Signing number 2

will be announced today

Hopefully he isn't a Number 2

could be striker from derby

Or does it mean the press release about our new signing will be at 2pm?

Either way though guys, for those of you wanting Slade out (that probably includes me), it will be another Russell Slade signing

https://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/news/2018/january/town-confirm-vernam-loan-deal/

"I like to create chances" - hopefully you like to score some too

Quoted from Henryscat

https://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/news/2018/january/town-confirm-vernam-loan-deal/

"I like to create chances" - hopefully you like to score some too

As much as I honestly hope this changes, his track record doesn't exactly suggest he's a prolific scorer - [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Vernam[/url]

The obvious solution to a goal drought is to sign a 21 year old striker who has never scored a goal in English football. Normally I'm one who says we should give players a chance but Jesus Christ our strikers must collectively have the worst goals to game ratio in the FL.

Likes to play as a No. 10, apparently.

Does this mean that Jones is on his way, or is he just going to be either dropped or moved into a different position? Still can't believe Scunny might be interested in him, but stranger things have happened, and my guess is he could be on his way.

Let's hope this young lad is capable of doing something for us and has a bit of running in him

He only scored once in Iceland ffs. That's virtually part-time level.

1 goal in Iceland.. FFS I give up!

Vernon and Vernam could be the striker force that lead us to Victory.

Just what we need right now.
A young lad with no experience in league football.
Nice one Slade.

Anyhoo welcome & good luck young fella you will need it.

Quoted from GrimRob

Vernon and Vernam could be the striker force that lead us to Victory.

*rips up season ticket book*

What a thrilling second half to the season we have in store.

Doesn’t look like he’s had a consistent run of games, so with some game time, he will hopefully find the back of the net, as for him liking to play as a number 10, I think he’d be able to link up with Matt pretty well, a lot better than what jones has been

Quoted from GrimRob

Vernon and Vernam could be the striker force that lead us to Victory.

[img]https://puu.sh/yWPt0/0340a0cbe6.png[/img]

I'm glad to see nobody is writing the lad off before he's spent 60 minutes at the club, let alone any time on the pitch.

Who knows? He might prove to be OK!

It's a shame for the lad to sign at a time when we are on a proper downer. He may be a good player and deserves some patience for us to find out if he is.

Did anybody think we would actually sign an established league goal scorer in their prime?

Dembele also came as an unknown to the club. Should be given a chance to prove himself before people jump on his Iceland "stint".

I think slade has lost the plot,hope the lad does well but I can only see him keeping the bench warm at best in fact it's a double of cardwell!!ffs is this the best we can do??

Quoted from Maringer

I'm glad to see nobody is writing the lad off before he's spent 60 minutes at the club, let alone any time on the pitch.

Who knows? He might prove to be OK!

Pointing out his less than impressive goalscoring track record and inexperience is not 'writing him off'. Given our profligacy in front of goal recently can you blame anyone for being slightly underwhelmed, especially considering we already have a load of misfiring strikers on the books?

Quoted from FishFan101

Dembele also came as an unknown to the club. Should be given a chance to prove himself before people jump on his Iceland "stint".

Callum Dyson hadn't played in the mens game either.  That's the only positive thing I can think of....

OMG. Things are going from bad to worse. Hoofman is allowed to sign a striker who is yet to score a goal. FFS.
This really does breed confidence for the remainder of the season. Can't wait to save my season ticket money next year and spend it on something to enjoy.
At the moment it is a hell of an effort to drag myself to Blunder Park for yet another miserable afternoon.

Things can only get better. lol

Wow, lets write off a young, hungry 21 year old who wants to get out and play.

Quoted from FishFan101

Dembele also came as an unknown to the club. Should be given a chance to prove himself before people jump on his Iceland "stint".

Dembele hasn’t been very good of late to put it politely.  
Gives the ball away far to easily, no end product and defences have now sussed him out.
It’s now time to give him a rest.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

It's a shame for the lad to sign at a time when we are on a proper downer. He may be a good player and deserves some patience for us to find out if he is.

Did anybody think we would actually sign an established league goal scorer in their prime?

