This week

Biggest for a long long time .

Saturday & yesterday my morale in regards to Town was at the level of Holloway , Fenty , Burton and Tranmere many moons ago ; worrying we are a busted flush once more with players on the verge of giving up with confidence at rock bottom .

I never thought Stockport & Accrington would define our season a point on reflection was a bonus I wasn't expecting . But these two games will define our fate I feel , one way or another .

This season has been poor , but not yet a disaster . There is understandably a lot of blame flying around right now and tbh I'm scrambled in thought as to where and why it has actually gone wrong.

I'm contradicted on Artell - he's either a good coach thrown under the bus with fixed instruction to play 'the Grimsby way ' at whatever cost ,or a bad coach unwilling to adapt to a situation that could become dire (I honestly don't know which one ) .

The players have looked good on occasion , early on in the season and the odd game under Artell playing total football in which we should have gained more points , converting draws into wins but just didn't manage to ; on the flip side when we have been bad , we have been really bad hence the fanbases increasing frustration and anger .

I like Stockwood & Pettit , no doubt best intentions at heart . But I find it staggering they would rip up a plan 360 midway through a season , effectively listen to the fanbase on playing style and try and implement it on squad that's clearly not capable just months after saying that the 'football side will always be controlled by the manager ' on more than one occasion - their thinking must have been changed somewhat in the matter of months , talking about 'game models' and pathways , when many just want to see 3 points on a Saturday - not a critic, just like the playing style seemingly  a massive u turn in their thinking - I'm more interested - why + now ?

I think all us as fans can do is put the negativity and anger to one side , at least for now . Hope Artell and the players have got it in them to gain points in these crucial games and get behind them - some of them will be non league players next season , we need to make sure at whatever cost it's not with us and get them over the line . We might be the best hope .

You can’t seriously be thinking that the owners are dictating the way we play and that’s why they took the decisions to fire and hire?

I think there’s a certain amount of popular conflation going on. The owners had to sack Hurst. They didn’t want to. Nobody can have wanted that. He wasn’t dismissed because the owners have a manuscript in a locked chest that has a ‘Grimsby way’  secret formula of artistic football and left wing conspiracy staffing policy. The results were poor. The performances were inadequate. The league position was a concern.

Artell was appointed because they liked the cut of his jib and the way he promises to play appeals to everyone - neat, pretty, flowing football that wins games. Any club would want that, so he’s given his chance. Any notion that the owners dictate or push a way of playing on the coaches is just daft in my view. They’ll let Artell get on with it and back him. If it falls apart completely, and results and performances are becoming entrenched and disastrous then Artell will likely get himself sacked. It won’t be because the owners have sold him down the river by insisting he plays out from the chuffing back. It’ll be the managers pig-headedness in failing to adapt and judge that will ultimately do for him. This is on the Head coach and the players. Either they’ll find a way, or they won’t.

My only question for the owners would be - Are you providing enough money for the recruitment of quality players at this level?

There is no Grimsby way its bollox there was a Buckley way and that's it from 25 years ago.

Quoted from chaos33

You can’t seriously be thinking that the owners are dictating the way we play and that’s why they took the decisions to fire and hire?

I think there’s a certain amount of popular conflation going on. The owners had to sack Hurst. They didn’t want to. Nobody can have wanted that. He wasn’t dismissed because the owners have a manuscript in a locked chest that has a ‘Grimsby way’  secret formula of artistic football and left wing conspiracy staffing policy. The results were poor. The performances were inadequate. The league position was a concern.

Artell was appointed because they liked the cut of his jib and the way he promises to play appeals to everyone - neat, pretty, flowing football that wins games. Any club would want that, so he’s given his chance. Any notion that the owners dictate or push a way of playing on the coaches is just daft in my view. They’ll let Artell get on with it and back him. If it falls apart completely, and results and performances are becoming entrenched and disastrous then Artell will likely get himself sacked. It won’t be because the owners have sold him down the river by insisting he plays out from the chuffing back. It’ll be the managers pig-headedness in failing to adapt and judge that will ultimately do for him. This is on the Head coach and the players. Either they’ll find a way, or they won’t.

My only question for the owners would be - Are you providing enough money for the recruitment of quality players at this level?

I think the way we play was non-negotiable on appointment of a new manager for sure , which probably narrowed down their shortlist and them thinking Artell was the man to deliver on their model , maybe that's a good thing . Time will tell I guess?

Quoted from 1mickylyons

There is no Grimsby way its bollox there was a Buckley way and that's it from 25 years ago.

I agree , not sure where it's come from the only success has been from organisation, grit and determination in the last 10 years the rest has been struggle in league 2 and relegation on a loop.

I’ve been a fan for 40 years and have never thought or been led to believe there is a Grimsby Way .

