Reflection Time

As far as we are concerned the season is over. We will be an upper/lower mid-table team and is that good or bad? Compared to last year at this time it's not good, it's bloody fantastic when you included an FA Cup quarter-final.

We have what was basically an NL side with additions. Today and March has shown the limitation of some players, and that is not to say they have not played to the best of their ability but to the best of their ability. We now need to progress to a level that gets us promoted to league 1, it will be adios to some players and welcome to new ones.

BP will have safety updates, safety for all fans and hopefully somebody will put a spade into the ground for the long-awaited new training ground.

Absolutely 100% there with you. Believe we did the right thing with giving the lads a chance who got us promoted but some of them have failed to live up to L2 standard. I think Bradford showed today with a little more class and guile what it takes to be around the playoffs. When they was on top they can make the chances count.

Quoted from DB

As far as we are concerned the season is over. We will be an upper/lower mid-table team and is that good or bad? Compared to last year at this time it's not good, it's bloody fantastic when you included an FA Cup quarter-final.

We have what was basically an NL side with additions. Today and March has shown the limitation of some players, and that is not to say they have not played to the best of their ability but to the best of their ability. We now need to progress to a level that gets us promoted to league 1, it will be adios to some players and welcome to new ones.

BP will have safety updates, safety for all fans and hopefully somebody will put a spade into the ground for the long-awaited new training ground.

We need to see the oft-repeated mantra of incremental improvements. We don't need a huge clearout and quite a few are contracted anyway, but we need real quality in all key areas - the keeper, left back, midfield generals and strikers. Not sure how we do that without re-negotiating the wage structure as it will be an expensive business but we obviously need a match day squad that gives Hurst the confidence to use them all as appropriate.

The management knows all this of course, but can we put it into practice?!

Quoted from GtfcGarner

Absolutely 100% there with you. Believe we did the right thing with giving the lads a chance who got us promoted but some of them have failed to live up to L2 standard. I think Bradford showed today with a little more class and guile what it takes to be around the playoffs. When they was on top they can make the chances count.

Agree with your comments but when you have 16,000 plus fans urging you on it does make a big difference.

Quoted from DB

As far as we are concerned the season is over. We will be an upper/lower mid-table team and is that good or bad? Compared to last year at this time it's not good, it's bloody fantastic when you included an FA Cup quarter-final.

We have what was basically an NL side with additions. Today and March has shown the limitation of some players, and that is not to say they have not played to the best of their ability but to the best of their ability. We now need to progress to a level that gets us promoted to league 1, it will be adios to some players and welcome to new ones.

BP will have safety updates, safety for all fans and hopefully somebody will put a spade into the ground for the long-awaited new training ground.

Indeed in the cold light of day now the dust has settled after the fantastic FA Cup run ,going forward finish off this Seaon and with our new owners & Paul Hurst plan a structured  rebuilding programme for the club to push for league 1 football.
UTM.

It still hurts that I feel like I have to keep looking at the league table to make sure we're safe . That's what 20 years on demise does for you I guess . Hopefully one day we'll be challenging at the other end of league 2 again

Had the chance to move up a few places today, and we can still manage it given that the teams around us aren't pulling up any trees.

I think if we can get ourselves around 12th and try for a positive goal difference, it will have been a decent season all things considered.

Even if we don't manage that, it's all about next season now as this one is done and dusted. Not getting into the play offs and no danger of dropping into the bottom reaches realistically.

Our recent form is pretty good without being spectacular, mainly because of our inability to win games we should really be winning. That's what we need to sort for next season.

What annoys me is I think we are better than our league position, and last 4 games have summed up our league season. We should have taken 10 points out of 12 and we took 3.
We had chances in the Mansfield and Crawley games to be 4 up at half time and yet share the spoils, Walsall game showed what's happened to us all season at home. Lack of a clinical touch , defend well as a whole but switch off for one second and concede. Today, superb first half, switched to a ridiculously defensive mindset for the 2nd half and get punished, deserved a point but get nothing.
Overall under achieved apart from the cup but would have taken 12th start of season so not too far away.

