Cod Almighty | Diary

Happy new year, happy new year

31 December 2021

Bloody Nora. Not only did I have to do the Xmas Eve diary but I've now had New Year's Eve dumped on my desk as well. Traditionally a day to look forwards and backwards, but for some reason never sideways. Do NOT look sideways on New Year's Eve, even when driving. That's the law.

2021 - A Year in GTFC History
January: Dog dirt
February: Worse
March: The less said about March the better
April: Worse than March
May: Disastrous
June: Summer Solstice! The great God Helios bathes his followers in warmth and light, ripening the grape upon the vine and blessing a resplendent Bacchus, the Lord of Plenty, on his fertile throne!
July: Quiet
August: A promising start
September: Holy CrackerfromMacAtee, Batman, this is great!
October: Good! Deteriorating though
November: Deteriorated
December: Dog dirt

Do you remember that buoyant, wonderful ten week period when we weren't bloody awful? I hate, once again, to drive wedges between old and young but there is now a whole generation of Town fans who think we are a non-league/fourth division club and for whom success has been fleeting and always achieved at a very low level.

I still think of us as (old-style) division two at worst, either a sign that I have been spoiled or that the current generation has been robbed. I suspect, given our attendances, a bit of both; I think we are probably a team who should be oscillating between the middle of division three and the bottom of the division two. Our brief period at the top of division two was an anomaly, as is our current position. Mind you, look at Bradford. How can a club that can attract 15,000-plus crowds in the lower divisions be so consistently poor? It's sort of soothing to realise we aren't the only club who can't seem to get their shit together.

One thing I read a lot on the messageboards, usually from those who would describe themselves as Paul Hurst's homies, is that this is a very difficult division to get out of. This is undoubtedly true, but the other side of the coin is that it should be piss easy to get in the play-offs. If Notts County, Stockport, ourselves, Chesterfield or Wrexham fail to make the top seven this year the fans of those notable and worthy clubs should be encouraged to march upon their respective grounds with pitchforks and torches, and possibly a wild-eyed man in a robe who exorcises demons.

The New Year is of course the start of the new transfer window and town fans will be hoping....oh god I can't go through with the regular football talk. Let's just be nice to each other and hope for the best, eh? We don't have any idea what 2022 will bring. The last couple of years have been a series of shitstorms sweeping in from the Atlantic, and a period of settled weather would be nice.

As I write, the sun has just come out for the first time in two weeks, the nights are getting longer and it won't be long, won't be long 'til summer comes, now that the boys are here again. Hang on, I meant the nights are getting shorter. I was misled by the lyrics of The Boys Are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy. I assume Phil Lynott meant the LIGHT nights are getting longer. Seems an elementary error for such a major pop hit. I would message him on Twitter to clarify but unfortunately he died in 1985.

And that, GTFC friends, is the thing to remember. Unlike Phil Lynott, we are here to see the grand entrance of 2022 and, win or lose, we must make the most of it. All the best.

UTFM