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

I’ve been a fan for 40 years and have never thought or been led to believe there is a Grimsby Way .

I see fans from South Yorkshire clubs on my non-league travels who wistfully recall games against Grimsby in the early to mid-80s and the entertainment value. We had the Buckley years too but 1985 to 1988 was poor (Mick Lyons-awful). The last twenty years haven't seen 'a Grimsby way' that you would want emulating.

There isn’t a Grimsby way . There never was and there never will be . It’s what ever the manager decides and the players can execute. The Grimsby Way is a naive and childish notion that exists in the minds of fantasists . Buckley Way , yes . Grimsby way No

The Grimsby way seems to be thefookit up way

Best case

Win v Colchester and Donny
Sutton and FGR both lose

Points
GTFC …35
Sutton….22
FGR……20

Everyone happy. Panic over….

Worse case…….🤬🤬

Quoted from IlkleyMariner

Best case

Win v Colchester and Donny
Sutton and FGR both lose

Points
GTFC …35
Sutton….22
FGR……20

Everyone happy. Panic over….

Worse case…….🤬🤬

We probably wouldn't need many more in reality to be safe .

If i take my Town hat off and look at the numbers , with Sutton & FGR having a really tough run in it may even be a record low points total to survive - they would need 20 points to avoid that from 16 games . or us/Doncaster /Colchester to have a run of epic disaster and pick up single figures from the remaining games . It might be bad , but on paper at least we are in a strong position to survive as it stands .

Just one season without our biggest game in decades would be nice. We nearly had a year off last season but then had the highest profile game in out post-war history!

I went to the managers first game at Milton Keynes, it was like watching a different team, they passed & moved & it was amazing to watch for the 600 plus of us there that night, then look at the last few games !  it's all changed, i don't know what Shaun & Ben are doing with the players in training, & we have a full time goalkeeping coach & a goalie who seems decent in goal but when he has the ball for distribution he is a massive liability. Something has gone wrong from when he took over, but i don't honestly know what that is.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

There is no Grimsby way its bollox there was a Buckley way and that's it from 25 years ago.

There is also the George Kerr way which is older than 25 years ago.

Quoted from chelseacity

I went to the managers first game at Milton Keynes, it was like watching a different team, they passed & moved & it was amazing to watch for the 600 plus of us there that night, then look at the last few games !  it's all changed, i don't know what Shaun & Ben are doing with the players in training, & we have a full time goalkeeping coach & a goalie who seems decent in goal but when he has the ball for distribution he is a massive liability. Something has gone wrong from when he took over, but i don't honestly know what that is.

What has gone wrong in my opinion is quite simple, the players cannot handle the pressure of playing the new system of playing out from the back at Blundell Park , some of these players are not used to an environment like an almost full BP and when something goes wrong you can see the confidence they had just drain away and they start making irrational decisions. I think they are more relaxed and play better away from home, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our away performances have been better than the ones at home.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

There is no Grimsby way its bollox there was a Buckley way and that's it from 25 years ago.

People often moaned about Buckley's way of playing too when he was actively the manager, never happy our fans.  

Constant moaning about "triangle passes" and "can only win games by getting a penno" I recall.

Quoted from Spurn boy

What has gone wrong in my opinion is quite simple, the players cannot handle the pressure of playing the new system of playing out from the back at Blundell Park , some of these players are not used to an environment like an almost full BP and when something goes wrong you can see the confidence they had just drain away and they start making irrational decisions. I think they are more relaxed and play better away from home, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our away performances have been better than the ones at home.

Seriously these are professional footballers, if they cannot decide when a 10 yard pass is not on, but then decide to do it anyway, then they shouldn't be playing in a professional team.  It's not rocket science, see who is available for that short pass, if there is no one, then hoof it, it's all about making the right decision.

Quoted from 123614

Seriously these are professional footballers, if they cannot decide when a 10 yard pass is not on, but then decide to do it anyway, then they shouldn't be playing in a professional team.  It's not rocket science, see who is available for that short pass, if there is no one, then hoof it, it's all about making the right decision.

That’s quite a poor analysis though isn’t it?

You’re assuming that professional footballers have all the same intelligence, skill, fitness, concentration and consistency in performing under pressure.

It doesn’t take into account the reality that there are different standards/levels of professional football. A Premier League footballer is naturally going to be able to execute the above that you set-out to a higher standard and consistency than a League 2 player.

The skill of a manager is understanding the capability of the team and setting up in a way that gets the best out of the players as a collective.

Quoted from 123614

Seriously these are professional footballers, if they cannot decide when a 10 yard pass is not on, but then decide to do it anyway, then they shouldn't be playing in a professional team.  It's not rocket science, see who is available for that short pass, if there is no one, then hoof it, it's all about making the right decision.

