Cod Almighty | Diary

It's family and friends, that's what it is

15 October 2024

Well hello, it's been a while. No I haven't fallen out of love with the Mighty Stripeys, just life and all that getting in the way. In fact I have to say that I am Very Pleasantly Surprised so far this campaign as we're really looking like a different team. And we are a different team. The most common phrase I have used leaving Blundell Park is "we would have lost that last season", and don't you just love it? Only three points off the top of what is admittedly a very tight table and only goal difference from a play-off place. It is not quite yet a quarter of the way through the season but this time last year, Hursty was the gaffer and we were sitting in 16th with 13 points and poised to lose four on the bounce. This feels like progress. Fingers crossed.

It's Wealdstone at home. Do you like that for the first round of the FA Cup? It's nice to have a home draw and one where we could progress. I said "could", which is true of every game we play, and I don't for a minute want to offend the gods of football and suggest we "will" but a decent cup game is always good for momentum. With our sticking plaster team struggling with injuries, the best we can hope for is maybe a decent run and no more injuries please. I know if we get further and draw a so-called 'big' team I will be chuntering about the demise of replays. I won't rehash the arguments but what a ridiculous decision for every team in the football league. The magic of the cup? There will certainly be less sparkle for the minnows this year.

As a family we lost a mum, nan and great nan just before the start of the season. What has that got to do with football you might ask? Well, it's family and friends isn't it? I don't think she ever went to a game and it was very frustrating if she tried to watch and comment on a game on the TV, but one of my best Town memories was because my mum queued to get tickets for Dave Booth's testimonial against Derby County. This meant that we could then get tickets for the Wolves League Cup game. What a run that turned out to be. Coming neatly full-circle, a second replay at the Baseball Ground you say? Bring it on!

UTM!