Cod Almighty | Diary

Are "the best fans in the Football League" actually a bunch of wankers?

19 February 2019

It was in Llanelli, around 1986. All across south Wales, memories of the miners' strike were still raw. Railway workers were on strike, and there were four or five people chatting among themselves on the picket line outside the goods yard. They were approached by a young man, a camera slung from his neck.

There were several barriers in the way of trust. Between the Welsh and the English. Between blue collar and white. Above all, between the trade unionist and the press. The shop steward, unsure of his ground, hid behind one-word replies. The photographer sought new ways to establish his credentials. Finally, he tried this:

"I am a member of a trade union. The National Union of Journalists. Not much of a union, I know, but..."

"A union is only as good as its members."

The young man grinned: "Yes, and most journalists are wankers."

There was a guffaw of laughter. The ice broken, the photographer got his pictures.

Middle-Aged Diary has always thought of the Mariners Trust as the Town supporters' trade union. I'm eager to praise it, and have always tempered criticism with a reminder that the way forward is to make the trust better, not to walk away.

But it must be said that over the evening with John Fenty, the trust is having an absolute shocker.

When asked if the event had a specific purpose, they replied only: "Yes, it is something John Fenty wants to do". Whoever runs the trust's Twitter account probably thought it was a refreshing example of Fenty's openness to engagement. It actually comes across as feudal.

Yesterday, the Trust told us "John has agreed that he won't be given the questions in advance." Again, they think that is impressive, an attraction, but this shouldn't be a fairground sideshow. Test the amazing slithery man! See him blag his way through any question we care to ask! Watch as he turns a 'benign' loan into a ransom demand!

Like a bad magician, the trust is trying to distract us from the gaping hole in this event. The problem is not what Fenty knows in advance. It is that the trust has thrown away its credibility for holding him to account. The noises about making this a "positive" event – subtly recasting the last fans' forum as though the problem was the fans, not the disgraceful behaviour of the board and management – mean one thing we can be sure of is that no-one will be allowed to ask anything too difficult.

So Fenty should see the questions in advance. So should we all. We should also see how the questions have been selected. And we should also know that on the night, the audience itself (not the compere) will have the chance to ask follow-up questions, politely but also rigorously. That would be a serious commitment to accountability. Anything else is just bad PR.

The club is not Fenty, thank heavens. Somehow good people manage to do good things in its name. I'm astonished that someone should pay four figures to own an award they have not themselves earned, but I'm delighted that a community cause will benefit. I've never much cared about kits but I know a lot of fans are excited and impressed with the Food Town shirt.

I also know that Mariners Trust board members put in a lot of time and effort on behalf of Grimsby Town for no material reward. But if we cannot find people who can see a role for a supporters' trust beyond cosying up to the owner, then perhaps we have the boards that we deserve.