Would like to see Hurst use the remainder of season to tinker with the tactics to make us more positive and attacking for next season. It also looks as though there will be a completely new lineup in attack also as surely this HAS to be Taylor's last season, McAtee already gone, Orsi not good enough and Lloyd not our player and contracted at Cheltenham.  Our focus has to be strikers in the summer window as think 65% of this squad are decent for this level

Where a team finishes is based first on the owners and finances. That gives a base for the important stuff of recruitment and the football management.

Ownership we’ve cracked and that won’t hold us back, the commercial side has been a bit messy this year but will hopefully improve. Personally I’m happy with the management so it’s all down to the recruitment.

As said there’s been some improvements this year and I’m hoping that trend continues. We won’t have the biggest budget in the league next year but hopefully the strengths in the other areas allow us to challenge.

Just a few new lads will make the difference not wholesale changes.

We need a little varity coming from the bench not like for like when things are not going as planned.

Hursty knows who he wants all he has to do is persuade them thier future lies with us.

Easier said than done so start early PAUL !!!
.

In a sense the club were in a difficult position. They were playing a league match in every month of 2022. It must have been a nightmare to plan on that basis. It made sense to keep the nucleas of that squad and try and capitalise on the momentum the play offs generated. Realistically without the cup run we’ve had a decent season considering where we were. Next season I think we’ll challenge further up.

Quoted from It Bites

It still hurts that I feel like I have to keep looking at the league table to make sure we're safe . That's what 20 years on demise does for you I guess . Hopefully one day we'll be challenging at the other end of league 2 again

Thank god for that I thought it was just me , I checked the table asap after I saw Hartlepool and dale had won

Quoted from grimsby pete

Just a few new lads will make the difference not wholesale changes.

We need a little varity coming from the bench not like for like when things are not going as planned.

Hursty knows who he wants all he has to do is persuade them thier future lies with us.

Easier said than done so start early PAUL !!!
.

The variety needs to be on the pitch from the start! We are too easily marked with Taylor if we look for flick ons etc. As soon as we are chasing the game we need to be firing it in to forwards feet and in behind full backs. It's unfair on Lloyd and McAtee to expect them to do his running. If he was a lethal finisher then  maybe. As it is, Clifton gets in the box far more than Taylor.

Just because he has more experience than the kids on the bench should not get him 90 mins against Hartlepool.

Although Taylor did two good headed clearances from their corners it is not a reason to keep him on the pitch.  

Quoted from Spurn boy

Agree with your comments but when you have 16,000 plus fans urging you on it does make a big difference.

It makes a big difference for your budget too.

My reflection is this, we’ve had 20 years of negative ownership now we have positive ownership and the club is a better place.

We went down to the NL with a car crash of a squad, FFS Elliot Hewitt often looked like the best player, he’s ok but shouldn’t be anyone’s best player.

We came back at the first ask without spending stupid amounts. For those who where talking about back to back promotions it was never going to happen as in reality we got promoted on the back of an above average league finish and 3 brilliant efforts/results in the play off.

This season the squad was never good enough to realistically get promoted as it’s a squad In transition with many lads who are good at NL level, a few that have done the EFL before but haven’t pulled up trees and no real talisman like we had last term.

When you look at the careers of the senior players I’d argue Hurst has done a good job to get us to what will be a lower mid table finish & the 6th round of the cup.

So what does the future look like?

Good owners, a decent manager, funds in place to add more EFL level players and build for a better league finish next season.

At this stage of the season the table doesn't lie. It's telling us that we are a mid table side.  But that isn't bad considering we finished 6th best in the NL last season, had a short pre-season, and made very few squad additions, most of them from NL and below.

So finishing mid table this season is ok in my book in the circumstances, and the cup run makes it a truly memorable season anyway.

But I think we all need and expect something better next season.  

At least five times this season, many of our players gave everything they had - mentally and physically - to get our football
team into the FA Cup quarter-finals. Making history.

Following on from a play-off campaign where we had no chance, according to the statistics. No side finishing 6th had ever
previously made it to the NL play-off final - let alone win it. We won it.

We got to where we are - mid-table in League 2 - on the back of incredible heart and determination from a group of players
who were willing to sacrifice their bodies for the club, the fans, the manager, and their personal refusal to accept the 'fact'
that they had no realistic chance.

