Cod Almighty | Diary
The sunshine and the cold
19 April 2018
"It's cost them a corner – will it cost them a goal? It's gone right across… and Burnett is there!"
This day 20 years ago binds us all. A whole town moved as one to Wembley to witness a game none of us will ever forget. Sorry if you were expecting a long, beautiful reminisce of that victory over Bournemouth given today's date, but the emotions your West Yorkshire Diary felt were – and still are – beyond words. I've never been able to write about it well. Watch it again, if you want. Take a moment to sit quietly in a corner, or outside in the sun, and bask in your memories. Share them on social media. No-one can take your memories away from you. Sometimes I just like to close my eyes and remember what it felt like, more than what actually happened.
Harbouring hopes of one day becoming a journalist, I took my dictaphone down with me to Wembley for the play-off final against Northampton the following month to record what would today be called 'banter' between mates. Somewhere buried deep in a tray kept underneath my old bed in my parents' house, collecting dust, is an audio tape of that banter, which I haven't listened to for years. There's something special about that tape because it captures the day not in scenes but in sounds. I've seen the images and moving pictures a thousand times – but to hear the excitement in our voices is something else. It leaves a little more to the imagination and, as we know, our imagination is much better at filling in the blanks. It almost makes the memories more vivid.
It's a regret of mine that I didn't have the foresight to record ourselves for that Bournemouth game. My only memory of a specific pre-match conversation that day was with my friend Chris, who had been managing Bournemouth on CM2 and knew their squad in much more detail than the average Town fan. I think he may have even predicted John Bailey would score for them. Despite their success since, Bailey remains the only player to have scored for Bournemouth at Wembley Stadium.
I now ask you to open your eyes, reach out and hold my hand as we step into the here and now. Sorry, but we must.
Today we stand on the precipice of the abyss, but such was the magnitude of that win over Chesterfield (and last Saturday's equaliser against Barnet) that it left me feeling like safety had almost been achieved. But then I looked at the league table yesterday, once my emotions had been given time to settle back down to their normal, slightly pessimistic levels, and my doubts resurfaced like teenage acne ahead of a night out in Meggies.
Life, briefly, felt warm and cosy once we were reminded of what a win felt like. And not any old win – a significant win. And that topsy-turvy travail against Barnet; it was an overload of the football senses. Given that we were losing against the Bees, the draw didn't just feel like three points – it was three points. One for us, two taken from them. It keeps the potential sting of relegation at arm's length as we edge one match closer to closure.
But today I'm down from those lofty heights as reality grips me by the balls. That's what time does to you. The ifs and possibilities can snowball into a dream when you're shit, and give the optimism you need to believe that, this Saturday, we'll be world-beaters. Or it can throw doubt into the pot when things are bubbling away nicely.
Either way, there's still work to be done. We're not over the line yet, but we could be by 5pm this Saturday – and I hope the lack of actual news is a reflection of the focus we're giving this weekend's trip to Swindon.
If ever there was time for a measured head then this is it. Although he hasn't quite averaged a point a game in his first seven matches in charge, Michael Jolley does appear to have brought a little more organisation, confidence and composure to what was (and still is) a fragile team. Psychologically, the win against the Spireites and the immediate response to falling behind against Barnet would've done wonders for the players. On the back of a solid week of training and some detailed planning, I'm hoping there will be fewer pangs of fear and only positive thoughts in our squad of players when they step out onto the County Ground turf come 3pm on Saturday.
Three weeks ago, the Diary called out for a hero and Mitch Rose literally stepped up – twice. That's the sort of mind frame I'd like our players to adopt. There's another chance for someone to become a hero this Saturday, and that's something you can't say in your inspirational pre-match team talk if you're in the no man's land of mid-table. You'd rather play for something than nothing.
We don't need to be spectacular, or even very good, to win. Most of the teams in this division can be defeated by being organised, disciplined and committed. Even if results haven't changed dramatically under Jolley, it does seem like we're heading in the right direction. Let's show a bit more improvement this Saturday and see where that leaves us. UTM!