Grimsby Town F.C.

Grimsby Town F.C.

Full name	Grimsby Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Mariners
Founded	1878 (as Grimsby Pelham)
Ground	Blundell Park Cleethorpes (Capacity: 9,546 (10,033 with temporary seats))
Chairman	John Fenty
Manager	Neil Woods
League	Conference National
2009–10	League Two, 23rd (relegated)
Home colours Third colours
Current season

Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club that will compete in the Conference National for the 2010–11 season. The club is located at Blundell Park in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England.^[1]

Despite recently being the least successful, the club has previously been the most successful of the three professional league clubs in historic Lincolnshire, being the only one to play top-flight football. It is also the only club of the three to reach an FA Cup semi-final (doing so on two occasions) and is the only one to succeed in two finals at the old Wembley Stadium. It has also spent more time in the English game's first and second tiers than any other club from Lincolnshire.

Notable managers include the late Bill Shankly, who went on to guide Liverpool to three League titles, two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup triumph and Lawrie McMenemy who, after securing promotion to the then third division in 1972, moved to Southampton where he won the FA Cup in 1976. Alan Buckley is the club's most successful manager, he had three spells as team manager between 1988 and 2008, and guided the club to two Wembley appearances during the 1997–1998 season winning both the Football League Trophy and the Nationwide Division 2 Play Off Final. In 2008 Buckley took Grimsby to the capital again, but lost out to MK Dons in the final of the Football League Trophy. Relegation from the Football League in 2010 makes them the fourth club to compete in all top five divisions of English football (after Carlisle United, Oxford United, and Luton Town).

History

The early years (1878-1916)

The club was formed in 1878 after a meeting held at the Wellington Arms public house in Freeman Street. Several attendees included members of the local Worsley Cricket Club who wanted to form a football club to occupy the empty winter evenings after the cricket season had finished.

The club was originally called Grimsby Pelham, this being the family name of the Earl of Yarborough, a significant landowner in the area. In 1880 the club purchased land at Clee Park which was to become their ground until 1889 when they relocated to Abbey Park, before moving again in 1899 to their present home, Blundell Park. The original colours were blue and white hoops, which were changed to chocolate and blue quartered shirts in 1884.

In 1888 the club first played league football, joining the newly-formed 'Combination'. The league soon collapsed and the following year the club applied to join the Football League, an application that was refused. Instead the club joined the Football Alliance. In 1890 the club became a limited company and in 1892 finally entered the Football League, when it was expanded to two divisions. The first game was a 2-1 victory over Northwich Victoria.

The 1901-02 season saw promotion to the first division; two seasons later they were relegated and within a decade they would be a non-league side again, failing re-election in 1910 and falling to the Midland League. However they won that at the first attempt and at the subsequent re-election vote, replaced local rivals Lincoln City in the Football League.

Grimsby Town and Hull City were the only two professional teams which had official permission to play league football on Christmas Day because of the demands of the fish trade. That tradition has now disappeared following the dramatic reduction of their trawler fleets in recent years.^[2]

The Inter-War years (1916-1945)

This was the most successful period in the club's history. The first full season after the Great War the club were relegated to the new Third Division North. By 1929 they were back in Division One, where they stayed (with a brief break from 1932 to 1934) until 1939, obtaining their highest-ever league position, 5th in Division One, in the 1934-35 season. In 1925 they adopted the black and white stripes as their colours.

On 25 March 1939, Wolverhampton Wanderers played Grimsby, in a FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford. The attendance of 76,962 remains Old Trafford's largest ever attendance. The Mariners lost the game 5-0 after goalkeeper George Moulson was injured early in the match. With the rules forbidding substitutes for injuries, Grimsby had to play with 10 men and an outfield player in goal.

The club also reached the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1936 but lost 1-0 to Arsenal.

Postwar decline (1946-1970)

With the resumption of the Football League for the 1946-47 season after World War II the club were relegated at the end of the 1947-48 season and have never returned to this level. Much of the 1950s and 1960s were spent alternating between the Second Division and the Third Division North, later the Third Division. In 1968 they slipped into the Fourth Division for the first time. The following season the club had to apply for re-election to the league having finished second from bottom. It was in this season that the lowest-ever attendance for a Football League match at Blundell Park was ever recorded; 1,833 saw a 2-0 defeat to Brentford.

Revival of the seventies (1970-1980)

Three years later 22,489 people witnessed a home victory against Exeter City that saw the club promoted as Fourth Division Champions. This turnaround was credited to the appointment of Lawrie McMenemy as manager. The club stayed in Division Three until relegation in 1977 but were promoted again in 1979. A year later they finished as Third Division Champions under the stewardship of George Kerr and returned to the second tier of the English game, a level they had not been at for 16 years. In 1976 the club saw what could be said to be its most prestigious visitor when the local Member of Parliament and then Foreign Secretary Anthony Crosland invited the then American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to watch the Mariners play Gillingham.

Back in the Second Division (1980-1987)

The first season back (1980–81) saw the club finish 7th. Work started that year on a new £1m stand, originally called the Findus Stand (now once again the Findus Stand) after the former Barrett's Stand had been declared unsafe. In the 1983-84 season the club finished fifth in the Second Division after spending most of the latter part of the campaign in the top three promotion places. This was their highest league finish since the 1947-48 season. Grimsby's stay in the Second Division ended in 1987. They actually spent much of the 1986-87 season in the top half of the table, but a run of 8 losses and 2 draws in the final 10 games saw them fall from 8th to 21st.

