It’s the fans fault, or is it?

Fenty’s tapes mention that our former manager thought we, the fans are “twits”.
There’s been talk that investors don’t want to come because they don’t want the abuse from fans.
Fenty himself continually describes himself as being pilloried.
It’s been documented about the “toxic” atmosphere around the club. In the context it’s beeb said it’s labelled at the fan base.
It’s clear those in charge of the club view the fans with mistrust and they’re not fond of us.

On the other side of the coin we continually take impressive away followings especially when you consider our geography, size of fan base and the economic status of the area.
Our home gates have taken a massive run of games without  a win before they’ve truly dipped.
We’ve seen our club go from championship to non league with barely a whimper.
We crowdfunded some of a budget which led to us being promoted.
Despite some pretty mediocre years and displays we never really turned against Hurst in numbers.
We’ve endured years of broken promises about a new ground.

Personally, I have the long held belief that we’re no worse and no better than any other set of fans. But, it begs the question, just what is the role of a footballer supporter and how much influence do they have or should they have.

We’re at loggerheads over the role of a supporter. That much is clear.
There are those who strongly believe that a supporter should support no matter what. No matter if they agree with the direction the club is going, if they agree with the club owners, the manager, the style of play or which players run out in the shirt each game it matters not. This group believe that it is their duty to blindly support and to do anything else is counter productive.
The second group are those who continually hold the club to account. They will boo and jeer and let their thoughts and feelings known and known clearly.
The third group occupy the mid ground between the two camps. This is a where most fans are and they will have traits of both. It’s the group of supporters I feel I belong to. I do support the club, I have supported the club but when I see a clueless manager, the heart of a successful team being ripped out and a board who seem destined to repeat the mistakes of the past then I can sit idly by applauding and hoping that “the storm will pass” and that we’ll turn it around despite there being no evidence to the contrary.

So how much influence should fans have? Well, for me a board, a manager they all need to know that they are temporary. The only consistent in a football club is the community and the fan base. Managers work for the club. The board are custodians they aren’t the club. The club is the colours. The history. The community. Our major shareholder forgets this. When he talks of “the club” what he really means is “the board” or “myself”.
But the fans arent there to make the decisions are they? How could they be? You can’t have 000’s of people deciding who plays. What the tactics are. We all can’t decide on who we should hire as manager or coach or what contracts they are on. We’re not equipped to do so.
There’s the argument about putting your money in if you want change. But it’s not as easy as that. Some people can afford to put more in. It as a percentage of income a family who have a couple of season tickets, spend in the club-shop, buy food in the ground, travel to games etc. They contribute as much as the directors. The fans should have a voice. They need a voice. They should be the checks and balances. Without them the Ashleys and oystons of this world would be able to what they wanted without retribution.

What about Grimsby Town fans? Are we any worse than anyone else? Honestly. I don’t think so.
We have an active online presence but its not trusted. This could and should be correctly harnessed and it would be good for the club. Unfortunately it’s a missed opportunity as those in charge don’t understand it.
We’ve given a succession of managers our backing. We didn’t turn on woods (potentially as he was a club legend)
We gave Hurst time. We even accepted his shouty mate to begin with. There was calls against Hurst but they never really gathered momentum and we funded operation promotion for him. I don’t think we did enough to be called “twits”.
We even backed Bignot when it was clear he didn’t really have a clue.
It’s taken an awful run before there’s been protests.
I think we’ve acted in a way that can be expected. And still there isn’t full support of an against movement. There’s still sections of the fan base who think we’re doing alright and they were in safe hands.

There are a lot of problems at this club. But I feel the fans are a long way down the list.

Up the mariners.

Well, I can honestly say that it wasn't me that took us into non-league football.