League Two and other Play-Offs

Play-off semi-final 1st leg....latest score.....Newport 0-1 Mansfield

That player who cannot score against top teams scored the equaliser.

He’s a legend.

Well done Podge.

Gunning just been given a straight red in the Tranmere v FGR game 😂

Mad Gav strikes again!

And who gloated at gunning get the card??..I certainly did😂😂

1-0 Tranmere after 25 mins....a right screamer

Going to be a long night for FGR

Tranmere pull a Vincent Kompany with the aid of goal line technology! I'm enjoying this!

Gunning practicing his kung fu.

Normally one might put Gunning's aggression down to too much red meat in his diet, but I suppose that isn't the case at Veggie Rovers.

  It was just petty retaliation. The man has no self-control. Mark Cooper will be fuming.

Quoted from RonMariner

Normally one might put Gunning's aggression down to too much red meat in his diet, but I suppose that isn't the case at Veggie Rovers.

He actually looks a lot slimmer than when he was here. Still a fúcking idiot, mind.

Hahaha.....absolutely. What a liability. Probably just cost his team a shot at the final. Nice work Mad Gav.

FT.....Tranmere 1-0 FGR

Not a bad result for FGR considering they played most of the game with ten men.

Quoted from Poojah

He actually looks a lot slimmer than when he was here. Still a fúcking idiot, mind.

Probably trains properly over there instead of fannying around like he did here.

Yet he's the one at the right end of the table whilst we constantly stare into the abyss.

Cracking game at Mansfield...36 attempts on goal so far and still goalless. Podge playing well

Quoted from TonySmith

Tranmere pull a Vincent Kompany with the aid of goal line technology! I'm enjoying this!

I see that it has been installed for the play-offs but I wonder why it can't be implemented across all 46 games? VAR is labour intensive and requires numerous camera angles but goal line technology is a few sensors for a factual decision.

Penalties.....

Want Newport to win! Mansfield is a decent away day!

Quoted from RonMariner

Penalties.....

i hope Newport do it....keep a relatively local derby on the books and save us from the awful Rodney Parade

Podge at Wembley.  I think Newport deserved that.

So, the team we beat 3-0 are in the play-off final.

I wonder if the team we beat 5-2 will join them?

So Newport v Tranmere or Forest Green for a spot in Div !. All recently promoted from the Conference.and on the verge of yet another promotion. Bristol Rovers have already made it. Just leaves us and Cambridge as going nowhere also- rans. What went wrong or rather how did they manage it?

Quoted from Ipswin

So Newport v Tranmere or Forest Green for a spot in Div !. All recently promoted from the Conference.and on the verge of yet another promotion. Bristol Rovers have already made it. Just leaves us and Cambridge as going nowhere also- rans. What went wrong or rather how did they manage it?

Maybe you could switch allegiances ?    

Quoted from Ipswin

So Newport v Tranmere or Forest Green for a spot in Div !. All recently promoted from the Conference.and on the verge of yet another promotion. Bristol Rovers have already made it. Just leaves us and Cambridge as going nowhere also- rans. What went wrong or rather how did they manage it?

Well I believe both Tranmere and Forest Green have had strong financial investment to further their cause, but I'm not sure how well off Bristol Rovers are?
We might knock the playing surface, but I guess Newport make better use of their ground than we do at BP meaning some of the cost of upkeep etc. will be shared with whoever plays rugby there?, thus allowing a higher spend on playing staff?

Well done Newport and congratulations on doing it with a limited budget, great application and a board made up of fans.

Gutted for Mansfield, they always seem like such a nice club

Quoted from Ipswin

So Newport v Tranmere or Forest Green for a spot in Div !. All recently promoted from the Conference.and on the verge of yet another promotion. Bristol Rovers have already made it. Just leaves us and Cambridge as going nowhere also- rans. What went wrong or rather how did they manage it?

Wouldn't bet against Salford or Orient next year either.

Mr Fenty admits our player budget needs to be more competitive next season, so OK...season ticket prices have increased to help but after the dross we have had to endure this season I'm fully expecting the drop in season tickets sold next season to nullify this.

