Cod Almighty | Diary

You fill up my senses

1 November 2021

Miss Guest Diary writes: No longer top of the table, no longer unbeaten at home, but no complaints from me.

Yes, it's disappointing that Town lost to Notts County on Saturday, but the game itself was enjoyable. Both teams going at it for 90 minutes and looking to be heading for a 0-0 draw when County scored from a smash and grab in the final minute of the game. Pretty much what Town did to Woking earlier in the month.

As it had been for previous games this season, Blundell Park was packed and rocking. The best experiences I have had watching Town at home since…forever. There may possibly have been some great atmospheres back in the 90s when Town were in the second tier, but if there were I have forgotten them.

If I have a complaint – and having associated with Grimsby folk for over 30 years you can bet I do – it's about the songs wheeled out on Saturday. No 'Sing when we're fishing' or 'We piss on your fish' and only one half-hearted rendition of the greasy chip butty song. Instead, numerous rounds of the tedious new song about Fenty being gone. Yes, folks, he's finally gone, so stop bloody singing about the man!

I can't help wondering whether we just might have secured the draw, or even won, if Sears had not been injured. Revan, who replaced him, looked a little out of his comfort zone at right full-back, which seemed to unbalance the team. I have seen no news about Sears' injury but it looked very painful – possibly a dislocation? At least we have Michee Efete waiting in the wings as a more than adequate replacement.

Much more concerning is the situation up front. Two games running with no goals would have been business as usual in previous seasons but not this year. The partnership between McAtee and Taylor has seen each of them score five goals and McAtee assist a number of others to score. Now we have news that McAtee's knee injury will keep him out for a month, and even Taylor looked a bit out of sorts when he came on at the weekend.

Rumour has it that Joel Grant is back in training. More of a winger than an out-and-out striker, I do recall from my brief glimpse of him in pre-season that he is fairly physically imposing – maybe he could undertake the McAtee role? Listening to Paul Hurst's interview with Matt Dean last week he seems very cautious about bringing in someone new. Maybe Hurst has been on the same sort of management courses I attended back when I was in gainful employment and learned about Tuckman's theory of group development. This suggests that introducing a new member to a group can upset the equilibrium and be a major setback, and we wouldn't want that.

It felt important to get to as many games as possible this season after the 18 month hiatus because of Covid and I have managed all but two so far. Despite the dreariness of Maidenhead, the drenching at Bromley and the disarray at Wealdstone, my enthusiasm and that of many fellow Mariners is undimmed. While pondering why this might be, I was reminded of something I read in Saturday's Guardian.

For those of you who don't know, John Crace is a political sketch writer for The Guardian, but he is also an avid Spurs supporter and, until recently, regular match-goer. On Saturday he wrote about how it no longer feels vital to watch every game because "the players don't really know what they are supposed to be doing and aren't that bothered to find out. It's really hard to love a team that doesn't love itself. It's not the crap football that upsets me, it's the lack of passion."

There it is in a nutshell – following Town this season is exactly the opposite. Paul Hurst has brought together a group of players who know what they're doing and who play with passion. And we are loving it.

UTM!