Cod Almighty | Diary

Nobody'd wear Kicker boots if they were made in Scunthorpe

25 July 2018

The return to Blundell Park this week of Charles Vernam – who grew up just down the road in Caistor – coincides with the arrival of a fans' banner celebrating Max Wright and Harry Clifton, two more local lads whose stars are ascending. Town supporters have been agitating for some time to see the club's academy players given more of a crack at the first team.

It wasn't always like this. In his biography, Grimsby-born Kevin Drinkell talks of the dog's abuse he was sometimes given by Town fans, even as an England B international in his early twenties. (This proved to be one factor in his subsequent departure for Norwich City.) An even younger Darren Mansaram – playing as a lone striker in a relegation-haunted team – suffered similar treatment from the stands in the first years of the 2000s. Though a more regular goalscorer than many of his contemporaries, Danny North seemed to be judged by more stringent criteria, with some fans sniping about his dietary preferences even as he was slapping in a hat-trick against Barnet.

Whether this was a specifically Grimsby disease, or a product of the wider tendency in some communities to take down any of their members who rise a little higher, I don't know. Not am I quite sure how we'll fit "Max Wright and Harry Clifton, they're two of our own" into a chant. But today your original/regular Diary is going to wave a flag and say yay for this shift in attitude. Town fans are now celebrating rather than denigrating our own. And there's nothing about that that isn't brilliant.

Vernam made an immediate impact on his return last night, playing 76 minutes in Town's friendly against Doncaster and setting up an eye-catching winning goal by Reece Hall-Johnson. The Mariners particularly impressed in midfield, where John Welsh, Jake Hessenthaler and Mitch Rose formed an effective unit. When called into action James McKeown popped up with some smart saves an' all. Only a friendly, though, right. We're not getting carried away. Right? Right?