Cod Almighty | Diary

There's a brand new dance but I don't know its name

26 January 2023

It's Thursday gentle reader, 48 hours to football and your Guest Diarist is poking about at home all morning waiting for the parcels to be delivered. Yes you can call me Matilda if you like, waiting for packages. And Town fans are waiting for signings. Someone with a new celebration dance would be good. Provided of course that they score and we get to see it. Yes, even me who is on record more than once questioning the need for new January players in the past thinks we need people this season.

I'm all for lean squads. For me 18 genuine first teamers and a trio of kids should normally be enough. The extra half dozen that creep in to most squads are often there to make up the numbers, not quite good enough, not quite fit enough, don't fit the system or not yet ready for first team action. When the playing budget is tight (it is always tight) the excess squad players stop us affording that quality player we really need in my opinion.

But this season, from now on, the chips are down and here comes the counter argument. A combination of unseasonal winter frosts (we don't usually get heavy prolonged frost any more) and a good cup run means Town faces the prospect of seven league games in 24 days this February. February results will decide whether we hold our own comfortably or slide further down the table than anyone wants. A good run, realistically, will be ten points. A bad run will be, say, four points - bad for morale, bad for the blood pressure, trouble will be brewing. Seven games in a short month is tough on any squad. If we lose players to injury or suspension (or just knackeredness), and we will, than we need fit players to slot in. Mr Hurst will really have to earn his money, and use all his experience to get us through to March safely.

And the decisions Paul Hurst makes between now and the transfer season ending could be crucial. We need enough first-team-ready players to be competitive with a match every three days. Mardy Diary used to say the season only starts in March but its come a month earlier this year. So we need reinforcements. And if there are players in the squad now who can't be relied on then let them go to free up the wage budget a bit.

So the Manager and his recruitment team are on the trail of players - taller players the papers say. Players who can compete physically but who still get the ball down and play it. Players who can convert chances often and half-chances sometimes. Players who can energise the fans with crowd-pleasing tackles. Motivated players who will energise an increasingly tired squad. Disciplined players who avoid suspension. It's a big ask alright but we need to trust the team to find them, and the Board to back them. They've not got long have they?

At the same time the management team need to get the best out of what we have already got. For example I am a closet fan of Hunt and was pleased when we got him back because I think that he is a talented footballer. I read a rumour he is not getting games because he is too small. But small talented players find a way to compete. Town have had several very successful ones in the past - we used to call them midfield dynamos. All we are saying is give Hunt a chance.

Anyhow, before all that we have an FA Cup tie to win. A tough awkward draw away to a talented unfashionable team. But there should be no meek surrender, it is a great chance to expunge the disappointments of recent games from the memory. Win or lose the performance matters most. And a chance to try something different up front with McAtee prevented from playing. And, banging on again, maybe the perfect game to give young Hunt a go against higher class opposition. Bring on that brand new dance. See yer.