Not particularly, but I'd hoped maybe we could sign someone who'd been finding the net with some regularity from a lower level. We've had far more success recently with players signing for us from smaller clubs than we've had signing past it journeymen and youngsters from bigger clubs on loan.

Slade signed this lad last Jan  transfer window for Coventry and never played him. I'm sorry but even if he is better than what we have a 21 yr old with no league experience can't be expected to turn this squad around.

Welcome young man and good luck for the rest of the season. Hope you prove the doubters wrong

Remember Calum Dyson? Young and not much FL goals but did good while he was here. We can only hope..

Martin Paterson hadn't scored a goal
Steve Kabba hadn't scored a goal

everyone starts somewhere.

Harry kane, who is now deemed as the best striker in the world by many, had loan spells at Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester.

If he had already scored 20+ league goals at 21 years old, he wouldn't be coming here...

Quoted from TAGG

Dembele hasn’t been very good of late to put it politely.  
Gives the ball away far to easily, no end product and defences have now sussed him out.
It’s now time to give him a rest.

Completely agree regarding recent form. Hopefully if he can show similar enthusiasm and start that dembele got off to, the loan could work well for both parties!

Wow... I see the positivity train is back in full swing. Can we at least give the lad a bloody chance before we write him off!!

I really don't know what some fans expect - who manages to sign proven goalscorers in January whithout spending a shed load of cash?

I wish this lad well, obviously, but when are Slade and the board going to wake up?

This is a crisis. We are not in the relegation dogfight yet, but might be if this form continues. There are anti Fenty and Slade chants at the home games, and crowd figures are dropping alarmingly.

I hope after the board meeting they clarify things; either we are going to have to splash some cash cash to get proven goalscorers, probably from a lower level,or show Slade the door and hope a new manager can get us firing.

Bringing in untried 21year olds is for the future, and we have one of those in Cardwell.

Wake up!

Sorry but this signing does nothing for me at all I can`t see how a lad with his record is going to be any better than what we already have on the books that most of us deem not good enough? I hope this lad goes on to be the next Ronaldo and rams my negativity down my throat BUT..........

Money should have been saved for the new manager when slade gets sacked.

It's just delaying the inevitable

Also we let jamey Osbourne leave who is a more than decent number 10 at our level but then replace him with a kid who has scored one goal in Iceland.

GG slade.

I don't think anyone is having a go at the player, its just a reflection of the management team.

Paterson came to us when 19 and had already made a few league appearances for Stoke. This lad is two years older, only made one sub appearance for Derby and wasn't played by Slade the last time he signed him. I wish him all the best and I sincerely hope I'm wrong but I'd be staggered if he was a big improvement on what we've got. Which is what we need given our real difficulties in scoring goals.

Quoted from jonnyboy82

Also we let jamey Osbourne leave who is a more than decent number 10 at our level but then replace him with a kid who has scored one goal in Iceland.

GG slade.

Really???

Jamey doesn't want to be here, what can we do about that?

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

Wow... I see the positivity train is back in full swing. Can we at least give the lad a bloody chance before we write him off!!

I really don't know what some fans expect - who manages to sign proven goalscorers in January whithout spending a shed load of cash?

Well we will always be stuck in 4th division mediocrity with that attitude. We do have to splash the cash; if we don't and give the fans something to be excited about there wont be any fans left.  

The main problem with this type of signing is historically they get very little game time and that goes back to when Woods was Manager.We bring in youngsters who are probably not suitable for first team football and we can`t really offer them game time elsewhere.RS will not risk his managerial career on a young player with that record.

He scored 19 goals in 29 appearances for Derby youth in 2014-2015 against many prem league youth Teams.  

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

Martin Paterson hadn't scored a goal
Steve Kabba hadn't scored a goal

everyone starts somewhere.

Harry kane, who is now deemed as the best striker in the world by many, had loan spells at Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester.

If he had already scored 20+ league goals at 21 years old, he wouldn't be coming here...

