Cod Almighty | Diary
After the lord mayor's show
20 October 2016
How much do you care about the byways of compiling the Cod Almighty Diary? If your answer is "very little", skim the next two paragraphs.
The Thursday Diary has a certain reputation. If there is news, it is usually huge news: a sacking or a stadium development. Usually, there is no news. As that character in the Fast Show used to say, "Wow, hardest game in the world, being the Thursday diarist. I used to do the Thursday diary. Had to give it up in the end. Just ran out of rude words to call John Fenty."
Today, it's both impossible and easier than usual. Impossible because my best advice to you is to spend whatever time you usually devote to Cod Almighty re-reading yesterday's diary. After that, Middle-Aged Diary can only be a filler to keep you going until Retro Diary does his stuff tomorrow.
It is maybe worth saying at this point to keep 9 December free. Cod Almighty is working with the Mariners Trust to put on an evening of live music and spoken word inspired by Grimsby Town, a kind of We are Town Live. Words like the ones original/regular Diary found yesterday are sure to feature. There'll be more details on that soon, but it will be a great night.
It may turn into a great weekend with the visit of Portsmouth the next day. Pompey have another set of fans who have seen their club meet the devil at the crossroads. They at least are beginning to find their way back home.
Today's diary is easier than the usual Thursday as there is some news. Not news likely to bring down the Dock Tower, but worth pointing up anyway.
There is actually a sacking. Not at Town, but Rotherham's dismissal of Alan Stubbs has inevitably fostered speculation that Paul Hurst may interest them. Hurst made 438 appearances for Rotherham over 15 years, so it is the same kind of speculation that meant Tony Ford was once inevitably mentioned in the context of a vacancy at Blundell Park.
Should the offer come, it would no doubt be a huge emotional pull for Hurst. For what it's worth ("very little", you say again) I suspect it would be the wrong move. Hurst's greatest strength is assembling and managing a squad. The ideal job for him would surely be one starting in April or May with no short-term pressures, but the opportunity to look around and then build on what he finds in the close season.
Hats off to Matt Dannatt and Craig Disley for an enlightening and heartening interview on the occasion of our captain achieving his 600th professional appearance at Cambridge last Saturday. Finally, to mark that occasion, Rich Mills has promised to compile one of his Town XIs, a team of Grimsby gingers. Featuring, to name a couple more, Nick Hegarty and Steve Livingstone, it is surely a team that would be characterised by lung-busting enthusiasm. (If you added "and very little else" at that point, go wash your mouth out.) Send Rich your nominations.