Another decline and another revival (1987-1997)

1987-88 saw Grimsby suffer a second consecutive relegation, placing them in the Fourth Division .The club's financial situation was also dismal, and as the 1988-89 season began, the task at Grimsby was to avoid relegation to the GM Vauxhall Conference, avoid expulsion from the F.A. and avoid going out of business completely. This was achieved, finishing 9th. Following the resignation of Dave Booth in 1986 (to pursue outside business interests) the club had two managers in two years (Mick Lyons and Bobby Roberts). Alan Buckley was appointed after the 1988 relegation and by 1991 had led the club to two successive promotions with the chairman at that time being Peter Furneaux. Grimsby were to remain in football's second flight for six years. Buckley's crop of players consisting of some of the most popular and biggest cult heroes in the club's history. Players such as Shaun Cunnington, Keith Alexander, Mark Lever, Dave Gilbert, Steve Livingstone, Paul Futcher, Paul Groves and Clive Mendonca made the club a solid second tier side (the Second Division became Division One in 1992 upon the creation of the Premier League from the old First Division). In 1992-93, Grimsby finished ninth in the new Division One, and until well into April they were in the hunt for a play-off place that would have given them the chance of a third promotion in four years (something that has so far only been achieved by Swansea City and Wimbledon). They dipped to 16th place a year later, though they were never in any real danger of relegation and it would have been unrealistic to expect Grimsby to push for promotion as the division was now dominated by a host of sides with greater resources, such as Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Derby County and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Grimsby, however, won many friends with their attractive passing football during Buckley's first two spells in charge. The Mariners began to produce home grown talent from the club's youth academy, players such as Jack Lester, John Oster, Gary Croft and Peter Handyside were the best of a big bunch of new players at Blundell Park. Buckley departed Grimsby in October 1994 to join West Bromwich Albion and he was replaced by defender Brian Laws. Laws seemed to be proving himself as a decent successor to Buckley, as he steered Grimsby to a 10th place finish in his first season as manager. During his tenure, Laws became famous for a changing-room altercation after a defeat at Luton with Italian striker Ivano Bonetti, which left the latter with a broken cheekbone, and caused the popular player to leave the club at the end of the season, in which Grimsby finished 17th and were in the battle to avoid relegation right up to the penultimate game of the season. In 1996–1997 season the Mariners were relegated from Division One. Despite flowing goals from Clive Mendonca, notably good performances from John Oster and newcomer Kingsley Black, Grimsby failed to save themselves. The club had suffered from the losses of Gary Croft, who made a £1.5 million move to Blackburn Rovers and ever present goalkeeper Paul Crichton, who would see his replacement, Jason Pearcey (who had been the club's second choice keeper in the previous season) struggle to fill his boots.

Double Wembley season (1997-1998)

Davison McDermott Lever Handyside Gallimore Donovan Groves Burnett Smith Clare Nogan

Subs: Black Jobling Livingstone 1998 Football League Trophy Final starting lineup at Wembley Stadium.

The 1997–98 season saw the return of Alan Buckley as manager, after an unsuccessful period at West Bromwich Albion, for Grimsby's most successful post-war season. In the summer of 1997, Buckley succeeded in bringing in players to the club who were to be instrumental in the club's upcoming season. Former skipper Paul Groves was re-signed from West Bromwich Albion, and Kevin Donovan and David Smith also joined the club from Albion. The mid-season capture of Huddersfield Town midfielder Wayne Burnett proved to be a great bit of business for Buckley. After a seemingly poor start to the League campaign, performances improved, which propelled the club into a promotion battle with Watford, Bristol City and an expensively-assembled Fulham (at the time the only club at this level to have spent seven-figure sums on players). A good run in the League Cup saw The Mariners knock holders Leicester City and fellow Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday out of the competition before finally losing out to Liverpool. A decent run of form had ignited the careers of such younger players as Daryl Clare, Danny Butterfield and Jack Lester who were becoming an integral part of the Blundell Park set-up. The Mariners went on to dump Burnley out of the Football League Trophy Northern section area final, which would see the club book its first trip to Wembley Stadium. The club were drawn against Southern section champions AFC Bournemouth and in a tight game, an equaliser from substitute Kingsley Black took the game into extra time, and in the 112th minute Grimsby secured the game courtesy of a golden goal from Wayne Burnett. This was the first major trophy awarded to the club following its first appearance at Wembley. It took only four weeks for Grimsby to return to the stadium though, this time to face Northampton Town in the Division Two Play Off Final. Town won the game 1-0 thanks to a first half Kevin Donovan goal which gave the club a historic Wembley double and The Mariners promotion back to Division One.

Back in the second tier (1998-2003)

The 1998-99 season saw Grimsby finish in a very respectable 11th place, but the 1999-2000 season saw Grimsby struggle and finish 20th, avoiding relegation at the expense of Buckley's old club Walsall. The 2000-01 season saw a boardroom change with Doug Everitt taking over from Bill Carr. Everitt dismissed manager Alan Buckley just two games into the season, replacing him with Lennie Lawrence, who earlier in his managerial career had guided both Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough into the top flight. The new manager chop and changed the playing squad around and brought in some expensive loan signings from abroad such as Zhang Enhua, Menno Willems, David Nielsen and Knut Anders Fostervold. Despite this, the club struggled to avoid relegation, only securing their place in Division One on the last day of the season with a win over promoted Fulham. The Mariners started the 2001–02 season strongly, topping the league table after five games and staying there for most of the next few weeks. The club knocked local rivals Lincoln City and Sheffield United out of the League Cup to meet holders Liverpool at Anfield. Grimsby held the Premier League team to a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes taking the game into extra time. Despite Gary McAllister scoring a penalty following a David Beharall hand ball to put the Reds 1–0 up, loan signing Marlon Broomes equalised and then Phil Jevons hit a wonderous 35 yard strike into the top corner of Chris Kirkland's goal to give the club a historic victory. Ultimately, Grimsby didn't have the strength to mount a serious bid for promotion and their form declined rapidly, with Lawrence being dismissed halfway into the season. Paul Groves, the skipper, was chosen to replace him. Grimsby finished 19th in the final table, enough to avoid relegation, but a disappointing end to a season which had begun so promisingly. The season was overshadowed by loanee Martin Pringle's footballing career being ended after a leg-breaking tackle by Stockport County defender Dave Challinor, as well as the collapse of ITV Digital putting enormous strain on finances. The 2002–03 season, was a disaster for Grimsby Town. Mariners boss Paul Groves attempted to bolster his side as well as he could, veteran footballers Darren Barnard and Steve Chettle amongst others were brought to the club, and such players as Steve Kabba, Richard Hughes and returning hero John Oster all played some part in the season, but the club couldn't avoid relegation and Grimsby finished bottom of Division One and were relegated after five successive seasons at this level. Indeed, only one of their previous 12 seasons had been spent outside it and have never returned to this level. Grimsby were just one of a handful of smaller clubs such as Port Vale, Bury, Oxford United, Stockport County, Walsall, Crewe Alexandra and Rotherham United who punched above there weight during this period for many seasons in the second tier of English football, and ulitmatley like Grimsby they all eventually division's down to financial limitations.

