Cod Almighty | Diary

The good, the bad and the not so ugly

3 June 2021

Trentside Diary writes: All the fevered speculation in the media (read desperately looking for a non-England related story now the season is over) about whether Pochettino will make a stunning return to Spurs (looking less and less likely and might already be off by the time this diary is live) got me thinking about Town managers who have made a return some time after their ignominious departures (that sentence was convoluted but what the heck). I'm no football Statto but on a quick peruse, and ignoring any caretakers, we only have three: Alan Buckley (1988-1994, 1997-2000, 2006-2008), Slade (2004-2006, 2017-2018) and Hurst (2011-2016, 2020- ). Wow, what a contrast.

Three promotions in his first two stints, and a decent start in his third which sadly petered out, Buckley remains the favourite manager for many Town fans and he certainly brought us some glory days. We really did punch above our weight for a while and played some pretty attractive football whilst we were at it.

Compare that with Slade. A diet of hoofball in his first stint nearly brought us promotion but it wasn't to be. I heard that the players found out he was leaving just before the playoff final and the atmosphere in the dressing room was pretty unpleasant. I've no idea if it is actually true but it would certainly explain the lacklustre performance we put in on the day. My abiding memory was our very own Moses, Mighty Mariner walking through Cardiff city centre and the Town fans parting and cheering him on. It was nearly a great weekend, only spoiled by 90 minutes of abysmal football. Then his return. We heard driving down from Middlesbrough and spent most of the journey in disbelief. No, just no! There was really nothing to recommend his return, and so it proved to be.

And then we get to Hursty. Starting out as the vertically challenged half of "Shouty and Shorty", he really came into his own when he took sole charge. Yes, it took him a few years to get us out of non-league (March 2011 to May 2016) but 2014-15 was his first season in sole charge and he overhauled the squad. If there's one thing he's very good at it's bagging a decent player or two. The following season we clinched promotion, or more accurately grabbed it and hung on for dear life. I have every faith we will do it again, and with the new owners there's every chance that we will have genuine pride in what we do. Wouldn't that be something!

The Mariners Trust have unveiled the plans for a new fanzone at Blundell Park. It looks good in the "Virtual walk through". My first thought was that's lovely but what will it look like when it's rammed with singing, chanting fans: think about the area under the away stand at Meadow Lane for instance. Dave Roberts explains in the video that it will be a family fanzone with things for the kids to do and seating areas, food and drinks. That is a really positive development for bringing in future fans. It will be difficult to manage if it's just full of people just squashing in for a beer but I'm sure the club and trust are looking at how it will work. We really do struggle for lack of space because ideally we would have a Family Zone and another area for those who just want to go for a drink or food. Maybe that's for a new ground but in the meantime it's a great start.

UTM!