Cod Almighty | Diary

We are all Jonahs. Almost

9 March 2018

This season we have all been Jonah's. Phil Watson has written with regard to David Martin's claim, pointing out that "His rate of three points and three goals from 10 games (0.3 of each per game) is actually slightly better than Town's current run of four points and four goals in 15 games (0.267)." Phil's own record of two appearances, two draws would be enough "if we really want to grind out those 10 points from 10 games for safety". Phil's (and indeed David's) underlying point, Middle-Aged Diary suspects, is that the real Jonahs are Russell Slade and the people who appointed him.

Tomorrow, we turn another new leaf, under Michael Jolley. As Adam McMillan writes, the stage is set for him to make a name for himself. We know very little about Jolley. Hell, as a football manager, Jolley knows very little about himself.

But one thing in particular I take encouragement from. On his CV, it says he left AFC Eskilstuna because of a disagreement with the board. Now that might be a standard bit of CV-writer's gloss; maybe what he and the board disagreed about was whether or not Jolley is fit to manage a football club. But nevertheless, if the Town board are willing to take on a man who claims he left his last job because he fell out with the directors, it hints that perhaps our board have learnt a little humility.

Nothing personal (just this once) but I am tired of John Fenty being the most prominent figure at Blundell Park. We are a football club and a football man should be its most important figure. No one ever talked of Peter Furneaux's or Bill Carr's Grimsby: it was always Buckley's Grimsby.

Before that, there was enough stability about the club that Dave Booth, George Kerr and John Newman were able to build upon each other's success, from foundations partly laid by Tommy Casey. Odd rumours suggest the board of the day was not exactly a paragon, but that the club carried on producing young talent that each manager could rely upon is surely part of our dreams as we contemplate a new manager.

Jolley won't be perfect, just as Alan Buckley was occasionally stubborn, Paul Hurst over-cautious and every manager prone to having 'favourites'. But tomorrow, we hope, he starts to give some shape, some strategy and some confidence to the formless lump of footballers who have been going through the motions the last few months. It will suit my prejudices if Harry Clifton and Easah Suliman feature prominently. There are slightly firmer grounds for hoping that Diallang Jaiyesimi and Siriki Dembele emerge from the cocoon of fitful promise into persistent pests, giving Luke Summerfield someone worth passing to.

Ideally, we survive, and in surviving, Michael Jolley learns what he needs to learn to take this club forward. Or perhaps, like Newman, he might not be able to prevent relegation. But if he learns what it takes to succeed, and the board is prepared to listen, we can build from that. But the long-term condition for success, either way, is an open-minded, listening board.

Or else we can rely on superstition. We aren't all Jonah's this season. My own track record is a healthy seven points from a possible 12. And in a couple of hours I'm on my way to Cleethorpes. So if we win tomorrow, you can blame Port Vale, praise Jolley, or thank me; I'll be the one in the Number Two Refreshment Rooms looking smug, if you want to buy me a drink.