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This page is about Grimsby town football club. For Grimsby Town station, see Grimsby Town railway station.

Grimsby Town

Full name	Grimsby Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Mariners, Mighty Mariners, Town
Founded	1878 (as Grimsby Pelham)
Ground	Blundell Park Cleethorpes, England
Capacity	9,546 (10,033 with temporary seats)
Chairman	Vacant
Joint Managers	Rob Scott and Paul Hurst
League	Conference National
2011–12	Conference National, 11th
Website	http://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England. They participate in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. They were founded in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham Football Club and later became Grimsby Town. The club is located at Blundell Park where it has been since 1898.

Despite recent misfortune, the club is 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 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, guiding the club to three promotions and two appearances at Wembley Stadium during the 1997–1998 season winning both the Football League Trophy and the Football League Second Division 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. The Mariners had also reached the Football League Two Play-Off final in 2006 at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, but lost the match 1–0 to Cheltenham Town. 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

Further information: History of Grimsby Town F.C.

The club was formed in 1878 after a meeting held at the Wellington Arms public house in Freeman Street, Grimsby. 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. This was the most successful period in the club's history. The first full season after World War I 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. Grimsby also reached the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1936, the game was played at Huddersfield Town's Leeds Road, but lost 1–0 to Arsenal, with the goal coming from Cliff Bastin five minutes before half time.

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. From July 1951 to January 1953 they were managed by Bill Shankly, who would go on to win the Football League, FA Cup and UEFA Cup with Liverpool. In 1968 Grimsby 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.

Three years later 22,489 people witnessed a home victory against Exeter City that saw the club promoted as Division Four 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.

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. 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 Football 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. They dipped to 16th place a year later, though they were never in any real danger of relegation.

The Mariners began to produce home grown talent from the club's youth academy, including Jack Lester, John Oster, Gary Croft and Peter Handyside. Buckley departed Grimsby in October 1994 to join West Bromwich Albion and he was replaced by defender Brian Laws. Laws 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. 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.

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.

Town continued their good fortunes into the 1998–1999 season season as they hit the road running back in the First Division. Throughout the season they flirted with the play-offs and a possible promotion to the Premier League, however having being in the fold towards the end of the year they dropped off and eventually finished 11th. In the summer of 2000, Grimsby chairman Bill Carr stood aside and Doug Everitt came into power. After only 3 games into the 2000–2001 season season, surprisingly Alan Buckley was sacked as manager and was replaced by Lennie Lawrence. The Mariners started the 2001–2002 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. In one of the club most famous victories, 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 before ex-Everton youth player Phil Jevons hit a 35 yard strike into the top corner of Chris Kirkland's goal to give the club a historic victory. Grimsby's push for promotion faltered and the team's 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. Unfortunatley it wasn't to be so lucky the following year as grimsby finished 24th and were relegated once more from the second tier of English football Admist aspirations for a straight return to the first division, Grimsby struggled to get going during 2003–2004 season and were eventually relegated for a second successive season.

During the 2005–2006 season season under Russell Slade they enjoyed a mini run in the League Cup where a Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala strike saw them knock out Tottenham Hotspur in the second round. Grimsby had been in the League Two automatic promotion zone for the majority of the season but slipped into the play-off places on the final day of the season, this saw them meet Lincoln City who they beat before surprisingly losing the final to Cheltenham Town depsite having beath them twice in the previous league games that season.

Alan Buckley returned to the club for a third spell following the sacking of Graham Rodger who had been in the job for only 3 months following the resignation of Russell Slade in the summer of 2006. Buckley led The Mariners to Wembley for the third time in his career aa they once again reached the Football League Trophy final in March 2008 only to lose 2-0 to the Milton Keynes Dons. Following a slow start to the 2008–2009 season season Buckley was dismissed and replaced by Mike Newell

During the 2009–2010 season Town, now managed by former player and youth team coach Neil Woods were relegated on the final day of the season when they were defeated 3–0 by Burton Albion. Despite relegation Woods signed a new contract and was kept on for the clubs first season outside the Football League in over 100 years and despite a slow start some big wins over Mansfield Town and Histon had helped propel Grimsby into a challenging position for the play-offs, but despite this performances slipped off and on 23 March 2011 Woods lost his job and was replaced by the management duo of the managerial duo of Rob Scott and Paul Hurst. Hurst and Scott endured a slow start themselves and Grimsby eventually finished 11th in their Non-league debut season. In preparations for the 2011-12 season Scott and Hurst revamped the majority of the playing squad, but in similar circumstances they dropped off towards the end of the season and once again finished 11th.