So where's the extra money going to come from?

Clearly, we'll romp to the top of the table drawing larger crowds for subsequent matches.*

(*OK, probably not)

Quoted from promotion plaice

Mr Fenty admits our player budget needs to be more competitive next season, so OK...season ticket prices have increased to help but after the dross we have had to endure this season I'm fully expecting the drop in season tickets sold next season to nullify this.

So where's the extra money going to come from?

And therein lies the fundamental problem with GTFC for the last god knows how many years.

Budget isn't good enough so we can neither compete or entertain.  The clubs knee-jerk reaction is to increase ticket prices, believing that the fans will take the hit without any incentive or conviction in what they're investing in.

If the club want us to invest, they need to tell us the vision.  It's not good enough to have Steve Wraith come out with his usual lazy garbage every summer in a failed bid to drum up interest.  It's not good enough to just throw out the odd Tweet believing that the Grimsby folk will come in their droves to buy tickets.

The club, quite rightly, need to get extra investment from the people associated with the club, i.e the fans.  We can argue until the end of time about how dependent Town are on investment from individuals and benign loads etc.  But the bottom line is that the club can only truly grow if increases its income streams.  Money = better players/coaches/facilities = success.  At this moment in time the club have, at a guess, a core base of about 3,500.  They'll sell that many tickets for each game be it season tickets or match day tickets.  Pack of a beer mat workings - if they add £40 per person a season onto those ticket sales it = £140,000.  That's quite a generous working too because it's assuming that every one of those 3,500 is neither a child, student or OAP.  Another point is that the fans only have a finite amount of disposable income.  It's arguably a false economy in upping the season tickets by £40 because what you gain on those sales, you probably lose on replica shirts etc.  But that's fine, let's still go with it.  £140,000 a season.  Totally ignoring the risk that by upping the prices you actually turn more people away, especially in the light of a turgid season just gone and general apathy towards the running of the club.  Let's not forget that it's only 15 months ago that protests against the ownership of the club were held in the car park before a home game, which conveniently was the point where Fenty decided to throw Russell Slade out the window as a sacrificial lamb.  

That mood hasn't dissipated.  The fan base are still largely at odds with the running of the club.   But even so, let's still be positive and assume that all is rosy in the garden and by increasing ticket prices we've got an extra £140,000 in the bank this summer.

Or....

The club could have actually worked really, really hard and tried to drum up some actual new support.  Some fresh blood.  

To get an extra £140,000 you would need 1400 young adults at £100 a pop.  Or 466 adults at £300 a pop.  We averaged under 4,500 this season, which I reckon equates to about 4,000 seats to play with (top of my head I don't know the capacity these days).  Why not do a family ticket at £500.  2 Adults an 2 Juniors included in that.  You only need to sell 280 of those to make £140,000 .  You've then got 560 young fans who you've access to for a season and can get them hooked for future seasons, plus their spends.  What have we lost?  Just over a thousand seats that we wouldn't have filled anyway.

The club don't think anywhere near enough, never mind thinking outside the box.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Well done Newport and congratulations on doing it with a limited budget, great application and a board made up of fans.

Achieved with our throw always, who next will we give away that will.play in higher leagues

Quoted from diehardmariner

And therein lies the fundamental problem with GTFC for the last god knows how many years.

Budget isn't good enough so we can neither compete or entertain.  The clubs knee-jerk reaction is to increase ticket prices, believing that the fans will take the hit without any incentive or conviction in what they're investing in.

If the club want us to invest, they need to tell us the vision.  It's not good enough to have Steve Wraith come out with his usual lazy garbage every summer in a failed bid to drum up interest.  It's not good enough to just throw out the odd Tweet believing that the Grimsby folk will come in their droves to buy tickets.

