Cod Almighty | Diary

Balls in the box - and why not?

28 June 2021

Miss Guest Diary writes: Is it just me or has anyone else found the Euros rather dull so far? Sensible refereeing, sensible kits and, for the most part, sensible hair, and no shock results. You could more or less have predicted the line-up of the last 16 before the tournament started.

Wales showed some spark in their group games but, disappointingly but rather inevitably, reverted to playing like a bunch of Championship journeymen and Premier League benchwarmers against Denmark. Yesterday's games had a little more interest, with the sending off which scuppered the Dutch chances and the reigning champions Portugal sporting a kit which had "losers" written all over it. But I can't get onboard with all this cooing by the pundits over the quality of the football. Some of the easy scoring chances missed would draw deserved criticism in the Bananarama, let alone "at this level".

Even the commentators are less annoying than usual and seem to be trying to blend into the background. Though Sam Matterface has been doing his best to irritate by finding obscure facts about individual players and working them into his spiel. Yesterday he mentioned that one player – I forget who – had been a postman so should be able to deliver a good ball. Of course, in the other game the commentator couldn't resist making reference to bouncing Czechs and cashing-in when the Netherlands went down to ten men.

During that game I was looking at the mass of orange shirts in the crowd and it struck me: whatever happened to rosettes? Growing up near Wembley Stadium in the 1950s, the sight of fans sporting rosettes for big games and the rosette sellers lining the streets nearby is a vivid memory from my childhood. When did that change to wearing the club shirt instead? My inner cynic said it had something to do with the Premier League marketing men. However, a quick Google turned up an article which claims it was started by Newcastle fans at the 1974 Cup Final, but it didn't really catch on till the 1980s because shirts simply weren't made in any quantity in adult sizes till then.

When it became common to wear a football shirt in everyday life instead of a regular shirt is another matter. I really hate to see grown men (it's usually men) strolling around the streets in replica football shirts on a non-match day. It's not something I could ever imagine doing, but then I've never owned a pair of trainers either. We do have a few Town shirts stuffed into a drawer somewhere but they weren't bought. They came as a result of sponsoring a few Town players in the 1990s and have only seen the light of day when worn by my partner's six-a-side team a few years ago.

All this talk of shirts reminds me there has been some internet buzz about Town's  kit for the coming season. The new deal with Macron starts on 1 July so I'm guessing we'll have to wait till then for the big reveal. Some of those involved in creating promotional material have been unable to resist a few teasers on social media but I am content to wait until I can see the players run out wearing it.

Lastly, some actual Town news. A pre-season game at Blundell Park against Rotherham has been scheduled for 1pm on Saturday, 24 July. This will be the only home pre-season game and will also kick off a well-deserved testimonial year for James McKeown. Two great reasons to pack the park.

UTM.