Timeline

• 1878 – The club was formed as Grimsby Pelham Football Club
• 1878 – The club purchased Clee Park as their home ground
• 1879–1880 – The club played their football at Lovett Street
• 1880–1889 – The club returned to play at Clee Park
• 1882 – Entered the FA Cup for the first time and were knocked out in the Second Round
• 1888 – Grimsby were rejected in a bid to join the Football League
• 1889–1892 – Founder member of the Football Alliance
• 1889–1899 – The club played their football at Abbey Park Stadium
• 1892 – Grimsby were granted entry to the Football League playing in Division Two
• 1889–1892 – Club changed its name to Grimsby Town Football Club
• 1899 – The club moved to Blundell Park

• 1900–1901 – Champions of Division Two, promoted to Division One (top flight)
• 1902–1903 – Relegated to Division Two after finihsing 17th in Division One
• 1907–1908 – Reached the Quarter-finals of the FA Cup
• 1909–1910 – Failed to be re-elected to Division Two, so therefore joined the Midland League
• 1910–1911 – Champions of the Midland League, promoted back to the Football League Division Two
• 1915–1918 – Competitive football is suspended due to the outbreak of the First World War
• 1919–1920 – Relegated to the newly formed Football League Third Division after finishing 22nd in Division Two
• 1920–1921 – Entered to the Football League Third Division South
• 1921 – Moved to Football League Third Division North
• 1925–1926 – Champions of Third Division North, promoted to Division Two
• 1928–1929 – Promoted to the First Division after finishing 2nd in Division Two
• 1931–1932 – Relegated to Division Two after finishing 21st in Division One
• 1933–1934 – Champions of Division Two, promoted to Division One
• 1935–1936 – Reached the Semi-finals of the FA Cup
• 1938–1939 – Reached the Semi-finals of the FA Cup
• 1939–1945 – Competitive football is suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War
• 1947–1948 – Relegated to Division Two, after finishing 22nd in Division One
• 1950–1951 – Relegated to Division Three North, after finishing 22nd in Division Two
• 1955–1956 – Champions of Division Three North, promoted to Division Two
• 1958–1959 – Relegated to Division Three, after finishing 21st in Division Two
• 1961–1962 – Promoted to Division Two, after finishing 2nd in Division Three
• 1963–1964 – Relegated (on goal difference) to Division Three, after finishing 21st in Division Two
• 1967–1968 – Relegated to Football League Division Four, after finishing 21st in Division Three
• 1971–1972 – Champions of Division Four, promoted to Division Three
• 1976–1977 – Relegated to Division Four, after finishing 23rd in Division Three
• 1978–1979 – Promoted to Division Three, after finishing 2nd in Division Four
• 1979–1980 – Champions of Division Three, promoted to Division Two
• 1986–1987 – Relegated to Division Three, after finishing 21st in Division Two
• 1987–1988 – Relegated to Division Four, after finishing 22nd in Division Three
• 1989–1990 – Promoted to Division Three, after finishing 2nd in Division Four
• 1990–1991 – Promoted to Division Two, after finishing 3rd in Division Three
• 1992 – Division Two is renamed Division One, after the formation of the Premier League. Division Three becomes Division Two and Division Four becomes Division Three.
• 1996–1997 – Relegated to Division Two, after finishing 22nd in Division One
• 1997–1998 – Promoted to Division One, after winning the Division Two Play-off final at Wembley Stadium, also winning the Football League Trophy at Wembley in the same year.
• 2002–2003 – Relegated to Division Two, after finishing 24th in Division One
• 2003–2004 – Relegated to Division Three, after finishing 21st in Division Two
• 2004 – Division Three is renamed Football League Two for sponsorship reasons. Division One now becomes the Football League Championship and Division Two becomes Football League One
• 2005–2006 – The club lose out on promotion to League One after losing in the League Two play-off final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
• 2007–2008 – Runners-up in the Football League Trophy at Wembley Stadium
• 2009–2010 – Relegated to the Conference National, after finishing 23rd in League Two. This ends an 117-year stay as a member of the Football League

Stadium

Main article: Blundell Park

Dates	Ground
1878–1879	Clee Park
1879–1880	Lovett Street
1880–1889	Clee Park
1889–1898	Abbey Park Stadium
1898–present	Blundell Park
Future	Conoco 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 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 1995. 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.

