Cod Almighty | Diary

Grimsby Town. Unbeaten in 2023!

3 January 2023

Hello and a Happy New Year to you Town fans. May 2023 be the best it can be for you and your families. May Town bring us joy as well as the moments of wondering "why?"

It's been a couple of weeks since I last wrote a diary and what a strange couple of weeks it has been in 'Townland'. Forget that slightly once removed from reality feeling of not knowing what day it was and eating mince pies for breakfast, it has also been a mixed bag in terms of results. This horrible lurgy kept a family member away from the last couple of games and before the game on Sunday we were discussing them logging in to listen to the commentary. "Yeah I might do, can't imagine it'll be easy listening today though" was the parting shot. Well it was tense watching but how worth it in the end. I love to see a free flowing Buckley-ball game, but I do love a battle to the bitter end win even more. It's the sheer passion that you could see when the team dealt with something. They definitely seemed pumped up and looking to make amends for the previous couple of games. A perfect start to the new year.

The fans were decent too. It was good to hear regular chants of "Paul Hurst's Black and White Army" and a bit of noise certainly lifts the game. We were chatting to a small group of Stockport fans outside the chippy before the game. A couple were friendly and there was the usual football, promoted teams chit-chat. One older chap was full of it though. Without any friendliness or humour he basically told us we were going to be marmalised and we would only make the afternoon "interesting" for them if we scored the first goal. Well, we certainly scored that all-important first goal and I had a little smile to myself as we walked away from the ground. Love it!

We can't get away from the fact it's January and that the 'window' is officially open. Some Town fans have been discussing it for weeks already, speculating what the little elves will bring to Blundell Park. Hurst mentioned targets in his post-match interview on Sunday but said any possible deals are unlikely to be this week. We know he's tried in the past but hasn't managed to sign who he was after. Fingers crossed he gets who he wants this time round. Any decent strikers are likely to have plenty of clubs after them but we can live in hope that the positive direction of the club will at least improve our chances.

I will be happy when the month is over and we can get back to concentrating on who is on the books rather than wild speculation about who might just sign if we offer them Steels rather than Papas, but perhaps I'm in a minority. Either way I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

UTM!