Financial crisis and demise (2003-2010)

The sudden collapse of ITV Digital had left the club with debts of over £2m, £700,000 of which was owed to the Inland Revenue and a further substantial amount to their bankers, Lloyds TSB. Relegation had hit Grimsby very hard. The collapse had seen a lot of the smaller clubs playing in the second tier of English football struggle to make end meets. Coupled with this, it meant integral team members such as Danny Coyne and Georges Santos moved on to bigger and more financially stable clubs. For the new season, the club also had to supply its own kits following the closure of long serving kit suppliers Avec Sportswear. Grimsby played the season using the brand "Grimsby Town Sports" before a lucrative three year deal with Nike was signed in April 2004. Groves dabbled in the transfer market and brought in some rough diamonds, notably Jason Crowe and Des Hamilton, Aidan Davison and Tony Crane. His dealings saw the Mariners boast a thick squad for the 2003–2004 campaign but despite this, Groves soon found his men sliding down the league, finding themselves involved in a relegation scrap with Sheffield Wednesday as in the previous season. Groves was sacked in 2004 following a 6-0 drubbing by Oldham Athletic and was replaced by Nicky Law.Law struggled from the start after he lost keeper Aidan Davison to injury, as well as players like Marcel Cas, Alan Pouton and Michael Boulding departing the club for various reasons which meant Law was forced to sign replacement players such as veterans Paul Warhurst, Alan Fettis and Jamie Lawrence, journeyman Mickael Antoine-Curier and injury prone John Thorrington. With little time left for the new team to gel, Grimsby dropped into the relegation zone and went down again on the last day of the season. With Nicky Law failing to keep Grimsby in the Second Division, chairman Peter Furneaux wielded the axe and ended his short stay as first team manager. The club moved to appoint Scarborough manager Russell Slade as his replacement, and despite being questioned by some of the club's supporters, he answered his critics with the signings of Michael Reddy, Andy Parkinson, Dean Gordon and Ashley Sestanovich In 2005, director John Fenty became the controlling shareholder in the club after a search for outside investors failed, and a sale of shares to the local public was poorly received. He now owns 51% of the club and has made significant loans to the club to ensure its continued operation. Former Leicester City chairman John Elsom also joined the board of directors. However, with cash flow problems, corners had to be cut and the squad was paper thin, numbers were mainly made up by inexperienced youth team players, and loan signings of questionable purpose. Like many other teams who suffer a relegation in the previous season, Grimsby got off to a mediocre start and a lower mid-table finish was as good as it would get for Slade's men. For the 2005–2006 season, The Mariners started well. Slade made more additions with popular signings Jean Paul Kamudimba Kalala and former player Gary Croft added to the already hungry looking team, the club soon found themselves rising to the top of Coca-Cola League Two, and beating Derby County and Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup (although they were finally knocked out of the cup by Newcastle United). Grimsby failed to gain automatic promotion into League One after conceding a last minute goal against Northampton Town, although a Lee Steele goal giving Leyton Orient victory at Oxford United condemned Grimsby to the play-offs regardless. This despite being amongst the automatic promotion places for the majority of the season. The Mariners faced local rivals Lincoln City in the play-offs semi-finals, going on to win 3-1 on aggregate. They faced Cheltenham Town at The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff but, perhaps surprisingly as the bookmakers made them favourites and despite beating Cheltenham twice in the league, they lost 1-0. On 31 May, manager Russell Slade left the club after failing to agree terms on a new contract. The club also lost important players such as Steve Mildenhall, Curtis Woodhouse and Jean Paul Kamudimba Kalala. Player of the season Rob Jones was also sold for £250,000 to Hibernian. In 2006 the club announced an arrangement with the HM Revenue & Customs which allowed the club to repay its tax liabilities in instalments. In the report for the year ending 31 May 2006 it was revealed that the club made a profit after tax of over £400,000, due mainly to cup exploits and the play-off final. Assistant Manager Graham Rodger was promoted to Manager and was looked on by some of the club's supporters as the cheap option, but like Slade, he answered his critics by signing popular players. Isaiah Rankin who had a short but fruitful stay with the club in 2004, was re-signed from Brentford and other signings such as veteran Peter Beagrie and Sheffield United goalkeeper Phil Barnes were brought in. Former Mansfield Town manager Stuart Watkiss was appointed as the club's Assistant Manager. Despite high expectations, The Mariners stumbled out the starting blocks and the mouth watering strike partnership of Rankin and Michael Reddy never got going due to injury woes and Reddy harbouring the desire to play at a higher level. Grimsby found themselves near the foot of the table, and by November the poor start had basically destroyed any chances of promotion. On 6 November 2006 John Fenty sacked Graham Rodger. The club released a statement, saying "He has been a loyal servant to the club, but has become a victim of circumstances"..."Graham has qualities this club needs - the shame of it is that this man deserved better."[1]

Stuart Watkiss took temporary charge until the unexpected happened. On 9 November 2006, Alan Buckley returned for his third stint at managing the club in the previous twenty years. Generally agreed to be one of the club's most successful managers, he had already taken the club from a basement division position to one that became established in what is now the Championship in his first term at the club (1988–1994). Buckley inherited a strong but under performing side. He in turn brought in Peter Till from Birmingham City, Martin Paterson and Anthony Pulis on loan to bolster the squad. Buckley soon found himself under pressure as Grimsby slipped down to 22nd in the League, but the board and the supporters stuck by him, and he turned the club's fortunes around with a convincing 6-0 victory away against Boston United. Grimsby once again stuttered into a lower mid-table position.

