Cod Almighty | Diary

Stop the presses: Cod Almighty compares John Fenty favourably

30 December 2016

Welcome to the last diary of 2016. Unfortunately no-one at Blundell Park has read the memo which says nothing significant should happen in the last week in December, so that Middle-Aged Diary, along with newspaper feature writers, can submit pre-baked opinions.

First up, it has finally been confirmed that Danny Collins has signed for Town until the end of the season, with negotiations about 2017-18 continuing. Let's sort that out soon, please?

John McDermott's tribute to Paul Futcher made clear that his impact on the generally young Town squad of the early 1990s (leavened by Garry Birtles and Steve Sherwood as well as Futch) went well beyond what we saw on the pitch. If a bean counter at Blundell Park is trying to compute Collins' worth in the minutes he will play, they are missing something. Rich Mills recently highlighted Town's disappointing track record in converting young prospects to first-team regulars. I hold by the seeming paradox that having experienced players like Collins and Craig Disley in the squad to learn from is an essential condition for improving young players.

That brings us to Dean Henderson. Much of the article in the Telegraph conforms to the standard 'well, he would say that, wouldn't he?' template for player interviews. Had Henderson said "There are some games where we accept we'll be doing well just to keep the score down, especially since Bignot came in", that would have been quite some scoop.

However, when he talks about the encouragement and reassurance James McKeown offered him before he made his debut against Accrington, he is going well beyond his contractual obligations. Both Henderson and McKeown are still young, but Jimmy Mac is vastly more experienced. That they are learning off each other in training gives some substance to the hoary old cliché of it being 'a squad game'. The interview speaks well of both men and particularly well of Jimmy Mac, but it is clear that Henderson has bigger dreams than playing for Town. With apologies to Lloyd Griffith, on Monday we learnt that Henderson is a 'keeper. James McKeown is a keeper.

Henderson is more successful in defusing the suggestion of tension between the two goalkeepers than Bignot, who was drawn into describing the fuss as a "circus". Grimsby and Cleethorpes are a bit more unusual than you might think in having just one major sporting team for both a daily and a weekly local paper to focus on, not to mention whatever brouhahas can ignite on social media. Seasoned Town hands know that the contoversy over who keeps goal was nothing.

With the transfer window doing whatever is the opposite of 'slamming shut' on Sunday, it seems that a deal is more or less done. Matt Dannatt spending far more time on The Fishy than I do, this summary will tell you everything you need to know. Consider it cut and pasted.

Before the exciting business of finding out who is coming and going gets underway, we have the tedious matter of an actual match to get out of the way. Sam Metcalf tells you enough to make sure you know that, if anyone suggests a swap of our major shareholders, you should beware of Blackpool fans offering gifts. Then it's off to Carlisle.

We started 2016 with a dire 1-1 draw at home to Guiseley, ending a seven-match winning streak. January finished with our first league defeat since October. The wheels were wobbling and 'circus' would be a mild word for the actions, reactions and repercussions of the Halifax game soon after. However 2017 begins, remember how strongly and how far we came through adversity.

Enjoy whatever celebrations you have planned. Happy new year.