Cod Almighty | Diary

My mum's stopped reading Tolstoy, she reads Cod Almighty instead

11 August 2016

First of all, hats off today to the Plymouth Herald, a newspaper so free of parochialism that it has devoted a picture and extensive quotes to Paul Hurst on the worthy but hardly world-shaking feat of losing to Derby by a single goal. Middle-Aged Diary contacted Devon Diary to ask if, by any chance, it is quiet down in the south-west, but he had no time to answer as he was busy following up the story that a hamster had crossed the road in Budleigh Salterton.

Hats off also to Craig Clay, who has signed for Motherwell on a two-year deal. Both he and Richard Tait were in the starting XI last night when the Steelmen went down 5-0 to Celtic. Order your copy now of tomorrow's Plymouth Herald to find out what Well's manager Mark McGhee made of that.

Early team speculation for Town's trip to Wycombe on Saturday suggests that Craig Disley may be in contention for a place, and so should Sean McAllister, who was taken off at Derby for "feeling his groin". Mary Whitehouse was unavailable for comment, having died nine years after Frankie Howerd.

Chairboys manager Gareth Ainsworth, meanwhile, wants to give Wycombe fans something to shout about. Just a suggestion Gareth, but we find a reliable way of getting the home crowd shouting at Blundell Park is to let in two early goals. Wycombe have an impressive looking injury list and a goalkeeper on emergency loan from Sheffield Wednesday. Luckily, despite being "parachuted in", he did not join the casualty list.

Talking goalkeepers, original/regular Diary was asking yesterday after remarkable goals you have missed seeing. This story didn't involve me, but as it happened to a Tranmere fan (actually a very decent ex-colleague of mine), you will probably enjoy it. In 2006, he took his daugher to her first game. They were a bit late, and he was still settling them in. Seeing the ball was safely at goalkeeper Gavin Ward's feet, he decided he had time to bend down and tuck a backpack under one of their seats. Then he heard cheers. Almost the first bit of football action his daughter ever saw was a goalkeeper scoring from a clearance. He missed it.