Cod Almighty | Diary

All the excitement of the cup dried out by plastic Ken and Barbie

31 January 2023

After all the excitement of Saturday, I bet there were more than the usual numbers of Town fans tuned into BBC1 at 7pm yesterday evening. FA Cup draw you say? We'll be there. Little did I realise when I put the TV on that the draw was part of the One Show. Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee donkey it was bad. Not even the first item on the show, I can only think the programme must be struggling for viewers and it was a quick way to bump up the numbers. Ken and Barbie brought to life chatting to two American actors. I can't tell you what they were talking about because I kept flicking backwards and forwards to the build-up to the Derby County v West Ham game, just to keep the right mood for the draw.

And there it was, second out of the 'hat' and an away trip to Southampton tantalisingly close. Premier League but struggling. Coastal team for a weekend away? It has its attractions until you realise that the games are to be played midweek. No doubt about it, if we get there Town fans will turn out in force but how rubbish is that? Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves, there's the small matter of a replay to focus on.

Before all the excitement of the draw I sat down with my laptop and diary to check when all the rearranged fixtures are because I feel like I've lost track a bit. The club have been great, putting out fixture updates but no sooner have I got on top of the dates than it's all change, again. Not that I'm complaining. We're still in the cup and that's just brilliant. Even my dog walker who takes them out whilst we're at Town matches checks the Town fixtures. The Mariners, touching lives since 1878.

I liked the loanee update yesterday. I'm not sure if there's been one or I've just not noticed it before, but it was good to be reminded where all the young lads are and what they are up to. It also means that I'll remember their names when they step out for us at some point in the future.

I’ve got this far into my diary avoiding the whale in the room, but I suppose I should briefly comment. If you hadn't already noticed it's transfer window deadline day. We have until 11pm tonight to sign that 20-goal-a-season striker and that midfield maestro. Would I like to see signings? Yes, a couple would be good but I'm not going to get too het up about it. There have been rumours in the last couple of days but talking about the detail here might tempt the purveyors of football magic to laugh at us, so I won't. Suffice to say, if we sign people, I'm sure they will be just who Hursty wants and they want to play for us. Fingers crossed.

UTM!