Just back….

Ok, back from watching on my TV downstairs but what a different result!

The table below shows the form table and clearly Salford are in dire straights. But, also a good benchmark to support Artel in his absolute confidence that this group of players is not in any danger of relegation.

As far away from Mansfield we were last week, Salford were equally the same against us tonight.

Well done guys and enjoy the trip home.

Credit to Clifton tonight. Did the simple things well and played well.

Thought Holohan looked sharp and we know he is a baller at this level and he showed it tonight.

Rose just ran and ran and ran and deserved that goal. What a grafter.

Roll on New Year’s Day

Great win, played well, can't ask for more.

My last game before I move to Australia, couldn't have asked for much more, a first away win and clean sheet for how long? Everyone played well against admittedly limited opposition - can see them being sucked in as they were hopeless.

Just back in the nearest pub - we never looked like losing and could have scored more. An excellent performance which should shut a few of the doomsters up for a week or two.

Most dominant 90 mins for a while i get salford out of sorts but still got players to hurt teams & just sacked manager so i must admit saw a potential banana skin but how wrong well done boys , the main thing for me all put max effort in & that's a must for us fans , some 9/10 performers tonight  we've seen the level let's go again NYD utm

Salford were possibly the worst team I've seen Town play this season. That said good performance from the lads, first away win, 3 goals and a clean sheet! And results elsewhere have been favourable. Hopefully this is the platform to build on for 2024.

UTM

I see that attendance was 2921 tonight, with no doubt several hundred Town fans there. Salford really are a vanity project.

I know after the last two games some were saying which two teams are worse than us well there’s one.
After a couple of hard results a quality performance, it really shows what we can do with a bit of time on the ball.

Shouts outs for me are:
Cartwright, good again
Waterfall, clean sheet on his return and good on the ball not just in defence
Mullarkey, if your crossing isn’t working then do that!
Green, great positioning
Andrews, mopped up second balls off the front three
Clifton, in that position looked comfortable attacking best
Rose, total class

I didn’t see a bad game from our lad though, great day at the office

Enjoyed that. Salford were shite but it was more the manner of the win for me. Complete domination.

Typically, I didn't watch it.  I was in bed.

Completely out worked and outfought them.
They're excrement but we put them to the sword.

Thought Clifton, Holohan, Waterfall and Maher were the real standouts.

Much more combative tonight.

Quoted from RonMariner

I see that attendance was 2921 tonight, with no doubt several hundred Town fans there. Salford really are a vanity project.

I still remember Gary Neville in one of the documentaries saying how he can forsee a 20,000 seater stadium with Salford cutting their cloth in the Championship.

Tell him he's dreamin'.

Quoted from Manchester Mariner

I still remember Gary Neville in one of the documentaries saying how he can forsee a 20,000 seater stadium with Salford cutting their cloth in the Championship.

Tell him he's dreamin'.

I really would like Village Green Rovers and Salford to get relegated - millionaire vanity projects taking the place of proper clubs

Quoted from Manchester Mariner

I still remember Gary Neville in one of the documentaries saying how he can forsee a 20,000 seater stadium with Salford cutting their cloth in the Championship.

Tell him he's dreamin'.

Wonder if they'll bring in a real manager next or another one of their Manchester friends like the last couple. I guess big nose and friends will have to get their wallets out next month...Or Peter Lim's wallet I guess for the new man to stop them being relegated back to non league.

I heard today its likely Paul Ince or Mark Hughes!

Solid, no frills , no scares, defending last night !

Waterfall back in, setting out where he wanted the line, and I don't recall him missing a pass all night.

Giving Mullarkey the confidence to go forward, knowing he had cover behind.

Praise to Andrews as well, his best game to date, getting stuck in and winning many 2nd ball battles.

Did wonder if Vernam might have got 10 minutes running at them late on after goal 3, but happy to see debuts for Braithwaite and Gardner in their personal progressions.

Is Khouri still not fit, thought he might have been knocking on the door by now ?

A good win, it made the perfect birthday present for my football mad wife, honest, and now looking forward to a good performance against Walsall.

