The Diary

In a town that didn't want you

19 June 2018

Until last night, your Devon Diary hadn't watched a World Cup game this year. It's not that I don't like football (insert obvious Town joke here), it's just that until now I've been busy doing other stuff or the fixtures were just a little, er, meh.

Is it just me or is the whole tournament is just a bit low-key this year? It certainly seems as though the country as a whole isn't wound up as much as it usually is for the World Cup. Where is the tat of St George? I haven't seen a single car with those window flag things this year, although that might simply be down to the war on plastic.

If I hadn't been having a drink by the sea in Cornwall on Friday then I'd have probably been tempted by Spain v Portugal and what turned out to be an outstanding display by Skinny Ronaldo, but I was (having a drink by the sea), and so Tunisia v Enger-land was my first dip into this year's feast of football.

Those flies looked a right bastard didn't they?

A win is a win and it's good to start the group stage with three points (we haven't done that for a while), rather than fretting about who we might manage to beat while hoping someone else slips up. But are England any good? It's really hard to tell based on that one game. But I can't help but think they need to take their chances a lot better than they did in the first half last night. Alan and Gary agreed with me and they certainly know their stuff.

Once again there's loads of discussion on bloody VAR – why weren't we awarded penalties, was that an elbow, blah, blah – but if those chances had been taken it wouldn't matter. Endless re-runs and analysis of every incident; every slip, tug, tussle, clip or trip is punditry, not part of watching a game live. With any luck it'll be ditched soon, although we're unlikely to see it used any time soon in any game the Mariners are involved in.

Talking about Town... No, there's nowt happening as I write this, although as soon as I finish we're almost certain to announce a signing or two. That's just how it works. Will Ahkeem's, Luke's or Danny's agents make their minds up? Or maybe there's someone new dithering about the move to Meggies.

Elsewhere, former Town loanee Dean Henderson continues his slow but inevitable rise to the top of the game. Man Utd were bound to loan him out to a second-flight club this season. I was half expecting him to join Hursty at Ipswich, but what do I know? Instead, it's a season-long loan at Sheffield United and Deano marked his arrival with a tweet which will surely see him awarded the freedom of at least half of the city.

You fill up my senses, like a gallon of magnet, like a pocket of woodbines, like a good pinch of snuff, like a night out in Sheffield, like a greasy chip butty, like Sheffield United, come fill me again..... BUZZING!!! #UTB ⚔️⚔️⚔️ @SUFC_tweets
— Dean Henderson (@deanhenderson) June 18, 2018