New stadium

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 PLC, 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 team's 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.

As of the 2012–13 season, the GTFC Supporters Trust known as the 'Mariners Trust' has taken over responsibility for the operation of most of the bars at the Stadium, which hopefully will lead to refurbishment, and new ideas from fans as to how the bars operate.

Plans are now under way to relocate the club to land at the side of the Peaks Parkway in Grimsby.

Kit

Grimsby Town's traditional home kit

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1975–1976	Litesome	none
1976–1978	Bukta
1978–1979	Admiral
1979–1981		Findus
1981–1983	Adidas
1983–1984	Hobott
1984–1986		NISA
1986–1987	En-s	Bluecrest
1987–1993	Ribero	Ciba-Geigy
1993–1994	Admiral	Ciba
1994–1995	Diadora
1995–1996		Europe's Food Town
1996–1998	Lotto
1998–2003	Avec	Dixon Motors
2003–2004	Grimsby Town Sports	Jarvis
2004–2008	Nike	Young's Bluecrest
2008–present	Errea

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 and 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 – 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 and 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.

Supporters and rivalries

Main article: Humber derby

Main article: Lincolnshire derby

Grimsby Town were the fourth largest supported club in the Conference National during the 2011-12 season, with an average attendance of 3,308. This makes them currently the second highest supported club in the traditional county of Lincolnshire behind Scunthorpe United for last season. However Grimsby, who have a larger stadium and fanbase had considerably larger gates than Scunthorpe when they played at the same current level United are at. The Grimsby Town Supporters Trust, now rebranded Mariners Trust has been working with the fans and the club on a number of projects and events, with aims including improving the matchday experience for fans. It has a new Junior Mariners section, works with similar GTFC-friendly organisations, like the Internet Mariners and the PPAG, and is run by volunteers from within its 400+ members, and continues to encourages GTFC fans to join and get involved.

The clubs matchday programme was previously called "The Mariner", but since 2012 it was renamed "The GTFC Magazine" Despite having now having no matchday fanzine, the club boasts two largely popular fansites, the first being "The Fishy", formerly the named the Electronic Fishcake was a rivals.net site that broke away in 2007 where it has since become its own entity and is largely run and updated independent club website. Aside from the fishy is "Cod Almighty" is also another independent site that is a suppoter run. During April 2007 it was announced that Grimsby had struck a deal with Sky channel Propeller TV to show four 30 minute shows named "GTTV". The show mainly focused on player and staff interviews and match reviews. The project was eventually scrapped after the four shows aired.

A survey by Footballpools.com found Grimsby fans thought of Scunthorpe United as the clubs main rivals, the rivalry was voted as the 18th in the country. Games between the two are noted as both the Humber derby and Lincolnshire derby. The first game was played between the clubs on Christmas Day 1951 with Grimsby winning 3-2 in a Division Three North tie. Out of the 54 competitve meetings, Grimsby have won 24 with 16 draws and 14 defeats. In recent years Grimsby suffered three relegations in seven years, while Scunthorpe achieved several promotions, the two clubs have not met in the league fixture since a 0-0 draw at on 23 April 2005. Another rival from the former county of Humberside are Hull City who are also involved in the Humber Derby rivalry with Town and Scunthorpe, but like Scunthorpe, Hull have eclipsed Grimsby in recent years with the two not meeting since Grimsby knocked Hull out of the Football League Trophy in 1998, as well as that you have to go back as far May 1987 for the last league tie.

Grimsby's other rivalries include Lincoln City, in recent times the Lincolnshire derby with Lincoln has proved to have been the dominant rivalry with the two sides involved in promotion and relegation battles in League Two from 2004 to 2010, and then both clubs meeting inside the Conference National since 2011. Grimsby have the better of the ties with an overall 46 wins to Lincoln's 28 with 28 draws, as well as this Lincoln have failed to beat Grimsby in the last 11 meetings.