Agree entirely Acko . I was also pleased with the way Eisa ran his socks off enabling Glennon to get forward more. Besides helping Glennon defensively I remember him running the full length of the pitch to tackle their left winger in a breakaway. Nobody in this team stopped running and some of the link up play and man to man passing was absolutely brilliant.

Quoted from acko338

Solid, no frills , no scares, defending last night !

Waterfall back in, setting out where he wanted the line, and I don't recall him missing a pass all night.

Giving Mullarkey the confidence to go forward, knowing he had cover behind.

Praise to Andrews as well, his best game to date, getting stuck in and winning many 2nd ball battles.

Did wonder if Vernam might have got 10 minutes running at them late on after goal 3, but happy to see debuts for Braithwaite and Gardner in their personal progressions.

Is Khouri still not fit, thought he might have been knocking on the door by now ?

A good win, it made the perfect birthday present for my football mad wife, honest, and now looking forward to a good performance against Walsall.

Very pleased with the win and certainly a good all round performance. Particularly pleased that Braithwaite and Gardner got their debuts. It was the perfect opportunity to " blood them " and will do wonders for their confidence and progression.

Quoted from horsforthmariner

I really would like Village Green Rovers and Salford to get relegated - millionaire vanity projects taking the place of proper clubs

Salford are a billionaire vanity project, really, which is the problem. If Lim decides to look down the back of the sofa for some change to spend on the squad next month, it could make a ridiculous difference for them. Depends on how much he is bothered about them or if he's got bigger fish to fry at the moment.

Vince is very wealthy, but nothing in comparison to Lim. Wouldn't surprise me to see him splurge a bit I think January, however. A 10 point gap looks very good given the results against Harrogate and Mansfield. Makes a nice change when everyone below you gets a bad result.

Quoted from RonMariner

I see that attendance was 2921 tonight, with no doubt several hundred Town fans there. Salford really are a vanity project.

I think is was 910 codheads.

A really good performance, entertaining for the large part and we played good football.

Overall for 6 league games I’m really pleased with what Artell has done so far. I’m amazed at the stick he got on here for two bad performances when suddenly we were doomed to relegation. He’s got us at least trying to play good football, sometimes it comes off (MK, Crewe & Salford) and sometimes it doesn’t (Harrogate & Mansfield). The important thing is that you can actually see us trying to implement something, and nobody can deny that these first few games have seen a very obvious attempt to play in a certain way.

It’s not going to change overnight, but it’s vital for the atmosphere round the club that the people who spent the last few days dragging the players & Artell down see the bigger picture. Another Mansfield performance will happen again this season, but those will hopefully be few & far between whilst we build a real identity.

Quoted from Brummie Codfather

I know after the last two games some were saying which two teams are worse than us well there’s one.
After a couple of hard results a quality performance, it really shows what we can do with a bit of time on the ball.

Shouts outs for me are:
Cartwright, good again
Waterfall, clean sheet on his return and good on the ball not just in defence
Mullarkey, if your crossing isn’t working then do that!
Green, great positioning
Andrews, mopped up second balls off the front three
Clifton, in that position looked comfortable attacking best
Rose, total class

I didn’t see a bad game from our lad though, great day at the office

Even Glennon, who must have put his boots on the correct feet, took the corners properly.

Front to back we were excellent. Midfield absolutely dominated with Kieran Green doing his best Kieran Green stuff in there. Andrews and Holohan too very, tidy and industrious.

Conditions were excrement and you could see the ball holding up and then skidding off the surface almost at the same time. That we managed to keep playing our new style and with those who perhaps aren't thought to fit into that, is to their credit.

Salford were awful though. As pleasing as it was to get back to winning ways and keep a clean sheet, they were by far the worst team I've seen at this level for a fair while. Couple of early efforts aside, one which grazed the top of the bar from Lund, they had nothing.

The spell of pressure from us before the second was a bit bizarre, if you walked into the ground and had no idea of the score or time you would be forgiven for thinking we were a goal down in the dying embers. They showed no rallying at all and their heads looked to have gone altogether. If I was a Salford fan (or egotistical owner) I would be very worried.

