Cod Almighty | Diary

Where did you get that shirt?

4 July 2023

I'm no connoisseur of football shirts so I'm not going to agonise about whether it's a good one or not. What I will say is we have definitely gone bold. Maybe that's not a bad thing occasionally. I haven't looked to see if there are loads of negative comments on social media because, whatever I think, we will all like different things. I can't imagine the comments that would have been made if we'd had social media when the skinny black stripped Ciba shirt came out or even the mid-2000s Young's shirt with two white and two black wide-stripes only down each side.

Stripes all the way down and red numbers get the thumbs up from me. Long-sleeved versions will be available; good news and it appears that the club has listened to fans on this. I've never owned a Grimsby Town shirt myself but I've bought plenty for family and I know there will be a couple of boys who will be excited to get their hands on one. I know it's not the modern world but I can't help but think it would be good for cash-strapped fans if shirts didn't change every season. Let's be honest, we're in a wheel that we can’t get off now and it's really great to see some of the oldest shirts worn on matchdays.

More exciting than the new shirt is that the pre-season friendlies kick-off tonight. Grimsby Borough up first, which is sold out, followed by Cleethorpes Town. To those lucky fans who are there, enjoy the evening. It's not too long, only four weeks on Saturday until the real thing. In the meantime, I've been following my local cricket club in the T20s. Not real cricket but still a lot of fun.

And another signing. Welcome to Blundell Park, Kamil Conteh. Reading how the club had him on their wish list and we beat several other clubs who were interested, it seems like a real feather in our caps. We've had what appear to be some decent signings this window. Once we have a keeper or two sorted we'll be good to go.

Can't wait. UTM!