Cod Almighty | Diary

Sing another song, boys

14 November 2016

Miss Guest Diary writes: What a breath of fresh air Town's new manager is shaping up to be. He seems to be everything that Hurst was not: no talk from Marcus Bignot about staying tight and "keeping us shape".

From Saturday's programme notes:

"We won't win every game but there's a manner in which you lose and we want to see that desire from the players – it is something I demand. We want to be hard to beat but being a threat and exciting on the ball too – getting that balance right is paramount to getting positive results."

Some might say that drawing at home to Barnet is not a positive result. But in a game where a referee can award three penalties – two of them very marginal – and send a player off for a seemingly innocuous challenge, holding on to a point can feel like a victory. Yes, Town could have taken all three points if Omar had scored the injury-time penalty, or if Comley's shot in the first minute of the second half had gone in. But, let's face it, Barnet gifted Omar his second goal and had other chances of their own which needed good saves from McKeown.

I'll leave you to find out about the set-up and tactics from the match report – if you can pick them out from all the mangled song lyrics and references to 80s TV and film. What was most noticeable to me was the usual long punts up the field – particularly from McKeown – being replaced by much quicker passing and a fondness for diagonal balls to the wings. This made the football a lot more enjoyable to watch than it has been for quite some time at Blundell Park.

How great was it to hear Bignot's friendly and relaxed post-match interview? Not for Marcus any defensive sniping when John Tondeur asked him a difficult question, instead there was a compliment: you're good at this. There was also praise and acknowledgment of the crowd's support, particularly for Omar after his penalty miss, and of the players who "gave me everything".

Also particularly pleasing to hear was Bignot's desire to "create an environment where we're not afraid to make mistakes" and that players won't be blamed for a misplaced pass if they're "trying to do the right thing". In his talk of being positive throughout, of making substitutions and telling players to "go for the game", I think we can conclude that there is unlikely to be an equivalent of the Parslow Point in the new manager's strategy.

I think Marcus was a little generous to the crowd when he said they "could have turned" after Barnet's second goal. Around me things did change for a while, with the usual Pontoon moaners and groaners holding sway. But as the players gradually got it together on the pitch, so did the fans – and the afternoon ended on a high, despite Omar's unfortunate rush of blood when taking the penalty.

And the little huddle on the pitch after the game when the manager gathered all his players around him as if they were going to say a little prayer together was just lovely to witness.

I feel very optimistic that the change of manager will bring back the joie de vivre which has been missing of late at home games. Saturday was certainly a good start.

Away from the pitch there is news of an upcoming event at Blundell Park. The Mariners Trust is hosting an event in the Trust bar on 9 December called Can You Hear The Grimsby Sing? This will be an evening of words and music about the highs and lows of supporting our club, and will include work from Cod Almighty's own poet Al Wilkinson and Pete Green, who penned that wonderful song about Jevons buggering off to Yeovil Town. I am hoping there will be a follow-up about Hurst buggering off to Shrewsbury – but this time it will be a celebration!