Cod Almighty | Diary

I would walk 500 yards

31 October 2016

Miss Guest Diary writes: On Saturday I did something I have only ever done half a dozen times before: I attended a football match which didn't involve Town. Yes, we could have gone to Yeovil, but cross-country trips to the south-west are both tortuous and time-consuming. So we opted instead for a weekend in Edinburgh – and grand it was too.

Saturday afternoon without football feels a bit empty these days, so we decided to watch Hibernian vs St Mirren. After a pleasant 30-minute stroll from the city centre, we arrived at Easter Road, a modern 20,000-seat stadium. A friendly young lad who guided us the last part of the way suggested the east or west stands were the best places to sit, but our preference is always to be behind the goal so we found ourselves high up in the north stand with a fine view of Arthur's Seat.

By coincidence, the team colours mirrored Yeovil and Town: the green and whites vs the black and whites. Fortunately the resemblance ended there, for the home team won 2-0. It was an entertaining open game – with both teams playing three at the back, it was unlikely to be anything else. A bit like Luton vs Morecambe but without any defending. But here's the thing: apart from the usual oohs and aahs and groans at specific events, and massive cheers when the goals went in, the Hibs fans were pretty silent. The only singing I recall was an occasional burst from the 300 St Mirren fans behind the opposite goal.

Now I have complained more than once about the lack of atmosphere and support at Blundell Park, but I won't be doing so again. In comparison with Easter Road, which contained 14,000 Hibs fans whose team are top of the Scottish Championship, the Pontoon is a seething mass of support and positivity.

Meanwhile down in the south-west, 387 travelling Mariners attended Huish Park. The Grimsby diaspora is fairly large, so all of them won't have had to travel the full 600 miles – but many will have done, and I applaud them for it. It's a shame they saw only a 0-0 draw in what appeared from the highlights to be a game of few chances. But, as Dave Moore said in his post-match interview, he was satisfied with a point overall.

As a player, Moore predates my days of watching Town, so I have only known him as the stern-looking physio waiting on the sidelines. With his fondness for wearing a T-shirt and shorts whatever the weather, he has the appearance of a 'hard' man. This was reinforced by a story told by one of his playing contemporaries at last year's launch of the We Are Town book in McMenemy's. Apparently, during one close season he and some of his team-mates were offered the opportunity to spend time on a trawler. The rest of them chickened out but Dave went through with it and spent a fortnight working at sea: truly a hard man.

So it was a surprise to discover from his pre- and post-match interviews at the weekend how calm, softly-spoken and mild-mannered he seems – like a benevolent Dutch uncle. Dave neither expects nor wants the stress of managing full-time, preferring to sit on his icebox and watch the game. All he asks for in a new manager is someone who he gets on with.

The fans obviously ask for a lot more, and the frenzy on Twitter last week as the betting odds fluctuated has been amusing to watch. And astounding – do people actually waste money on this stuff? The hot favourite this morning appears to be Marcus Bignot from Solihull Moors. Town could do worse. The last three managers we have taken from non-League – Buckley, Slade and Hurst – didn't do too badly. But it will probably turn out to be someone that no-one has yet even mentioned.

I have a sneaking wish for Wayne Burnett to get the job, but that doesn't have anything to do with his managerial capabilities. Well, a girl can dream.

Finally, congratulations to James McKeown on his 300th appearance for Town. Who was the last player to reach that milestone? Even Groves didn't make it in a single spell with the club. I'll leave one of you stattos out there to enlighten us.