Cod Almighty | Diary

One day

21 January 2021

Trentside Diary writes: Yesterday was a day for renewal. A day for acknowledging that in the depths of purgatory there will be change and, however slowly, it will get better. The mango Mussolini has gone. The blond buffoon who has achieved the worst Covid death rate in the world will go.

Not football? No but the non-chairman who has presided over our decline and the worst spell in our history will eventually be gone too. Maybe not on the same scale as the other two but still a huge blot in our lives. It's so close that I can almost smell it and yet I won't believe it until the ink is dry on the sale and he's gone.

With the talk of new owners comes the prospect of a new ground. How many times has this been planned in the last 16 years? With a regeneration agenda, hopefully any new ground will be on the docks as Tom Shutes proposed last year when we first became aware of his interest in the club. Most fans never wanted the horrendous Fentydome stuck in the middle of nowhere on Peaks Parkway. I still don't understand how that scheme was ever proposed. There's nothing there apart from the Crematorium. Maybe the non-chairman thought he could make a bit of cash by being part of a bigger development? Could you imagine how soul-destroying it would be to have the "new Blundell Park" sandwiched between Carpet Warehouse and B&M?

Whatever eventually happens, I'm hoping it will be a ground for the town to be proud of because I for one will be sad to leave Blundell Park. It has grown increasingly shabby and been very poorly maintained this century. It wouldn't be built now with such poor access and facilities but at the end of the day, hasn't it seen some things? A raft of glorious games that have made us proud. Some true greats have played on that pitch.

Memories stretch across the generations and hang on to us, keeping us tied in when we could have drifted away. Take a look at the York City film about leaving Bootham Crescent. If you're not moved then you don't have a heart. I'm missing it now but I'll be in bits when we leave Blundell Park.

In more mundane news, apparently Paul Hurst is considering a move for Fleetwood midfielder Jay Matete and Hereford midfielder Giles Coke has been spotted training with Town. Fingers-crossed. It would be good to do some business.

UTM! Fenty Out! Stay safe!