Cod Almighty | Diary

In which Mart the Forest fan wins the freedom of Blundell Park

24 July 2017

Trentside Diary writes: Wow, we're getting closer. The new season is getting so near I can almost touch it.

We had a storming week of diaries, and just for the record:

• Female Doctor Who: yes, great, why not?
• No, I wouldn't attend a Checkatrade Trophy match, and now I won't use their website on principle; anyone know a good joiner in Nottingham?
• I personally don't feel the need for a females at football blog but if some fans want it, good for them. Their opinion is as valid as everyone else's, as long as they accept comment and contributions from male, trans, etc supporters, because we're all Town aren't we?
• Based on the reviews of other fans, I'd love to see some of the trialists make it. My grandad played many games for Town as an amateur, so he was never credited. He would not sign because 1) "the board couldn't be trusted and weren't interested in looking after the players" (no change there then); and 2) he earned more as a welder on the Humber Graving Dock (it was the 1940s/50s).

But the comments that won me over were on Monday. I haven't been able to get to any of the pre-season friendlies but I'm hopeful after Devon Diary wrote that "the style of play, if it continues into the season, will make you happy". I want to be happy. It's not a state I often find myself in as a Town fan. There's usually more pain than joy. Honestly Slades, I want us to be aspiring to greatness. I want another season of promotion. Will we be there, or will it be another consolidation of mediocrity?

Where will Slade take us on the football continuum: greatness or not? Will we just miss it? This programme, provided by my diary saviour and go-to Forest fan Mart, may give us a clue. It certainly provides a great Slades insight.

This programme is for a match on 4 January 1975 which ended in a dismal 1-1 draw. The replay on 8 January saw the late, great Brian Clough take charge of Nottingham Forest for the first time. He may not have been loved by all but you cannot deny his achievements. A team of written-off, out-of-favour players were in the old second division at that time. The rest is history.

My dad would take us over to Nottingham to watch Forest occasionally when there wasn't a Town match. John Robertson lolloping effortlessly down the wing was a joy to behold. It was an exciting time with Town winning a second successive promotion to the second flight under the stewardship of my favourite manager George Kerr. We were dreaming that Town could go one better and reach Division One; if Forest could do it, Town certainly could.

The diary is meant to be topical, so why am I telling you this? Because sometimes we need to reach for greatness. At the start of a new, unblemished season we should always dream and have expectations of better things. When do we renew our hope and reaffirm our love of the mighty Mariners other than now? We should remember that this can happen to a non-glamorous club with journeyman players and a manager needing to prove himself.

Now look more closely at the programme. Who is that under-14 captain of Nottingham Schools, at the front with the basin cut?

It's obvious really. It's none other than our manager, Slades. I'm not a fan but I have set aside my discontent in his appointment. Believe me, I would be the happiest person in the world if he proves himself. That we haven't maintained the momentum from our promotion is not Slade's fault, and we must start the new season with passion and belief. This is Slade's chance to prove himself and become a hero to Mariners fans young and old.

How do you interpret the picture? That period when you look back and realise this was the point when it all started to change, or that you just missed that historic meeting by a few days? Will Slade achieve greatness or just miss? As Mart says, it's the hope that kills you!