Cod Almighty | Diary

I'm just wild about Harry

13 September 2021

Miss Guest Diary writes: I was thrilled and disappointed in equal measures when Harry Clifton scored at Torquay on Saturday. Thrilled because he is such a hard-working part of the team, seemingly willing to play with enthusiasm in whatever role the gaffer assigns to him. Disappointed because Harry is currently my favourite Town player and I was not at the game.

Every season I like to select a player to be my 'favourite' and for the last two seasons it has been Harry. I started doing this in my very early days of watching Town to add some interest to what was, in those days, something of a chore for me. Once I had become addicted to watching, I simply continued to pick a favourite out of habit. The very first player to fulfil the role was Garry Birtles – chosen for the pragmatic reason that he was the only one in the team to sport a beard and thus easy to pick out from the crowd.

Since then I have mostly chosen midfielders who have included, in no particular order, Paul Groves, Paddy McLoughlin, Danny Boshell, Stacy Coldicott, Andi Thanoj, Craig Clay, Jake Hessenthaler and, favourite of favourites, Wayne Burnett. Given Town's revolving door policy for players in recent years, the favourites have changed annually, but Harry is now into his second season and I have high hopes that he might equal Wayne in being my favourite four years in a row.

I suggested last week that Town's early-season bubble might burst at Torquay but happily it is still intact. Paul Hurst felt the victory was deserved and mentioned the "good energy" of the team. I have heard it said that having a fitness coach doesn't get you three points on a Saturday, but what would I know. Having watched Kings Lynn against Dagenham & Redbridge on TV on Saturday, it seems to me that fitness is definitely going to play a part in results this season. Kings Lynn looked the more enterprising side in footballing terms but flagged in the second half to go down 2-1.

For the third week running Town have a player in the The Non-League Paper's team of the day – first McAtee, then Sousa and now Efete. Maybe next week it will be Harry Clifton.

I have been looking back in the Cod Almighty archives and see that this is our best start in the league since 1990-91, which co-incidentally was my first full season of supporting Town. After three wins and a draw, Town went on to win their next two games and were promoted into the second division at the end of that season.

I'm not counting any chickens here, but if Town don't beat Wrexham tomorrow it won't be for lack of effort from the players or the fans. News is that the club have already sold over 5,000 tickets in the home stands. Have a read of Tony Butcher’s Rough Guide to Wrexham and thank your lucky stars that our new owners hail from this town and not Tinsel Town.

See you at Blundell Park tomorrow.

UTM.