Panto in Richmond or Salford game last night Ohhh so Happy to put my phone back on.!! Great news a good win
Gave me something to "Chirp" about on train home.
UTM 2024

Fantastic game, win, clean sheet, Penninsula Stadium 1/3 full of CodHeads, 2 youngsters blooded, and Glennon kicking corners properly . Last match of the year, and we go out on a bang,  just Like Watching Brazil
2024 a year of hope, so let's start the year with optimism and give Walsall a match.

Wishing all Mariners a Happy New Year, wherever they are. UTM

Now can someone shut down that 43Years thread before long queues form outside Grimsby Samaritains?

Quoted from GrimPol

I think is was 910 codheads.

Wow. That is incredible both for the magnitude of our away following, and also for the dire level of home support.  The difference between a real club, and a wanna be vanity outfit.

Quoted from GrimPol

Fantastic game, win, clean sheet, Penninsula Stadium 1/3 full of CodHeads, 2 youngsters blooded, and Glennon kicking corners properly . Last match of the year, and we go out on a bang,  just Like Watching Brazil
2024 a year of hope, so let's start the year with optimism and give Walsall a match.

Wishing all Mariners a Happy New Year, wherever they are. UTM

Now can someone shut down that 43Years thread before long queues form outside Grimsby Samaritains?

Thanks for the support

Good night all round. Great work rate, improved passing based upon better movement.

All 3 goals were decent, the ball from Gav to Rose and Rose’s finish was great, a fitting end to a “performance” that the travelling support deserved.

If I was a Salford fan I’d just give up & focus on going back to trying to get tickets for Old Trafford.

I even thought the ref was ok which is a rarity, maybe he’s learned some stuff from his brother to actually understand the game & not just apply rules.

Think I'm right in saying that's 2 wins, 2 draws n 2 defeats in Artell's 6 games  equates to 60-65 points over a season ( given hes had 4 away games)

Quoted from pontoonlew

A really good performance, entertaining for the large part and we played good football.

Overall for 6 league games I’m really pleased with what Artell has done so far. I’m amazed at the stick he got on here for two bad performances when suddenly we were doomed to relegation. He’s got us at least trying to play good football, sometimes it comes off (MK, Crewe & Salford) and sometimes it doesn’t (Harrogate & Mansfield). The important thing is that you can actually see us trying to implement something, and nobody can deny that these first few games have seen a very obvious attempt to play in a certain way.

It’s not going to change overnight, but it’s vital for the atmosphere round the club that the people who spent the last few days dragging the players & Artell down see the bigger picture. Another Mansfield performance will happen again this season, but those will hopefully be few & far between whilst we build a real identity.

Excellent post.

Quoted from GrimPol

I think is was 910 codheads.

I am not sure why 910 people from North Shields would be at the game.

We are not codheads!

Cod is for yorkies and other worm eaters

Many sound and logical reasons for our outstanding win last night.

We won last night though because I am the new anti-jinx. I did not watch the game.

  I had to miss the very good performance and win against Crewe game due to my wife being ill.  I went to the Harrogate match - which was a massive let down.  It put me in a bad mood over Xmas.

So, in recent games we play very poorly if I go.  We win convincingly, playing good football, if I don’t go or watch. An issue when I am a STH. 😃😇

Refreshing and enjoyable watch last night. I think that’s the most I’ve seen Town dominate any league game since we returned to the EFL for the second time, and I’m struggling to think of an occasion even before that. Stevenage at home, 5-2 perhaps? Either way, it’s been a long time coming. As has that elusive away win - it’s nice not to have made the one on Easter Monday our last of 2023.

It’s also nice to see that we are developing a definitive playing style for the first time in a long, long time, probably Slade 2005/6, and it’s a much more attractive brand than that (though not necessarily more effective - yet!). It’s impressive how quickly Artell has been able to implement his ideas, though we should expect some more bumps in the road along the way.

When it comes off, the Artell way is both attractive and effective. Even last night, we knocked the ball around nicely on an increasingly heavy pitch. But Salford offered no antidote to our way of playing, and allowed us to control the game. Against teams that are ostensibly better than us (i.e. Mansfield) and those who actively try to stop us playing through an aggressive press (i.e. Harrogate), it’s going to be much harder while we find our feet.

