Cod Almighty | Diary

I don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy

30 May 2018

Have you ever noticed how the Town fans who say uhhh, why are we still talking about Paul Hurst, he’s not our manager any more are always the ones who didn’t like him? Have you noticed how they never say that about Marcus Bignot? And did you notice how they suddenly don't have a problem with talking about Hurst when his team has just lost a play-off final?

Hurst's actions as a manager in his new role at Ipswich Town may no longer have any direct relevance to the affairs of GTFC. But it's clear from the debate that has continued since he left Blundell Park a year and a half ago that a loud minority of fans prioritise results and success some way below having smoke blown up their arse. And this will continue to be relevant. How will we keep hold of any decent manager – or player, for that matter – if their excellent work continues to be met in this way with indifference or abuse?

The reputation of Alan Buckley is now beyond questioning. You'll be hard pressed to find a Grimsby fan who will now admit to having abused Buckley or called for his sacking. Yet everything that has happened with Hurst happened with Buckley.

I'm sure you can join the dots yourself, so your original/regular Diary will leave it there for now and resist the temptation to go off on one again. It's just good to see PH get a good move to a patient club, and it's still entertaining to kick back and observe his band of obsessive naysayers maintain their world-class standards of contortionism. Keep tying yourselves in knots, lads. The rest of us have all the popcorn in the world.

Michael Jolley, of course, has so far acquitted himself excellently at both the vital attributes of a Grimsby Town manager. He's made footballers play football quite well, and more importantly he's said lots of things that make supporters feel good. Our smooth-talking boss spent yesterday morning oozing Yorkie charm to season ticket buyers and then went on Radio Humberside to provide a timely update on his progress in the transfer market with just 66 days left until the new season kicks off.

Despite the best efforts of Matt Dean, your man could not be persuaded to reveal the names of players he has approached, but the various GTFC rumour mills are united today in grinding out one name. Alex Whitmore is a young defender who Jolley will have worked with during his time with Burnley’s youth set-up. He's just been relegated with Chesterfield but seems generally well thought of by fans of the Spireites as well as Morecambe and Bury, where he did previous turns on loan. And he's made 90-odd first-team appearances, which is a big deal for a 22-year-old centre-half.

Meanwhile a fourth Cod War looms as Town's kit launch is delayed while the manufacturer knocks out extra Iceland shirts. With the Nordics' first World Cup appearance approaching, demand for Strákarnir okkar apparel has gone through the roof, and Errea has opted to hold off and ensure quality control by sticking with its European suppliers rather than outsource extra production to a 50p-a-month Bangladeshi deathtrap. Fair play to 'em for that and a decent explanation on the superb new official website. Would it be terribly ungrimbarian of me to get a Guðmundsson number 4 printed up in the meantime?