Cod Almighty | Diary

In the Hitch-hiker's guide to Grimsby, Paul Hurst has it all in hand

6 July 2022

Middle-Aged Diary writes: There is an episode of the Hitch-hiker's guide to the Galaxy where the heroes face a deadly missile attack. The narrator - the Book - interrupts to relieve all stress and tension, reassuring listeners that the worst result of the attack would be someone bruising their arm; to retain some suspense, the Book did not say whose arm.

Paul Hurst would make a very good Book. In his interview with Matt Dean, he is relaxed, honest and the model of competence, talking about adding to the squad and the thinking which has shaped what we have so far. Unfortunately he is not so all-knowing that he can reassure us no harm will come from a frenzied, slippery government. But for the time being, in the galaxy that is Grimsby Town, all stress and tension has been relieved.  We are left with the small mystery of finding out who will replace Sam Russell as our goalkeeping coach.

A crass passage in the Guardian has stuck in my mind for some 30 years when more important things have been squeezed out: one of their writers implied that Town only reached the semi-final of the 1939 FA Cup because bigger clubs had the threat from Nazi Germany on their minds. As Trentside Diary wrote so movingly yesterday, and as we have all learnt in the last few years, trauma makes sport not less but more important.

That said, if it is drama you are after, you are better off going back to the news feeds.