Cod Almighty | Diary

Tomorrow never knows

26 January 2026

Miss Guest Diary writes: "We always win away" sang the Town fans at Cheltenham on Saturday. Not actually true, but we do have a good record on the road this season. In the league we've had five wins, five draws and only three losses – and if you chuck in the League Cup win at Sheffield Wednesday and the Lincolnshire Cup wins at Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes the ratio is even better. "We rarely lose away" would be more accurate but it doesn't have the same ring, does it?

When it comes to visits to Whaddon Road – I refuse to try and keep up with whatever name they've given their stadium this season – it doesn't even come close to the truth. Saturday's was only the third win in the eight matches Town have played there in the last 20 years. I don't suppose the players knew, or would have cared if they did know, about that stat but they certainly celebrated the victory as if they did. Or maybe they were overjoyed at keeping the unbeaten run going, along with another clean sheet. As it was the first win I've seen in six visits, I felt like jumping over the barriers to join them.

David Artell suggested in his post-match interview with Matt Dean that it was the first time Town have won four games in a row with clean sheets since 1993. I looked it up and assume he was talking about April 1993 when Town were in the second tier during Alan Buckley's first spell as manager. That golden time which seems so long ago that many younger fans must think of it as some mythical era which their elders like to bang on about. Funnily enough, one of the opponents in that run of games was Wolves, who Town beat 1-0 at Blundell Park. Maybe we can repeat that next month? And maybe in 30 years time some of the youngsters at Saturday's game will be reminiscing fondly about the Artell years.

Getting back to the present, I was really pleased to see Turi play the full 90 minutes for the first time. I liked him from the off when we first set eyes on him on last year's visit to Cheltenham. As Mr B recorded in his report from that game: "With the sun high, high in the sky, the early birds caught the worm of news: two tracksuits jogging along the touchlines, chunky-calf Davies cutting ever-decreasing corners whilst the Geezer from the Freezer stuck rigidly to the rules and the straight lines." A player not willing to cut corners, Turi reminds me of my all-time favourite Town midfielder – Wonderful Wayne Burnett – in that he doesn't hoof the ball around but keeps it until he can pass to a team mate. He doesn't have Burnett's creativity but he does provide a calm centre and works really well with the energetic Khouri. Is it a coincidence that the Geezer from the Freezer has started the last five games, the ones in which Town have kept a clean sheet? I would say not.

Well, it's on to Colchester tomorrow, and I feel a little more optimistic than I did this time last week. We won't be making the trip, so if anyone feels like being the CA match reporter on the spot, just give us a shout.

UTM