Cod Almighty | Diary

Do hot cake vendors say "They are selling like Chelsea v Grimsby tickets"?

19 September 2019

Grimsby Town are running out of central defenders. Harry Davis has a poorly shoulder, Ludvig Öhman a dodgy hamstring and Luke Waterfall is afflicted with having played for Shrewsbury in a League Cup tie. People don't go to their doctors with that, but he does have a note from his mum excusing him the trip to Chelsea.

Michael Jolley can name Öhman, but that is only because he is an articulate fellow. When it comes to actually picking the team, it'll presumably have to be Waterfall and Mattie Pollock on Saturday against Macclesfield, then Pollock could be the boy stood on the burning deck at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday.

There's a negative part of Domestic Diary reflecting that Peter Handyside – fine Town player that he was – never quite had the career he looked capable of after having a bit of a stinker against Aston Villa in the FA Cup. Then there is another part which says let's tie up Pollock's new contract now, as his stock may be sky-high by this time next week.

Enough of looking forward. Jordan Cook's non-goal on Tuesday night still rankles. As Kirky writes in an email to CA:

For Cook's free-kick, the referee took up the ideal position, behind Cookie, and with a great view of all the action.

He awarded the goal. All the players were back in position ready for kick off. No Salford player had raised an objection.

Then on the basis of a six second "discussion" with the most junior member of the refereeing team, and presumably the least qualified - and NO further discussions with, say, the linesmen, and no evidence, the referee who had been standing about 5 yards from the ball immediately takes the word of a fourth official 50 yards away, rules out the goal and even gives Salford a free-kick.

And folks, you've never seen anything like that before, and if you live to be as old as Methuselah, you'll never see it again.

We hope so Kirky. And perhaps it is as well no one outside North East Lincolnshire appears to give a cuss about it. Otherwise, a precedent might have been set.

T'ra!