The club, quite rightly, need to get extra investment from the people associated with the club, i.e the fans.  We can argue until the end of time about how dependent Town are on investment from individuals and benign loads etc.  But the bottom line is that the club can only truly grow if increases its income streams.  Money = better players/coaches/facilities = success.  At this moment in time the club have, at a guess, a core base of about 3,500.  They'll sell that many tickets for each game be it season tickets or match day tickets.  Pack of a beer mat workings - if they add £40 per person a season onto those ticket sales it = £140,000.  That's quite a generous working too because it's assuming that every one of those 3,500 is neither a child, student or OAP.  Another point is that the fans only have a finite amount of disposable income.  It's arguably a false economy in upping the season tickets by £40 because what you gain on those sales, you probably lose on replica shirts etc.  But that's fine, let's still go with it.  £140,000 a season.  Totally ignoring the risk that by upping the prices you actually turn more people away, especially in the light of a turgid season just gone and general apathy towards the running of the club.  Let's not forget that it's only 15 months ago that protests against the ownership of the club were held in the car park before a home game, which conveniently was the point where Fenty decided to throw Russell Slade out the window as a sacrificial lamb.  

That mood hasn't dissipated.  The fan base are still largely at odds with the running of the club.   But even so, let's still be positive and assume that all is rosy in the garden and by increasing ticket prices we've got an extra £140,000 in the bank this summer.

Or....

The club could have actually worked really, really hard and tried to drum up some actual new support.  Some fresh blood.  

To get an extra £140,000 you would need 1400 young adults at £100 a pop.  Or 466 adults at £300 a pop.  We averaged under 4,500 this season, which I reckon equates to about 4,000 seats to play with (top of my head I don't know the capacity these days).  Why not do a family ticket at £500.  2 Adults an 2 Juniors included in that.  You only need to sell 280 of those to make £140,000 .  You've then got 560 young fans who you've access to for a season and can get them hooked for future seasons, plus their spends.  What have we lost?  Just over a thousand seats that we wouldn't have filled anyway.

The club don't think anywhere near enough, never mind thinking outside the box.

While it is hard to argue about your figures, surely you have to factor in VAT and any other taxes on that £140,000? It could easily be that the amount available is closer to £100,000. Still a tidy sum but some of the " shine " is taken off it. I agree we need to get more in BP but I don't think offering these kind of deals will attract " younger fans " whose allegiance to Premiersh*t teams , because of tv and the " glamour " of top class footballers, is hard to break.

Quoted from Ipswin

So Newport v Tranmere or Forest Green for a spot in Div !. All recently promoted from the Conference.and on the verge of yet another promotion. Bristol Rovers have already made it. Just leaves us and Cambridge as going nowhere also- rans. What went wrong or rather how did they manage it?

We should have won that one the ref bottled it early doors, Their keeper stopping a certain goal bound effort from Palmer outside his box.

He only got booked FFS. the ref  later admitted he should have sent him off.

That still riles me we outplayed and out sung them at WEMBLEY.

Quoted from Mrs Doyle

We should have won that one the ref bottled it early doors, Their keeper stopping a certain goal bound effort from Palmer outside his box.

He only got booked FFS. the ref  later admitted he should have sent him off.

That still riles me we outplayed and out sung them at WEMBLEY.

FFS please let's not go on about that AGAIN!

My point was that having got back into the FL Bristol Rovers achieved promotion to Div 1 while we continue to struggle to stay in Div 2 and Newport or Tranmere or FGR are about to go up another level

That said Hurst immediately took our promotion team apart while I think Bristol kept theirs together and went up immediately. Have Tranmere done the same?

Quoted from moosey_club

Maybe you could switch allegiances ?    

No way! Well not to Ipswich Town if that's what you mean, In fact ! am rather hoping we will be playing them in 2020/1 season or better still that we will be in a division above them

If I was to swap clubs it could be to Orient or preferably to a Dutch side so I could have an excuse to get over there more often

Quoted from Garth

Achieved with our throw always, who next will we give away that will.play in higher leagues

One player

Quoted from Ipswin

My point was that having got back into the FL Bristol Rovers achieved promotion to Div 1 while we continue to struggle to stay in Div 2 and Newport or Tranmere or FGR are about to go up another level

Luton in the championship too

Quoted from Abdul19

Luton in the championship too

Forgot all about them, so that's yet another example of a club coming back from non-league making an impact on its return.

