Clifton staying

Pleased.  He is versatile, young and hard working.


Could be Wayne Rooney as well.  Left Derby with immediate effect. 🙂

Not Phillips as gone to City.  Good for him, City and England.

Great news . Another player with the right attitude

It’s like 3 new signings on account of Clifton’s versatility.

Great news.

The big question - will he go to the World Cup?

One of our own !!!

Pleased with the news. Coveted by other teams and think he would have gone if we hadn't been promoted.

Fantastic news.

Great to keep the spine of the team together (unlike last time we came up), geography, as well as money, was against us with Ben Fox but hopefully we'll complete the deals with Scans, Cropper and Amos, then add a bit of quality where needed; another in up front, 1 or 2 CM, winger, LB, GK. Then maybe 3 long loans - another winger (until Scans is back), CB and maybe another CM? Think that would make 21/22 first team plus 6 fringe youth

Some people commenting on Twitter how disappointed they are that today announcements are renewals and not ‘new signings’… I get as excited as anyone about new arrivals but for me we’ve secured two of our most important players for next season which is fantastic!

I’m really pleased Hursty has kept the nucleus of the lads who got us promoted together, not that I’m any judge of course but I do feel this was a mistake he made last time we were promoted in letting so many walk away… although I suspect severe penny pinching by he who shall not be named played a more than significant part too! I should be said also that it was Hursty’s first time in the league as a manager so maybe inexperience played a small part too!

Would be interesting to know just how close Harry came to leaving us for Forest Green, he’s really come into his own the last year or so and we are lucky to have a young player of his work rate, endeavour, versatility, passion and talent!!

You’re one of our own Harry!!!

Great news and pleased he's staying. I was told this would happen by the same source that informed me of Foxs' offer by Northampton .

Damn good news,so hard working and versatile, and I think the fact he is coveted at league 1 level whe  we've just come from the conference shows how he can be a bit underrated by some fans. Has been consistently amongst our very best players for 2 years now.

How many years with us will this 2 year deal take him to?

Pleased  he is staying. It looks like, apart from Fox, we have been able to retain most of the key players that ended the season so well. Just need Amos and Cropper to re-sign and then see what newcomers Hurst brings in. Definitely need some new faces in midfield.

Absolutely delighted, such a consistent, committed  and versatile player.

His best season by miles last year so hope he has been rewarded adequately.
Always got the impression he was on almost derisory terms being a former youth under previous regime.

Thanks to competition from other clubs this will be a significant pay rise for him and one he deserves on the back of being ever present in a variety of positions. He worked hard last season and deserves recognition for his efforts.

Great news this. Great lad, works his socks off, fit as a fiddle and will play anywhere. Accepted, he may not have the raw footballing ability/talent as other players but actually thought last year he did show improvement, and he’s still young to keep developing. Despite his age though, he’s now an experienced player , he’s played around 150 times for us (including a relegation and now a promotion) .

With just really cropper + Amos to re-sign , it’s largely the team that did so well in the 2nd half of the season (won 12, drew 5, lost 3) before the excellent play off campaign, so an excellent base to build from. We’ve obviously lost smith but quickly replaced the impressive looking signing of Maher and fox. Hopefully we can add some real quality in the midfielder area as well as another striker in the coming weeks! UTM

I thought Harry went backwards for a short spell a couple of seasons back but he's knuckled down and has really come on under Hurst.

One of our best signings this summer imo.

Excellent pre season nucleus !

Isn't it amazing to be in a position where we actually WANT the players to stay rather than be praying to get rid of most of them!

Such a turn around from the dark days.

Glad to see it. Think his touch really came on towards the back end of last season & he started to show the composure he lacked as a less experienced player.

He had a great season and it is excellent that we have him for another two.

The league 2 James Milner, a good contract renewal

Good news!

Quoted from toontown

Damn good news,so hard working and versatile, and I think the fact he is coveted at league 1 level whe  we've just come from the conference shows how he can be a bit underrated by some fans. Has been consistently amongst our very best players for 2 years now.

How many years with us will this 2 year deal take him to?

Signed his first pro deal in July 2015 so that would take him to 9 years with us, and he was in the youth system before that. And even at the end of the 2 years he'll only be 26! He keeps that engine of his in good condition he could get close to John Mcdermott in terms of years.

This is great news, firstly in that we have retained a really good player. For me, Harry’s a player who had a hard time truly cracking on in a succession of poor Town teams, ever since breaking into the side under Jolley.

He has, however, been superb this season and I suspect even better than most fans (myself included) appreciate and realise. So much of his game is about off the ball work which tends to go unnoticed by crowds, but not managers and recruitment teams, underlined by Forest Green’s interest. Few players outside the elite level will have covered more yards than Harry this season.

But the biggest thing about this news for me is symbolic. Here, we had a player that we wanted to retain, who was wanted by richer clubs at a higher level. And yet we’ve been able to keep him not only through both being financially competitive, but also by being a place where the player actually wants to pursue this career when given other, attractive choices.

This is significant news, in broader ways than might be immediately apparent.

Quoted from Knut Anders Fosters Voles

It’s like 3 new signings on account of Clifton’s versatility.

Great news.

It’s not often I agree with you but I actually gave you a tick . This positivity around the club knows no bounds .

Always thought he would stay, Grimsby Town through and through.

Local boy comes good and credit to him.  

While Fox shone in the play off games,  over the season Clifton has been the more consistent and played in nearly every game.  His resilience, work rate, versatility and commitment would have left a massive hole had he left.
One of our own and really glad he’s signed up.
UTM

Hard-working, fit as a fiddle, versatile and reliable. His poor performances were few and far between last season.

Pleased he's staying with us but I have to admit I hope he's not pencilled in to be on the left wing again this season. He won't let you down when playing there, but I'd prefer to see a more natural attacking and left-footed player on that side.

Quoted from codcheeky

While Fox shone in the play off games,  over the season Clifton has been the more consistent and played in nearly every game.  His resilience, work rate, versatility and commitment would have left a massive hole had he left.
One of our own and really glad he’s signed up.
UTM

It’s great news without doubt although you might be doing Ben Fox a bit of a disservice. He played several games in the McAtee role which was well outside his comfort zone, and, having watched the playoff games back, I’m in no doubt that Fox was the reason we got over the line.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

It’s great news without doubt although you might be doing Ben Fox a bit of a disservice. He played several games in the McAtee role which was well outside his comfort zone, and, having watched the playoff games back, I’m in no doubt that Fox was the reason we got over the line.

I do not doubt or am I trying to belittle the role Fox played in any way.  However your defence of Fox seems to be his lack of versatility and discomfort in the McCatee role, which only highlights the value of Clifton’s versatility. In just comparing the number of games each started there can be little doubt that Clifton had more influence over the season. I am sad to see Fox leave but without wanting to curse either player I would be very surprised if he makes anywhere near the number of first team appearances as Clifton next season

the other point that hasn't been made is that HC is an improving player. He is far better now than the enthusiastic 'young pup' we saw after Jolley had given him his chance. His passing (albeit from a woefully low base) has improved now end, and under Hurst he has stepped up to another level. Last season saw him add another string to his bow with his goalscoring record.

Quoted from forza ivano

the other point that hasn't been made is that HC is an improving player. He is far better now than the enthusiastic 'young pup' we saw after Jolley had given him his chance. His passing (albeit from a woefully low base) has improved now end, and under Hurst he has stepped up to another level. Last season saw him add another string to his bow with his goalscoring record.

This