Cod Almighty | Diary

Better to light one candle than complain about the dark

17 November 2016

Wicklow Diary writes: A gap of 16 points isn't enough to deter the glass half-empty Plymouth Herald from looking for a jonah. Argyle's local press have done their homework and have found potential doom in the shape of the referee for Saturday's coastal clash, Robert Jones. They don’t mention the fact that Argyle play in green and we beat Forest Green in that game and we throw Town goalies over the side of trawlers who wear green. Believe me, voodoo hoodoo is more fun than looking at the actual form tables.

Mo' points, mo' problems. Argyle's official account and many of their fans have been having a tweeting ding-dong with Channel 5's Goal Rush presenter George Riley over a perceived lack of coverage of their great start. Basically the stage is set for the telly people to take the piss with an extended piece on our win after Jonah Jones awards us two highly dubious injury-time penalties.

Riley needs to watch his back. Or indeed his ears, as his namesake George Reilly found out. Reilly's cup semi-final winner for Watford against Plymouth in 1984 upset one Argyle-supporting loon enough to go full Tyson 19 years later and bite off part of his ear. Attacking without any warning while working on a building site, the assailant only spoke to give a West Country whisper of "remember Plymouth" into Reilly's chewed ear. Funny if reported in the Sandford Citizen in Hot Fuzz but downright horrific in, you know, real life.

Consider this the real match preview. Random lucky omen cobblers and cannibalism. Retro Diary will probably hit you with facts and team news tomorrow but you wo'’t need any of that nonsense.

The Plymouth Herald may have done its homework but others have been cogging. Report to the headmaster, the Mirror, the Mail the BBC and several others. All published online stories on a Sports People's Think Tank/Loughborough University/Fare Network report highlighting that black, Asian and minority ethnic football coaches are at a disadvantage when looking for a job. All repeated the mistake of omitting our Marcus in their version of the story and stating that the only current BAME managers in the 92 are Keith Curle and Chris Hughton. A genuine schoolboy error that lads. Give yourself a clip round the ear and copy and paste I'm a lazy hack one hundred times.

The Mariners Trust AGM last night marked Dave Roberts' official retirement from the trust. Thanks again Dave for your immense effort and contribution to the trust, and GTFC. Enjoy being 'just' a fan again.

Despite the sad note of Dave's departure, there was some good stuff too. A rather nifty-looking fans' charter has been drawn up and it was announced that apparently Marcus Bignot is up for a fans' forum. The board size has been extended to 18 people to reflect the increased activities of the trust, and among the new members is Cod Almighty's own Rich Mills. Sort it, Millses.

For more on the Trust, read Pat Bell's interview with Jon Wood. Cynics might say the trust toes the Fenty line too often; pragmatists will say we can do more from the inside. As Jon says, what's the alternative, a placard outside BP? Sit on our hands and do nothing?

Fans' involvement is vital at all levels of football to get everything from the price of your half-time pie to getting the structure of the league right. On the latter, credit to Against League 3, who helped send the Whole Game Solution home to the bin, no matter what excuse the League rolled out. The League had a damn fine day yesterday, by the way. In addition to the Whole Game Solution announcement, it also fined teams for playing 'weakened' teams in the FL Trophy. What a bitter little man Shaun Harvey is. Take his bitterness as a victory for the fans.

Sport and politics. Middle Aged Diary brought up Shanks' famous life and death quote on Tuesday and it warrants another airing here for some more Cod Almighty high-falutin ideals. This article on the UK government visit to Qatar made me quite cross. At the current rate, by the time we sit down to watch the Qatar 2022 World Cup, 7,000 workers will have been killed in the construction. That's an average of 100 people for each game during the tournament (obviously this average will be lowered if FIFA extend the tournament to 256 teams or whatever). For comparison, no-one died during construction of the facilities for the London Olympics. Can you imagine if we went ahead with Peaks Parkway knowing that 100 people would die in the process? Bollocks to that.

When I look at the mess the world is in, I usually bury my head in the pillow and let the guys in charge sort it out. How's that working out...? That's why getting involved at whatever level is important. I'm not going to change the world on my own by signing up at Playfair Qatar but it's a start. "Football is not a matter of life and death. It's more important than that" has never sounded so hollow in relation to the 2022 World Cup.