Cod Almighty | Diary

Diary - Monday 24 December 2012

24 December 2012

Miss Guest Diary writes: It's only Christmas Eve and I've already received my best present. Well, to be perfectly accurate, it's my only present, as my partner and I gave up the whole gift exchanging hoo-hah about 15 years ago and have gradually managed to persuade friends and relatives to enter a no-present pact. But I think you know what I mean: Town beat Wrexham and returned to the top of the table, where they will stay for Christmas.

Although I quite like the occasional Friday night match, evening games in winter can be cold and dispiriting affairs. But not so last Friday. The weather was clement, the crowd of over 4,000 created a great atmosphere and really got behind the team, and then there was the result. At times, especially in the first half, I was sure Town would lose; at others I thought we'd hang on for a 0-0; but a win was not something I had expected, so it was all the more sweet. And the quality of the football from both teams was good, which added to the evening's enjoyment. That Ross Hannah scored the only goal was also one of those "Boys Own" moments.

We don't know whether it will be Hannah's last game for Town or not - I've seen a tweet saying he's definitely going to sign for us when the transfer window opens, others saying he won't. Professional football seems to be one giant rumour mill and the advent of Twitter has multiplied this enormously. Back in the second world war, one of the government's public information slogans was "careless talk costs lives". Well, Radio Humberside discovered on Friday that careless tweets can cost them a post-match interview with Town's management. It appears that John Tondeur's tweet earlier in the day saying that Shaun Pearson might miss the match through illness had upset them, so they refused to speak to him.

Oh for goodness sake. I find it impossible to imagine what harm could have been done or offence given by this (perfectly accurate, as it turns out) information being conveyed to fans a few hours ahead of the game. It's not as if knowing this rumour could give Town's opposition some tactical advantage, with Ian Miller ready to take Pearson's place. In fact, I know some who would prefer Miller in the team every week. So will John have to sit in the corner of the commentary box with a dunce's cap on for the next game, or maybe submit 100 lines to S 'n' S promising not to tweet team news in future? I had recently been warming more and more to Town's management duo, which makes this pettiness doubly disappointing.

Next up it's Lincoln at Sincil Bank, where I fear that, without Hannah and Scott Neilson, we may not get the happy outcome we did last year. The Lincolnshire Echo has printed a dire warning to Town fans who try to watch the match from the home stands. Quite how Lincoln plan to identify these interlopers is not stated. For example, I live near Lincoln and come originally from London so have no possible Grimsby ties they could detect. Although if the stewards scrutinised the picture of Town fans which accompanies the article, they would be able to see me quite clearly. Fortunately, I do have a ticket for the match, but if it keeps raining I might not get to use it on Boxing Day.

The NSNOS has promised a Christmas Eve message from Town top cat John Fenty, but it has yet to appear and I have some mince pies to make. So I'll let one of my fellow diarists decide whether there is anything in it worth reporting. Happy Christmas to one and all.