The Diary

Cod Almighty | Diary

Snubbing the BBC is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for being a good manager

22 December 2017

Let's start with a Christmas Story.

Ross was cross. He thought Mark had told a lie about him. He had told Mark off. But he still didn't feel better and it was the week before Christmas. He talked to his friend Johnny. Johnny said "Why don't we hold a party and invite Mark too? That would make us all feel better." Ross said "Good idea." So Johnny invited Mark and Mark agreed to come. He was looking forward to talking to Ross and all Ross's friends. But when Mark arrived, Ross had changed his mind. "Go away Mark. You smell."


How wonderful to know that our team affairs are in the hands of a man 57 years old, rising four. The apologists for this latest piece of rank amateurism and petty-mindedness are likening Russell Slade to Alex Ferguson. Yep, that Alex Ferguson, the one with 13 league titles, five FA Cups and two Champions Leagues to his name. Remind us again what Slade has won in his career?

In short, there is still far too much Billy Big Club Bollocks buffetting about Blundell Park.

It begins to look as though when the club invited Matt Dean to chair the fans' forum it wasn't, as we thought at the time, intended to show the club were putting the Curtis Woodhouse storm in a teacup behind them. No, someone seems to have thought it would be a chance to put Dean in the stocks, perhaps to use him as a human shield if things turned nasty; someone actually thought the shambles with which the forum ended would be a good idea.

Tomorrow at Luton and then on Boxing Day at home to Mansfield we will of course get behind the team. But can Middle-Aged Diary suggest that at both games, a few chants for both deposed Supporters Liaison Officer Kristine Green and the, by now, far-more-sinned-against-than-sinning Matt Dean might be both a suitable protest and dsplay of solidarity.

Cod Almighty is not known for giving the Town board too much credit but when we made great individual goals the theme of yesterday's diary, it was in the confident expectation no one would do anything professionally stupid this week of all weeks. However, your responses have generated some memories of cracking goals so follow the twitter thread and watch out for our next letters page to remind yourself why, despite all, Grimsby Town is for life, not just for Christmas.


Happy holidays.