Cod Almighty | Postbag

Postbag: unwinding

5 May 2009

It's over, you can relax, take up your pen and expound at ease on the season past, the work to be done over the summer, and reminiscences of footballers keeping themselves gainfully occupied through the off-season. Or you can write any old rubbish in the confident expectation we'll print it anyway. Either way, let's hear from you.

Tommy McKenna

Saw your December 2008 note from Alan Dickens... re Tommy McKenna [Diary, 10/12/08]. There is a lovely portrait of Tommy in the Chelmsford City programme ((vs Weymouth Feb 1965) when I used to watch the City. I was intrigued to learn that he continued to live and work in Chelmsford with his 8 children (!) and was a very active trade unionist and dart player. Just wondered whether you, via Al, could flesh out the trade union connection... what firm and union.

Tommy took over the no6 shirt of the great Frank Soo (!) and spent the last couple of seasons of his prematurely ended career with Clacton.

Thanks, Greetings from London

from Felix Ormerod

Letters Ed responds: Can anyone fill Felix (and the rest of us) in on this? Or any other evidence of trade union or political activity by footballers. The only thing to his credit I've ever heard is that M**e L***s used to write a column for a socialist paper (one of the more lunatic fringe ones, as you'd expect); is that true?

Boxing clever

Ok, so Macca won some big award this week and well done to him, he deserved it. But his next quest for silverware seems ridiculous. This is the fixture list for Saturday night: IBO Light-Welterweight title Ricky Hatton v Manny Pacquiao

British heavyweight title Danny Williams v John McDermott

Does Macca know how big Danny Williams is? He's massive. Maybe Macca should have a bout with Danny North? Though to be fair, have you seen how big Danny North is? He's massive.

I'm off sparring with Livvo

from Lloyd Griffith

Letters Ed responds: Coming soon, A History of Grimsby pugilism, from Rees v Watson to Curtis Woodhouse.

Initial reaction

Hi CA

Now that that's all over and Town have snatched almost mid-table mediocrity from the jaws of relegation, I can submit a theory I've held all season long and I don't know about you but what we've been through these past few months, this feels like a promotion or at least a success of sorts.

Town's most successful manager, post-war, was of course Alan Buckley and now Mike Newell is our latest incumbent. See where I'm going with this - AB and now MN. LM and more recently RS have taken Town to dizzy heights, one with much more distinction than the other - Lawrie McMenemy MBE and Russell Slade.

Once this theory had me by the throat and I couldn't shake it off, I began thinking of Premiership managers who could possibly take Town to where we want to go and there are only 3 I can think of - 2 are GH's - Guus Hiddink and Gerard Houllier and the other is another RS unfortunately, Ricky Sbragia of Sunderland. It's a shame JK - Jurgen Klinsman hasn't managed a Premiership team but I think Bayern Munich counts in this context.

IMHO, it's a good job that other GH wasn't approached by Fenty (Con) for the job (Glenn Hoddle) but other possibles could have been AB or ST or even M O'N (stretching it a bit I know) - Aidy Boothroyd, Steve Tilson and Martin O'Neill.

I'm getting bored with this now so I'll just mention the best of the lot which would support my theory I think - BC never managed Town but wished he had - Brian Clough.

PS Thanks for a great season to all (or both) at CA

from Alan Dickens

Letters Ed responds: Dear Mr Fenty, I would like to apply for the job of manager of Grimsby Town. I know very little about football, but I do have a good name. Yours sincerely, Nicky La ... dash, ... I mean Yellow Zebedee

Still here? What's the hold-up? Get writing! The postbag's not stopping for summer...