Cod Almighty | Diary
Think of a football club under Tory rule
6 October 2022
Keep politics out of football! That’s something fans say, isn’t it? When society tries to make a life-affirming gesture and the gammons take it as a personal threat to their existence. "You can't say anything these days, Gaz. You get cancelled!"
The reality is, of course, that politics infiltrates every nook of our lives, including football, whether we like it or not. The sport has rules and systems for good reasons. Governing bodies make decisions based on those rules.
It's not new news, but Town’s rearranged league match against Crewe is being rearranged again. By doing so, the EFL is seemingly willing to damage the integrity of the very competition it exists to protect just so it can feed off some crumbs that fall from the Premier League pie. Trickle-down economics, they call it.
So, what we've learnt here is that governing bodies bend the rules, or simply break them, to pursue a separate agenda typically spearheaded by a narcissistic desire to become richer. Try keeping that out of football when it literally runs football.
Politics in football reflects politics in life. If you want to know what the future of Britain will look like under continued Tory rule, then think of a football club that was under continued Tory rule. Think about how that football club was run, and how its assets were treated. Think about how it blamed fans. Think about how it attacked and banned the media when it couldn't control the narrative.
Think about how it put that club in football purgatory. Think about how it made the fans believe the only alternative was something worse.
Of course, we know the alternative was much better and led to much brighter days. The alternative understood the value of togetherness. The club, communities and wider society is far more powerful and prosperous when it comes together and works together.
Your lefty West Yorkshire Diary snowflake isn't in the business of telling you what to do, but I have a platform and I have thoughts to share. It makes you realise what's possible when you have leaders who have principles and beliefs in building something for the people. Values that we can all live our lives by. The 1878 Partnership don't pretend to be perfect, but what they do that really matters is listen. And we've seen enough proof since May 2021 to know they also act.
I love my club, and I want to love my country. I've seen how one has been turned around and, compared to where it's been for the last two decades, it's now thriving. Bigger crowds, better results. Healthier balance sheet, healthier future. But what of our country? We haven't got time to delve into that. Well, I haven’t. Got shit to do, innit.
Stockport tickets will go on general sale at midnight tonight. How many of the 300 extra will be available once any remaining season ticket holders, 1878 club members and Mariners Trust members get their mitts on them is anyone's guess. But what we know for certain is that more than a thousand Town fans will be making the trip across the M62 next weekend.
Saturday's home tie against creepy Crawley is an occasion the club is using to encourage positive conversations around mental health. I've been heartened by how many of our fans already use Twitter and the Fishy to talk about their own struggles so openly and by doing so are gradually removing the stigma that has existed, especially among the "traditional" football fan base. Warm applause to those who have created this initiative, which typifies the caring nature of everyone involved who understands that we all need and rely on each other to live our best lives.
It's at this point that I'd usually adlib a bit about our opposition this Saturday, but it’s come to my attention that I have little to no history, and therefore few to no memories, of Town games against Crawley. I can't think of one classic. I still associate them with Steve Evans, only now I think they must also have a kind of Ian Holloway hiding behind the scenes because only Ian Holloway would think it'd be a good idea to invest in cryptocurrency.
Our record against Crawley offers up some satisfying symmetry, with four wins apiece and four draws from our twelve meetings. We did the double over them when we got relegated in 2020-21 and I don't think they’ve done anything other than stand still since then. They exist. That's the kindest thing I can say of them.
There have been a lot of conversations around tactics after Hurst went with three centre backs at Salford and the team played well. As always, we seem to have loads of those attacking wide players in the squad — your Kiernans, Khans, Wearnes, Scannells, Maguire-Drews and the like, with others like your Orsis, Simmonds and Cliftons who can "do a job" out there. Maybe it's just me and my Buckley 4-4-2 ways, but I see a billion attacking players in our squad and only three or four attacking roles in our system (one of which belongs to McAtee when he's not injured). I don't mind admitting that I’m now feeling left behind with all this 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-4-1-2 and 4-1.5-3.5-1 nonsense. Everyone's so bloody versatile these days. Kev Donovan "in the hole" used to blow my mind, so that tells you where my mind is at.
Who knows what Hursty's team will line up as, or in, come Saturday. One thing is for sure — I'll be there to watch them in person for the first time this season! I had planned to come back for the Crewe match, but the Queen died, football lost its mind, and everything got cancelled. You can’t even kick a ball about when a monarch dies these days. It’s political correctness gone mad.