Cod Almighty | Diary

Because time is money

23 January 2026

You're only as good as your strikers, said many wiser footballing heads. A truism that's come back to bite us again and again in all the time I've supported Town. The Mendoncas, Donovans, Lesters, Hearns and Amonds are sporadic lights in the darkness of the goal-scoring histories of mid-to-lower-table teams, a position we've occupied for most of the last 35 years. Will Rose be remembered as fondly? I don't think so. We delighted in him while he was here, but, other than an almost one-in-three ratio, he doesn't have a narrative. No promotions, no play-offs, no notable cup run, not even a last-minute escape from the drop – he didn't even get on against Manchester United. Rose was an excellent forward in an otherwise unremarkable side. Perhaps the strikers are only as good as the team?

Your A46 Diary will remember him fondly, but, and I mean this with all respect, I hope that in five years we've just about forgotten him. I want to load up a nostalgic game of FC 25 or 26 and say, Oh yeah, Danny Rose. He was great. And then promptly forget him again when the PS6.5 is switched off. This will be inevitable as, after a couple of promotions and a couple of near-death scrapes, a couple of 20-goal seasons each for a JSB, a Vernam, a Kabia, the Gilsenan or Jamestown's A.N. Others, Danny Rose will be that guy we had when we were mid.

Artell spoke well of him, as has pretty much every fan; his professionalism, his leadership, his commitment were all things that were consistently evident on the pitch. Add his sly cleverness and he's exactly the kind of player you want on your team. DA made it clear though that to improve the frontline, Danny Rose needs to move on. Whether that's because of wages, ability, style or a mix of everything, we wish Rose all the best – just not against us when we play Barrow.

Away at Cheltenham tomorrow. They are not the team that we beat so easily earlier in the season. Steve Cotteril has returned after a 23-year gap to steady the ship, and he has made a good job of it so far, turning them from whipping boys into a solid mid-table side. They're seven points and seven places below us with a goal difference of –17. They can only blame us for six of those, so fingers crossed for a more generous defence than we've faced recently and the Thai terror to get off the mark.

Burns could do with a goal too to steady his finishing nerves. Same for our 8s, Khouri/Green/Walker; those chances they were getting early-season have dried up as teams have closed out the runs from midfield, forcing us to go too long too often. Cook may make that longer ball more profitable and midfield runners may get onto his flicks and knockdowns. And we still have two of the most effective wingers in the league: Vernam and Burns must be buzzing with hopes of climbing the assist charts if Cook can stay fit and start getting more minutes.

Except for either Lavelle or Warren in for glass shithouse Tharme, I imagine Artell will go with an unchanged lineup tomorrow. Cook may get a longer run and JSB might get his chance to partner him up front. Kabia has shown he is a terror off the bench, something Artell will surely want to keep using, and made for a dynamic tag team with Cook against Barnet.

I hate to be the jinx, but I'm confident. Fifth clean sheet and another three points, please, Town.