The 2007-2008 season was relatively non eventful but the club enjoyed a good run in the Football League Trophy and on 4 March 2008 Grimsby booked their place at the new Wembley Stadium after beating Morecambe in a nervy two-legged Northern Final. A Paul Bolland goal in the away first leg was enough to see Town through. They went on to play MK Dons in the Final on 30 March, losing 2-0 after Danny Boshell missed an early penalty.

There was frustration from the start in the next season. With Town hunting for a new striker, Buckley failed to sign Delroy Facey and club hero Michael Boulding. Coupled with this, fans grew frustrated with the lack of transfer action at the club. Notably, Buckley did bring in Scotland International Robbie Stockdale, but the club were to start the season with unsettled Martin Butler, injured Danny North and the very inexperienced youngsters Andy Taylor and Nathan Jarman as their only striking options. Following a poor pre-season period in which the team suffered defeats to a number of different non-league clubs such as Farsley Celtic and Corby Town, the club started the new season poorly and soon dropped down to near the foot of the league. After a 13-game winless streak in the league stretching from 22 March 2008, on 15 September 2008 Alan Buckley was sacked as manager of Grimsby Town FC.^[1] Following the dismissal of Alan Buckley, Assistant Manager Stuart Watkiss was given the role of Caretaker Manager for the second time since his arrival in 2006. In October 2008, he was replaced on a permanent basis by Mike Newell, a year and a half after his dismissal by Luton Town.^[3]

Newell's first transfer dealings were to sign two former Grimsby players, Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala and Robert Atkinson on loan. Grimsby's winless streak in the league, going back to March 2008, was finally ended after 23 games with a 2–0 win over Bury at Gigg Lane.. Newell continued to dip into the transfer market and in December 2008 the club offered former Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler the chance of becoming a player/coach. Despite positive signs for the deal to come off, Fowler decided to join North Queensland Fury when his contract expired at Blackburn Rovers the following month. Back on the pitch, after a further run of 10 games without a win, Grimsby dropped into the relegation zone for the first time this season, but moved back up to 22nd place after clinching a vital victory against local rivals Lincoln City. Despite their previous form, the Mariners ran out comfortable winners with a full-time scoreline of 5-1.^[4] After dropping back into the relegation zone for a second time, the team recovered once again after a 3-0 victory at home against promotion chasing Gillingham. After an extensive campaign in the local newspaper and with tickets reduced to £5, this match achieved the biggest attendance of the season, with 6406 spectators.^[5] This was broken with the next home game against Aldershot Town; the same £5 deal saw 7065 watch a 1-0 win for the Mariners. The Mariners went on to secure victories over Notts County and Port Vale going into the final 2 weeks of the 08-09 season, Town's previous run of form was heralded by manager Newell down to the fact that new loan signing Barry Conlon had improved morale in the dressing room, not to mention clinching 5 goals inside his first 6 appearances in a Grimsby shirt. The Mariners were all but mathematically safe from relegation, despite a 2-1 away defeat against relegation rivals A.F.C. Bournemouth - which saw The Cherries confirm safety. Fortunately Chester City could only manage a 2-2 draw with Aldershot Town which left City 3 points behind Grimsby with one game remaining, but with a vastly inferior goal difference. Chester lost their final game anyway, meaning that Grimsby were safe; however, they would have been relegated if Newell's previous club, Luton Town, hadn't received a massive 30 point deduction.

Shortly after the close of the 2008/09 season, the club announced that Assistant Manager Stuart Watkiss would not be offered a new contract for the 2009/10 season. He would be replaced by Brian Stein, who was brought to Grimsby Town by manager Mike Newell and was originally signed as senior scout. In a statement to the local press, chairman John Fenty admitted that Newell had always intended for Stein to be his right hand man and stated that it was unsustainable for the club to effectively have two assistant managers and that Watkiss paid the price with his job.^[6] Mike started his summer spending by quickly securing Barry Conlon and Joe Widdowson on a permanent basis. Paul Linwood was brought in from Chester City, should hugely targeted Ryan Bennett be on his way, but after rejecting 2 offers from Peterborough United, the club tied the young skipper on an improved 4 year contract. Newell also managed to bring in former loan stars Adrian Forbes and Peter Sweeney, as well as Nick Colgan, Michael Leary and Chris Jones to finish his squad refurbishing. The Mariners had a mixed pre-season, consisting of a 12-1 thrashing of Winterton Rangers, a creditable 1-1 draw with Leeds United, as well as losses to Stockport and Doncaster. Season Ticket sales for the 2009/10 campaign had smashed through the previous season's sales, adding up to around 2,500 tickets, a creditable total considering the economic climate.

Following a slow start to the season, and despite previous backings from the Grimsby Town board, On 18 October 2009 the club's official website declared they had sacked Mike Newell due to "irretrievable breakdown".^[7]

