Cod Almighty | Diary

We're going to need a bigger shirt

30 November 2021

Trentside Diary writes: Happy Tuesday to you, or as I might have to rename it, happy "first diary after a new signing day" to you.

Yep, Hursty's gone and done it again with winger Jordan Maguire-Drew putting pen to paper. Not just any old paper either but it has proper "you belong to us for eighteen months" words on it. I like that Hursts was interested in M-D before he went to Woking, so he was already pencilled in as part of his master plan. M-D was on loan to Crawley Town for the second half of last season and their fans were very keen for him to be signed on a permanent basis. It didn't happen but a couple of decent games for us and we’ll take him to our hearts. Welcome!

Spare a thought for all those parents whose children want a replica shirt with their favourite player's name on the back. I did a little investigative journalism on your behalf. Maguire-Drew. Twelve characters for the name and the maximum you can have through the online store. Add a number and that's an additional cost of £20.50. "No kid you like Fox, he's your favourite." Additional cost £7.00. "But Daaaaaad..."

I was musing our signings this season and another thought randomly popped into my head. When did we go from a player sitting at a table, pen in hand with the manager alongside trying to look fatherly if it's a youngish lad and masterly if it's a more experienced pro? Rather than the sometimes-wonky shirt held aloft photo we get now? Is it another unforeseen outcome of the pandemic? Or is it seen as a more symbolic image of what they have become? Akin to kissing the badge, which I personally find a bit fake and often a sign that a player has had a poor run and fears they are on their way out. Or does it avoid the running round looking for a pen in the moments before the photo is taken and regretting that they can only find a cheap biro.

Didn't someone - probably Lloyd Griffith - lend the club a pen for signings at one time? Or maybe I've imagined that. If he did maybe it's been returned and the BP office has gone paper-free like the rest of the world. I made that last bit up, I'm sure they sink under paper like the rest of us.

Our Chairman has been busy again and his opinion piece in the Guardian is well worth a read. We regularly hear about clubs that are struggling and we have all bemoaned clubs splashing cash to "stay up" while Town have wallowed near the bottom. Many of us marvel at how strong the lower tiers of English football are with attendances that would be the envy of other countries while some lament these bigger discussions and "politics in football". My thought: if we don't want more clubs going by the wayside then we need a path to a better governed game. It's is in the interests of us all.

UTM.