Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Thursday 11 March 2004
11 March 2004
When a player profile begins "John Thorrington is undoubtedly a talented player," most seasoned readers will sense the presence of a mightily significant 'but' somewhere on the horizon, if not within the space of a paragraph or two. The one I've been reading doesn't go on to detail any unshakeable drug habits or interesting sexual predilections on Thorrington's part, nor even that he might put the milk in the cup before the tea, but it doesn't take the Diary much more paddling of the internet to discover that Town's undoubtedly talented new signing brings a history of disappointment and injury problems with him to Blundell Park. But he can run fast, he's 24, and he plays central midfield or wide on the right, and, ooh, what's this? A Johannesburg-born American national, Thorrington emerged from the Manchester United academy to spend a season with Bayer Leverkusen, where he played a key role in the Champions League-winning campaign of... sorry, I mean where he was released and then failed to live up to expectations at third division Huddersfield.
All sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it? Terriers manager Peter Jackson had already said he wouldn't be offering Thorrington new terms when his current deal expires this summer, so Nicky Law has given him a two-month permanent contract - heh! - to keep those last loan slots free. Expect two or three good crosses followed by a one-year deal and then... see: Cooke, Terry. The Diary is happy to greet today's other new signing, Alan Fettis, with less scepticism, probably because we didn't have a lot of choice. The third best goalkeeper in Hull has, as anticipated yesterday, signed for GTFC on a month's loan after turning down a similar move to third division pacesetters Donny Rovers, and isn't it exciting to have another international on the books, eh. Fettis's north bank teammate John Anderson is staying put, though, to fight for his place at that poxy old shoebox of a 25,000-capacity England u21 international-hosting so-called stadium, which is a shame, because he sounded all right. Law is still looking around though, according to Town's official site.
Dyspraxic defender Tony Crane has been at it again, this time taking his unique style of play into the Pontins Holidays League Cup and earning his third red card of the season while playing for the reserves last night - just to remind us how much we could have done with signing Anderson. The second string were dumped out of their knockout competition at Wrexham, where the home side progressed to the semi-finals courtesy of an extra-time penalty, but Town's stiffs can take enormous pride in having taken the match as far as they did, given that they only fielded one player. Crane's latest contribution to the cause may see his already hefty first-team suspension extended still further, but as far as the Diary is concerned the first team is a bloody sight better off without him right now.
And there, amid much upheaval, I leave you for the week. Tomorrow you will be in the safe and loving hands of Guest Diary, and seeing as Mrs Diary and I are staying at her sister's this weekend, far far away from Blundell Park and even a computer, he or somebody else might end up doing the post-Bournemouth thing here on Saturday night. T'ra!