Quoted from Ipswin

Forgot all about them, so that's yet another example of a club coming back from non-league making an impact on its return.

I don`t know what marketing the other Clubs did Lincoln aside BUT Luton,Brizzle,Tranmere all had the advantage of a better starting position in terms of average gate . That means if any of them had something better than an exercise book to record ST sales in they were going to be better than GTFC in selling match tickets and increasing revenue.People slate Dale Vince at FGR tell you what I would love someone like him at Grimsby.

Latest score.....FGR 1-0 Tranmere  (1-1 on aggregate)

Norwood scores a nice volley to put Tranny back ahead

FGR get a man sent off again

Well done to Tranny.

If they get promoted, it'll be another club that'll get forgotten about by those who tell us to be grateful we've not ended up like Stockport and York.

Tranmere v Newport final then.

couldnt give a intercourse to be honest

Thought the Tranmere fans made some good noise, proper supporters them lot

Such a contrast to the FGR lot, they remind me of MK - just so fake and nothing about them

Quoted from Ipswin

Forgot all about them, so that's yet another example of a club coming back from non-league making an impact on its return.

Doncaster, Oxford & Shrewsbury all League 1 after a spell out of the league

Maybe in time we might get back to that level of football... not holding my breath though because I just don't think we have the wherewithal to push onwards & upwards as things stand

I know it's not League Two but I watched the Leeds v Derby game earlier.....cracking game.

Quoted from promotion plaice

I know it's not League Two but I watched the Leeds v Derby game earlier.....cracking game.

And the Leeds fans song mocking Frank Lampard has well and truly come back to bite them on the bottom.  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48293097

Quoted from promotion plaice

I know it's not League Two but I watched the Leeds v Derby game earlier.....cracking game.

It was a great game to watch - a great advert for the Championship - both teams going full at it to win the match - brilliant to watch as a neutral

Amazing atmosphere from both fans - especially the Derby lot at the end

The game had the lot - some decent goals - tackles flying in - red cards and a penalty - brilliant stuff - hope for more of the same in the final

Leeds had not conceded more than 2 goals at home all season.  In less than 15 mins last night, they conceded 3 goals.  Not good enough to reach the final.

I know 2 Leeds fans who went last night and they will be shocked after not going up automatically.  The first team in the Championship to be top at Xmas and not go up for a long time.  And the first team ever in the Championship playoffs to win away and then not make the final.

I'd take top end of league 2 hovering around the play offss for the next few years... Times have changed, look in League one, we'd struggle massively to compete. Money talks and as it stands so many clubs around and above us have slowly grown with the increase and we've just stood still.

I noticed Bogle wasn't in the Portsmouth squad last night, is he injured again?

was thinking the same myself - they looked pretty flat up top in what was a rather scrappy game

Quoted from promotion plaice

I noticed Bogle wasn't in the Portsmouth squad last night, is he injured again?

I was wondering if he'd get on to change the game but then saw he wasn't on the bench so can only assume an injury as he's not been too bad for Pompey since he signed

Funny how every time I heard the name Tom Naylor mentioned it passed me by initially but then I remember we had him on loan a few years back

Latest....Charlton 1-1 Doncaster  (3-2 on aggregate)

If Charlton get through it'll be a repeat of the play-off for promotion to The Prem in 1998, the day after we beat Northampton.

Super Clive had a particularly good game that day if I remember correctly.  

Quoted from promotion plaice

Latest....Charlton 1-1 Doncaster  (3-2 on aggregate)

I work in Donny and you wouldn’t know they even had a club there if you weren’t into footy. They’ve all been depressed about Leeds going out!

Latest.....Charlton 1-2 Donny  (3-3 on aggregate)

Extra time and pens looming

Grert comeback by t'Rervers

Up t’rervers with three ex Mariners!

And two ex Mariners doing their bit

WOW....Charlton 1-3 Donny

Cracking game this now all level 4/4 over the both legs

Thought after his first half strike, Rowe would have been nailed on to convert his penalty but ultimately it was the last kick of their season.

Hard to take when you've been the best team but lose out in a shoot out, as we well know from Wembley