Cod Almighty | Diary

It’s Halloween. Let the right one in!

31 October 2023

I was pleased not to have yesterday's diary. Whatever was written, some were always going to disagree. Horror show list? We're each going to have our own favourites for inclusion. We can at least agree that there have been a sprinkling of disasters. Unlike some, I definitely wouldn't include Hurst in there.

For want of anything better going on, many of us are utterly focused on who will replace the "short-arse Yorkie clown" to quote a Mariners Trust board member. Obviously "maintaining a degree of professionalism" only goes so far. Contrast that description with Danny Amos whose appreciation of the "gaffer" was evident in his tweet. Football is a game of highs and lows and we've experienced both with Hursty. The only people I would ever celebrate losing their jobs are certain politicians for their lack of care for the rest of us. Other than that, for most of the world it's always going to be tough for them and their families. Even with managers I didn't like, and was happy to see leave the club, was I tempted to rejoice? Absolutely not!

We are now in the Twilight Zone of fantasy and delusion. Famous and not so famous names being floated. I would prefer someone whose personal style is not "it's all about them" and more about the "club and community". I'm sure there are others who want more flamboyance to contrast with Hurst and I have no issue with that, but managers who think they are doing us a favour can stay away as far as I am concerned. What we can all agree is we need a manager who can get this squad of players playing because it's basically this group that will decide where we start the 24/25 season. There are some decent footballers in there who just need a confidence boost. I'm not worried, but what do I know? I wasn't yet worried that we would go down with Hurst but now we'll never know.

I would love to see us play high-energy, attacking football. I think as Grimsby fans we like to think of ourselves as a footballing team and look to some of the visitors as hoof-ball merchants. We might be in the fourth tier but it doesn't mean we have to revert to that style. I think of Slade and the hoofing that went on in his first spell. It didn't ultimately bring success and he had the speed of Michael Reddy and the holding ability of Gary Jones to utilise. It still wasn't pretty to watch much of the time.

The most frustrating thing about the last few weeks for me hasn't been the results but how timidly we have played and I think that pretty much comes down to belief. There have been some better performances where we got nothing from the game but ultimately, "no points" means declining confidence. Let's support the players and, above all, be kind!

UTM!