Cod Almighty | Diary

à bout de souffle

4 September 2026

Interview! Interview! They're all coming into view! New players, fresh content, old sentiments. Shelton tells us he's looking forward to playing for us and he's ambitious and he's experienced and he expects us to be challenging. Polly Bancroft spoke well about what goes on behind the scenes during the window. Lots of teamwork, you won't be surprised to know, lots of hard work, lots of communication. And all done very effectively so far.

Artell has dropped two interviews this week. Firstly, he was explaining how he improves players. He used older, blunter language for his big reveal: hard work, energy, dedication. He has it himself and he expects it of others. Secondly, when he spoke after the Accrington game, he bluntly said that the ref didn't have the 'courage' to award a penalty after a challenge on Morgan.

This was the tired, fed-up DA, answering questions after a long summer of crises. He deserves a rest. He won't get one. Energy levels were raised again as he spoke of new signing Fin Cartwright. The boy's got a bright future and it starts here.

Tom Culshaw also spoke for the first time. He's excited to be here, head spinning, getting used to everything and everyone. He already knew Artell and he was looking to step up from first-team coach to assistant manager. In modern parlance, which I'm surprised hasn't been used, he probably means assistant head coach. Although, Artell's very busy summer has surely meant he feels more like a manager in the traditional sense.

Anyway, we needed a body; he needed a job. Serendipity. He's very proud of his record at Rangers, is a coach first and sees set pieces as a vital part of the game. He's quite familiar with League Two having seen lots of Tranmere's games while he was taking a break. Shelton and Cartwright excite him because of the different things they offer given their age and experience. He says Steven Gerrard will come see a game at some point. Is that more or less exciting than the usual obfuscation over the injury news? Breath holds. Glass breaks. No one's back for this weekend.

By the time you read this it may be clearer that the latest addition to the glass menagerie, Christy Pym, will be covered by the emergency loan of David Harrington. According to the Irish examiner, Harrington, formerly of Cork City and friend of Jaze Kabia, is set to turn out for Town tomorrow. He has League Two experience after making 20 appearances for Fleetwood two seasons ago. He's 26. He was signed from Fleetwood by Bolton Wanderers in January. If he comes, we'll get behind him.

Cheltenham tomorrow. Seven points so far from two wins, a draw and a defeat. The wins came at home, so it's our first taste of a fortress this season. Two games isn't a fortress. Maybe a tower? A motte without the bailey? Or a bailey but the motte yet to be built? I'm reaching for old memories of secondary school history lessons there, so please ignore if nonsense.

It's been a lot of years since Steve Cotteril was calling for Rapunzels to let down their hair and the old stalwart is more than looking his age these days. More Theoden than Prince Charming. That battle he had with Covid can't have helped but I remember when he was the fresh-faced future of management - it makes me feel old, dammit!

Anyway, he is complimentary of us, speaking in his pre-match interview about how we have done 'quite well' in the transfer windows of the last couple of years. 'Quite well'? Ha ha, yeah, that's right, just above okay, just about getting by. We're doing mostly fine. Who's in your squad, then, Steve?

It's the League Two no-namers for whom we're waiting for more stats. They do have Andreas Weimann who used to play for Aston Villa and then a sprinkle of second tier clubs. He's 35 now and hasn't been among the goals since his time at Bristol City. Even without the big-name's contributions, they do score plenty. Charlie McCann and Jake Evans are their early puller-uppers of trees with three goals so far while Ryan Broom already has two.

They've scored eight, let in seven. They play an attractive brand of football. Should be a cracker. We may have a new keeper. We will have new options in midfield. We will win and we will be happy. Or not. See you next week.