Cod Almighty | Diary

South Shields Concierge

25 June 2024

Mr Target Demographic writes: Despite it being pre-season, I find myself with an embarrassment of riches to talk about today! Billy Sharp joining Doncaster, Anthony Glennon going to Newport and Grimsby playing a friendly at my home-away-from-home South Shields!

We'll start with the one not directly linked to Town but one that I felt obliged to talk about. Billy Sharp to Doncaster Rovers. Now if I had told you at the start of last season that Harry Clifton would be playing with Billy Sharp next year, I'm pretty sure you would have asked me which parallel universe I was talking about. It creates echoes for me of when Charlie Austin joined Swindon a couple of years ago and, just like Austin, Sharp will score, probably against us and it will be really annoying. I'm going to complain about these types of transfers simply because, as a Town fan, it doesn't feel as if we have anyone like this, and by this I mean an old professional who loves the club and is willing to come back to see out the last of their career. I mean, Bogle does spring to mind but until I see his name on an announcement video I shall be upset with Austin, Sharp and likely soon to be Charlie Wyke as he seems likely to rejoin Bradford. I just hope when I'm 30 and John McAtee is coming to the end of his career, he'll do something similar.

Unlike the transfer of Billy Sharp, I do not particularly know how to feel about Glennon going to Newport. It's another player we've let go on a free who then transfers to a rival fourth division club. It feels frustrating as we could have probably got a fee for Glennon, albeit not a large sum but better than letting him go on a free to a club that is often in and around us come December. I will concede it appeared he had fallen out of favour at Town with both Hurst and Artell which probably means letting him leave on a free was the best course of action.

Artell's overhaul of the squad is something I think many Town fans thought was necessary but now it places us in a tricky situation where a few injuries could see our season derailed as we do not have the depth necessary to push through at the business end of the season. It's a tricky one I will admit; still, with each week that passes, the squad becomes more fleshed out, so I do not believe we are anywhere near the time of hitting the panic button just yet.

Finally, the piece of news that excited me the most when I read it yesterday: Town are going to be playing a friendly at the 1st Cloud Arena against South Shields!!! For those of you who don't know, I go to university up in Newcastle where I have met a large number of South Shields fans. This past season I have had my thirst for lower league live football quenched by attending Shields games. I think I resonated so quickly with the club as we share the same nickname. Banners all around the stadium with The Mariners written on them made it feel like home, that and they also hate Scunthorpe!

I'll quickly share some tips for those of you who are planning to attend but have not been to the stadium before.
• While you can drive to the stadium and there is adequate parking, I would personally recommend making a day of it and going either to Newcastle or Sunderland where you can then easily take the Metro straight to the ground.
• The Metro is not expensive, you can get a Zone B Day saver and that's all you'll need to go to and from the stadium.
• They serve food and alcohol within the stadium, and you can drink it pitch side. The ability to do this created one of my favourite memories up in the North East as I and my friends berated a Spennymoor Town player for the whole 90 minutes. Thankfully he saw the funny side and we all got a picture with him after the game!
• One stand of the stadium is seated so standing is a personal choice. I believe the capacity is around 5,000, so more than enough room for however many we choose to bring.
• And the Shields fans are super friendly, so don't be afraid to talk to them about how badly we will inevitably play.

For now, I will anxiously wait for the fixture list to be released and hope we get good fixtures on days I'm back from university.

UTM