Looking back at the photos, it's remarkable how fresh the steel of the Main and Osmond stand roof looks; likewise the concrete in the Osmond. By the looks of it, in one photo there's the 91/92 team photo being taken there - was the ground given a bit of a makeover around that time?
Anyway, on a boring Sunday evening it got me watching some old Town footage, and I found this video of Town v Millwall in 79/80 (5 or 6 years before I was born) quite intriguing. A few observations:
1. Right before kick-off the players do a little twirly thing and throw their arms up in the air, which gets a big reaction from the crowd. It was clearly customary at the time, but what was that all about?
2. Chants of 'Mariners' are clearly audible, but it doesn't sound like it does today. It's softer and a bit more tuneful - "Maaah-rin-ers" rather than "Marrrh-inners". I'm sure I remember hearing it like that as a nipper in the early 90s, but interesting to hear how it's changed.
3. There's another popular chant of "I-O Grimsby, Grimsby I-O" - dunno, just assumed that kind of chant was more modern no particular reason. Thinking about it now, it does actually sound quite old school.
4. Despite being over 40 years ago, the ground is still easily recognisable as Blundell Park. Obviously the camera angle is lower as it pre-dates the Findus, and all of the standing areas are long since gone, but surely few grounds have changed as little in that timespan as BP.
5. The pitch is better than it was last season. Apparently we didn't furlough the groundsman that year.
Anyway, just find these things interesting. Thought I'd share.
Chants of 'Mariners' are clearly audible, but it doesn't sound like it does today. It's softer and a bit more tuneful - "Maaah-rin-ers" rather than "Marrrh-inners". I'm sure I remember hearing it like that as a nipper in the early 90s, but interesting to hear how it's changed.
One chant I really miss is "Stand up for the Mariners" which we used to sing in the early 2000s.
One chant I really miss is "Stand up for the Mariners" which we used to sing in the early 2000s.
Also "Get into 'em" - feels like that probably has some pretty old school heritage too. At this level though it's rare that any side has possession long enough for it to work. It's to scrappy and end-to-end.
Probably quite a few old chants which have fallen by the wayside when you think about it.
Also found this. Posted by the club a couple of years ago but don't remember seeing it - footage of a brand new Findus Stand (with no exec boxes) from around 12:30:
3. There's another popular chant of "I-O Grimsby, Grimsby I-O" - dunno, just assumed that kind of chant was more modern no particular reason. Thinking about it now, it does actually sound quite old school.
Like a number of other clubs, we stole the famous “Pompey Chimes” from Portsmouth: “I-O Pompey, Pompey I-O”. Still, not as bad as Liverpool plagiarising the Blaydon Races and singing of “Bill Shankly’s Aces”!
I believe there’s a Bill Shankly connection to the Grimsby IO song as well. It’s the same tune as the chimes at St James church and he came up with some words for it I think.
Was that the year Millwall tried to take the Pontoon? They didn’t last long, about twenty of them in green parkers if I remember rightly? Anyone else remember that or is my mind getting confused?
One thing I noticed on Saturday is that the old scoreboard pillars have been removed. I checked on YouTube match highlights and they were removed between the Notts County & Southend games.
It’s good to see little jobs finally being done around BP that aren’t critical but improve the match day experience.
They were removed a couple of days before the Southend game. I went in the Osmond for the first time in years for that game and sat right behind the goal, Got a great close up view of Taylor passing the ball into the net. The rest of the game was a bit drab however.
Also "Get into 'em" - feels like that probably has some pretty old school heritage too. At this level though it's rare that any side has possession long enough for it to work. It's to scrappy and end-to-end.
Probably quite a few old chants which have fallen by the wayside when you think about it.
I might be wrong but didn’t the “We only sing when we’re fishing” start the night we beat Everton? I was behind the Osman goal that night and clearly recall Everton fans start the chant you only sing when you’re fishing and we immediately adopted it.
Memory is a funny thing so might be a load of balderdash but that’s how I recall things. Personally used to like “we will follow the Grimsby over land &sea”.
There have been some great club songs over the years. Obviously the most famous is ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, but I wonder if Liverpool supporters would cope as well with it if they didn’t have Gerry and the Pacemakers playing in the background. Others that come to mind are ‘Blue Moon’ (Manchester City), Blaydon Races (Newcastle), ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles (West Ham), Delilah Stoke), ZCars theme (Everton), Sussex By the Sea (Brighton), Goodnight Irene (Bristol Rovers) and Drink Up Thy Cider (Bristol City). Forest Green should really lay claim to the latter as the Worzels came from Nailsworth. I suppose ’Sing When We’re Fishing’ is the nearest that we’ve got to a club anthem, but it you don’t hear it much nowadays. ‘Up the Mariners’ gets the occasional airing, but, as with all football songs, supporters tend to struggle with more than a couple of choruses. ‘The Lincolnshire Poacher’ would make a great club song. Perhaps we should grab it before one of our county neighbours beats us to it.
This is not an official forum of Grimsby Town Football Club, the opinions expressed are those of the individual authors. If you see an offensive post then click "Report" on the relevant post. Posts will be deleted at the discretion of the moderators whose decision is final. Posts should abide by the Forum Rules. IP addresses of contributors together with dates and times of access are stored. The opinions and viewpoints expressed by contributors to The Fishy are their own and not necessarily those of The Fishy. The Fishy makes no claims that information dispersed through this forum is accurate or reliable. Also The Fishy cannot be held liable for any statements made by contributors of The Fishy.