Whilst Grimsby played in the second tier of English football, slight rivalries were formed with clubs such as Sheffield Wednesday which intensified between 2000 and 2004 when the two clubs competing with each other in several relegation battles in both the First and Second Division. Barnsley and Boston United are two other examples of clubs who have shared some kind of rivalry with Grimsby in past seasons whilst they were in the second and fourth tier respectively. There are two other clubs within the Borough of Grimsby who are on the football ladder, Grimsby Borough and Cleethorpes Town, Town and Borough met in a pre-season friendly for the first team in either club's history in June 2012, the game ended in a 12–3 victory for Town.

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.

Supporters

Famous Mariners fans include Grimsby-born actor Thomas Turgoose, who starred as the lead role character Shaun in the film "This is England" and the TV follow-up's "This Is England '86" and "This Is England '88, is a supporter of the club. He appeared as a guest on Sky show Soccer AM in 2007 sporting a Grimsby Town shirt.

Other famous fans include politician Norman Lamont, historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, snooker player Dean Reynolds and Coronation Street actor Malcolm Hebden (whose parents originate from the area).

Grimsby Town in popular culture

Grimsby Town has popped up in two British films, being mentioned as one of Mike Bassett's former clubs in Mike Bassett: England Manager as well as the film ID.

Club officials

Board officials

Name	Role
Vacant	Chairman
Dudley Ramsden	Life President
John Fenty	Head Director
John Elsom	Director
Michael Chapman	Director
Stephen Marley	Director
Ian Fleming	Chief Executive
David Smith	Commercial Manager

First team staff

Name	Role
Rob Scott	Joint Manager
Paul Hurst	Joint Manager
Steve Croudson	Goalkeeping Coach
Dave Moore	Head Physiotherapist
Ben Mortlock	Physiotherapist
Steve Croudson	Kitman

Youth team staff

Name	Role
Adam Smith	Head of Youth
Alan Buckley	U17's Manager
Graham Rodger	Community Coach
Jonathan Rowan	Community Coach

Players

As of 10 January 2013.

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	SCO	Greg Fleming
2	DF	ENG	Sam Hatton
3	DF	ENG	Aswad Thomas
4	MF	SCO	Derek Niven
5	DF	ENG	Shaun Pearson
6	DF	ENG	Ian Miller
7	MF	ENG	Joe Colbeck
8	MF	ENG	Craig Disley (club captain)
9	FW	ENG	Anthony Elding
10	FW	ENG	Liam Hearn
11	MF	ENG	Frankie Artus
12	FW	ENG	Andy Cook
13	GK	EIR	James McKeown

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
14	FW	ENG	Richard Brodie (on loan from Crawley Town)
15	MF	EIR	Jamie Devitt (on loan from Hull City)
16	DF	JAM	Simon Ford
17	MF	BRB	Louie Soares
18	FW	ENG	Greg Pearson
19	DF	ENG	Bradley Wood
20	FW	ENG	Dayle Southwell
21	MF	ALB	Andi Thanoj
23	MF	ENG	Josh Morrall
25	FW	ENG	Ross Hannah
26	MF	ENG	Marcus Marshall (on loan from Bury)
34	GK	ENG	Steve Croudson (Player/Coach)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
--	GK	ENG	Tom Higton (at Grimsby Borough until the end of the season)

Youth team

Youth Team Squad as of 7 July 2012.

Second Year squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Harry Ashton
—	DF	ENG	Ben Cuff
—	DF	ENG	Blaize Kerr
—	MF	ENG	Jack Griffin

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Josh Morrall
—	MF	ENG	Will Peers
—	MF	ENG	Lewis Smith
—	FW	ENG	Robbie Bryant

First Year squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Tom Higton
—	DF	ENG	Chris Burgess
—	DF	ENG	Hamish Falconer
—	DF	ENG	Ellis Humble
—	DF	ENG	Paul Walker

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Tom Charlesworth
—	MF	ENG	Caine Winfarrah
—	FW	ENG	Sam O'Malley
—	FW	ENG	Callum Walker
—	FW	ENG	Lee Wattam

Players of the season

Over the past few decades it has become traditional that professional football clubs have a player of the season award, and Grimsby Town Football Club is no different, for a number of years they have allowed supporters to vote for the player who they think deserves the award for Player and Young player of the season. The awards are normally handed out at an award ceremony at the end of the season.

