Cod Almighty | Diary

I know what's real

9 October 2017

Miss Guest Diary writes: I thought it was only Blundell Park that had its own micro-climate, but I swear the temperature inside Vale Park on Saturday was a good five degrees lower than the surrounding streets. And Town did nothing in the first half to distract from the chill.

Russ's version of "keep us shape" seems to be "stay in the game" – something Town just about managed to do in the first half, but not with any style or entertainment. The second half was much better, with some actual football being played, especially by Siriki Dembele, who won the corner for the first goal and scored the second. After which I suddenly felt toasty warm. Was this just psychological or does the body temperature actually rise when your team takes the lead? Someone should do a study.

Last week Cod Almighty was reminded by a Port Vale fan, Alan Watson-Jervis, of a letter he sent us back in 2010, reminiscing about past encounters between the teams and visits to Blundell Park. I am going to reciprocate with a few memories of my own.

Alan fondly remembers his first visit to Blundell Park in October 1991 because his team won. Likewise, my first visit to Vale Park was in the 91-92 season. Our 1-0 victory was a lot more significant because it kept us up and relegated them. I seem to recall a few Vale fans invading the pitch looking for a chance to vent their frustration and being met with total indifference from the Town fans. Possibly because we had been stood on an open terrace in the rain.

Town played at Vale Park a further eight times before we dropped out of the league. I'm pretty sure I went to all of these games and we even won a couple. But I have abiding memories of only three occasions. The first is when we played on a Sunday in September 1999 – presumably because the game was on TV, though heaven knows why. It ended in a 3-1 defeat which my other half ascribed to Alan Buckley's bad tactics and formation. Despite the fact that we were with a group of friends, he hustled me straight to the car for the drive back down to our home in Watford and I swear he didn't say a word until we were well south of Milton Keynes.

The second was the dismal 5-1 defeat which came shortly before Paul Groves was sacked as manager and was most likely a contributing factor. The third occasion was the following year – nothing to do with the football and everything to do with having my first turkey dinner of the festive season at an Asda on the edge of town. I have learnt you must take your pleasures where you can find them when following Town.

Despite this, I was really looking forward to the trip on Saturday, and not because I was counting on a victory. Far from it: we all know Town's propensity for ending the opposition's losing streak. No, I wanted to attend because it is going to places like Port Vale which make me feel Town are really back in the league. Trips to see teams like Mansfield, Barnet, Crawley and Cheltenham simply bring back memories of non-League encounters, and don't get me started on the tinpot qualities of Stevenage. But when we travel to play teams like Notts County, Chesterfield, Crewe and, yes, Port Vale we may not always like the result but it feels like Town are back where they belong.

Alan finished his letter by urging Town to stay up so he could visit again and I urge Port Vale to do the same. We didn't manage it back in 2010 but I really hope both they and Chesterfield do this season. After all, what Town fan in their right mind wouldn't want the two relegated teams to be Forest Green and Cheltenham?