We should pause our criticism now to reflect on that. They're probably feeling the strain.
They're still giving everything they've got...which is about 45 minutes worth. They need a rest.

Our guys are not substandard robots who need binning off...they are heroes, surely. They deserve more respect imo.

Paul Hurst will do what he considers needs to be done. He, also, ought to have earned our trust. We are in good hands.

UTM





(I've had a bit to drink, and the criticism of Ryan Taylor who gets a serious battering every time he plays has got to me.
I'm guessing he's gone out on more than one occasion when carrying a knock. For the good of the team. And us.)

Quoted from 137

At least five times this season, many of our players gave everything they had - mentally and physically - to get our football
team into the FA Cup quarter-finals. Making history.

Following on from a play-off campaign where we had no chance, according to the statistics. No side finishing 6th had ever
previously made it to the NL play-off final - let alone win it. We won it.

We got to where we are - mid-table in League 2 - on the back of incredible heart and determination from a group of players
who were willing to sacrifice their bodies for the club, the fans, the manager, and their personal refusal to accept the 'fact'
that they had no realistic chance.

We should pause our criticism now to reflect on that. They're probably feeling the strain.
They're still giving everything they've got...which is about 45 minutes worth. They need a rest.

Our guys are not substandard robots who need binning off...they are heroes, surely. They deserve more respect imo.

Paul Hurst will do what he considers needs to be done. He, also, ought to have earned our trust. We are in good hands.

UTM





(I've had a bit to drink, and the criticism of Ryan Taylor who gets a serious battering every time he plays has got to me.
I'm guessing he's gone out on more than one occasion when carrying a knock. For the good of the team. And us.)

Generally agree with all of that but I question the use of fatigue as an excuse when he’s got five subs to use. We were the better team till we tired.

Reflection comes at the end of the season....however...

Lack of decent striking / attacking options
Don't lose vs winning mindset
Substitutions

Three themes which have come up previously and the latter has dogged Hurst throughout his tenure(s).

Quoted from 137

At least five times this season, many of our players gave everything they had - mentally and physically - to get our football
team into the FA Cup quarter-finals. Making history.

Following on from a play-off campaign where we had no chance, according to the statistics. No side finishing 6th had ever
previously made it to the NL play-off final - let alone win it. We won it.

We got to where we are - mid-table in League 2 - on the back of incredible heart and determination from a group of players
who were willing to sacrifice their bodies for the club, the fans, the manager, and their personal refusal to accept the 'fact'
that they had no realistic chance.

We should pause our criticism now to reflect on that. They're probably feeling the strain.
They're still giving everything they've got...which is about 45 minutes worth. They need a rest.

Our guys are not substandard robots who need binning off...they are heroes, surely. They deserve more respect imo.

Paul Hurst will do what he considers needs to be done. He, also, ought to have earned our trust. We are in good hands.

UTM





(I've had a bit to drink, and the criticism of Ryan Taylor who gets a serious battering every time he plays has got to me.
I'm guessing he's gone out on more than one occasion when carrying a knock. For the good of the team. And us.)

This.

A lot of sense on this thread. Well done all.  

Quoted from moosey_club

Reflection comes at the end of the season....however...

Lack of decent striking / attacking options
Don't lose vs winning mindset
Substitutions

Three themes which have come up previously and the latter has dogged Hurst throughout his tenure(s).

His substitutions in the playoffs didn’t do too badly though 😎

Quoted from 140381

A lot of sense on this thread. Well done all.  

I agree. Enjoyed reading this thread. Well thought through comments and it is great to see the optimism coming through. Right through the season we have had a team with fight and commitment, with Luke setting the tone. There is pride back in our team and hopefully we will continue this upward trajectory.

Quoted from RonMariner

His substitutions in the playoffs didn’t do too badly though 😎

To be fair to Hurst in attacking terms today he had Orsi, Khan and O’Neil to fall back on, hardly the cavalry was it?

Quoted from DB

As far as we are concerned the season is over. We will be an upper/lower mid-table team and is that good or bad? Compared to last year at this time it's not good, it's bloody fantastic when you included an FA Cup quarter-final.