If only it was that easy then everyone would be a success. Pep went into City and had teething issues first season but was adamant on the style of play he wanted to play despite not having the players to do so. Went out and overhauled the squad the season after and replaced the players with players he wanted and won the league. Obviously we don't have the luxuries of Man City and nor am I comparing DA to Pep but there's likenesses in the circumstances. I believe DA has implemented a system that is successful going forward, when we get it into the forward areas we look dangerous and I believe in every single performance we've had numerous chances which was a massive struggle under PH. I do believe there's a middle ground somewhere between his approach and ' hoofing it ' that would probably be best deployed in this moment of time but i'm not the manager of the football club, i'm a supporter and I'll back the manager based on what he feels is the right fit despite what my opinion is.

I would just like to add because of breathing problems I spend most of my time in the armchair watching every football match on the telly.

I have never seen any team playing out from the back to up the field and score a goal.

I have seen many teams fook it up with a goal against being the outcome.

I have seen several keepers giving the ball some welly and it ended with a goal! !! For.

I haven't seen the ball come straight back resulting in a goal against.

Moral of the story =  play tippy happy football up the field not near your own goal.

Simples  

Conteh is a bigger loss than many people think .He was the outlet ball in midfield for receiving from the back .We now have no one able to do that so never relieve the pressure

Quoted from davmariner

That’s quite a poor analysis though isn’t it?

You’re assuming that professional footballers have all the same intelligence, skill, fitness, concentration and consistency in performing under pressure.

It doesn’t take into account the reality that there are different standards/levels of professional football. A Premier League footballer is naturally going to be able to execute the above that you set-out to a higher standard and consistency than a League 2 player.

The skill of a manager is understanding the capability of the team and setting up in a way that gets the best out of the players as a collective.

A 10 yard pass is a 10 yard pass, and the decision whether to make it or not is simple, as I said earlier.  

Quoted from grimsby pete

I would just like to add because of breathing problems I spend most of my time in the armchair watching every football match on the telly.

I have never seen any team playing out from the back to up the field and score a goal.

I have seen many teams fook it up with a goal against being the outcome.

I have seen several keepers giving the ball some welly and it ended with a goal! !! For.

I haven't seen the ball come straight back resulting in a goal against.

Moral of the story =  play tippy happy football up the field not near your own goal.

Simples  

I have, and I'm sure many others on here have too.

Quoted from 123614

I have, and I'm sure many others on here have too.

I saw Hull (on TV) score a goal from the back a few weeks ago. I’m not sure that we have enough technical ability to do that though.

The 2nd Stockport goal showed how easy it can be to construct a goal from deep .A long excellent pass great first touch and bang you don't need to pass it  backwards and sideways for 5 mins first.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

The 2nd Stockport goal showed how easy it can be to construct a goal from deep .A long excellent pass great first touch and bang you don't need to pass it  backwards and sideways for 5 mins first.

There are many ways to construct a build up to score a goal. Build from the back is one and a long direct pass is another. They all have their merits and minuses. A blend of both is another and is possibly the best approach but there has to be an underlying ' first choice approach' that the team is well rehearsed in.

Quoted from rancido

There are many ways to construct a build up to score a goal. Build from the back is one and a long direct pass is another. They all have their merits and minuses. A blend of both is another and is possibly the best approach but there has to be an underlying ' first choice approach' that the team is well rehearsed in.

The thing that I would agree with is that it’s about decision making. If it gets formulaic then it gets more predictable and far easier to play against.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

The thing that I would agree with is that it’s about decision making. If it gets formulaic then it gets more predictable and far easier to play against.

It  looks to me most of the time it's very predictable with the angle of passes being dangerous (the regular seems to be keeper to defensive midfielder ) which was fine with Conteh as he was so technically very good but with Thomson it looks a recipe for disaster as I don't think that's the role he has played for most of his career . The options are 1 or  2 at best when somebody has the ball at the back . At MK and against Morecambe we had far more options all over the place with 3 ,4 or 5 players wanting the ball , coming short and looking really good . It must be a confidence thing , because he's hardly told them to stop doing what they were doing well has he .

I would like to see Arthur play as a 10 behind Rose for a run , because he is technically capable like Conteh and looks after the ball well , he was very good at MK I thought .It's just getting it to him I guess .

Quoted from Mappers

It  looks to me most of the time it's very predictable with the angle of passes being dangerous (the regular seems to be keeper to defensive midfielder ) which was fine with Conteh as he was so technically very good but with Thomson it looks a recipe for disaster as I don't think that's the role he has played for most of his career . The options are 1 or  2 at best when somebody has the ball at the back . At MK and against Morecambe we had far more options all over the place with 3 ,4 or 5 players wanting the ball , coming short and looking really good . It must be a confidence thing , because he's hardly told them to stop doing what they were doing well has he .

We had a different midfield then though!