Cod Almighty | Diary

C'mon, crack on

15 August 2025

Your A46 Diary has no time for those who see cup competitions as a distraction from the bread and butter of the league – the cups are our bacon, beef and barbeques, our beans, broccoli and bok choy - but even I had a little pang of dread as I considered the three fixtures between now and the game against Manchester United. Tomorow, it's Newport, then Walsall on Tuesday and Accrington on Saturday. In that eight days, are we planning on taking nine points or dreaming of taking on the Red Devils?

The players are professionals, I will argue; they can cope with expectation and take on each task as it's set. But as I sat down to write this Diary today I found myself struggling to think of Newport as I pondered ticket allocations, how to ensure tickets for my dad and my eldest (they share a season ticket – one's a student in Salford, the other a bell ringer, busy with weddings on summer Saturdays), Bruno Fernandez's inclusion and whether or not Keiran Green's evolution will allow him to smash Fernandez. Or Mainoo. Or Mount.

If I'm struggling to focus on a quick Google of tomorrow's opponents, how must the players feel? And Artell? Well, he's Mr Professional, as always. Progress, not promises, one game at a time and practising ruthlessness.

The latter is something I'd love to see. Other than those defensive frailties in the transitions (losing the ball in midfield, as we used to call it), the other bad habit that still lingers like an afternoon drinker dazzled and dazed in the Victoria Street tunnel of sun, is the similarly profligate approach to the valuable resource that is goal-scoring chances. Just over, just wide, hit the post, the bar, the first defender, waving boots at shots like an afternoon drinker staggering into the evening and trying to find a pub that will still serve him.

A quick aside: yes, it's ridiculous and churlish and lovely to be moaning about profligacy when we're the current highest scorers in the EFL - I'm laughing as I write - but given the trouble with transitions, we're going to need three every game, and we only get that with some of that sort of scoring if we're, well, if we're better at scoring.

Asking for ruthlessness and being ruthless are very different things. Artell is actually asking for accuracy and guile, of course, but he can't say that so explicitly; that would be calling his players not good enough, or, as he said in yesterday's pre-match interview, they'd be League Two players who must have 'weaknesses'. And, let's be honest, if our forwards were accurate, guileful and ruthless then they wouldn't be at Grimsby Town.

Another quick aside: not so many years ago it would've been Manchester United held up as a gold standard of elite football here, and I might have used them in a delightfully witty little metaphor about Amorim banging on Artell's door and making offers for Rose, Burns, Kabia and Gardner, with the first three straight into their first team and Gardner loaned back to us for a little more experience. Or maybe a swap deal, Kabia for Hojland or Svanthorsson for Anthony. Not so much these days.

So, we must take Artell's words for what they are: tub-thumping calls to action that exemplify his dedication to continuing improvement. And Jamie Walker really needs to get a shot on target from open play. I know I shouldn't pick him out, but that penalty on Tuesday night was awful, especially for such a lovely footballer. Still, if he had accuracy and ruthlessness, he wouldn't... you get what I mean.

Right then, Newport County. Always an interesting fixture for counting ex-Grimsby players. Just two this season (and no former strikers! No Amond, no Bogle, no Matt!): Jordan Wright and Anthony Glennon, the former will be on the bench, the latter a starter, I assume. I remember last year's fixture and Glennon pushing forward in the second half, the only outlet for a poor side. We haven't lost to them in the last six meetings, winning and drawing three each, and we've won the last two at home. A perfect opponent to continue the run of three goals per match or a banana skin littered by a famous League Cup draw? I want some beef and bok choy with my bread and butter before that soon-to-be famous night. This season it's gonna be all-you-can-eat.