We have what was basically an NL side with additions. Today and March has shown the limitation of some players, and that is not to say they have not played to the best of their ability but to the best of their ability. We now need to progress to a level that gets us promoted to league 1, it will be adios to some players and welcome to new ones.

BP will have safety updates, safety for all fans and hopefully somebody will put a spade into the ground for the long-awaited new training ground.

No it isn't. We need to look as progressive as possible by having a strong end to the season. It will help recruitment in the summer. A cup run and writing off the season from now will look like a one off cup run from a struggling League Two side. A strong finish in the top half gives a whole new perspective on our intention of progression..

Another point.. our strongest players this season have mainly been the ones who won promotion or were signed from the National League. I've been far more disappointed in general with our signings from EFL clubs..

Providing we end up no lower than we are now (I think we'll finish 12thish) then I'll look back on this season as a positive. Fantastic fa cup run and a mid table finish in our first season back.
We do need to be realistic and see the teams like Bradford will always attract better players due to the amount they can invest with their fanbase etc.
I am optimistic for next season. Top half finish should be the goal, the aim should be the play offs. PH will already have 1 eye on next season and have a few conversations lined up. I believe we have a back bone of a very good league 2 team. If we added in 3-4 quality players I think we can hit top 7.

Quoted from RonMariner

At this stage of the season the table doesn't lie. It's telling us that we are a mid table side.  But that isn't bad considering we finished 6th best in the NL last season, had a short pre-season, and made very few squad additions, most of them from NL and below.

So finishing mid table this season is ok in my book in the circumstances, and the cup run makes it a truly memorable season anyway.

But I think we all need and expect something better next season.  

Totally agree with this. We all know what happened last time we didn’t have a proper pre season. 6th best team in the league below and we’ve held our own in League Two. Can’t underestimate the impact of playing twice a week every week. Lots of travelling and late mid week nights will have taken its toll. Hurst will learn a lot between now and the end of the season. I’d like to see Khouri get some game time and would be happy for McAtee to sit out a few games with a view to next season.

For me, the season was over once people started to arrive for a quarter final with face paint and to ‘enjoy a day outs rather than to win, but that’s just me.

I’d have snapped your hand off at mid table mediocrity this year. I’m ambitious, as are the club but I’m also realistic. What we did last year is nothing short of a miracle so you can forgive people for getting carried away but we must remember, we haven’t really competed in League 2 since our failed playoff attempt way back when. It’s been less than average, with three horrid seasons, two of which saw us relegated.

The club as a whole has changed, that naturally impacts the squad and we’re still moving in the right direction. Hurst knows the issues, the players know the issues. A few fans crying on social media like it’s the end of the world when we lose a game is becoming tiresome.

We got promoted last season from a league witj 2 teams who literally spent more than average League 1 clubs. Arguably, 3 teams, one of which was losing £100k a week, there or their abouts. Gives you a massive indication of how much change has happened at the club. We’ve been told repeatedly, through very subtle comments, about the state of the club off the pitch and just how much investment, both time and money has needed to be spent which I have no doubt has been diverted from the playing budget. We all know who to blame for that.

We are probably better than results suggest but we can’t turn back the clock, they happened. We have to learn from it and keep moving forward. I guess I’m just confused as to what some people actually wanted, it’s as if they can’t see the past. Remember, our last game at Bradford saw one of the worst Grimsby Town sides see two of its own players sent off for fighting each other, and even the fight was a flipping farce.

I know people like to lose their minds when we lose, that’s their choice but I do think some perspective and reflection of where we’ve been, and where we’ve come from is needed, especially this season. I know, after years of abject failure and zero ambition or investment it’s natural to get twitchy but we’re not a rudderless ship anymore. We’re not a club on life support…

Let’s look at ourselves, let’s not worry about anyone else and let’s just take stock and remain calm.