It's not difficult to cherry pick a few examples to suit your argument. Remember Wes Fletcher? Luke McCarthy? Dougie Wilson? Oumare Tounkara? Nicky Walker? Matt Robinson? We've signed plenty of utter dross on loan too. The success & failure of previous loan players has absolutely no bearing on whether Vernam will turn out to be a good signing for us. All we can currently infer anything from until we've seen him play is his track record, which isn't exactly gonna cause the hairs on the back of anyone's neck to stand up.

I think the most diplomatic thing i can say is that i'm still left hoping, rather than believing.

Welcome young man, hope you can make a mark for us.

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

Really???

Jamey doesn't want to be here, what can we do about that?

Speak openly and honestly about the reasons behind his loan being extended, cos the 'still needs match fitness' excuse is clearly balderdash.

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

Martin Paterson hadn't scored a goal
Steve Kabba hadn't scored a goal

everyone starts somewhere.

Harry kane, who is now deemed as the best striker in the world by many, had loan spells at Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester.

If he had already scored 20+ league goals at 21 years old, he wouldn't be coming here...

I immediately thought of Martin Paterson as someone who came in and defied expectations, but for every Paterson.........

If he is being signed as a No10, can we hope there is a chance of Jones appearing in midfield?

Hopefully he's more Luke Cornwall than Duchess of Cornwall.

Quoted from ginnywings

I immediately thought of Martin Paterson as someone who came in and defied expectations, but for every Paterson.........

i get that, but no one is giving him a chance...

Quoted from Maringer

I'm glad to see nobody is writing the lad off before he's spent 60 minutes at the club, let alone any time on the pitch.

Who knows? He might prove to be OK!

I hope he brings energy and enthusiasm with him but he isn't a signing that fills me with confidence he can make a great difference to what we have already at the club, what is required is at least 3 marquee signings that we desperately need, someone who is proven either previously at this level or higher.

To be honest, it's not enough to tempt me back to BP. If i don't go on Saturday (which is pretty likely at the moment), it will be the first time since leaving the RN that I have missed two games on the trot through choice (7 seasons).  The sad thing is, I didn't even listen on the radio on Sat and never felt the urge to.  Looked on my phone every 5-10 minutes to check, but after 1-0 I pretty much thought it was pointless.  I hope this lad can inject a bit of enthusiasm into the team.
Don't know much about him, but lets hope I do in a months time !!

Smacks of desperation by the Manager.

Hope he does well though.... good luck young man. Its not you we blame for the state we are in.

Quoted from Civvy at last

To be honest, it's not enough to tempt me back to BP. If i don't go on Saturday (which is pretty likely at the moment), it will be the first time since leaving the RN that I have missed two games on the trot through choice (7 seasons).  The sad thing is, I didn't even listen on the radio on Sat and never felt the urge to.  Looked on my phone every 5-10 minutes to check, but after 1-0 I pretty much thought it was pointless.  I hope this lad can inject a bit of enthusiasm into the team.
Don't know much about him, but lets hope I do in a months time !!

It's frightening how many regular posters aren't going to the games. If people on here cannot be bothered, who feel the need to comment on the club on a more or less daily basis aren't going then we have bigger problems than I thought. There is no chance whatever of attracting floating fans  or  less committed fans.

I was hoping that Slade had spent six months realising that his recruitment hadn't been great and had devised a new approach. However, he's just gone for the old trick of signing one of the people he's worked with before (in this case with no success). We need a manager who drives up and down the country watching players, or at least delegates it to someone who does. Maybe he or Wilkie has done in this case but this from the outside looks like a routine signing with little effort expended in research. The work of a manager who's picking up a paycheck and waiting for the big cheque that comes with the sack.

I will delay judgement until I see him play at Colchester.

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

i get that, but no one is giving him a chance...

But that's not true is it? Of course we will give him a chance but his inexperience and lack of goals is a worry to many.

The wider issue is that the fans are watching the club closely and seeing what we do to address the concerns on the pitch and this signing just won't cut it with many. I've already received three texts from people basically saying "what the intercourse"?

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Well we will always be stuck in 4th division mediocrity with that attitude. We do have to splash the cash; if we don't and give the fans something to be excited about there wont be any fans left.  

