[Football] Grimsby Town FC

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amexer

Well-known member
Aug 8, 2011
6,838
When we played them in the cup felt they were a club on the up so am surprised to see them in relegation trouble in Div 2
 








Cowfold Seagull

Fan of the 17 bus
Apr 22, 2009
22,114
Cowfold
A shame to see tem struggling again, l ujsed to relish my fishy trips to Cleethorpes back in the 80's and 90's, and the long seemingly never ending train journey to get there.
 








Alfagull

Who?
Jun 6, 2017
49
Hurstpierpoint
The reason for their troubles.
1_Former-Prime-Minister-Boris-Johnson-Appears-At-The-Covid-Inquiry-Day-Two.jpg
 






















Poojah

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2010
1,881
Leeds
Well, certainly some unexpected intrigue in my lowly little club. It’s certainly correct that, when I landed in Brighton one Friday night back in March, it felt like we were heading for better days. The closed shop, Covid era had been a yet another dark period for our club, and culminated in a second relegation to non-league, this time with no one there to witness it.

Between then and our visit to the Amex, we’d been taken over by progressive new owners, had the most incredible play-off campaign to return us to the EFL at the first time of asking (if you don’t know the story, look it up on YouTube), and then the unbelievable cup run that had taken us, somehow, to the quarter final of the FA Cup. I think we were the only team in the history of the competition to succeed in 5 successive rounds against teams all in divisions above - three League One sides, Luton from the Championship and then Southampton, Premier League at the time.

This is no lie, and it’s so unbelievably naive looking back, but I genuinely thought we could beat you as I walked down Brighton seafront that sunny Sunday morning before the game. Our cup run, and the play-offs a few months earlier, had taken me to a place of “anything is possible”. De Zerbi touchline ban? It’s happening! The Albion team news certainly served as a reality check, as did the early Undav goal, but there was still a moment in the first-half when it looked like Sanchez might be about to receive a VAR-assisted red card where I still thought, “f***ing hell, we could do this, y’know”. My opinion, looking back, is that Sanchez should have been sent off, and you’d have still beaten us at least 4-0 anyway. The gulf in class was that big.

The legacy of that cup run though was that we had an extra £1.5m in our coffers this season, still significant even in an extremely well heeled League Two this season. We also finished in our highest league position in 17 years; 11th in League Two by the way, so nothing to get excited about, but progress is progress, no matter how beige it might be.

This August I felt as positive and excited about a new season as I have in about 25 years. We recruited early, and seemingly well. Faith in the manager, Paul Hurst (responsible for two Town promotions and that cup run) was at an all time high. And then, very quickly, it all went to shit.

It’s very hard to dissect precisely where it’s all gone wrong. But wrong it has gone; Hurst was sacked in October and new manager Dave Artell has come in and after staring well, lost the last two games, and now all the newfound optimism appears to be ebbing away already.

It’s hard to say who’s low was lower, ours or Brighton’s. Ultimately, they were different in nature. But ours has been more prolonged, that’s for sure. 24 years ago on Friday I watched our final game of the Millennium from the cold and windy temporary seats of Man City’s Main Road, as Kevin Horlock scored an undeserved last minute winner for City. It feels so recent, and yet so long ago.

That was in the 2nd tier. The 3rd millenium hasn’t been kind to us so far. Certainly less kind than it has for Brighton. And Man City for that matter.

I still think we’re turning a positive corner, but it’s certainly been a tough paper round as a fan. All that said, as comfortably beaten as we were at the Amex, being amongst 5,000 Grimsby fans, 200 miles from home, doing what we could with Freed from Desire and Sweet Caroline, is a memory I will take to the grave with me. And that’s ultimately what this is all about, isn’t it?
 




Neville's Breakfast

Well-known member
May 1, 2016
13,450
Oxton, Birkenhead
Well, certainly some unexpected intrigue in my lowly little club. It’s certainly correct that, when I landed in Brighton one Friday night back in March, it felt like we were heading for better days. The closed shop, Covid era had been a yet another dark period for our club, and culminated in a second relegation to non-league, this time with no one there to witness it.

Between then and our visit to the Amex, we’d been taken over by progressive new owners, had the most incredible play-off campaign to return us to the EFL at the first time of asking (if you don’t know the story, look it up on YouTube), and then the unbelievable cup run that had taken us, somehow, to the quarter final of the FA Cup. I think we were the only team in the history of the competition to succeed in 5 successive rounds against teams all in divisions above - three League One sides, Luton from the Championship and then Southampton, Premier League at the time.

This is no lie, and it’s so unbelievably naive looking back, but I genuinely thought we could beat you as I walked down Brighton seafront that sunny Sunday morning before the game. Our cup run, and the play-offs a few months earlier, had taken me to a place of “anything is possible”. De Zerbi touchline ban? It’s happening! The Albion team news certainly served as a reality check, as did the early Undav goal, but there was still a moment in the first-half when it looked like Sanchez might be about to receive a VAR-assisted red card where I still thought, “f***ing hell, we could do this, y’know”. My opinion, looking back, is that Sanchez should have been sent off, and you’d have still beaten us at least 4-0 anyway. The gulf in class was that big.

The legacy of that cup run though was that we had an extra £1.5m in our coffers this season, still significant even in an extremely well heeled League Two this season. We also finished in our highest league position in 17 years; 11th in League Two by the way, so nothing to get excited about, but progress is progress, no matter how beige it might be.

This August I felt as positive and excited about a new season as I have in about 25 years. We recruited early, and seemingly well. Faith in the manager, Paul Hurst (responsible for two Town promotions and that cup run) was at an all time high. And then, very quickly, it all went to shit.

It’s very hard to dissect precisely where it’s all gone wrong. But wrong it has gone; Hurst was sacked in October and new manager Dave Artell has come in and after staring well, lost the last two games, and now all the newfound optimism appears to be ebbing away already.

It’s hard to say who’s low was lower, ours or Brighton’s. Ultimately, they were different in nature. But ours has been more prolonged, that’s for sure. 24 years ago on Friday I watched our final game of the Millennium from the cold and windy temporary seats of Man City’s Main Road, as Kevin Horlock scored an undeserved last minute winner for City. It feels so recent, and yet so long ago.

That was in the 2nd tier. The 3rd millenium hasn’t been kind to us so far. Certainly less kind than it has for Brighton. And Man City for that matter.

I still think we’re turning a positive corner, but it’s certainly been a tough paper round as a fan. All that said, as comfortably beaten as we were at the Amex, being amongst 5,000 Grimsby fans, 200 miles from home, doing what we could with Freed from Desire and Sweet Caroline, is a memory I will take to the grave with me. And that’s ultimately what this is all about, isn’t it?
Great post. Thank you. Especially your last sentence. Your experience doesn’t make me wonder what’s gone wrong at your club. It’s football and something most fans live through at their clubs.Tranmere have only just clawed their way above you with Saturday’s result at Salford. Another club that competed at Championship level in recent times. Brighton are on a temporary high. It will not last forever. I wouldn’t say you are in relegation trouble either as the bottom 2 are almost nailed on to go down.
 










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