Cod Almighty | Diary

A welcome haunting

31 October 2017

North-West Diary writes: Every so often, a player comes along who has something extra about them. They might not be the best player on the pitch, or the fastest. They might not score 30-yard screamers on a regular basis or have a bag of tricks to wow the crowds week in week out. One thing they do have, though, is a passion for their profession, and for their club, which can not only be seen by the fans who spend their hard-earned thousands following their team up and down the country, but which can be felt throughout an entire county.

Tonight at Blundell Park, we celebrate Craig Disley. A player who had this quality in abundance, and so much more.

You'd be forgiven for thinking he'd passed away with the tone of this diary so far, but when a player like Craig Disley comes along, Mariners fans tend to hold them in the high regard they deserve. After six seasons, almost 300 games, 40 goals, and countless more memories, Dizza endeared himself to all of those at Blundell Park, from the terraces to the tea room, with his endeavour, commitment and humility.

The Ginger Pirlo and his All Stars face a Grimsby Town Select XI. It is a game which sees the return of some recent Town favourites who we all hoped would turn out for the former skipper's benefit game: Shaun Pearson, Pádraig Amond and Liam Hearn, to name a few. Some players we weren't expecting: Michael Boulding is something of a surprise.

On top of these long- and short-awaited returns, Disley's current manager at Alfreton, Sir John of McDermott, will oversee the side for the evening. Coincidentally, McDermott is one of very few GTFC players – if not the only one – to have shown similar qualities to Disley in recent years.

So, for one night only at least, forget the 0-0 draws. Forget Stevenage and the bloody EFL. Forget the Americanised consumerist 'tradition' preoccupying most this evening. Instead, remember the overhead goal against Lincoln. Remember the header against Forest Green and that interview at Braintree. Remember the belter against Ebbsfleet. And remember that moment at Wembley, 15 months ago, when he lifted the trophy after leading us back into the Football League – as captain, leader, legend.

Give him one hell of a cheer tonight. To some, 31 October is the Day of the Dead. To us, it's the Day of the Disley.