We were never going to become 1970s Brazil overnight (though Mullarkey gave it his best impression last night), but the transition so far is impressive. That said, I think it’s important to remember, perhaps even more so after a big and imperious win, that trying to play the way we are right now is technically complex and will not come easy. I think most people want to see us successful and playing attractive football, and that seems to be how DA sees it too. Collectively, the fan base just needs to keep in mind that getting there is a journey and there will be flaws and imperfections along the way.

As for individuals last night, several players stood out. Cartwright is showing precisely why he he has been a part of the England setup at youth level. After a shaky start in cup games, he looks like a player who will have a good career at a good level. Is it unfair to say he reminds me of a young Danny Coyne (albeit deceptively taller than Coyne was, which may work in his favour)?

Waterfall, despite some doubters (myself included), looked back to his brilliant best and knocked the ball around confidently. Mullarkey, had arguably his best performance in a Town shirt, capped with an excellent goal (though not as good as his earlier effort following his Cruyff turn would have been had it gone in).

I thought young Andrews in midfield was superb; he’s another who has the talent to have a good and lucrative career in the game. Holohan had another of his good days; just needs to up his consistency.

And is it any coincidence that Harry Clifton put in arguably his best performance of the season, capped with only his second game of the campaign, from that wide left position? I don’t think it is, and I’m sure many others would agree.

If anything, this poses a bit of a dilemma. We already have a glut of solid players in wide positions, plus the potential of Charlie Kirk coming in, who would surely be a class above League Two. Were that to materialise, wide options of Kirk, Clifton, Eisa, Gnahoua, Pyke, Wilson, Vernam and Khan would be taking the píss at this level, and surely impossible to keep everyone happy. A nice problem in the context of our current league position, I suppose.

Danny Rose was Danny Rose. Excellent as always, and another great goal from him. Possibly his best in a Town shirt so far? 10 goals by new year is a great return in a team that hasn’t been firing on all cylinders for large periods. That said, I still feel there’s scope to improve the general service to him and get him involved more. Feed the Rose, and he will bloom.

That does bring me to my final point. If there’s any room for criticism in last night’s performance, I still feel we’re guilty of being a tiny bit profligate. Seems crazy to say about our biggest away EFL win since Plymouth over 7 years ago (I think), but it strikes me as true nonetheless.

We had good, controlled possession in the attacking third for large swathes of the game last night. 12 corners, 22 shots, only 5 on target. The conversion rate needs to be a bit better. Ultimately, it didn’t matter last night, but we should have scored at least 1 in the first-half at Mansfield. That we didn’t, coupled with being a bit too soft at the back, meant a professional Mansfield side were able to comfortably close out the second half.

If we can become 10% better in both boxes, we’ll see a lot more points on the board between now and the end of the season.

Overall summary. Still early days, but certainly some green shoots to be positive about.

good point about Clifton poojah. When we were playing really well and topped the N.L. that was the position Harry held, and where he looked very effective. It was noticeable last night how many times he got into the box and got in goalscoring positions. Much like he was last season

Quoted from forza ivano

good point about Clifton poojah. When we were playing really well and topped the N.L. that was the position Harry held, and where he looked very effective. It was noticeable last night how many times he got into the box and got in goalscoring positions. Much like he was last season

It does make the conundrum regarding our wealth of wide players even more awkward though, if that’s where DA sees Clifton best fitting in. Something has got to give there. I do wonder if Khan may be seen as surplus to requirements, as he doesn’t get a look in.

I also notice that Amos is nowhere near the starting 11.

I really hope that DA rates Khouri. Maybe he’ll get a loan move.

I think Khouri may struggle to get into the team. Not a huge amount of experience and we've got a lot of central midfielders in the squad at present so he's likely to be well down the pecking order. A loan move might be helpful to get him back into the swing of things after a long lay-off.