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	No award given
2011	Alan Connell	Bradley Wood
2012	Liam Hearn	Conor Townsend

Top goal scorers (season)

Player	Goals	Season
Liam Hearn	31	2011–12
Alan Connell	29	2010–11
Peter Sweeney	6	2009–10
Adam Proudlock	9	2008–09
Danny North	10	2007–08
Gary Jones, Ciaran Toner and Peter Bore	8	2006–07
Gary Jones	17	2005–06
Michael Reddy and Andy Parkinson	9	2004–05
Phil Jevons and Michael Boulding	12	2003–04
Stuart Campbell	7	2002–03
Michael Boulding	11	2001–02
Steve Livingstone	7	2000–01
Lee Ashcroft	12	1999–2000
Paul Groves	14	1998–99
Kevin Donovan	16	1997–98
Clive Mendonca	19	1996–97
Paul Groves and Steve Livingstone	10	1995–96
Neil Woods	14	1994–95
Clive Mendonca	14	1993–94
Paul Groves	12	1992–93
Neil Woods	8	1991–92
Dave Gilbert and Neil Woods	12	1990–91
Tony Rees	13	1989–90
Keith Alexander	14	1988–89
Marc North	11	1987–88
Don O'Riordan and Ian Walsh	8	1986–87
Gordon Hobson	15	1985–86

Managerial history

As of 22 March 2011.

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	Player/Caretaker Manager
1985–1987	Mick Lyons
1987–1988	Bobby Roberts
1988–1994	Alan Buckley
1994–1996	Brian Laws	Player/Manager
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	Player/Manager
2004	Graham Rodger	Caretaker Manager
2004	Nicky Law
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
2009–2011	Neil Woods
2011	Dave Moore & Robbie Stockdale	Joint Caretaker Managers
2011–	Rob Scott & Paul Hurst	Joint Managers

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
• 2010–2011 Dave Moore

Notable former players & managers

Further information: List of Grimsby Town F.C. players

Person	Grimsby Record	Claim to Fame
Darren Barnard	Player, 2002–04 68 games, 4 goals	Played in the 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
Peter Beagrie	Player, 2006 9 games, 0 goals	Played in England's top flight for the likes of Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Everton, Manchester City and Bradford City and currently works as a Sky Sports football pundit.
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 Premier League and FA Cup with Manchester United in the 1995–1996 season. Also went on to feature for Manchester City and Major League Soccer 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. 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 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 League Cup. Went on to win the 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 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.

International Players

Players signed to, and have played for Grimsby that have had full international caps during their careers.

Australia

• Nicky Rizzo

Barbados

• Louie Soares

Cape Verde Islands

• Georges Santos

China

• Zhang Enhua

Congo DR

• Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala

England

• Joseph Bache
• Dave Beasant
• Jackie Bestall
• Harry Betmead
• Garry Birtles
• George Tweedy
• Neil Webb
• Trevor Whymark

Guadeloupe

• Mickaël Antoine-Curier

Ireland

• Nick Colgan
• Terry Donovan
• Wayne Henderson
• Joe Waters

Italy

• Ivano Bonetti

Jamaica

• Simon Ford
• Jamie Lawrence

Montserrat

• Junior Mendes

New Zealand

• Jason Batty
• David Mulligan

Northern Ireland

• William Andrews
• Kingsley Black
• John Coulter
• Aidan Davison
• Stuart Elliott
• Alan Fettis
• Chris Nicholl
• Johnny Scott
• Ciaran Toner

Nigeria

• Chima Okorie

Scotland

• Richard Hughes
• Robbie Stockdale

Sierra Leone

• Malvin Kamara

Saint Lucia

• Keith Alexander

Trinidad & Tobago

• Clint Marcelle

United States of America

• John Thorrington

Wales

• Darren Barnard
• Thomas Chapman
• Dai Collier
• Danny Coyne
• David Felgate
• Pat Glover
• Hugh Morris
• Richard Morris
• Alan Neilson
• Lee Nogan
• John Oster
• Tony Rees
• Ian Walsh

PFA Team of the Year

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

• 1979 Kevin Moore & Joe Waters
• 1980 Kevin Moore & Joe Waters
• 1985 Paul Wilkinson
• 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

