Cod Almighty | Diary
A devout and well respected man
30 March 2023
Crawley Town defender Joel Lynch reckons their poor performance against the Mariners on Tuesday night was down to tiredness. "With the Saturday-Tuesday games it can be tough," he told the Sussex Express. "We were out of shape. I think that was a bit of tiredness today."
Your West Yorkshire Diary is now going to assess that comment.
Crawley Town played seven matches in March. Four of them were at home. Their three away days were at Sutton (50 mile round trip), Wimbledon (58 miles) and Northampton (240 miles), a total of 348 miles travelled.
By comparison, the Mariners played nine matches in March. Only three of them were at home. Our away days were at Southampton (470 miles), Carlisle (376 miles), Sutton (428 miles), Brighton (474 miles), Mansfield (166 miles) and Crawley (436 miles), a total of 2,350 miles travelled.
So, to summarise: two extra games played, and 2,002 extra miles travelled. That is quite a staggering difference. If one team had permission to look jaded and fatigued on Tuesday night, then it certainly wasn’t Crawley. Joel Lynch: dry your eyes, mate.
That Town looked so accomplished in possession and played well enough to win that game twice over is testament to their fitness and their professionalism. Sure, we have a problem sticking the ball in the net, but one thing the Mariners can’t be accused of, and never have been accused of under Hurst, is a lack of effort.
Travelling 2,350 miles is almost exactly a return trip from Land's End to John O' Groats. To spend that much time on a coach, not to mention the additional travelling some players will have made to board to coach in the first place, is a test of endurance in itself.
I don't think enough has been made of this travelling. If there is a Town fan out there who made all those six trips, even if you don’t live in North East Lincolnshire, please get in touch and tell us about your marathon effort.
In other news, the Mariners have been ranked 13th in the Football League’s first ever sustainability table, which measures each club's climate-friendly activities off the pitch. Sixty-six clubs chose to take part in the initiative, so this is no mean feat. Naturally, Forest Green topped the table, but with green energy already here and on our doorstep, we can be sure that 1878 Partners will be looking to improve on that position next year.
Tickets are still on sale for our game at Bradford this Saturday. It looks like we'll be taking over 2,000 fans, and it'll likely be an even bigger following for our Easter Monday trip to Doncaster because we've nearly shifted the same number and that’s just to season ticket holders.
Given how our attendances at Blundell Park dipped below 4,000 in the second division with Clive Mendonca up front, these numbers for a team 15th in the fourth division are phenomenal. It's not been an easy sell, getting emerging young football fans from the area to support the Mariners, but I suppose many of them wouldn't know what life in the second division is like.
Hoovering up this support doesn't just happen by itself; we've all felt the lift in mood since 1878 took over, helped immensely by a memorable play-off venture, and also this season's astonishing FA Cup run, but even those achievements feel like they wouldn’t have happened if the management, players and staff didn't also feel the lift in mood.
And what’s the mood? Well, it's hard to put your finger on it precisely. It's one of optimism and ambition, mixed with a bit of realism. Dedication, professionalism and unity. It's a good place to be again. Mid-table in the fourth division is secondary.
UTM!