Cod Almighty | Diary

Blowing the bugle for Lincolnshire

30 July 2020

Basque Diary recently travelled home to Lincolnshire for the first time in seven months for a long weekend. The most extended exile I have had in a while, imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Extended absences from your homeland make you appreciate the finer details of what it has to offer. Lincolnshire has offerings in abundance for young families and, as the transfer window opens, it feels like its high time to remind Holloway, Philip Day and the rest of the board of that fact.

On a cycle through the Wolds I was reminded of its fantastic scenery and rolling hills. A trip to the beach notified me of the ever-increasing variety of water sports on offer locally, and visits to friends and family a window into the huge variety of homes on offer for prospective tenants.

What's the point of all this? Sometimes I wonder if the board make the most of Lincolnshire's positives when trying to attract new players. We can't offer a metropolis with high fashion, trendy nightclubs and the best restaurants but you'll struggle to beat us for a location where a young family can start up with access to the countryside, sea and urban life in such proximity. And new wheelie bins, of course.

James McKeown and Craig Disley are happy examples of players successfully moving to the club and settling locally but surely we can sell this idea to more players in order to attract more footballers of similar quality. As a club, we need to be inventive in order to attract support and staff. A portfolio demonstrating what Grimsby, Cleethorpes and the wider Lincolnshire area has to offer can only enhance our chances in the transfer market.

Plenty of players have rural-ish interests such as fishing (Luke Waterfall), greyhound racing (Ryan Bennett) and keeping chickens (Ian Holloway) to name a few examples. We can use our locality's strengths to tap into players' and their families hobbies. Further to that our academy and the ever-growing local non-League scene provide great opportunities for aspiring coaches.

If we are going to move forward we need to think outside the box, and blowing our own trumpet for a change might be a good place to start.