Following the dismissal of Mike Newell, Youth Team Coach and former player Neil Woods was given the role of Caretaker Manager, chosen ahead of Assistant Manager Brian Stein. After six games in charge (including a humiliating defeat at home to Bath City in the FA Cup), none of which were won, Neil Woods was controversially made permanent manager on November 23, 2009. The other main candidate for the job was former boss Russell Slade, but the board decided upon Woods ahead of Slade. Almost immediately Woods was dealt a blow when the club decided to do a u-turn and sell captain Ryan Bennett to Peterborough United for £500,000 despite rejecting this offer in the summer and the player only recently signing a new four year deal. Next to leave was Brian Stein, who was brought to the club by previous manager Newell. His replacement as Assistant Manager would be former Bury manager Chris Casper. Grimsby continued to show no signs of improvement under Woods and Casper and Town would find themselves being dragged into a second successive relegation battle. By the end of 2009, Grimsby had won 3, drawn 8 and lost 12 in the league. In 2010 top scorer Barry Conlon was loaned out to Chesterfield before signing permanently shortly afterwards. Puzzled supporters questioned Woods and chairman John Fenty over the decision which was later revealed to be because the player was considered to be a disruptive influence and wasn't turning up for training. Woods began to clear out the ranks, with Danny Boshell, Danny North, Jamie Clarke, Barry Conlon and Grant Normington all being released. Whilst Chris Jones was loaned out only months after being signed. Woods began to make some fresh signings, notably Lee Peacock, Tommy Wright and former loanee Dean Sinclair joined the club. Woods would also heavily use the loan system in a bid to change the club's fortunes. On March 6, 2010 Grimsby ended a club record 25 game winless streak by beating promotion chasing Shrewsbury Town at Blundell Park, 3-0. The 25 game streak had last seen Grimsby win in the league with a 2-0 away victory at Torquay United on September 19, 2009. During this time the Mariners had drawn 15 games and lost 10. The game would also come as the first career victory for Neil Woods. The Mariners went on to win four and draw one of their last six games to give them a chance of league survival going into the last game of the season. However, they were defeated 3-0 by Burton Albion, and thus were relegated from the Football League for the first time in nearly 100 years.

Non league (2010-present)

Town kicked off there Conference campaign with a 1-0 away win over Crawley Town.

Stadium

The Findus Stand (formerly the Carlsberg Stand).

Grimsby play their home games at Blundell Park in Cleethorpes. This is the club's fourth stadium. They originally played at Clee Park until 1879, they then moved to Lovett Street for a single season, before returning back to Clee Park for a further nine years. The Mariners then moved to Abbey Park Stadium until 1898 before a move to Blundell Park, the club's current stadium. The stadium has had an all-seated capacity of just under 10,000 in recent years, being in and around 27,000 before the stadium was made all seated in the late 1980s. The club's demise from the second tier of English football, down to the fourth meant the expansion seating was removed. This brought the overall capacity down from around 12,000 to what it is today. Situated inside the Findus Stand at Blundell Park, is "McMenemy's Function Suite", named after former manager Lawrie McMenemy.

Since the late 1990s, there have been plans for a new 20,200-seat stadium at nearby Great Coates - tentatively titled the Conoco Stadium after a naming rights deal with the American oil producer ConocoPhillips. There have been numerous delays to the development of the new stadium. The plans have been met with resistance from many residents of the local area surrounding the proposed stadium site, but other factors have also slowed progress. One of the most notable difficulties for the club was in demonstrating how it planned to finance the scheme. As a result, they later amended their proposal to include a retail park on the site, which would help to fund the development. This raised other problems, due to a rival proposal by the property developer Henry Boot, who are continuing with plans for their own retail park, which will be in direct competition with the Grimsby Town site and which has also been approved by the local council. Henry Boot attempted to have the football teams development plan stopped, by asking for it to be sent for judicial review by the Government, however their attempt failed. Currently, the Grimsby Town stadium development proposal has satisfied all the conditions that were imposed by planning officials and consent for the project has been granted. Initial estimates had suggested that the club would be able to move to the new stadium for the start of the 2011/12 season. However, as a result of the ongoing global recession, the club has halted all progress on the new development and it is unlikely that any work will begin until an upturn in the economy.

^[8]

Mascot

Mighty Mariner is the Grimsby Town mascot. He wears the club's home team strip, and normally parades in front of the Pontoon Stand as well as tormenting the opposition's fans. He also plays football with the mascots and warms up the Grimsby Town fans. Up until 1998, there were two club mascots, Mighty and Mini Mariner, and until then they used to wear yellow fishing rain coats, before Mini was dropped, and Mighty was given the home strip to wear. Formerly, the mascot was a character named "Harry Haddock", so-called after Grimsby's fishing industry.

Famous fans

Grimsby-born Actor Thomas Turgoose, who starred as the lead role character Shaun in the film "This is England", is a supporter of the club. He appeared as a guest on Sky TV show Soccer AM in 2007 sporting a Grimsby Town shirt.

Other famous fans include historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, and actor Malcolm Hebden whose parents originate from the area.

Rivals and local games

Grimsby share a geographical rivalry with fellow Humberside club Hull City, who are widely thought of as the club's main rivals. However the two clubs have rarely played each other in recent times. Within recent years Grimsby have dropped from the higher reaches of professional football in England, down to the bottom, while Hull did the opposite and climbed the league. The last time the two clubs met in a competitive game was when Grimsby beat Hull 1-0 in the Football League Trophy in 1998, which incidentally Grimsby went on to win. The closest professional football club to Grimsby is Scunthorpe United. Like Hull, United are classed as local rivals, but also like Hull, both Grimsby and Scunthorpe have rarely spent time playing in the same divisions in recent seasons. With Grimsby spending most of their time in higher divisions, Scunthorpe spent many seasons playing in the basement professional divisions. In recent seasons Scunthorpe, like Hull, have eclipsed Grimsby.

In recent years Lincoln City has been viewed as Grimsby's local derby. However, despite this, Lincoln are often not referred to as local rivals, and to some Grimsby supporters they are not seen as rivals at all. From 2000 to 2004 rivalry with Sheffield Wednesday intensified, with the two clubs competing with each other in several relegation battles, in both First and Second Divisions. Games between the two teams were very heated and at the time this fixture was seen as the biggest derby for Grimsby supporters. Other heated derby fixtures for Grimsby in past seasons, have been the games against Barnsley, Sheffield United and Bradford City. All three played Grimsby many times in the ten year period from 1993 to 2003 when Grimsby played all but one season in the second tier of professional English football.

Other clubs such as Chesterfield F.C., Rotherham United, Doncaster Rovers, Huddersfield Town and Leeds United also fall into the club's local region. Most games with any club generally from Yorkshire tends to be classed as a local derby. Other clubs who play at a non-league level, this includes teams such as Mansfield Town, York City, Boston United and Gainsborough Trinity have also been local fixtures with Town in the past. Other smaller non league football clubs that share the same geographical region as Grimsby include Brigg Town, Grimsby Borough, Louth United and Winterton Rangers.

