Cod Almighty | Diary

Grimsby - the town no county wants

2 October 2017

Irregular Diary writes: Saturday's game was a Lincolnshire derby, in case you weren't aware. Yesterday was also Lincolnshire Day, a day for yellowbellies to celebrate being just that. Both points had me thinking this weekend about the esteem in which I hold the rivalry between the Might of the Mariners and those Imps down the A46.

Truth is I just couldn't get excited about it like I should do, that feeling of raw emotion at the pit of your stomach and the buzz as you walk into the ground. That's no disrespect to Lincoln City, of course: it's maybe just a generational thing, as I tweeted last week. Some are suggesting that our grandchildren could consider Cleethorpes Town our main rivals in years to come. No problem with that if it's from them making their way into the League.

It's the same for the yellowbelly thing. That could be down to no county wanting Grimsby. I was born into Humberside which no longer exists, and if I'm being honest, Lincolnshire/yellowbelly just isn't me either. So, what am I? That is a question for another day and please, no answers on a postcard.

So, on to the match. The game was pretty tame and the atmosphere was pretty tame with no real bright points apart from the deserved standing ovation that Nathan Arnold received as he went off; nothing more than he deserved. I 100 per cent did not start thinking about that promotion team, give a little sigh and clear the lump from my throat.

In fact, even the 'flash points' outside the ground didn't happen. They were non-existent, not that the local police, or Lincolnshire, or Durham, or Cleveland, or Northamptonshire, or South Yorkshire constabularies who all had a day out in Cleethorpes would let you, and anybody who screams to cancel football forever, know.

Poor Peter at the Telegraph spent his lunchtime desperately trying to find local and day-tripper idiots and the best he could get his teeth into was some verbals on Sea Lane before the conscientious local youths put a can of beer in the bin. There was a 'flash point' at the Swashy but that was nothing compared to a Friday or Saturday night in there and the hold-up down the sea front was purely down to the number of police there, not doing a lot. How awful it was not to conform to the football fan stereotype. Just one noddy got himself arrested for being a bit of a div. He didn't even go to the match: maybe he wasn't so daft?

Anyway, checkawotsit at the proper local derby team on Tuesday, I think it is. I shall not be there as I'm in Lincoln of all places. This is before we travel to Port Vale, who are pretty poor at the moment. It's likely they'll have a new manager in place before we rock up, so are the odds on three points to the home team?

UTM