Cod Almighty | Diary
More than half full
16 September 2021
Glass Half Full Diary's debut falls between our hosting of Wrexham Tuesday just gone and Eastleigh's visit this Saturday. In 2015-16, our most recent promotion season, we managed a 1-0 win and a goalless draw against Eastleigh, mirrored by a 1-0 win and a goalless draw against Wrexham too. Tuesday's 3-1 Blundell Park win over the nouveau-riche Hollywood Wrexham surely bodes well. 3-1 again please? See, Hurst/Doig version 2.0 is new, improved, goal-friendly, and although we've conceded first in our last three games, we have as many league wins already as by this time last Christmas.
Any thoughts that Saturday's visitors Eastleigh may have been one of the sides Paul Hurst implicitly referred to in a recent interview when he stated there are some unexpected big spenders in this division, are undermined by results. If they've been spending, its not been effective yet. They've failed to win in their first four, followed by Tuesday's home win against the Dover minuses.
It being Thursday before a Saturday home game means plenty of GTFC-related output is imminent from the social media boffins at the club, via twitter, youtube, the official club website etc. The content tends to land on Thursday afternoons after the diary has been published so have the relevant notifications switched on. But, officialGTFC youtube released the MatchDay Moments and Wrexham Match Highlights late last night, in case you didn't. Worth a watch.
All is positive, all is informative, all supported by this fantastic renewed desire of fans to attend Blundell Park in person. Minor new meh, it makes matchday parking more difficult. But all hail the team on and off the pitch. Players, staff, new owners, the Trust board, and more. Numerous positives. Matchday catering. The new ticketing system. Fanzone. The list goes on. Oh, and that song stating "We don't have Fenty anymore", whoever he was. Everything looks great! Glass may be more than half full actually.
Random thoughts/observations...
Firstly, does Ben Fox have the shortest name in British football? (No, surely he’s Benjamin - Ed) And doesn't he remind you of Antoine Griezmann a bit? Or is it just the hair?
Secondly, anyone noticed the random insanity of BBC Football’s online match reports specifically their first XI graphics each time GTFC play this season? Seems to be a new feature, but so far, their best Mariners formation guesstimates have seen Longe-King at left back and Fox at centre half against Weymouth; Waterfall on the right of midfield and Clifton in central defence at Stockport; Pearson in midfield and Coke at centre half against Barnet; and then Clifton was back in defence and Towler in midfield at Torquay. They showed an unchanged team for the Wrexham match so at least there was consistency in their errors. Five mistaken attempts, but the glass is half full. If nobody knows who plays where for us, we are harder to predict for opponents.
Finally, my diary coincides with what would have been the 30th birthday of a Town fan taken from us far too young, Richard Broadley in memory of whom the BroadleyFC teams and recent charity match at BP have happened. Worth taking a moment today to remember a keen Mariner, an Internet Mariners player, Pontoon band trumpeter, an all-round nice guy and gent. And maybe donate to the cause if you haven't already.
Glass Half Full Diary is the second of Cod Almighty's trialists in our competition to find a new diary writer. We plan to feature three more trialists over the next three Thursdays. We're always glad to have your feedback, and we'll be especially glad to have it for the trialists' entries.