We had, essentially, a 4 week pre season last year…

I"m happy not to be peeing in the bushes at Aldershot or getting P**? Wet through at Bromley in the National League come next season ,stable in league 2 after 20 years of "Being Whore's Draws!" =up and down so we can stabilise then build up on what we have got
Given a chance to show what "Town" can do ,
As in the FA Cup was a morale  booster feel good factor break from the bread &butter of the league.
You have the moaners and groaners on here BUT they will be there at BP come next season mid week mid winter game.
While I listen to commentary  on MarinersTV/ Radio Humberside .
Look forward to next season's fixtures to see where and when i can go to watch "Town" play thats not a shed in Dover!!
This season my last game is Stevenage hope its a cracker like Eastleigh  was.
UTM

Quoted from RonMariner

His substitutions in the playoffs didn’t do too badly though 😎

With all the stats out there I presume there must be some regarding introduction of subs and goals scored, points gained, points lost etc to give can idea of sub success.

My overriding feeling is that our subs generally are too late and prove ineffective. That could just be my feeling and stats could prove I am wildly wrong.

Subs more than ever are a huge part of a season and a huge opportunity to make a massive  difference in a game and I honestly don't think we make the most of it.

I think it’s fair to be delighted to be out of Non League ahead of schedule, be amazed at the cup run but still be relatively disappointed with the league season on the whole.

As others have said, the frustration is that we don’t seem a million miles away. I look at some of the games this season and very few I can say we were fortunate when we’ve won/drawn but I can name 5/6 games where we’ve been very unfortunate to come away without a win, most of them being our own doing.

We absolutely must bring in 4 or 5 forward players in the summer and get rid of most of what we have. I still stand by the fact the January window was a poor one and has given us a lot to do this summer.

Quoted from lukeo

Providing we end up no lower than we are now (I think we'll finish 12thish) then I'll look back on this season as a positive. Fantastic fa cup run and a mid table finish in our first season back.
We do need to be realistic and see the teams like Bradford will always attract better players due to the amount they can invest with their fanbase etc.
I am optimistic for next season. Top half finish should be the goal, the aim should be the play offs. PH will already have 1 eye on next season and have a few conversations lined up. I believe we have a back bone of a very good league 2 team. If we added in 3-4 quality players I think we can hit top 7.

'Teams like Bradford will always atteact better players '
Questionable for me think Emmanuel , Maher ,Green and Harry walk into their team .

I will give them the leeway of all the variables this season but there can be no excuses next term ,I am expecting a conserted effort for the top 3  with play -offs a bonus  if we fall short marginally.

There will be clubs with far larger budgets than Bradford have next season but its no reason for us to not have high aspirations next term - Leyton Orient,Carlisle and Stevenage this season show us its extremely possible without shooting our load on the playing budget .

Bought a copy of four four two magazine the other day due to the fact mainly they were doing a feature on the top 50 players in the football league. I noticed there was a small write up for Harry Clifton in there which was nice to see. Missed out on making the list  but they included small write ups for players  who had just failed to make the cut:

"A local lad who's been with the club since he was a boy,this versatile hard-working midfielder is the on - pitch avatar for match - going Mariners in the stands. He scores some useful goals too."

Just my opinion but I feel that is over expecting so soon after being back in the FL. I'd love for us to do it but I'm being realistic

Quoted from lukeo

Just my opinion but I feel that is over expecting so soon after being back in the FL. I'd love for us to do it but I'm being realistic

Agree with you.

We shouldn't forget that Hurst couldn't find a decent striker willing to come to us in January.
Unless that changes, we won't be pushing for the top 3...or the play-offs either imo.

We've got some extra cash from the cup success, but there'll be at least half-a-dozen clubs with larger budgets than ours.

Our FA Cup exploits may make us a more attractive proposition, but let's not kid ourselves: cash in hand trumps FA Cup history.

Think we need to moderate our hopes and expectations till we see what El General can do in the summer transfer market.

If we're going to be honest this season was pretty much a miracle, All I wanted was to not get relegated.   El General had about 3 weeks to dip his hand in the bargain bin blindfolded and still constructed a squad that will finish somewhere between 10-14th in the league after playing a horrendous amount of games, it's pretty remarkable even without the cup run. He's improved players too, start of the season we got some results from hard work and graft alone, fast forard a few months and we are knocking it around like Arsenal.  Only thing I think he could have done differently is to have kept Manny and Sousa as options - not because of rose-tinted glasses but because they wouldn't have been any worse than the loan signings we've had and both had different attributes to bring in when needed.