Players

As of 30 August 2010.^[9]

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Kenny Arthur 2 DF Peter Bore 3 DF Lee Ridley 4 MF Mark Hudson 5 DF Darran Kempson 6 DF Scott Garner 7 MF Lewis Gobern 8 MF Michael Cummins 9 FW Charles Ademeno 10 MF Lee Peacock (captain) 11 FW Michael Coulson 13 GK Nick Colgan 14 MF Michael Leary 15 DF Dwayne Samuels 16 DF Steven Watt

No. Position Player 17 FW Alan Connell 19 DF Bradley Wood 20 MF Josh Fuller 21 MF Andi Thanoj 23 FW Tom Corner 24 FW Nathan Dixon 25 DF Robert Atkinson 27 DF Mark Gray 29 MF Robert Eagle 30 GK Steve Croudson (Player / Coach) 39 DF Robbie Stockdale (Player / Coach) 40 GK Rob Peet -- GK Richard O Donnell (on loan from Sheffield Wednesday)

Notable former players/managers

Person	Grimsby Record	Claim to Fame
Darren Barnard	Player 2002-04 68 games, 4 goals	Played in the English Premier League for Chelsea and Barnsley. He earned 24 caps playing for Wales from between 1998 and 2004. Notably his last game came whilst he was a Grimsby player playing in Football League One
Dave Beasant	Player 1992 6 games, 0 goals	1988 FA Cup winner with Wimbledon, first goalkeeper to save a penalty in an FA Cup final, and first goalkeeper to captain an FA Cup final team. 2 England caps.
Elemér Berkessy	Manager 1954	Became the first foreign manager in English football with Grimsby.
Jackie Bestall	Player 1926–38 427 games, 76 goals	1 England cap (6 February 1935, vs Ireland, 2-1, Goodison Park). Has the smallest road in Grimsby and Cleethorpes named after him, the only Town footballer to be honoured in this way.
Harry Betmead	Player 1930–47 296 games, 10 goals	1 England cap (20 May 1937, vs Finland, 8-0, Helsinki)
Garry Birtles	Player 1989-91 69 games, 9 goals	Won the UEFA Champions League title twice with Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough, as well as winning the First Division, English League Cup and the UEFA Super Cup with Forest. He also spent two years playing for Manchester United.
Ivano Bonetti	Player 1995-96 22 games, 4 goals	Played in the Italian Serie A for Juventus, Sampdoria and Torino amongst others. Became famous for the "chicken" incident which occurred when Grimsby manager Brian Laws launched a plate of chicken at Bonetti during a half time team talk.
Steve Chettle	Player 2002-03 23 games, 1 goal	Played over 400 times in a spell for Nottingham Forest in the top flight from between 1986 and 1999. Featured in the 1991 FA Cup final.
Terry Cooke	Player 2002-03 31 games, 2 goals	Won both the English Premier League and FA Cup with Manchester United in the 1995-1996 season. Also went on to feature for Manchester City and MLS side Colorado Rapids. Also featured for the England at U21 level.
Danny Coyne	Player 1999–2003 181 games	Welsh international goalkeeper 1996–present, 11 caps.
Gary Croft	Player 1992-96 & 2005-2007 248 games, 4 goals	Became the record signing when sold to Blackburn Rovers for £1.6 million in 1996, until the sale of John Oster a year later. Became the first footballer to play with an electronic tag after being charged with driving offences whilst playing for Ipswich Town.
Tony Ford MBE	Player 1975–86 & 1991–94 423 games, 58 goals	Holds all-time record, 931, for matches played in the English league by an outfield player. Youngest player to play for the club aged 16 years 143 days, 4 October 1975.
Hughie Gallacher	Player 1937–38 12 games, 3 goals	20 Scotland caps, 23 Scotland goals, member of the Wembley Wizards who beat England 5 - 1 in 1928
Pat Glover	Player 1929–38 227 games, 180 goals	Welsh international striker (1931–1937), 7 caps. Holds club records for most league goals in a career and in a season (42) as well as most international caps whilst a Grimsby player.
Richard Hughes	Player 2003 12 games, 1 goals	Won the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2007-2008 season. He also has represented Scotland 5 times.
John McDermott	Player 1987–2007 647 games, 10 goals	Club's all time leading appearance holder with 755 games in all competitions
Lawrie McMenemy	Manager 1971–73	Was the manager of Southampton when they won the FA Cup in 1976.
Clive Mendonca	Player 1991–97 187 games, 64 goals	Winner of Grimsby's BBC cult heroes poll in 2004.[10] Scored a hat-trick in Charlton Athletic's 1998 play-off final win
Mike Newell	Manager 2008-2009	Played for Blackburn Rovers when the club won the English Premier League in the 1994-1995 season. Notably played in attack with Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton.
David Nielsen	Player 2000-01 17 games, 5 goals	Won the Danish Cup with FC Copenhagen in 1997. Also played top flight football in Denmark for Aalborg BK, and FC Midtjylland, as well as Lyngby FC, IK Start and SK Brann in Norway.
John Oster	Player 1996-97 & 2002-03 42 games, 10 goals	Having started his career with the club, he went on to play International football for Wales, and also played in the English Premier League with Everton, Sunderland and Reading as well as being the clubs record sale at £2million in 1997.
Michael Reddy	Player 2004-2007 104 games, 23 goals	Is currently the only Grimsby player to be named in the PFA Team of the Year
Graham Taylor OBE	Player 1962–68 189 games, 2 goals	England Manager 1990–93, W 18 D 13 L 7.
George Tweedy	Player 1932–52 347 games, Caretaker Manager 1950–51	1 England cap (2 December 1936, vs Hungary, 6-2, Highbury)
Bill Shankly OBE	Manager 1951–53	Liverpool Manager 1959–74, 3 League titles, 2 FA Cup wins, 1 UEFA Cup win.
Billy Walsh	Manager 1954-55	Played for Manchester City and international football for four different teams, England Schoolboys, both Ireland teams, the FAI XI and the IFA XI, and New Zealand
Paul Warhurst	Player 2004 7 games, 0 goals	Notably played for Sheffield Wednesday as a defender cum makeshift striker, was runner up in the 1993 FA Cup final and English League Cup. Went on to win the English Premier League with Blackburn Rovers in 1994-1995 season.
Neil Webb	Player 1996 4 games,1 goals	Won the FA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners Cup and English League Cup with Manchester United, also won the English League Cup with Nottingham Forest and played 26 times internationally for England scoring 4 goals.
Zhang Enhua	Player 2000-01 17 games, 3 goals	Was the international captain of China, which included appearing in Fifa World Cup 2002. In all Enhua featured 68 times, scoring 7 for his country.

