Cod Almighty | Diary

Go the distance

22 March 2021

Miss Guest Diary writes: In another season – one where we could actually attend games and Town weren't bottom of the league – Saturday's trip to Mansfield would have been a cracker. Town always have a big following at Field Mill and achieving a draw after twice going a goal down and with the equaliser being scored in the 91st minute would have guaranteed a boiling atmosphere in the last five minutes which – as likely as not – might have spurred the players on to a win.

But it isn't another season, it's this dreadful one, where the most we can do is shout at the TV or the radio or at each other on social media. The consensus seems to be that a draw was the worst result – not enough to gain much ground on our relegation rivals but enough to keep that scintilla of hope glinting in the eyes of the optimists. And to cause those who love a cliché to drag out that old saw about it not being the despair but the hope that kills you.

This put me in mind of something I read a couple of years ago about optimism being a gift. That, even if all your hopes eventually come to nothing, you will have had the joy of hoping which is in itself life-enhancing. A thing worth having is worth hoping for and the brief joy of hope is sometimes all you're ever going to get. From my interactions with Grimsby folk over the last 30 years, I realise that this view is probably so alien to their psyche that they can't manage it. I'm not from round here, though, so I'm still hopeful that Town could stay up.

But from a purely selfish point of view I am not actually sure I want them to. Lately I've found myself gazing off into the distance dreaming about weekends away in Dorset and Devon or recalling great away days at Barnet and Boreham Wood. Yet another trip to Bradford or Bolton or Oldham, where Town might just scrape a draw, doesn't fill me with the same sense of anticipation.

I have a theory that how you view Town's place in the football pyramid and what you expect from the club is heavily influenced by how many matches you attend. If you are exiled or have been boycotting during the Fenty years or are unable to attend games for other reasons, then which division Town are in and how they are perceived in the media will be important to you. If, like me, you pay good money to travel to most games and sit in the freezing cold for two hours, what happens on the day definitely feels more important. Paul Thundercliffe pointed out recently that Town's win rate since returning to the Football League is 31 per cent whereas in non-League it was latterly 50 per cent. I'd take that ratio again any day.

There is now a general feeling of optimism among fans springing out of the imminent change of ownership, including an expectation that the club will be better managed and funded in future. If they do avoid relegation, this may well improve Town's ability to compete – and thus their win rate – in the League. We can only hope!

UTM.