And this cash is coming from where exactly? Sale of hot dogs?

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

And this cash is coming from where exactly? Sale of hot dogs?

Well that's not going to happen because there is no-one in the ground to buy them, even if they could stomach the disgusting looking sausages.

Good players bring in the crowds and pay for themselves. Speculate to accumulate.

Quoted from Marinerz93

I hope he brings energy and enthusiasm with him but he isn't a signing that fills me with confidence he can make a great difference to what we have already at the club, what is required is at least 3 marquee signings that we desperately need, someone who is proven either previously at this level or higher.

And these 'marquee' signings are so easily attainable in January?!? If they are proven qulity:

1. Why would their clubs let them go?
2. How much would they cost?
3. Why would they want to come to a Grimsby side that's clearly struggling? If they're coming for the money, are their hearts going to be in it? Are they the types of players we want?

More questions than answers it seems.

We have to manage our expectations and focus on whats actually achievable in this historically difficult transfer window!

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

And this cash is coming from where exactly? Sale of hot dogs?

That has lit the blue touch paper with me! It is the owners responsibility to find the money. That is his job. If he cannot find the money, then what exactly is the point of his tenure? We are not talking millions are we? This is the problem - there is no desire to actually go out and do something positive to get us believing again. There is only one man who can do something about trying to put right the endless series of mistakes and mismanagement so he had better get a move on.

This is exactly what happened prior to our relegation out of the league altogether - cheap signings, journeyman pros and a club mired in despair. We (he) has got to have a positive influence on things otherwise, I repeat, what is he there for???

So who will he be going out on loan to ?    

Well John? What says you about that from Lew Chatterleys Lover? Didn't that post hit your conscience at any point?

I hope he does well shame we couden't get bennett aswell from derby, Dyson did well last season and i'm sure he would come back again had a good partnership going with jones last season who's demeanor on the pitch is awful this year.

People comparing this lad to Paterson need to realise Buckley was a Manager who always gave young players a chance.You look through Buckley`s 3 stints at Grimsby and young players always got games.Now look at Slade`s two stints and name me young players he gave a game to? I have Gary Cohen .

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

And this cash is coming from where exactly? Sale of hot dogs?

What happens when you cheap out on getting the work done properly on your car or house, you end up spending more to put it right or it all falls apart.

Quoted from mariner91

He only scored once in Iceland ffs. That's virtually part-time level.

I scored in Heron once...   lovely girl on the till  

Quoted from moosey_club

I scored in Heron once...   lovely girl on the till  

I think I may have been shopping there that day too.
As I recall, it didn’t hold the queue up for long  

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

That has lit the blue touch paper with me! It is the owners responsibility to find the money. That is his job. If he cannot find the money, then what exactly is the point of his tenure? We are not talking millions are we? This is the problem - there is no desire to actually go out and do something positive to get us believing again. There is only one man who can do something about trying to put right the endless series of mistakes and mismanagement so he had better get a move on.

This is exactly what happened prior to our relegation out of the league altogether - cheap signings, journeyman pros and a club mired in despair. We (he) has got to have a positive influence on things otherwise, I repeat, what is he there for???

This.Also when we actually took a gamble and paid a fee Bogle look what we got back firstly in terms of his goals then his sell on fee.Must speculate to accumalate

I reckon we could have a front 3 of Messi, Ronaldo and Kane and they wouldn't score in this team.

Quoted from Civvy at last

I think I may have been shopping there that day too.
As I recall, it didn’t hold the queue up for long  

i dont remember buying them but i ended up with fish fingers all the same ..

Oh my god... I wondered what that smell was in the queue that day.

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

And these 'marquee' signings are so easily attainable in January?!? If they are proven qulity:

1. Why would their clubs let them go?
2. How much would they cost?
3. Why would they want to come to a Grimsby side that's clearly struggling? If they're coming for the money, are their hearts going to be in it? Are they the types of players we want?

More questions than answers it seems.

We have to manage our expectations and focus on whats actually achievable in this historically difficult transfer window!

GTFC fans..

#managingexpectationsforthepastfifteenyears

FFS

Underwhelmed with this signing but good luck to the lad anyway.

