Cod Almighty | Diary

A portrait of perfection in three (or four?) debuts

5 August 2025

Three league debuts, and not a bad word for any of them.

Christy Pym is not just a random man who lurks around the penalty area, three-quarter detached from his team-mates and as a result not always on the same wavelength. His main job on Saturday was dealing with through balls, and he has a way of positioning himself which allows himself to make the right decision at the right moment, whether it's to gather it up or shepherd the ball into touch. It is not Pym's fault that we don't yet know whether he is capable of making a save.

Jayden Sweeney looks as good as Denver Hume's statistics. No more trading off a sense of defensive fragility for the occasional wonder pass; when Sweeney advances it is with speed, purpose and determination, making good things look likely. It is surely no coincidence that, ahead of him, Charles Vernam gave his best display in years.

Even before he executed an inch-perfect penalty, it was evident that Jaze Kabia is a proper centre forward, mobile and full of endeavour. It was only when Newbegin Diary watched the highlights that I saw how often he smiles, his post-match interview confirming that here is a man who loves playing football. We can back him as much as he backs himself.

Cam Gardner I know has played for us before, but I'm not sure about Henry Brown, but it makes no odds. In the bad old days, you watched our youth products from behind your hands, suspecting they were there not because they were good but because there was no one else. Harry Clifton and Max Wright changed that, and Evan Khouri confirmed that they were not a flash in the pan. Against Crawley, they weren't young players getting game time, they were the right people to bring on to make sure the visitors' torment lasted a full 102 minutes.

Perfect, right down to Gavan Holohan being subbed off so we need waste no pity. A fine person, a fine player in a Paul Hurst team, but one with no place in Dave Artell's whirl of making fortune happen.