Also a good point about our profligacy. Take a bigger proportion of our chances and we’ll be ok. Noticeable how ‘well made’ 2 of our goals were last night. Well made and well taken. Mullarkey’s goal was just a blend of individual perseverance and skill.

Brilliant performance. Salford, with their cash are likely to improve and so 3 excellent points.
Clifton is a left sided midfielder for me. He is effective there and his return to form was the catalyst. Waterfall works well against the big less mobile forwards but we do need cover here.
We were not quite so fussy in playing out from the back last night. fair play to Artell you have to compromise.
Delighted for the 910 travelers who deserved that.
I suspect Walsall will press us much harder than Salford. A good gap to the bottom now and probably 7 wins needed to stay up which is really our target for this season.
A great night and badly needed.
Fantastic end to the year and I even looked at the league table.
UTM

Quoted from Poojah

Refreshing and enjoyable watch last night. I think that’s the most I’ve seen Town dominate any league game since we returned to the EFL for the second time, and I’m struggling to think of an occasion even before that. Stevenage at home, 5-2 perhaps? Either way, it’s been a long time coming. As has that elusive away win - it’s nice not to have made the one on Easter Monday our last of 2023.

It’s also nice to see that we are developing a definitive playing style for the first time in a long, long time, probably Slade 2005/6, and it’s a much more attractive brand than that (though not necessarily more effective - yet!). It’s impressive how quickly Artell has been able to implement his ideas, though we should expect some more bumps in the road along the way.

When it comes off, the Artell way is both attractive and effective. Even last night, we knocked the ball around nicely on an increasingly heavy pitch. But Salford offered no antidote to our way of playing, and allowed us to control the game. Against teams that ostensibly better than us (i.e. Mansfield) and those who actively try to stop us playing through an aggressive press (i.e. Harrogate), it’s going to be much harder while we find our feet.

We were never going to become 1970s Brazil overnight (though Mullarkey gave it his best impression last night), but the transition so far is impressive. That said, I think it’s important to remember, perhaps even more so after a big and imperious win, that trying to play the way we are right now is technically complex and will not come easy. I think most people want to see us successful and playing attractive football, and that seems to be how DA sees it too. Collectively, the fan base just needs to keep in mind that getting there is a journey and there will be flaws and imperfections along the way.

As for individuals last night, several players stood out. Cartwright is showing precisely why he he has been a part of the England setup at youth level. After a shaky start in cup games, he looks like a player who will have a good career at a good level. Is it unfair to say he reminds me of a young Danny Coyne (albeit deceptively taller than Coyne was, which may work in his favour)?

Waterfall, despite some doubters (myself included), looked back to his brilliant best and knocked the ball around confidently. Mullarkey, had arguably his best performance in a Town shirt, capped with an excellent goal (though not as good as his earlier effort following his Cruyff turn would have been had it gone in).

I thought young Andrews in midfield was superb; he’s another who has the talent to have a good and lucrative career in the game. Holohan had another of his good days; just needs to up his consistency.

And is it any coincidence that Harry Clifton put in arguably his best performance of the season, capped with only his second game of the campaign, from that wide left position? I don’t think it is, and I’m sure many others would agree.

If anything, this poses a bit of a dilemma. We already have a glut of solid players in wide positions, plus the potential of Charlie Kirk coming in, who would surely be a class above League Two. Were that to materialise, wide options of Kirk, Clifton, Eisa, Gnahoua, Pyke, Wilson, Vernam and Khan would be taking the píss at this level, and surely impossible to keep everyone happy. A nice problem in the context of our current league position, I suppose.

Danny Rose was Danny Rose. Excellent as always, and another great goal from him. Possibly his best in a Town shirt so far? 10 goals by new year is a great return in a team that hasn’t been firing on all cylinders for large periods. That said, I still feel there’s scope to improve the general service to him and get him involved more. Feed the Rose, and he will bloom.

That does bring me to my final point. If there’s any room for criticism in last night’s performance, I still feel we’re guilty of being a tiny bit profligate. Seems crazy to say about our biggest away EFL win since Plymouth over 7 years ago (I think), but it strikes me as true nonetheless.