Past and present Internationals

PFA Team of the Year

The following have been included in the PFA Team of the Year whilst playing for Grimsby Town :

• 1998 Kevin Donovan
• 1998 Paul Groves
• 2006 Michael Reddy

PFA Fans Favourites

The following was included as the favorite Grimsby Town player in the a survey published by the Professional Footballers' Association in December 2007.

• Matt Tees

BBC Sports Cult Heroes

The following were chosen by fans as the favorite club heroes in the BBC Sports Cult Heroes poll in 2006.

1. Clive Mendonca
2. John McDermott
3. Ivano Bonetti

Non-playing staff

Position	Name	Nationality
Chairman:	John Fenty	English
Life President:	Dudley Ramsden	English
Vice Chairman	Mike Parker	English
Director	Peter Furneaux	English
Director	John Elsom	English
Director	Michael Chapman	English
Chief Executive	Ian Fleming	English
Manager	Neil Woods	English
Assistant Manager	Dave Moore	English
Reserve Team Manager	Dave Moore	English
Youth Team Manager	Robbie Stockdale	Scottish
Chief Scout	Vacant
Goalkeeping Coach	Steve Croudson	English
Physiotherapist	Dave Moore	English
Community Sport Coach	Gary Childs	English
Community Sport Coach	Graham Rodger	English
Commercial Manager	David Smith	English
Press Officer	Dale Ladson	English
Marketing & Promotions Manager	Lucie Ramsden	English
Ticket Office Manager	Lisa Piggott	English
Club Shop Manager	Fiona Fenty	English
Kit Manager	Mike Bielby	English
Caretaker	Joe Drury	English
PA Announcer	Rob Andrews	English
Scoreboard Coordinator	Dave Payne	English
Club Physician	Frank Howells	English
Medical Officer	Dr Karl Collett	English

Managerial history

Dates	Name	Notes
1902–1920	H.N Hickson
1920	Haydn Price
1921–1924	George Fraser
1924–1936	Wilf Gillow
1932–1936	Frank Womack
1937–1951	Charlie Spencer
1951	Frank Womack	Caretaker Manager
1951–1953	Bill Shankly
1954	Elemér Berkessy	Caretaker Manager
1954–1955	Billy Walsh
1955–1959	Allenby Chilton
1960–1962	Tim Ward
1962–1964	Tom Johnston
1964–1967	Jimmy McGuigan
1967–1968	Don McEvoy
1968–1969	Bill Harvey
1969–1971	Bobby Kennedy
1971–1973	Lawrie McMenemy
1973–1975	Ron Ashman
1975–1976	Tommy Casey
1976–1978	Johnny Newman
1979–1982	George Kerr
1982–1985	Dave Booth
1985	Peter Grotier	Caretaker Manager
1985–1987	Mick Lyons
1987–1988	Bobby Roberts
1988–1994	Alan Buckley
1994–1996	Brian Laws
1996	John Cockerill	Caretaker Manager
1997	Kenny Swain	Caretaker Manager
1997–2000	Alan Buckley
2000	John Cockerill	Caretaker Manager
2000–2001	Lennie Lawrence
2001–2004	Paul Groves
2004	Graham Rodger	Caretaker Manager
2004–2006	Russell Slade
2006	Graham Rodger
2006	Stuart Watkiss	Caretaker Manager
2006–2008	Alan Buckley
2008	Stuart Watkiss	Caretaker Manager
2008–2009	Mike Newell
2009-	Neil Woods

Assistant managers

• 1994-1997 Kenny Swain
• 1997-2001 John Cockerill
• 2001-2006 Graham Rodger
• 2006-2009 Stuart Watkiss
• 2009-2009 Brian Stein
• 2009-2010 Chris Casper
• 2010-pres Dave Moore

Kit

Grimsby Town's traditional home kit

The original 1878 kit of Grimsby Pelham FC, featured a shirt with narrow horizontal stripes in royal blue and white, with long white shorts and black socks. Between 1884-1910, various kit colours were introduced, with the most common colours being variations of pale blue and chocolate brown, worn with white shorts and black socks. Other kits from this period include:

• 1897-1898 - Plain white shirt, with royal blue shorts and socks
• 1904-1906 - Pale red shirt, with black shorts and socks
• 1906-1908 - White shirt with red collar and cuffs, red shorts, black socks with red bands

Black and white vertical stripes were adopted in 1910 and with a few exceptions, they have rarely been missing from the kit design ever since and have become one of the most recognisable features of the club. The 1911 kit included the black and white striped shirt, white shorts and black socks. Exceptions from the traditional bar-stripe kit:

• 1935-1936 - Plain white shirt featuring the coat of arms of the County Borough of Great Grimsby, black shorts and red socks
• 1958-1959 - White shirt with black pin stripes, black shorts, red socks
• 1960-1962 - White shirt with black collar and cuffs, red shorts, red socks
• 1963-1966 - White shirt with black pin stripes, black shorts with white stripe, white socks with black bands
• 2006-2007 and 2010-future date - Black and white halves, black shorts, black socks

Since the introduction of the black and white bar stripes in 1910, the GTFC kits have featured exclusively red, black and white. The only exceptions to this are the corporate colours used in a sponsor logo and the yellow/gold trim used between 2001-2003. The official GTFC club logo first appeared on the club kit in 1974.

