The Diary

Cod Almighty | Diary

I'll bring the wine, you bring the cheese and biscuits

8 March 2021

Miss Guest Diary writes: Happy anniversary! It's now a year since we were queuing for what seemed liked hours to get out of the car park at Glanford Park. I say we, but I was actually across the road in Tesco drinking coffee and panic buying strategically acquiring toilet rolls.

Could that be the last time for the foreseeable future that we will attend a League match featuring Town? There are certainly a lot of people who think so, including Cod Almighty's own Mr Butcher. The reading on the pessimism meter for Town's survival is now almost at absolute zero. I am going to keep a candle of hope burning until it's mathematically impossible for us to survive. That feels a little ironic because, as I have said before, I don't see relegation as being a descent to the ninth circle of hell, as many others apparently do.

What's so great about supporting a fourth tier team as opposed to a fifth tier one? These days many of the Conference teams are full-time professionals anyway and used to be League clubs themselves. Every season starts as a clean slate and, regardless of which division Town find themselves in next season, we fans will (hopefully) be going to games and cheering the team on and sharing the same hopes and fears as always.

Is this dread of non-League about the sub-standard grounds or the number of opposition fans? Well that argument falls to pieces when you consider that three of the current top four in our division are Cheltenham, Morecambe and Forest Green while Notts County, Stockport, Wrexham and Chesterfield are currently non-League. Is it ego? The thought of being associated with a non-League as opposed to a League team? Get over yourselves. I can guarantee that the vast majority of people outside North East Lincolnshire – and quite a few inside – neither know nor care where Grimsby Town are currently located in the football pyramid.

I suspect a lot of the angst may be about finances; that not being part of the League set-up will somehow be ruinous and cause Town to go out of business. I don't pretend to know anything about how the football pyramid is financed but, leaving aside the imminent change of Town ownership, I do know that clubs earn money from appearing on TV. When was the last time that happened for Town? Certainly not in the last five years – 30 seconds on Quest followed by a facetious remark from Colin Murray doesn't count. By contrast, this season I have watched Chorley, Stockport and Marine in the FA Cup and every Saturday there is a televised fixture from the Conference.

Looking back over the 30-odd years I have been supporting Town, I can honestly say that many, many of the highlights have come during the non-League years and if Town find themselves once more in the fifth tier I would expect that to continue.

To finish on a cheerier note, I recommend you listen to the recent DN35 podcast interview with John McDermott. It is a joy from start to finish to hear Macca's reminiscences about his career and memories of the people he played with and for during his time with Town. He's obviously really looking forward to meeting up with many of them again when he manages the Broadley FC legends team for the upcoming Memorial Day. A guaranteed full house at Blundell Park, surely?