Is this the worst GTFC team we've ever had?

My experience of watching town only goes back to the mid 90's but in those years I can't think of a time we've looked worse. The most passionless,spineless waste of space we've ever had the misfortune of paying to play for us. Even before that time I doubt we had a worse team surely?

The first year conference team was dire except for Connell. I think the lot who took us out of the league tge first time were more lazy and spineless but probably more talented.

Well, I've been watching Town since the late 50,s and I can definitely say it's the worst group of players ever to pull on a town shirt. And I've seen some tripe during that time believe me.

In terms of spirit yes, in terms of leadership on the field yes I believe this is a group of players who in the main don’t give a sh1t about GTFC.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

The first year conference team was dire except for Connell. I think the lot who took us out of the league tge first time were more lazy and spineless but probably more talented.

Yeah, was about to post something similar. I don't think League 2 is as strong now either, as it was in 2010. Most teams are mediocre, yet they are brushing us aside with ease.

Quite simply yes.

Bunch of babies who clearly are not only excrement but don't have any pride or passion running through them.

15 games without a win and without any fight in em.

Some might think I'm bring harsh but this bunch don't have anything about them .

Yes. And I have seen some rubbish since i started going in 68.

Yes

I'm just hoping that MJ doesn't like playing with slow centre halves, who between them seem culpable for most of the goals we concede. They're not even old wise heads whose superb positioning makes up for a lack of pace. Both of them stepping up way beyond Mills trying to play offside today leaving their forward in line with our right back, they didn't even look along the line at all..

I'd prefer seeing Mills and Suliman as the pairing if Davies is fit and RHJ the other full back. Something radical has to happen in selecting the back four, I honestly think NC and DC are shot to pieces in mind and body, MJ may be better off getting the other four well drilled this week..

I'm also hoping that he sees that there isn't deft touch or a goal in Matt, Vernon and Hooper and goes with a front three of DJ, Vernam, Dembrele full of pace and creativity.. at least until Wilks and Jackson are fit..

Whichever central midfield three picked (I haven't got a preference out of a poor bunch, maybe Rose, Clifton and A N Other, to just win their battles, relax on the ball and keep it simple.

We really haven't got an embarrassment of riches for MJ to work with have we? I don't envy him..

If he can manage this lot to safety this season it will be a massive achievement to put on his CV..

Minus 23 goals at the start of March?? Yes, worst team ever, built by the worst manager ever, brought in by the worst non-chairman ever.

Minus 23 goals at the start of March?? Yes, worst team ever, built by the worst manager ever, brought in by the worst non-chairman ever.

Quoted from Bigdog

I'm just hoping that MJ doesn't like playing with slow centre halves, who between them seem culpable for most of the goals we concede. They're not even old wise heads whose superb positioning makes up for a lack of pace. Both of them stepping up way beyond Mills trying to play offside today leaving their forward in line with our right back, they didn't even look along the line at all..

I'd prefer seeing Mills and Suliman as the pairing if Davies is fit and RHJ the other full back. Something radical has to happen in selecting the back four, I honestly think NC and DC are shot to pieces in mind and body, MJ may be better off getting the other four well drilled this week..

I'm also hoping that he sees that there isn't deft touch or a goal in Matt, Vernon and Hooper and goes with a front three of DJ, Vernam, Dembrele full of pace and creativity.. at least until Wilks and Jackson are fit..

Whichever central midfield three picked (I haven't got a preference out of a poor bunch, maybe Rose, Clifton and A N Other, to just win their battles, relax on the ball and keep it simple.

We really haven't got an embarrassment of riches for MJ to work with have we? I don'y envy him..

If he can manage this lot to safety this year, it will be a massive achievement to put on his CV..

Good post that.
Is a week long enough to get the back 4 drilled and the forward 3 cohesive and the midfield disciplined enough to work as a unit and cover one another? Maybe 1 or 2 of those but all 3? Big ask.
I'm crossing everything like we all are and tbh Jolley IS a gamble by the board, but a calculated and sensible one IMHO.

Quoted from Biccys

Good post that.
Is a week long enough to get the back 4 drilled and the forward 3 cohesive and the midfield disciplined enough to work as a unit and cover one another? Maybe 1 or 2 of those but all 3? Big ask.
I'm crossing everything like we all are and tbh Jolley IS a gamble by the board, but a calculated and sensible one IMHO.

I would send out the three up front to just play with freedom and defensively only to make sure Port Vale's full backs were marked when they got forward, so not much coaching needed there.

