Cod Almighty | Postbag

Less Fleabag, more Postbag

27 January 2020

Hello! I bet you didn't expect another postbag so quickly did you? Well don't get used to it as I'm not sure we'll ever keep this up. Avoid disappointment: keep your expectations low - of us and Town.

In praise of our saviour

There have been a number of recent tweets criticizing your articles in which they allege that JSF and the current board haven't received fulsome enough praise for their appointment as manager of Ian Holloway. They seem to me to be very similar in tone to the communications from the board to the fans over the last 15 years or so.

Ironically they fail to see that the enthusiasm surrounding this appointment largely springs from Holloway's inclusiveness and communication skills: two areas in which JSF's regime has failed at miserably up until now.
In eventually addressing their own failings the board and its defenders would be wise to accept their existence and attempt to heal the wounds of the past rather than continue to carp at legitimate criticism and begrudging praise.

from Lee Johnson (15 January)

Letters Ed responds: There's always the sense with Fenty that something is about to go horribly, horribly wrong. I hope not, but I have this uneasy feeling I just can't shift.

Not very famous not Grimsby peeps

The Ross family. And rather tenuous: Robert Wyatt lived on Humberston Fitties.

from Tony North (23 January)

Letters Ed responds: Famous Peeps not from Grimsby who lived in nearby Cleethorpes for a bit? We're getting desperate now. Are the Ross family famous, or just very rich?

Cheltenham racists

I was interested to see Paul Thundercliffe's piece on this match. It was indeed a game of two halves. My main memory apart from the disappointing defeat was the monkey chanting directed at Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro by a large group of teenage home fans. The stewards did nothing about it. Shameful. It was ironic that the home side's winner was scored by Barry Hayles.

Keep up the good work. UTM.

from David Crofts (23 January)

Ye Olde Diary

Am I the only one who is uneasy about Holloway buying shares? I think there should be a gap between the manager and the board. I hope I am proved wrong.

Changing the subject. I am downsizing, and have discovered diaries I kept as a young boy. The first match I ever saw was against Wolves in the 1st division in September 1947. I was 11 years old. We lost 4-0, having lost 8-1 away a week earlier. We were relegated to the 2nd Division at the end of that season. My diaries begin in January 1950, the season 1949-50, in the 2nd Division. Here are a few selected results:

7 January, Luton 3 Grimsby 4 (Briggs 4).
14 January, Barnsley 7 Grimsby 2, one of my few away games. Tommy Briggs had just been selected for England B.
21 Jan, Grimsby 2 West Ham 0.
18 Feb, Grimsby 1 (Cairns) Hull 0.
18 March Grimsby 4 (Briggs, Hair 2, Cairns) Bradford PA 0.
25 March Leicester 1 Grimsby 0.
1 April Grimsby 0 Cardiff 0.
7 April Grimsby 2 Leeds 0.
15 April Grimsby 4 Bury 2.
22 April Spurs 1 Grimsby 2.
29 April Grimsby 4 Brentford 1. We finished 11th.

I won’t go into the following season, in which we finished last, and were relegated to the 3rd Division North, except to mention 28 Oct Town 4 (Bloomer 4) Southampton 0. 9 Dec Town 4(Briggs 2, Lloyd, Mackenzie) Swansea 2.

Oh for a Tommy Briggs or Jimmy Bloomer now!

Keep up the good work.

from Antony Chapman (27 January)

Letters Ed responds: Did your diaries make mention of the match beyond the results? If so you should scan them in and we'll run them in an article.

Golden

Fantastic. Unbelievable. Amazing, etc etc.

The so-called PR people at GTFC must think a second Christmas has arrived. They can just carry on just doing what they have basically been doing for the last few years: yep, F. all.

Mr Holloway is the gift that keeps giving. His man management and PR skills are legendary and to a backroom team still stuck in the early 1980s his arrival could not have come soon enough.

But in the cold light of day the pressure is not on him is it? He has nothing to prove, but we have. Come on Town let's try and match his enthusiasm and positive thinking: ticket pricing, incentives for exiles, the setting up of regional supporters clubs, maybe even temporary seating again to accommodate the undoubted upsurge in support. We have been gifted a golden chance to create a great new chapter for our club and community. Repay the fans faith and match Mr Holloway's drive and enthusiasm.

UTFM.

from Rich Jones (15 January)

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