Cod Almighty | Diary

Car parks are for parking cars

31 August 2017

Wicklow Diary writes: At the press conference to unveil Russell Slade in April, somebody with a tie or blazer said that our first-team squad should consist of 25 players. We can't remember who: it was either Russell Slade or John Fenty, or both. (I for one was still distracted by magnificence of some naughty schoolboys local journalists playing the 'seething' interview to a live global audience. All details were insignificant after that. I can't even remember how long a deal was announced.)

With Max Wright now out on loan, the first-team squad contains 28 professionals. When Marcus Bignot got the boot, it was clear that the board had allowed the rookie to lose the run of himself and the club's overdraft. Without a significant clearout before the closure of the transfer window tonight, it looks as though the club has learned nothing from this expensive experience. What's that definition of insanity? At GTFC, it's the fans who go insane looking at the same mistakes being repeated.

Why do we care? Well, I wouldn't care so much, but some gobshite keeps putting the words 'unsustainable' and 'needs big fuck-off shiny new new stadium for club to survive' in the annual report. It's as if our budget is something we have absolutely no control over. We'd be unsustainable as a Sunday league team on the rec or a league side in a palace on Peaks Parkway with the whole of GY and Clee covered in enabling development if we choose to ignore simple economics. Original/regular Diary had the light bulb moment on this earlier in the year.

If the club has to reduce the squad to 18 plus a couple of youth teamers, let's not kid ourselves. Do it. Who knows, having a small playing squad has even been successful in the past. When Clive Mendonca was once asked to name the biggest drinker in the Town squad during his time at the club, he said he couldn't. Not because of an honourable code of silence but simply because they all drank so much that he couldn't honestly tell. In an age of conditioning gurus and nutritionists, surely Dave Moore can nurse 18 lads through a season.

I know it's why you're here, but do you really want to think about football, and Town specifically? We could spend a paragraph pondering whether JJ Hooper was only signed because Jamille Matt originally turned us down and now Matt is actually a replacement for his replacement. I was amused to learn that a member of the CA team started bringing a book to read at games during Slade's first tenure. Maybe we should expand this to all aspects of GTFC, including the diary.

Well, let's look at something else to take our mind off the football for a couple of lines. Last time I was in Cleethorpes, I lost a pair of trainers to the Humberstone/Cleethorpes mud. I know we were trying to make our way to this little treat but somehow we got distracted and didn't make it. Next time.

I'll try to end on a better football note. Harry Clifton's tweet on his Town debut was quickly greeted with replies from Dizza and Shaun Pearson. Reading the genuine well-wishes from these two to Harry gave me a surge of the footballing spirits that has been too rare this summer. Happily, this week's B team boycott game gave me another. Tom Reed and Stand have a nice piece on it here but I hope they won't be too upset when I say I prefer this beautiful account from Lee Johnson.