Cod Almighty | Diary

Welcome, watchers of illusion, the castle of confusion

5 July 2019

Hang on — there's a game tomorrow! That vast expanse of footballing nothingness felt like it was going to last forever and then, all of a sudden, we're given a gentle pre-season friendly against Cleethorpes Town and it's getting your West Yorkshire Diary far more excited than the occasion strictly deserves.

It'll just be a bunch of rusty players playing rusty football against some rusty lads down the road on a warm summer's day, after all. But this is Grimsby Town. It went away looking a bit tired and shit, and now it's returning with fresh players, snazzy new kits and renewed hope.

Pre-season optimism is allowed to generate and swell unchecked. Nothing's stopping it. While we're not playing, we're not losing, so we can lose ourselves in the glorious possibilities that new opportunities present. It's probably why the best part of an away day is before the game; once it kicks off, dreams (more often than not) get dashed.

Perhaps we should just suspend ourselves in this beautiful moment. We've signed some decent players — let's not spoil it and remove their immortal forcefields by making them play games.

But play games they will, and it starts a mile or two south of Blundell Park, at the Linden Homes Club, tomorrow. El Haddocko, or whatever the cool kids call it these days, has become a regular fixture in the local sporting calendar in recent years. After a sticky start to last season, Cleethorpes finished just three points short of the Northern Premier League Division One East play-offs — their highest finish ever.

The Owls have come a long way in a relatively short space of time. A few years back they used to lose this fixture quite heavily but last season they won it 4-3 so, even though it's only a friendly, expect the match to be a proper workout for the Mariners.

So, news… what have we got? Not a lot, really — which is just as well because my time has evaporated and I haven't had the inclination to check the latest rumours surrounding a possible fifth summer signing. I'm sure there will be plenty more for us to get our teeth into next week when we'll have had our first glimpse of Green, Hansons, Ogbooooo (sort it Jolleys) and Hewitts.

Enjoy the football (and Craig Disley) tomorrow. UTM!