Cod Almighty | Article

by Grant Maconachie

29 May 2016

A Billy Joel song chimes with Grant's hopes and fears for Leicester City, and Grimsby Town

After the FA Trophy final, we said our farewells to our fellow Mariners until the next time – next season or the next impromptu gathering – and visited the bright lights of Leicester Square for a bite to eat and a drink.

I have no notion of any link between Leicester Square and the city of Leicester, or indeed Leicester City FC. But it set my ever-pondering mind off about the plight of the real Leicester City fans over the coming months. Of how next season they will be blighted with glory-hunting out-of-towners, bandwagon jumpers and all the other trappings of a successful club.

Leicester City have a bunch of huge decisions to make. One is how they choose to embrace the onslaught of new Leicester City 'fans', doubtless laden with riches beyond the regulars' reach, keen to spend it on replica shirts, memorabilia, tat and hype, however high they price it – but at what cost? Presumably these 'supporters' will also want to attend already sold-out games. Who will miss out? The real fans who have shared their fall to and subsequent rise from the third flight to the summit of the English game? Or the new breed of card-happy, full-kit-wanker, big spenders? I hope it is the latter who are left outside, but I fear that my hopes will be dashed.

This thought nagged at me as we watched London's street entertainers earn a few quid from tourists performing improvised dance routines with willing volunteers. Meanwhile wealthy visitors queued, having paid extravagant entrance fees to enjoy carefully choreographed West End shows, their performers rewarded lavishly.

We continued our evening stroll through Chinatown, eventually returning to where our day in the capital had begun – Covent Garden. Here we encountered a solitary musician, performing to a handful of people for meagre donations, while folks dined on overpriced offerings from Jamie Oliver's restaurant only yards away. My mind was so stuck on the Leicester dilemma that I didn't really catch what he was singing.

Then he started strumming a simple number and immediately I was there, back on full focus. One of my 'guilty pleasures' – Billy Joel. None of this Dizza "something in my eye" nonsense or Hursty's non-committal response regarding his reaction here either.

Don't go changing, to try and please me
You never let me down before
Don't imagine you're too familiar
And I don't see you any more

I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble
We never could have gone this far
I took the good times; I'll take the bad times
I'll take you just the way you are…

It had me. Just like Grimsby Town had me the very first time my dad took me to Blundell Park, stool in hand, to stand on the Barrett stand, that great side of the mid- to late 1970s. Oh the ups and downs since, hoping for success, but wanting it to remain personal, parochial and simple, our little Grimsby Town family.

I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew
What will it take 'til you believe in me?
The way that I believe in you

I said I love you and that's forever
And this I promise to the end
I could not love you any better
I love you just the way you are…

Until next time, farewell.

Photo © Stephen McKay, licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

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