The bulk of the work would be on the shape of the back four and midfield three working as a group defensively.

The priority and the hardest job for MJ would be to get the players to relax, start enjoying playing football again and instill some confidence and belief into what they are doing individually and as a team..

I think the one that went 24 games without a win from 10-Oct-2009 to 27-Feb-2010 was probably worse, but it's very close

Quoted from Bigdog

I would send out the three up front to just play with freedom and defensively make sure Port Vale's full backs were marked when going forward, so not much coaching needed there.

The bulk of the work would be on the shape of the back four and midfield three working as a group defensively.

The priority and the hardest job for MJ would be to get the players to relax, start enjoying playing football again and instill some confidence and belief into what they are doing individually and as a team..

I think the supporters on Saturday (and the remaining games) will have a role to play in that as well. Whatever you think of the players, we will need to get behind them 100% for 100% of the time. We all have our part to play.

The bobby Roberts team of 87-88 was bad but what makes this vintage so bad is the fact that the players who could’ve given us mid table security were all shipped out when we needed them to save a few £££ . Fook our place in the football league it’s all about saving a few £££ .

Having watched Town for 40 years I cant recall it being as bad as this right now. The Mickey Lyons and Bobby Roberts eras were pretty crap but this lot have sucked any hope out of us all. Even the last team that got relegated gave us some hope on occasions.

15 games without a win is one of the worst runs I've witnessed. But its the depressing inevitability of it all. A goal down in 3 minutes today and pretty much everyone gave up any hope of getting anything out of the game. 87 minutes to play with no anticipation of anything positive happening. And its the same game after game.

In those 15 games we have failed to score 10 times!!! We have failed to score in 18 of our 36 League games...yep that's half!! Actually throw in our 1st round exits in both Cups...yep we failed to score in those as well.....it's more than half of 1st team games we have failed to score.

Slade's negative approach and apparent lack of footballing nous got us in his mess. The board should have got rid much sooner. It was clear he had no answers to get us out of it. Their lack of action has compounded our predicament. Now we appoint a manager with 10 games left to try and turn around a team that has been in freefall for the last 3 months with no means to improve the personnel.

Can you believe we let players go like Disley and Pearson because we wanted better quality? Clarke?? Dixon ?? Hooper ?? Rose ??   ffs. Amongst the worst players ever to pull on a Mariners jersey. Slade has a lot to answer for.

18 months ago we regained our League status. It should have signalled a new dawn and steady progression. However the optimism of the fans then has now been totally eradicated. The board has perfectly demonstrated how not to run a football club.

I will back the new manager but fear he has not been given enough time to turn us around. I am resigning myself to liklihood that we will go down. IF we survive it will down to relying on 2 teams below us to remain as crap and not by any resurgence by ourselves. We would have been extremely lucky. Tbh this team deserves to go down.

The sad thing is that the anger at what is happening is giving way to apathy and acceptance. The players dont seem bothered why should we.

I don't know about the worst ever but it is certainly absolutely cr@p.
I've never been much of a fan of the phrase 'stealing a wage' but there are some players who have contributed very little positive, if anything at all.
The continued selection of James Berret for example absolutely infuriates me. It was clear he was poor before he played a game, and within a few appearances it was absolutely cemented. Yet here he is, more than a season later (I know!) still being selected and still producing nothing at all; just invisibly drifting through games, along with plenty of others, and we all know who they are. To keep on selecting them is just mindless and a recipe for relegation. I'd rather we binned them off and played enthusiastic kids.

Our new manager has got to boot these shameful weaklings out and try to find a team worthy of the title 'professional' and the proud name of Grimsby Town.
It really makes my blood boil to have to be represented by such utter dross.

Quoted from chaos33

I don't know about the worst ever but it is certainly absolutely cr@p.
I've never been much of a fan of the phrase 'stealing a wage' but there are some players who have contributed very little positive, if anything at all.
The continued selection of James Berret for example absolutely infuriates me. It was clear he was poor before he played a game, and within a few appearances it was absolutely cemented. Yet here he is, more than a season later (I know!) still being selected and still producing nothing at all; just invisibly drifting through games, along with plenty of others, and we all know who they are. To keep on selecting them is just mindless and a recipe for relegation. I'd rather we binned them off and played enthusiastic kids.

Our new manager has got to boot these shameful weaklings out and try to find a team worthy of the title 'professional' and the proud name of Grimsby Town.
It really makes my blood boil to have to be represented by such utter dross.

