Cod Almighty | Diary

Countdown to the Steve Evans colour spectrum

4 September 2017

Irregular Diary writes: So, we finally got that important first home win. It was no classic but we were solid enough and, for all the flak he seems to get, Scott Vernon definitely made the difference. His ability to occupy players meant that JJ Hooper had more freedom and looked a better player for it. Siriki had three men's attention rather than four which helped him be more influential in the game too.

There are a couple of other off-pitch things concerning the game that I would like to touch on. The first was the minute's applause by both sets of fans for 18-year-old Lewis Sewell who sadly passed last weekend. For such a man, so young, to have been so well thought of is a credit not only to him but his family too, and I hope that this brings them some comfort in the weeks ahead.

This, I'm sure, will be only too evident in the fact that it is likely that three teams could be formed from those who knew him to take up the invitation from Broadley FC (a team set up after the sad loss of another young Town fan – Richard Broadley) to hold a fundraising game. As always, the GTFC family were generous in their donations on the day for the Community Nursing Team who helped to care for Lewis. Over £700 was raised by both fans and stewards. It's nothing that I don't expect of us though, despite what others think!

Second, I would like to send best wishes for a speedy recovery to Crewe Alexandra midfielder Conor Grant. The Everton loanee left the pitch on a stretcher after a collision with Mitch Rose which left the debutant out cold. He was sent straight to hospital before Crewe later confirmed the player had been discharged and thanked both GTFC and the hospital for the excellent care he had received.

Next up we have a short trip to Mansfield which puts us up against the delightful Steve Evans and an apparently strong side that he has assembled. Yet they have the same number of points as us, which makes me wonder if they are as worried as we were before the weekend's win.

Something I did spot and thought we could really do without this after Stevenage was a report in the Lincolnshire Echo that a young female had been searched by a male steward. What is pleasing to see is that Mansfield are taking this very seriously and are looking to investigate.

I have in my mind that Mansfield use an outside agency, much like Stevenage did, for certain matches. Herein lies the problem – while they are used to an 'anything goes' attitude on the doors come Friday or Saturday night, this is not and should not be the way any football fan is treated. Pair the above situations with the Manchester City one and people are starting to realise that as an away fan it is commonplace to be treated shoddily and just accept it. Well, this can be no more if we want it to stop. We must keep the pressure on whoever is responsible for steward regulation to actually regulate them before something very very serious happens.

Anyway, here is to three points on Saturday and watching a manager's head nearly explode in rage... Not ours of course!

UTM