The Diary

Cod Almighty | Diary

Exile and community

4 January 2018

Tuesday's diary had a very kind response. Thanks to Phil Storr, John England and Martin Clark for emailing. Middle-Aged Diary won't quote them in case it looks like the equivalent of retweeting compliments, but all three make the point that, while they don't necessarily agree with everything we write, for exiles in particular Cod Almighty is invaluable as a way to keep up to date with the goings-on at Blundell Park.

Following Town as an exile is undoubtedly easier now than in the days when you might have to wait two months for a copy of Sing When We're Fishing to read a detailed match report, only to find that the editorial team would assume you already knew everything you were trying to catch up on. A couple of times I rang to try and sort out a subscription for the Sports Telegraph. I gave up waiting for them to ring me back when it ceased publication.

The issue is probably that bit more important for Grimsby than most other clubs. Limited opportunities in the area for education and employment mean many are forced away, but for that reason their support for the Mariners becomes an important expression of who they are. I wonder whether and how the club could foster, and so gain from, that continuing urge to belong.

For those who live far from Blundell Park, a season ticket is not viable, but perhaps the club could develop an alternative, an 'Exiled Mariners pack', incorporating a set of benefits to make fans feel they have a continuing stake in the club:

  • Free or discounted tickets for maybe five or ten home matches: enough to give the exile the extra incentive to travel home more often
  • A place near the top of the queue for tickets to particular away games: imagine the frustration when you spend days worrying if there'll be tickets left for you when Town are playing your new home town team, the one game you look forward to all year
  • Mariners Trust membership
  • A subscription to the programme, so the club can be sure supporters are getting the messages it wants them to get, unfiltered by disreputable fanzine writers

The pricing, and perhaps restrictions on the packs' availability, would have to be right, in relation to season tickets, to ensure it was an incentive for fans to get to more games rather than a disincentive to buy a season ticket. I'm not sure how widely the offer would be appreciated, except that if the pack was available, I'd be in the queue to buy into it. I leave the idea out there for anyone who may be reading.

Expanding on the theme of people not always agreeing with what they read in Cod Almighty, I think it was Tom Drant who wrote on Twitter that it was our politics he disliked, and questioned why it belonged in a football fanzine. Which provides me with the excuse to once more misquote CLR James: "What know they of the Mariners who only the Mariners know?" Supporting a club like Town is inseparable from caring about the wider communities of Grimsby and Cleethorpes. This is a link that GTFC for the Many has made with its foodbank collection before the Forest Green game, so if you haven't read Matthew Barrow's article yet, go away and read it now.

Bye.