Berret has got gradually worse over time, not from a very high starting point I admit, but the total lack of any movement or threat whatsoever from the so called strikers must be very irritating from a midfield players point of view.

But yes you are right it is absolute cr@p.

Quoted from GrimRob

I think the one that went 24 games without a win from 10-Oct-2009 to 27-Feb-2010 was probably worse, but it's very close

I think this team is worse. We went 25 league games without a win that season, but in the last 19 of those we only lost 5. In those 19 games we even kept 6 clean sheets! This current team has the impotence up front of that one, but is spineless defensively too. 3 points out of 42 is pathetic.

Of course, when I say this team I mean Slade's. Maybe Jolley's incarnation will be different? Maybe the proven to fail at 2 different clubs midfield partnership will be broken up? Maybe Clarke and Dixon will be collecting glasses in the bar? Maybe Jolley will bring back a now 42 year old Abdul to take Matt's place up top? Fuck knows!

It’s a close call but i think the relegation team from 2010 are worse, just.

That is a tough one. 4 points and 5 goals in 15 matches is about the worst I can recall. Not sure even the 2010 wasters plunged to such depths.

However, given that Slade created this mess by offloading talented players to bring in an army of such outstandingly talentless journeymen, I think this squad deserves to be bestowed with the label of being worst in living memory. They are currently the worst team in the country in 2018, so it seems a fitting double accolade.

Matt, Dixon, Kelly, Woodford, Berret, are staggeringly bad and all contenders for the consideration for Worst Town 11 of all time.

Thankfully we do have a few players in the squad that are better. I am thinking of RHJ, Wilks, Vernam, Mills, Davies, Sulliman, Clifton. There is the basis of a reasonable (for this level) team there if only they were fit, and the management would pick them.  Dembele too might flourish in such a line up. Add in Summerfiled for his work rate, or the mysteriously overlooked MacAlister and we have enough players to at least be competitive against the bottom teams in L2.

Lets hope MJ can size up his options quickly. We really need to get something out of the Port Vale game.

When Dembele was in the team we were comfortably mid-table. Since his injury, we have been in freefall. We desperately need him back. Without him, we're too predictable and easy to play against and teams can pick us off at the other end.

Mike Lyons bunch will always take some beating for me, how much of that was down purely to the manager could be argued i suppose..as opposed to just how poor the players actually were..........Macca up front for instance FFS !!

I posted this a couple of weeks ago, it's our team from 10 years ago, and whilst it wasn't great, this midfield at least scored goals. I saw Danny North in the Linden club a couple of weeks ago, and mentioned he could still get a game in this current Town team, of which he just laughed.

League 2 Grimsby Town  46 15 10 21 55 66 (-10) 55pts (16th position)


Better, worse or just as bad (league appearances and goals that season including subs appearances for those who played in 10 or more league games):

Barnes (42)

Newey (42-1 goal)   Boshell (40-6 goals)   North (27- 9 goals)
Fenton (42-2)          Hunt (37)                     Taylor (26-5)
Bennett (40-1)         Bolland (35-4)             Butler (21-6)
Atkinson (24-1)       Till (34-2)                     Rankin (17)
Clarke (29-2)           Hegarty (30-4)
Whittle (18-1)          Toner (30-3)
Hird (17)                  Bore (17-2)

Humberside used the Cumbria commentary today and they were saying how Berrett got 20 assists for them one season and could not stop creating goals then it was as though he plateaued and he contributed nothing.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Humberside used the Cumbria commentary today and they were saying how Berrett got 20 assists for them one season and could not stop creating goals then it was as though he plateaued and he contributed nothing.

nice guy though ...  
summed him up when he was subbed off though .... "its Berrett going off..not effected the game has he"

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Humberside used the Cumbria commentary today and they were saying how Berrett got 20 assists for them one season and could not stop creating goals then it was as though he plateaued and he contributed nothing.

yeah that was interesting - 20 assists in 1 season, expected him to then improve but went backwards (they didnt exactly say that but that was the impression i got) was released and done nothing since.

Genuine question - has he got another 20 assists in his entire career since that year - doubt he has more than 1 this season?

Any of the sides we had in the National League would beat this lot.

Say what you like about the team Woods built for our first season in non-league (Kempson, Ridley, etc) it still beat Histon 6-1 and Mansfield 7-2 and would probably be good enough to beat today's shower of excrement.

