Cod Almighty | Diary

A night under the lights at Blundell Park, bliss.

7 February 2023

What could be better than a Tuesday night cup game in front of a rocking Blundell Park? Well maybe a successful play-off final but that's more cup game than league, plus it wouldn't be at our home. To be fair it still has a lot going for it.

As the pre-replay diary I should probably be talking tactics, players in form and fitness concerns. I'm unlikely to be doing that unless something truly momentous happens before I finish typing but you never know. There's Town pre-match info here if you have't already read everything you can by now. Why am I not doing my duty as your pre-match diary? Well, it's a cup game and I'm just going with "the magic of the cup". The well-fought-for draw just over a week ago shows just what can be done in a one-off game.

I particularly enjoyed Neil Woods' reminiscences on the last time Blundell Park hosted an FA Cup replay. Watching the clip from that night sent shivers down my spine. We shouldn't need reminding, but Neil Woods, what an absolute legend and servant to the club. He's so unassuming and yet has been central to so much that has been positive over the years. Let's enjoy the evening and fingers-crossed for a result. To save you checking, if it's still tied at 90 minutes tonight we will be into extra time and penalties.

It was amazing to see the new lads make their mark at the weekend. Who would have thought it? Our masterful performance on Saturday meant that the Football League named three of our players in their team of the week. Congratulations John McAtee and Danny Amos. Special mention though to George Lloyd. Assist, goal and league team of the week on your debut is pretty special. Hope Cheltenham don't regret loaning him out!

I've been following the stories coming out about financial mismanagement and alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules over the last few days. There appear to be so many clubs that are very poorly run. As ever the main excitement in the national press is about Manchester City and the allegations against them. The sums of money bandied about are eye-watering and go a long way to explain the gulf between the top league and those further down the pyramid. What trickles down is peanuts. How many clubs are actually a poor season away from closing down completely?

Southend United are struggling to the point that their supporters trust are seriously discussing setting up a phoenix club if it happens. Scunthorpe seem to have dodged the executioner's axe with the sale of the club but they are currently only out of the woods because the new owner paid off their debt to HMRC. Hardly a sustainable model but understandable in the short term.

It shouldn't be beyond the footballing authorities to impose rules that don't allow spending beyond a defined level and rigorous auditing to ensure that clibs adhere to them. As for player inflation caused by ridiculous bids at all levels (think Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea or Ollie Palmer to Wrexham), that could be curtailed too, not necessarily with limits but other means such as forcing payments to the grass roots game. Stamp duty for footballers? Now there's an idea!

UTM!