Honours

Competition	Honour	Date
Division One	Highest placing, 5th	1934–35
Division Two/Division One	Champions	1900–01, 1933–34
	Runners-up	1928–29
	Third Place	1895–96, 1896–97
Division Three/Division Two	Champions	1979–80
	Runners-up	1961–62
	Third Place	1990–91, 1997–98
Division Three North	Champions	1925–26, 1955–56
	Runners-up	1951–52
	Third Place	1921–22
Division Three South	Highest placing, 13th	1920–21
Division Four/Division Three/League Two	Champions	1971–72
	Runners-up	1978–79, 1989–90
	Play-off finalists, 4th	2005–06
Football Alliance	Third Place	1890–91
Midland League	Champions	1910–11, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1946–47
Football League Group Trophy	Winners	1981–82
Football League Trophy	Winners	1997–98
	Runners-up	2007–08
Full Members Cup	Second Round North	1991–92
Anglo-Italian Cup	2nd, English Group 1	1993–94
Anglo-Scottish Cup	Preliminary Stage	1980–81
Lincolnshire Senior Cup	Winners	1885–86, 1888–89, 1896–97, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1900–01, 1901–02, 1902–03, 1905–06, 1908–09, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1924–25, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1932–33, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1967–68, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–00, 2011–12, 2012–13
	Runners up	1886–87, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1914–15, 1919–20, 1923–24, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1953–54, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1970–71, 1974–75, 1990–91, 1996–97, 2003–04, 2008–09, 2010–11
Midland Youth Cup	Winners	2005–06, 2009–10
Puma Youth Alliance League Cup	Winners	2008–09

Seasons

Main article: Grimsby Town F.C. seasons

Records

More clubs have lost their managers after meeting Grimsby than after playing any other club.

===Games===

• Biggest League Attendance: 26,605 v Stockport County on 11 April 1952
• Biggest FA Cup Attendance: 31,651 v Wolverhampton Wanderers on 20 February 1937
• Biggest League Cup Attendance: 23,115 v Wolverhampton Wanderers on 4 December 1979
• Biggest Neutral Venue Attendance: 76,972 v Wolverhampton Wanderers on 25 March 1939 in the FA Cup semi final at Old Trafford, Manchester
• Smallest League Attendance: 1,833 v Brentford on 3 May 1969
• Smallest Cup Attendance: 970 v Scunthorpe United in Football League Trophy on 5 December 1987
• Highest League Gate Receipts: £81,200 v Newcastle United on 4 May 1993
• Highest FA Cup Gate Recepts: £119,799 v Aston Villa on 4 January 1994
• Highest League Cup Gate Receipts: £97,000 v Tottenham Hotspur on 29 October 1991
• Smallest League Gate Receipts: £32 v Glossop on 13 April 1907
• Biggest League Home Win: 8–0 v Tranmere Rovers on 4 September 1925
• Biggest League Away Win 7-0 v Bristol Rovers on 14 December 1957
• Biggest League Home Defeat 0-7 v Manchester United on 26 December 1899
• Biggest League Away Defeat 1-9 v Arsenal on 28 January 1931
• Biggest League Home Draw 5-5 v Preston North End on 15 October 1932 and v Charlton Athletic on 7 January 1933
• Biggest League Away Draw 4-4 v Lincoln City on 3 September 1958, and v Chesterfield on 27 March 2004
• Biggest Cup Home Win: 8–0 v Darlington on 21 November 1885
• Biggest Cup Away Win: 8-1 v Croydon Common on 18 January 1911
• Biggest Cup Defeat: 1–9 v Phoenix Bessemer on 25 November 1882
• Biggest Cup Draw 5-5 v Fulham on 9 January 1954
• Highest Scoring Game: 9–2 win over Darwen on 15 April 1899
• Biggest League Defeat: 1–9 v Arsenal on 28 January 1931
• Seasons spent at Level 1 of the football league system: 12
• Seasons spent at Level 2 of the football league system: 49
• Seasons spent at Level 3 of the football league system: 30
• Seasons spent at Level 4 of the football league system: 14

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: 68 by Zhang Enhua playing for China
• Highest Transfer Fee Paid: £550,000 to Preston North End for Lee Ashcroft on 11 August 1998
• Highest Transfer Fee Received: £1.5 million rising to £2 million from Everton for John Oster on 1 August 1997
• Longest Serving Current Player: Bradley Wood, since September 2009 (although player/goalkeeping coach Steve Croudson initially played for the club between August 1998 and August 2003 and Simon Ford initially played for the club between July 2001 and June 2004)
• 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.

See also

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

External links

Official

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

News

• Grimsby Telegraph
• codalmighty
• thefishy
• a grim outlook

Supporters Trust

• The Mariners Trust; Grimsby Town FC supporters organisation