Obviously there's no getting away from the fact that the 2009/10 team went 20-odd games without a win, but if you look at that run closely, when Woods was in charge, we only actually lost back-to-back league games ONCE.

We just drew too many games that season, so it was our inability to turn one point into three that got us relegated.

Right now we can't get one point and we can't score one goal. The winless run isn't as long but we're losing far more regularly - and far more heavily - than in 2009/10.

In 2009/10 our worst run was 5 points from a possible 30. Today we have 5 from a possible 45, so it terms of a particular run, we've been worse this season.

In 2009/10 we picked up 15 points from our winless 25 league games. Today we have 15 points from 22 league games, so really not that different.

We've been averaging 0.68 points per game since mid-October, not just since this bad run began in early December.

Over the course of an entire season that would be 31-32 points. We've been in relegation form since mid-October - almost FIVE months.

We've lost four games in a row THREE times this season (all comps).

2009/10 was very bad but I think, just by the nature of how many games we're losing, and the margin of defeats (just look at our goal difference) I believe this squad is worse than the one in 2009/10.

And that really is saying something.

The players I have seen grace Blundell  Park. Waters, Drinkell, Kevin  Moore , Crombie, Mendonca , Cunnington, Cockeril, Pouton, Futcher, Whymark. I could go on. Yes this is the worst team I’ve ever known. These are truly sad times.  But we have a new manager that hasn’t even started yet so you never know. Good times could be just around the corner. I have a 17 year old son who has a season ticket and won’t have a bad word said against the team (although he knows they are sh1t)  I just want him to experience what I did before Fenty came along.

Did Berrett actually get 20 assists in a season for Carlisle, because, it sounds like nonsense (De Bruyne has 14 in the prem this season by way of a comparison)

Yeah I sense there's a bit of exaggeration there.

I think they've moved a decimal point

Quoted from DocDock

It’s a close call but i think the relegation team from 2010 are worse, just.

Whilst that was s poor squad it was my view they were poorly led by Woods and if we had changed manager we would have stayed up.

I have been a supporter since the mid 60s and have seen a number of poor teams but I do believe this squad is probably the poorest and I'm not sure there is enough talent for MJ to keep us up.

I just hope unlike in 2010 I am wrong this time.

If there was one striker who could reliably score a goal every 2-3 games the pressure would be lifted in an instant and other players would chip in. The failure to score has always been at the root of the problems even early in the season. If you don’t score, the pressure falls on midfield and the back 4. One mistake and that is the end of the game because you know there is no chance of an equaliser. Not even from a penalty now it seems.

We know the back 4 is slow and the midfield does not offer much but the actual football at times has been good. Considering the pressure the defenders have been under for weeks they have not done that badly. We have consistently had more possession than opponents especially first half, but failed to do anything with it. Chances are created and missed, half-chances are ignored. If you are part of a team like that week after week it will be dispiriting because there is nothing you can do about someone else’s failure to score. I never subscribed to what Hurst said about a striker’s job being first to defend from the front. It is a striker’s job to get goals and ours are abject. They couldn’t do it at their previous clubs so they won’t do it here. Even LJL scuffed in the odd goal now and again and he took penalties.

I don’t think Jolley (or anyone else) would see many changes in defence or midfield just now. It’s too late for wholesale changes.  He needs to work with the strikers or move someone else to play up there. It is more about confidence than anything else.

You could say this team sleep walked to relegation, but no they started at a jog and now it's a sprint.
Mills is the stand out defender, Summerfield the midfielder and standout forward erm...Jackson maybe.
30 mins into the game the defence starts to defend deeper and deeper.
We don't press high upfield. Matt charges around. Dembele is showing signs of playing in a poor side and it is affecting his game.
The whole squad is made up of poor to mediocre players at best with several past their sell by date.
This squad is 500% worse than this time last year. We'd even lost Bogle.
If Jolly saves us from relegation, then I'll think he's earned respect. I may renew my season ticket, sadly I can't wait for the season to end. I have been to every game at home I have been able, it's a chore, I look forward normally to games.

Hells bells.  Our current lot makes that team look like Barcelona in comparison, and I don't say that lightly.   I remember also the Nicky Law team towards the end the of 2004 season being pretty inept.

Quoted from Grimbiggs

I posted this a couple of weeks ago, it's our team from 10 years ago, and whilst it wasn't great, this midfield at least scored goals. I saw Danny North in the Linden club a couple of weeks ago, and mentioned he could still get a game in this current Town team, of which he just laughed.

