Cod Almighty | Diary
I'm not going to let the birth of the son of God spoil my Christmas
21 December 2018
As is typical on any given day, there are several stories about the Mariners on the ad-drenched Grimsby Telegraph website. And, as is typical for the standards of modern-day journalism, their content can be summarised in a couple of sentences. Exhibit A, your honour...
Michael Jolley has refused to confirm that he’s interested in signing Sebastian Ring, while Alex Whitmore is likely to replace Danny Collins in defence for tomorrow’s match against Notts County. Local lad Charles Vernam is delighted to be scoring the odd goal in a team that’s slowly improving and making Blundell Park the sort of fortress it’s failed to be for longer than your West Yorkshire Diary can remember.
Beyond these huge revelations, there’s no more news on the futures of Elliot Embleton and Luke Hendrie. Clearly, any future success this season – and I use the term ‘success’ lightly – rests on keeping these two here until May.
Football brings people together and there’s no better evidence of this than when I received a tweet this week from someone who I haven’t seen in about four years – and who, I believed up until recently, was living in Australia. Turns out he’s in the UK. Anyway, there was no time for pleasantries. As a Sunderland fan, he was interested in my views of Embleton.
This was particularly tricky for me because I suddenly remembered that I haven’t made a single match this season and so have not actually seen the lad play. Still, as a football fan, I didn’t let this lack of knowledge stop me from giving an opinion.
Based on fragments of footage I’ve pieced together from that programme on Quest, along with the two-minute match highlights I’ve actually bothered to watch when they’re uploaded to YouTube, I drew the conclusion that he’s been a solid addition to the squad; a busy sort of creative player who’s made a tangible difference to our fourth division squad. He’s scored goals, he’s made assists, and he certainly looks like he’s got a future in the game at a higher level. If the Mackems plan to remain rubbish for a little while longer and meander around the third tier of English football then Embleton could become an important player for them.
The Mariners have taken 16 points from the last possible 18 at home, and the aggregate score of 11-3 looks particularly healthy. You’d have thought, against a side already on its third manager of the season and foundering at the foot of the table, that this impressive run of Blundell Park form will continue – especially when you consider Town are unbeaten in their last six against the Magpies.
But, if years of John Fenty leadership has taught me anything, it’s that we shouldn’t count our bodies in the building before they hatch or else we might get pilloried. The fact that Jolley is being allowed time and relative freedom to build his squad and impart his philosophy on the team is something that should be applauded, so an unexpected defeat tomorrow won’t change the long-term direction that I now believe this club finally appears to be headed in.
But if there’s ever a better opportunity to grab three points and send our fans into Christmas feeling happy and jolly then I’d like to know about it. County may have won their last game but they’ve been nothing short of appalling on the road this season, with just one victory to their name.
Now it’s time to head over to Statistics Corner for a fascinating statistic. Did you know that the Mariners have never been behind at the break when playing at home in the league this season? Expect a tight first half and then for the game to open up once those oranges have been digested. County seem to be very leaky in the final half-hour of games, while we appear to concede most of our goals between the 61st and 75th minutes.
Well, that’s it from me until the new year. Enjoy your Christmas – enjoy your football – and let’s hope the Mariners send us into this festive season with a jolly three points. UTM!