Cod Almighty | Diary

'Twas in another lifetime

21 February 2022

Miss Guest Diary writes: I have to tip my hat in admiration to BOTB Diary once more. Are his diaries well-researched? No. Are they full of accurate statements about our Conference opponents? No. Are they unbiased? No. Are they very amusing? You bet.

His musings on the BP Fortress Scale of wind measurement last week were nothing short of hilarious. I think we all know that things were at least a six on the scale quite early on Friday and with a red weather warning issued, things could only get worse. That didn't stop Southend United issuing a statement during the morning to the effect that the storm had passed and everything was hunky dory at Roots Hall. I don't think anyone – not even they – really believed that and it was entertaining to sit at home in the warm and watch the saga unfold during the day.

The theory seemed to be that because Southend are in great form – second only to Stockport at the moment – they were intent on playing the game come hell or high water without a thought for the Town fans who would have to risk life and limb in a 200-mile journey. This at a time when train companies were cancelling services and telling passengers not to travel, and there was a general instruction out that only essential journeys should be attempted. Much indignation followed from all quarters until, finally, at a little after 4pm nobody was much surprised when the game was called off.

I didn't know whether to admire the optimistic bravery of the Town fans who made the journey anyway or condemn their idiocy at risking themselves for a game that looked extremely unlikely to take place as soon as all the dire weather warnings were issued on Wednesday evening.

That was the point when I decided I would definitely not be making the journey. I had already paid for the hotel room in Southend. However, as a Town-supporting friend who is also a retired accountant had explained to me after the loss at Kidderminster when I was deciding whether to use the tickets and hotel room for the Aldershot game the following weekend, that was a sunk cost and should not influence my decision. More tricky was whether my other half would want to risk going. When I saw on Friday morning that he had donned this season's lucky shirt, I thought I was in for a fight but it turned out he'd only done that in devilment and also saw the futility of the trip.

I can't say I'm not disappointed the game was a victim of the storm. As I've mentioned before, a Friday night game at Roots Hall was my introduction to the mighty Mariners and it would have been nice to go back – though without the soaking we got that night. Now it will be played in mid-week, which won't be the same and going may not even be possible if my other half can't take the time off work.

I have enjoyed watching the YouTube interviews with Paul Hurst this season but sometimes I think he's playing a game of Just a Minute in his head. I can't find any other explanation for some of the tortuous sentences he comes out with. Talking about the reasons for the loan signing of Tranmere striker Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, he came out with this gem: It's amazing that on Wednesday we had a couple of injuries in that area of the pitch which always seems to be the case at times. However, if we fall short in the end, I don't want it to be because of a lack of numbers and that's something I will have to manage as we progress, but all our players will play their part. Translation anyone?

Harking back to another fellow diarist's wish for tannoy announcers to try a little harder with the pronunciation of player's names, I'm looking forward to hearing what they make of our new signing!

Finally, those DN35 podcasters have been at it again – this time interviewing Josh Gowling. I haven't caught up with it yet but, as a fan of Josh's columns in both The Guardian and The Non-League Paper, I feel sure it will be worth a listen.

UTM