acute accent, but we have now been advised it should be called a fada. Fada, like the flourish of trumpets after a notable feat. For Podge, that sounds exactly right.