I think some of the squad have been playing for their futures for a few games already tbh, be interesting to see how the summer goes after all the focus on us, new head of recruitment etc coming on board and an improved budget. Must be a lot easier to say to player 'Hi, I'm from Grimsby Town and we'd like to sign you' now than at any point in the last 10 years.  We don't and never will have the budget to win the league, but I think to get in the playoffs next season should be a realistic target.

Sorry i cant accept we wont /are not capable of challenging for the top 3 -look at the last 5 seasons in league 2 :
2017-2018:1st -Acc Stanley 2nd Luton Town 3rd Wycombe
2018--2019 :1st Lincoln City 2nd Bury 3rd Mk Dons
2019-2020 :  1st Swindon 2nd Crewe 3rd Plymouth
2020-2021: 1st Cheltenham 2nd Cambridge 3rd Bolton
2021-2022: 1st FGR 2nd Exeter 3rd Bristol Rovers

All those season there were teams with big budgets competing in league 2 but the footballing giants of Accrington , Crewe , Cheltenham ,Cambridge and Exeter all managed to find a way through league 2 .

We have to be looking emulate them we have a well run club with a good manager (I mean he nearly took Shrewsbury up to the Championship so this should be a walk in the park ).

No more settling for second best , the years of our former stadium tour guide custodian downgrading our expectations needs to be over and more glory days chased .

Quoted from OddShapedBalls

If we're going to be honest this season was pretty much a miracle, All I wanted was to not get relegated.   El General had about 3 weeks to dip his hand in the bargain bin blindfolded and still constructed a squad that will finish somewhere between 10-14th in the league after playing a horrendous amount of games, it's pretty remarkable even without the cup run. He's improved players too, start of the season we got some results from hard work and graft alone, fast forard a few months and we are knocking it around like Arsenal.  Only thing I think he could have done differently is to have kept Manny and Sousa as options - not because of rose-tinted glasses but because they wouldn't have been any worse than the loan signings we've had and both had different attributes to bring in when needed.

I think some of the squad have been playing for their futures for a few games already tbh, be interesting to see how the summer goes after all the focus on us, new head of recruitment etc coming on board and an improved budget. Must be a lot easier to say to player 'Hi, I'm from Grimsby Town and we'd like to sign you' now than at any point in the last 10 years.  We don't and never will have the budget to win the league, but I think to get in the playoffs next season should be a realistic target.

I must have missed those games where we knocked it about like arsenal🤣🤣

It wasn't all game we knocked it about like Arsenal, he was talking about first half's of games.

I confess to being one that felt we could mount a play off push this season, mainly based on the feel-good factor that the summer brought and all the positivity that was flying around.

Hasn't happened and I'm not disappointed about that in one hand. On the other hand, I do believe that there have been so many games that have been that marginal that the elusive quality striker we crave might have added valuable points that we'd currently be in the running. 5 goals turns 5 draws into wins and would put us 9th on 58 points, just 5 points outside.

However, we could all talk like that til Xmas and it won't change the actual position we're in and a mid table finish that will follow.

For me what it suggests though, is that we are only a handful of players away from being competitive in and around those play off spots. I think 3 or 4 quality players added to what we have gets us into the last 2 positions. 5 or 6 quality players gets us in the mix for automatic.

Our squad this season have shown that they can beat teams higher up. We've had some very poor games but not many, most are tightly fought and not much in them, including against the teams right at the top. I think there are players who we could improve on but of the 'regular' players, I can't think of any who I immediately think "he has to go". No-one has been poor to the point of making the list of inept performances on another thread.

The summer window will be the most interesting and highly anticipated for many a year and I can't wait to see who comes in but even though it won't be a 'demand' in my eyes, I will have some hopes on making a push for the play-offs next year because I genuinely feel our setup is capable.

There will be a little bit of realist on the shoulder though reminding me that we're moving onwards and upwards and so long as that trajectory continues year after year then it won't be long until we do achieve the goal of L1 football.

Quoted from Norseman

I must have missed those games where we knocked it about like arsenal🤣🤣

Ok then, not Arsenal under Wenger, Arsenal under Emery