Cod Almighty | Diary

One step forward, many steps back

15 June 2020

Trentside Diary writes: It's been a while since I've written a diary and I have to be honest, last week I was wondering what my rusty football brain could summon up because previous diaries have covered the crowd-funder, share offer and our desperate need for something positive to look forward to on the horizon. Decent lower-league football? Sorry, not for a while yet.

Our somewhat depleted squad was inevitable, the players agreeing to take a pay cut was not. I'm sure I'm not the only one in thanking them for their commitment and hope that it's not too long before they're back earning their full wage and we can be there getting behind them. It makes you proud of each and every one of them.

What about the fans? We really can be the best, and the worst. Operation Promotion showed our immense commitment to the club. Likewise, with the crowdfunder and share offer. Given the state of the economy and people's fears for their jobs it really is impressive. There will be many who don't want to contribute to the crowd-funder after Marley's comments about the last one, but a share offer at least allows you to own a little bit of our club so it's not to be sneezed at, even if it’s only nominal.

And then you look at the flip side. A small minority really can be the worst. Suggesting supporters who want a refund of their season ticket are lesser fans, or not proper fans at all. Piling on to other fans and excusing it as banter when they're old enough to know better, but then saying we need to "Be Kind".

You then get to the worst of the worst. The thick as mince, so-called fans who abused and threatened the peaceful Black Lives Matter protest on Cleethorpes beach on Saturday bring shame on the club. They linked themselves to it, singing Town chants, some wearing Town shirts. They were a total disgrace. There was one who decided it would be fun to throw eggs at protesters, others sand at the police. Respect is due to the Mariners Trust with their swift and absolute condemnation of them and their actions. They put it perfectly: "those acting in this way are not welcome at Blundell Park".

Following on from that, the Mail on Sunday ran an article questioning whether clubs are serious in clamping down on racism. They mentioned Town in with many other clubs: "In mid-November, Michael Jolley left Grimsby. After an interview with majority shareholder John Fenty at a chippy on Cleethorpes pier, he was replaced by Ian Holloway, who is white." (I quote it here to save you having to click on the site. While factually true, the insinuation in the article does not reflect well on the club. The club have asked for a correction on social media.

Postscript

Domestic Diary adds: since Trentside Diary wrote on Sunday, the club has also issued a welcome statement condemning the behaviour of those who opposed the Black Lives Matter demonstration in Cleethorpes. They have also clarified the statement since it was first published. (This postscript has been amended to reflect the clarification.)