League 2 Grimsby Town  46 15 10 21 55 66 (-10) 55pts (16th position)


Better, worse or just as bad (league appearances and goals that season including subs appearances for those who played in 10 or more league games):

Barnes (42)

Newey (42-1 goal)   Boshell (40-6 goals)   North (27- 9 goals)
Fenton (42-2)          Hunt (37)                     Taylor (26-5)
Bennett (40-1)         Bolland (35-4)             Butler (21-6)
Atkinson (24-1)       Till (34-2)                     Rankin (17)
Clarke (29-2)           Hegarty (30-4)
Whittle (18-1)          Toner (30-3)
Hird (17)                  Bore (17-2)

In recent years the central midfield of Hudson and Leary would take some beating for mediocrity but it's a close run thing with what we've been putting out for most of this season.
I think most reasoned supporters would agree that we've got so few players that we identify with. All responsibilty for this lies with Slade of course.

I've never seen a squad with so little attacking threat - and when you think that our main threat this season has been a player who had never played league football before (Dembele), that probably says it all.

Buckley mark III team of 08/09 season loads worse.  

It’s made more depressing because we seemed to end last season with the makings of a decent squad but Slade has managed to completely destroy the squad by shipping out players who seemed talented and creative and replacing the with deadwood.  

In over 30 years following Town I can’t remember such a rapid deterioration as this - from thinking we had an outside chance of promotion to looking odds on for relegation.

Yes it is.
Never seen such an unmotivated, under skilled and unbalanced team before. Totally Slades fault.

We've shipped out in the past 13 months:

Omar Bogle
Rhys Browne
Shaun Pearson
Craig Disley
Adi Yussuf
Chris Clements
Jamie Osborne
Sam Jones

Does anyone think we would be heading back to non-league if we had even 3 of these?

Quoted from horsforthmariner

We've shipped out in the past 13 months:

Omar Bogle
Rhys Browne
Shaun Pearson
Craig Disley
Adi Yussuf
Chris Clements
Jamie Osborne
Sam Jones

Does anyone think we would be heading back to non-league if we had even 3 of these?

I think those 8 would easily beat yesterday's Town team, Pearson as rush goalie.

I don't get to many games but when I saw us beat the village people in December I thought the starting eleven might be good enough for the play offs. To be fair there was nothing on the bench and that doesn't appear to have improved.
However, I really believe that if MJ comes anywhere near the hype he'll sort it out. I don't believe Collins, Mills, Rose, Summerfield, McKeown, Hall-J, Dembele, Jaiyseme, Davis and three or four others can't be motivated and organised to restore pride.

Quoted from buckstown

I don't get to many games but when I saw us beat the village people in December I thought the starting eleven might be good enough for the play offs. To be fair there was nothing on the bench and that doesn't appear to have improved.
However, I really believe that if MJ comes anywhere near the hype he'll sort it out. I don't believe Collins, Mills, Rose, Summerfield, McKeown, Hall-J, Dembele, Jaiyseme, Davis and three or four others can't be motivated and organised to restore pride.

I hope you are right.

I know we will be impressed at tomorrows press conference, at least with the new manager, but my God he has taken a huge task on. If he does manage to keep us up then next season will be interesting; if he doesn't it wont bear thinking about.

Quoted from Grimbiggs

our team from 10 years ago...
Better, worse or just as bad (league appearances and goals that season including subs appearances for those who played in 10 or more league games):
Barnes (42)
Newey (42-1 goal)   Boshell (40-6 goals)   North (27- 9 goals)
Fenton (42-2)          Hunt (37)                     Taylor (26-5)
Bennett (40-1)         Bolland (35-4)             Butler (21-6)
Atkinson (24-1)       Till (34-2)                     Rankin (17)
Clarke (29-2)           Hegarty (30-4)
Whittle (18-1)          Toner (30-3)
Hird (17)                  Bore (17-2)

Sadly there's at.least 3 that would get into our.current squad.  I'd happily take Bennett hird and newey maybe even hegarty.  Possibly even Atkinson.

I'd take Butler

Quoted from ex-merseymariner

Sadly there's at.least 3 that would get into our.current squad.  I'd happily take Bennett hird and newey maybe even hegarty.  Possibly even Atkinson.

I'd definitely take Fenton, Newey, Bennett, Whittle, Bolland, Hunt and North over what we've got now.