The new home and away kits were unveiled on 5 June 2009 for the 2009-2010 season. The home kit is black and white stripes with a white collar and the away kit is blue with a black and white trim, with Errea being the kit manufacturer.

Honours

League standings for last 11 seasons

Records

Club records

• Biggest League Attendance: 26,605 v Stockport County on April 11, 1952
• Biggest FA Cup Attendance: 31,651 v Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 20, 1937
• Biggest League Cup Attendance: 23,115 v Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 4, 1979
• Biggest Neutral Venue Attendance: 76,972 v Wolverhampton Wanderers on March 25, 1939 in the FA Cup semi final at Old Trafford, Manchester
• Smallest League Attendace: 1,833 v Brentford on May 3, 1969
• Smallest Cup Attendance: 970 v Scunthorpe United in Football League Trophy on December 5, 1987
• Highest League Gate Receipts: £81,200 v Newcastle United on May 4, 1993
• Highest FA Cup Gate Recepts: £119,799 v Aston Villa on January 4, 1994
• Highest League Cup Gate Receipts: £97,000 v Tottenham Hotspur on October 29, 1991
• Smallest League Gate Receipts: £32 v Glossop on April 13, 1907
• Biggest League Victory: 8-0 v Tranmere Rovers on September 4, 1925
• Biggest FA Cup Victory: 8-0 v Darlington on November 21, 1885
• Highest Scoring Game: 9-2 win over Darwen on April 15, 1899
• Biggest League Defeat: 1-9 v Arsenal on January 28, 1931
• Biggest FA Cup Defeat: 1-9 v Phoenix Bessemer on November 25, 1882

Player records

• Most League Goals In A Season: 42 by Pat Glover (1933–34)
• Most League Goals In Total: 180 by Pat Glover (1930–39)
• Most League Appearances: 647 by John McDermott from between 1987 and 2007
• Most Appearances (all competitions): 754 by John McDermott from between 1987 and 2007
• Most Capped Player While At Club: 7 by Pat Glover playing for Wales
• Most Capped Player: 36 by Stuart Elliott playing for Northern Ireland
• Highest Transfer Fee Paid: £550,000 to Preston North End for Lee Ashcroft on August 11, 1998
• Highest Transfer Fee Received: £1.5 million rising to £2 million from Everton for John Oster on August 1, 1997
• Longest Serving Current Player: Peter Bore, since August 2006
• Youngest Player: Tony Ford, 16 years and 143 days, v Walsall on 4 October 1975.
• Oldest Player: Peter Beagrie, 40 years and 322 days, v Hartlepool United on 26 September 2006.

Current players - most appearances

The 5 players with the most league appearances still at the club as of 3 August 2010 are:

Name	Apps	Goals
Peter Bore	116	11
Rob Atkinson	93	5
Nick Hegarty	90	8
Nick Colgan	35	0
Michael Coulson	29	5

Current players - most goals

The 5 players with the most league goals still at the club as of 3 August 2010 are:

Name	Goals	Apps
Peter Bore	11	116
Nick Hegarty	8	90
Michael Coulson	5	29
Robert Atkinson	5	93
Adrian Forbes	4	28

Top goal scorers (season by season)

Player	Goals	Season
Peter Sweeney	6	2009/10
Adam Proudlock	8	2008/09
Danny North	9	2007/08
Peter Bore & Gary Jones & Ciaran Toner	8	2006/07
Gary Jones	17	2005/06
Andy Parkinson & Michael Reddy	9	2004/05
Phil Jevons & Michael Boulding	12	2003/04
Stuart Campbell	7	2002/03
Michael Boulding	11	2001/02
Steve Livingstone	7	2000/01
Lee Ashcroft	12	1999/00
Paul Groves	14	1998/99
Kevin Donovan	16	1997/98
Clive Mendonca	19	1996/97

Supporters Player of the Year

Year	Player	Young Player
1972	Harry Wainman
1973	Dave Booth
1974	Dave Boylen
1975	Frank Barton
1976	Harry Wainman	Tony Ford
1977	Joe Waters	Kevin Drinkell
1978	Geoff Barker	Shaun Mawer
1979	Joe Waters	Dave Moore
1980	Dean Crombie	Phil Crosby
1981	Nigel Batch	Andy O'Dell
1982	Nigel Batch	John Steeples
1983	Kevin Drinkell	Paul Wilkinson
1984	Tony Ford	Gary Lund
1985	Tony Ford	Andy Moore
1986	Gordon Hobson	Tony Barratt
1987	Neil Robinson	John McDermott
1988	Don O'Riordan	Tommy Watson
1989	Shaun Cunnington	Mark Lever
1990	Garry Birtles	John McDermott
1991	Dave Gilbert	Mark Lever
1992	Paul Futcher	John McDermott
1993	Paul Futcher	Gary Croft
1994	Paul Crichton	Gary Croft
1995	Gary Croft	Gary Croft
1996	Paul Groves	Jamie Forrester
1997	Graham Rodger	John Oster
1998	Kevin Donovan	Daryl Clare
1999	Paul Groves	Danny Butterfield
2000	Mark Lever	Danny Butterfield
2001	Danny Coyne	Jonathan Rowan
2002	Danny Coyne	Simon Ford
2003	Georges Santos	Darren Mansaram
2004	Phil Jevons	Graham Hockless
2005	John McDermott	Nick Hegarty
2006	Rob Jones	Gary Cohen
2007	Justin Whittle	Danny North
2008	Phil Barnes	Ryan Bennett
2009	Ryan Bennett	Ryan Bennett
2010	Peter Bore

See also

• Category:Grimsby Town F.C. players
• Category:Grimsby Town F.C. managers

References

External links

Official

• Grimsby Town Football Club website
• Official website for McMenemys Function Suite
• Conoco Stadium official website

News

• Grimsby Telegraph