I can only see us in a relegation scrap at the end of the season the way things are going.

Looks  to me like he's not getting any dosh to play with hence hopefully we will stay up with what we have got more or less,I don't think Fenty has got faith in slade this season anymore but it might backfire with relegation.

signing that is a panic and done to appease fans by saying " oo look we've signed a striker" no thought gone into it, totally merhh

We will know in a few games if he is any good, will keep an open mind till then about whether this is a good signing, as no real record of playing at league level yet.

Quoted from Les Brechin

I reckon we could have a front 3 of Messi, Ronaldo and Kane and they wouldn't score in this team.

That's probably exactly why we've signed someone who plays as a no.10 to be fair, to help us create some chances.

Quoted from Chrisblor

It's not difficult to cherry pick a few examples to suit your argument. Remember Wes Fletcher? Luke McCarthy? Dougie Wilson? Oumare Tounkara? Nicky Walker? Matt Robinson? We've signed plenty of utter dross on loan too. The success & failure of previous loan players has absolutely no bearing on whether Vernam will turn out to be a good signing for us. All we can currently infer anything from until we've seen him play is his track record, which isn't exactly gonna cause the hairs on the back of anyone's neck to stand up.

In a word no 😂😂😂

I dont know what to say tbh without sounding negative
Hope he does ok for his and our sakes.
It's a lot of pressure on the lad though Great Expectations  or Scrooge and  Marley, we shall see!

Quoted from 1mickylyons

This.Also when we actually took a gamble and paid a fee Bogle look what we got back firstly in terms of his goals then his sell on fee.Must speculate to accumalate

We also spent fees on Berrett, Mills, Osborne, Assante, Jones and Clements. Speculating doesn't always lead to accumulating.

The last thing I think we should do at this stage is shell out more money, building up more debt and adding players to an already too large squad. Lets face it, we aren't getting in the play offs this season and very unlikely to go down. I'd be trying to get rid of as much deadwood as possible, try and get some talent in on loan and re-evaluate at the end of the season when contracts are up and the squad isn't so large.

Quoted from pen penfras

We also spent fees on Berrett, Mills, Osborne, Assante, Jones and Clements. Speculating doesn't always lead to accumulating.

The last thing I think we should do at this stage is shell out more money, building up more debt and adding players to an already too large squad. Lets face it, we aren't getting in the play offs this season and very unlikely to go down. I'd be trying to get rid of as much deadwood as possible, try and get some talent in on loan and re-evaluate at the end of the season when contracts are up and the squad isn't so large.

Mills and Jones are money in the bank in my opinion and Town should recoup their outlay on Osborne £ in vs £ out massive profit to Town so not getting your argument.Bogle alone via his goals fired us into the League which was worth £1M extra a year.

Unless he is a replacement for someone who is moving out, this is a waste of time and money. To expect a kid like this with so little experience to hit the ground running with goals is like urinating against a hurricane. As part of a package he might be OK but so far it looks as if we are just collecting non-scoring strikers like homosexual cards.

You can argue all day about who and what we should be signing but the fact is, we can't score goals, and if you can't score goals, you can't win games. If you can't win games, there is only one way you are going. I think we will probably be safe this season, but nothing is guaranteed. Hartlepool couldn't stop the rot once it started and we should learn from past experience that relegation out of the league structure is not beyond even a club of our size.

For me, it shouldn't be a case of we can't afford to bring in a decent striker. It should be a case of we can't afford not to. How much does it cost to get one in, against how much it costs the club in falling attendances, or more scarily, relegation.

Quoted from pen penfras

We also spent fees on Berrett, Mills, Osborne, Assante, Jones and Clements. Speculating doesn't always lead to accumulating.

The last thing I think we should do at this stage is shell out more money, building up more debt and adding players to an already too large squad. Lets face it, we aren't getting in the play offs this season and very unlikely to go down. I'd be trying to get rid of as much deadwood as possible, try and get some talent in on loan and re-evaluate at the end of the season when contracts are up and the squad isn't so large.

