Cod Almighty | Diary
Inside the mind of Mr JS Fenty
22 September 2016
The great thing – the terrible thing – about following the affairs of Grimsby Town FC is that both conspiracy and cock-up theories appear equally valid. Indeed, reading John Fenty's rambling account of how he came to attend the Football League meeting which voted for changes to the Football League Trophy without having read and circulated all the agenda, you are inclined to believe he'd be incapable of a conspiracy.
He's not off the hook though. After being quoted a few weeks before saying he thought having B teams in the Football League was a great idea, the Mariners Trust had forcibly pointed out to him that, actually, it wouldn't. Even if the proposal was sprung on him unawares, he knew it was contentious and that his mandate to vote the way he did was, at best, questionable.
And if Fenty imagines the subsequent shifts in the rules – from under-21 players to under-23 players with five over-age players allowed – changes the principle that Town's first XI should never play a competitive game against anyone's second string, he should think again.
It would be fascinating to know when the rules of the competition became unacceptable to him. If the Football League had announced that top-flight teams would be allowed to field under-22 teams with two over-age players, and another allowed on at half time, would that have been OK? Or if the over-age players were only allowed to kick the ball with their weaker foot? It would hardly make the night when some random collection of Leicester stiffs turn up at Blundell Park hoping for a kickabout more farcical.
Down the meandering reasonings of Fenty a person must go who is neither tarnished nor afraid. It takes heroism – and in the last two years, the Mariners Trust has achieved heroic deeds. Middle-Aged Diary is not just talking about the amount of money raised during Operation Promotion. That is secondary to the way it built on and engendered the sense that we were getting our club back, that we – all of us – could make a difference. It has also done valuable work, almost unnoticed, tidying up some of the frankly shoddy scrapes the club has got itself into.
It is one of the defences of the apologists for the rich eccentric that he (it is usually a he) is "putting his money where his mouth is". Well, we all do that according to our means and our opportunity every time we buy a ticket, every time we organise – or just take part in – a fund-raiser. Even every time we chip in our share of the hosting fees to keep going a site that allows and encourages discussion of the Mariners. But the quid pro quo of all the voluntary work that goes on around the club is that we have a right to feel that our voices be heard. The Mariners Trust is the means by which that can be so.
The Grimsby Town boardroom until recently was a place so dangerous that even the supporters' representatives must go in pairs. Now Jon Wood must tread the carpet alone, arguing our cause then, like a rugby player, abiding by the referee's decision no matter how irrational it might be. Frankly, I don't envy him the gig. But it is not all bleak. The forum transcripts suggest Philip Day brings common sense to proceedings. I'd like to imagine he and Wood enjoy a quick coffee before meetings and a stiff drink afterwards.
Wood has reiterated the efforts he made to convey supporters' views on the changes to the Trophy, but admitted that he is bound by collective responsibility. Part of the lack of clarity over his role is working out what "supporting the board" might entail after he has been outvoted. If it was his job to open the turnstiles when Leicester B come visiting, I can see he'd be bound to do that. I would hope, though, that he retains the right to give his and our opinions in every forum.
If there is any uncertainty about that, we all of us have a role to play in strengthening the trust's position in the heart of the club.