Cod Almighty | Diary

More later

27 January 2020

It was April 1996, and Town were in a very definite post-Ivano hangover. We travelled to Watford, who were doomed to relegation, but ebullient after the recent reappointment of Graham Taylor as their manager. The result was a trouncing: 6-3, our three something of a dead-cat bounce as the faultlines in Brian Laws' regime were laid bare. Paul Groves got one of the goals: a firm hit from just inside the penalty area. A very firm hit: you suspected he was wishing his foot was connecting with Laws or any one of several team mates rather than the ball.

One of the team mates he may have wished he was kicking was Peter Handyside. Watford were three up in no time, making easy progress in the places where most teams station a central defender. Handyside was subbed off after a quarter of an hour. Afterwards, Laws would only say that Handyside had not been fit. He may have had a literal hangover to go with our metaphorical one: Laws couldn't possibly comment.

Domestic Diary dredges up this 24-year-old memory not as some kind of comment on the current state of the Ian Holloway affair following our defeat at Crawley on Saturday. Rather it is that, like Handyside at Vicarage Road, I am quite unable to do my job today (though substances are definitely not involved.) I wasn't at the game on Saturday, Dave, so I can't tell you if Town were rubbish. You'll have to wait for Cod Almighty's match coverage for some informed opinion.

Before the Cod Almighty team put up the digital display with my number on it, I'll just note that the under-18s at least came out on the right side of a 3-2 scoreline at Notts County on Saturday. And, although it means pointing you towards the patchwork of pop-ups and push that masquerades as the Grimsby Telegraph website, I must point out that the family of Matt Tees are raising funds for the Alzheimer's Society. You know what to do.