I'm fairly certain we didn't pay a fee for Mills.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Mills and Jones are money in the bank in my opinion and Town should recoup their outlay on Osborne £ in vs £ out massive profit to Town so not getting your argument.Bogle alone via his goals fired us into the League which was worth £1M extra a year.

You aren't serious? You think they'll pay what they paid us for a player that doesn't want to be here and wants to be there? GrimReaper said £20k for him, we paid much more. Add to that his wages for being injured almost the entire time he's been here. Massive loss to Town.

I'm not getting your argument. We all know what Bogle did, but we don't have another Bogle at the club and spending money isn't going to guarantee you get one. At almost all clubs, more signings are bad or indifferent than good. Spending money now is just a bigger hole in a budget that's already gone mammaries up.

Mills and Jones have sell on value, but they need to up their game. Neither have played consistently well this season. Mills is out of contract at the end of the season, so hardly money in the bank.

Quoted from mariner91

I'm fairly certain we didn't pay a fee for Mills.

I thought he was under 24 when we signed him. You're right.

I posted on another thread yesterday that i had spoken to a friend who's a Derby fan about Mason Bennett when he was the rumoured signing and he said he was good and would do a good job for us. i rang him today when this new signing was announced and he said Charles Vernam? who's that? never heard of him.
Good luck kid, you're gonna need it, in spades.

Quoted from Chrisblor

Not particularly, but I'd hoped maybe we could sign someone who'd been finding the net with some regularity from a lower level. We've had far more success recently with players signing for us from smaller clubs than we've had signing past it journeymen and youngsters from bigger clubs on loan.

Absolutely, I just feel for him a bit because he is probably buzzing to get a chance in the league and he's a local boy. It's not a signing that would be an issue for anyone had we signed any proven quality already. I completely agree that we have done our best when taking players from lower level for a fee.
It's often the same with unproven young players though, if they are a success we don't move quickly enough or are not committed enough to sign them. I look at failures to sign Kabba, Oster, Paterson and Sam Hird who all had promising loans spells and were lost to other clubs.

It shows a lack of ambition if we don't add the required quality in January. If we make some signings that the club have clearly spent money and beaten competition for, it would show some intent.  

From all accounts, this kid is very well thought of at Derby and has been very unlucky with injuries.
His time at Coventry was ended with a dislocated shoulder. Following which he has also suffered with a nasty chipped thigh bone which required surgery. And I believe a knee injury

So his road to recovery has been difficult, but Derby now want him playing football and getting up and running.

He is well thought of to have progressed from their Academy and won a contract, and at his age to have remained on their books through the youth system as a young pro, with a number of managers there during that time. Now pardon me if I am mistaken, but none of our other strikers in the building have been in that position recently at a Championship club.

This kids has scored goals at Under 23 level against impressive opposition. For all that we know he could be a diamond of a kid that is ready to break onto the scene, and may be coming in at a level that will be great to get him up and running.

Lets wait and see shall we. I am not going to condemn him until we see how he gets on. Good luck kid, I hope you do well

I know a Derby fan and he says that he's very highly rated by them and expected to be in and around the first team at some stage. If he can buzz around Matt and create more chances then we might be a better side but we need someone who can score them because Matt isn't going to get 20 goals a season so long as he's got a hole in his bottom!

Quoted from Mariner_09

I know a Derby fan and he says that he's very highly rated by them and expected to be in and around the first team at some stage. If he can buzz around Matt and create more chances then we might be a better side but we need someone who can score them because Matt isn't going to get 20 goals a season so long as he's got a whole in his bottom!

A whole what ??  The mind boggles  

My mind does too! That was a bit thick!

Quoted from Mariner_09

I know a Derby fan and he says that he's very highly rated by them and expected to be in and around the first team at some stage. If he can buzz around Matt and create more chances then we might be a better side but we need someone who can score them because Matt isn't going to get 20 goals a season so long as he's got a hole in his bottom!

Matt might get 20 yellow cards before he gets 20 goals. To be fair, Jones never gets close enough to Matt to play as a second striker so we'll have to wait & see. Good luck to him - there's not going to be a lot of love at BP on Saturday, there never is.