We had good, controlled possession in the attacking third for large swathes of the game last night. 12 corners, 22 shots, only 5 on target. The conversion rate needs to be a bit better. Ultimately, it didn’t matter last night, but we should have scored at least 1 in the first-half at Mansfield. That we didn’t, coupled with being a bit too soft at the back, meant a professional Mansfield side were able to comfortably close out the second half.

If we can become 10% better in both boxes, we’ll see a lot more points on the board between now and the end of the season.

Overall summary. Still early days, but certainly some green shoots to be positive about.

I really don't see the positives for Andrews. I thought he was the one that struggled last night and was the worst player on the pitch against Mansfield.
He's clearly got some ability on the ball, but he's slow and for me he isn't nearly competitive enough.
Lots of people seem to think he played well, maybe I'm way off the mark.

Also, thought Clifton played off the right most of the night, even though he scored his goal off the left.
He caused them loads of problems first half taking it in to feet and running in behind. Created lots of space for others to play and got in and around Rose.

Thought Holohan was excellent.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

I really don't see the positives for Andrews. I thought he was the one that struggled last night and was the worst player on the pitch against Mansfield.
He's clearly got some ability on the ball, but he's slow and for me he isn't nearly competitive enough.
Lots of people seem to think he played well, maybe I'm way off the mark.

Also, thought Clifton played off the right most of the night, even though he scored his goal off the left.
He caused them loads of problems first half taking it in to feet and running in behind. Created lots of space for others to play and got in and around Rose.

Thought Holohan was excellent.

I couldn’t get to the game last night, as I was looking after my two kids, and now a fúcking puppy, whilst the wife had a night off, so was limited to the telly. I don’t know if you went, but certainly possible to have a different (and better) perspective from inside the ground, if so.

I thought Andrews was very neat and tidy on the ball, but as per the above context, it was hard to give the game my full and undivided attention.

I should really check the official website and my emails more often - I found out the game was available for streaming an hour after full time! What an idiot. Checking the BBC website for updates every 30 seconds is a mood killer most games, although my smile got wider as the goals went in last night, for a change.

I presume the rearranged Wimbledon game and Colchester are likely to be the only other streaming possibilities this season, right?

Being a football fan is such a weird calling - I didn’t even go last night, but I’m buzzing today just because of the result. UTM.

Nice to see town playing away from home in Black and White , do we play better away in these colours ?

Quoted from RonMariner

Wow. That is incredible both for the magnitude of our away following, and also for the dire level of home support.  The difference between a real club, and a wanna be vanity outfit.

Tbf they do have a bit of competition for fans in that area of the country!

Quoted from Heisenberg

I should really check the official website and my emails more often - I found out the game was available for streaming an hour after full time! What an idiot. Checking the BBC website for updates every 30 seconds is a mood killer most games, although my smile got wider as the goals went in last night, for a change.

I presume the rearranged Wimbledon game and Colchester are likely to be the only other streaming possibilities this season, right?

Being a football fan is such a weird calling - I didn’t even go last night, but I’m buzzing today just because of the result. UTM.

Usually any non Saturday* kick off is available for streaming as I think Monday's game is.

* Except FA Cup games.

Quoted from HerveJosse

I am not sure why 910 people from North Shields would be at the game.

We are not codheads!

Cod is for yorkies and other worm eaters

Cod is for cats and southerners, in that order .

Quoted from arryarryarry

Usually any non Saturday* kick off is available for streaming as I think Monday's game is.

* Except FA Cup games.

Thanks arry.

It's a weird criticism of Clifton at times. Everyone celebrating him getting in the box and scoring as a left winger, and suggesting he doesn't do that usually when playing midfield. I mean, obviously. Central midfielders have less freedom than a winger and have to stay back more to cover the backline, or build up play.

Depends whether we need him sitting deeper or not. We have plenty of attacking players, we need those that know when not to. When Green is in, Clifton gets more freedom.

Quoted from HerveJosse

I am not sure why 910 people from North Shields would be at the game.

We are not codheads!

Cod is for yorkies and other worm eaters

My apologies, I should have said Melanogrammus aeglefinus Heads.