Cod Almighty | Diary

Champions!

15 May 2020

Let Middle-Aged Diary tell you why you need to get hold of a copy of Champions!, the new book about Grimsby Town's Everton-beating, Wolves-scaring-the-hell-out-of, Anfield-packing, third-division-winning 1979-80 season.

First, but least, we deserve it. Two or three of the workers in Cod Almighty Towers have had a small hand in helping Rob McIlveen prepare the book, commenting on drafts and sharing such experience as we acquired when we put We are Town together in 2015. But hell, I certainly enjoyed my part in it, and I'm sure the others did too, so consider this a disclaimer on all that follows, and move on.

Rob himself certainly deserves it. He has compiled an astonishing amount of information about the team, the season, and each and every one of the 59 matches the Mariners played in that miracle of a campaign. Rob is no stranger to Cod Almighty (see his tribute to Kevin Moore for instance), and if you remember Sing When We're Fishing, you'll remember him as a witty, elegant and intelligent writer. You will want his efforts to be rewarded.

The Mariners Trust deserves it. Whatever concerns you have had about the role they play, it is absolutely clear that it is a rivet that will hold club and fans together in difficult times. Getting the book printed and distributed must have been, and will continue to be, a logistical nightmare for an organisation that is run by volunteers. If you are looking for ways to put money into the club to see it through the current crisis, buying Champions! is one way you can do that. And be patient while they get your copy to you in a way which does not compromise anyone's health.

George Kerr, Dave Booth, and the players deserve it. We used 18 different players in 1979-80: Batch, Brolly, Cawthorne, Crombie, Crosby, Cumming, Drinkell, Ford, Kilmore, Lester, Liddell, Mawer, Mitchell, Kevin and Dave Moore, Stone, Waters, and Wigginton. Back in 1979, there were not many teams could stop that them, but sadly COVID-19 has, for now at least, stopped what would have been the grandest of reunions. The best way we can show they are still remembered, still adored, is to buy the book that will remind you of their greatest deeds.

Finally, and above all, you deserve a copy of Champions! There'll be no live football for some time to come, so remind yourself of its power to frustrate - even in that season there was a sticky patch - and delight. Browse through it, remind yourself how the Barrett Stand used to shake in moments of high excitement (Can you remember a thing you never knew yourself? Absolutely - that is what football does), then stop every now and again, stare at the sky and say to yourself "We did this. This is Grimsby Town. Our team, and we are so proud of them"

Champions! is available from the Mariners Trust website.