Just back Forest Green (merged)

The ultimate ‘result is more important than the performance’ game. But it’s nice to see out 90 minutes without too many dramas.

The back three all did great, Thompson was excellent and Rose wore his heart on his sleeve as ever. Rodgers deserved MoM for me, back to early season form.

Will enjoy a couple of beers tonight 😎

Possibly the shittest game of football that I've ever seen and, though we defended well enough, I thought we were pretty poor all round.

Says a lot about FGR that they weren't even capable of having an effort on target against us, even with two thirds possession, but we'll need to play a lot better than that to keep winning points this season.

Pleased for Rogers who I'd agree was Man of the Match as he did really well for the goal, got his foot in and won his headers well. Let's hope it spurs him on for the rest of the season.

Wasnt pretty, but we dug in, we were solid, and we got 3 valuable points.

Thought the 3 centre backs had good games, Wilson led the line well but Rose my MOM. A true captains performance leading from the front.

They were a very poor side, and it was simply must win, and we did just that.

Credit to Artell who eventually has dropped his play from the back mantra.

Enjoy your weekends

Thompson, Rose and the CB’s all played well.

It wasn’t pretty and only one shot on target all game which we thankfully scored.

Artell interview good apart from the fact he said the performance is just as important as the result. Our position at this point of the season give me a crap game with a 1-0 win and it being the only shot on target all game.

Did what we had to do to win the game. And that's thay really.

Poor in possession, carried Andrews who was a liability throughout, and Clifton was so wasteful with the ball. But Rodgers excellent at the back.

Probably won't see many games where both keepers have so little to do, but couldn't give a toss. All that was needed today was 3 points and we got them.

Gritty game, thought they were poor but I'll take the result and a clean sheet which will hopefully give Cartwright a bit of confidence going into the remaining games.

Massive win.

Credit to the players and the coaching staff. Not out of it yet, but a huge step.

Surprised nobody has mentioned Wilson I thought he was excellent.

Danny Rose. All season. 100%. Highest of standards. Just fantastic. God knows where we’d be without him. Thank you Danny. Talk about leading by example. Colossus of a pro.
So, so relieved and grateful for 3 points.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Massive win.

Credit to the players and the coaching staff. Not out of it yet, but a huge step.

Surprised nobody has mentioned Wilson I thought he was excellent.

Yeah Wilson did very well considering the service from midfield to him today was non-existent. If we can sort out the midfield trio and stick with that back 5 (as indecisive as Cartwright looked all match) we might actually have a chance of moving up the table between now and the end of the season.

Not a game you’d want to see every week but a result you’d take every week up until the end of April at the minute.

Rose, Mullarkey, Rodgers and Wilson were terrific. The midfield couldn’t string a decent pass between them but at least battled well and the subs did exactly what we needed. Andrews had a shocker first half but credit to him, he was much better in the second.

I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the passing football, nor do I want to see the back of it, but I’ve a strong feeling it won’t return until we’re safe and Artell deems us ready to play it properly. He’s had a lot of abuse, but he’s changed the way we play extremely quickly and done what needed to be done in the circumstances. Sure there’ll be some out there willing him to fail regardless.

An absolutely huge 3 points and hopefully a big step towards avoiding relegation with a chunk of the season left to go, which I’ve always felt we’d do.

One last thing, I couldn’t make it today so watched on iFollow. Tonduer has been the voice of the club for many years but it’s time to hang up the mic. Aside from his horrendous bias towards certain players & digging out others. He very rarely describes the game accurately whatsoever, the poor people listening on the radio are hearing something completely different to the reality.

Incredibly biased interview by their manager who described them as miles better than us and they deserved to win.

Didnt have a shot on target you clown

2 poor teams on display really, but we got the job done
I love Rose, he just gets it
Thompson made a few silly mistakes but looks a good player.
Defence was solid.

Special mention for Wilson, who's hardly played but looked very good IMO. Held the ball up well, good first touch, and give Keogh problems all game

3 Points. Awful watch...Good defensively in the final third.

Great battling performance from everyone and a significant win given the opponents and Colchester having not played. It wasn’t pretty and we’ll need to be better against most of the rest of our opponents to get anything but the result is what counted. Rose was outstanding today - he ended up in a brown and black striped shirt!

Quoted from moosey_club

3 Points. Awful watch...Good defensively in the final third.

That was your first clean sheet at Blundell Park since 2nd September. After the frightening number of goals conceded at home this calendar year what a relief.

This was the real Grimsby Way. Digging in and grafting a result. We wasted time very well and the ref should have added a lot more on than he did.The FGR attendance spoke volumes for how relegation matters to their little community. Be great if they and Colchester go down.

Never wanted a game to end so much in my life. Can't really add to what most posters have put but when I remember some of the midfield's we have had here - today's literally made me want to weep.

It's a bit unfair on forest green tbh, they came to play football and were by far the better side.
The reason why they are down there though is they over play and pretty football only gets you so far if no shots on target come from it.
That said, I think they will be fine and Sutton and Colchester will go down.
Thought Danny rose was immense as usual and if ever player of the season was nailed on its this year.
He should be at least in league one if not higher, how we've got him is a mystery.

Quoted from Hagrid

Incredibly biased interview by their manager who described them as miles better than us and they deserved to win.

Didnt have a shot on target you clown

He’s never liked us. So fúck him!

The win was everything and we got it, but my God we have a lot of work to do in the summer, assuming we survive. How on earth (Hurst primarily) put that squad together I will never know.

Quoted from Phil the cod

It's a bit unfair on forest green tbh, they came to play football and were by far the better side.
The reason why they are down there though is they over play and pretty football only gets you so far if no shots on target come from it.
That said, I think they will be fine and Sutton and Colchester will go down.
Thought Danny rose was immense as usual and if ever player of the season was nailed on its this year.
He should be at least in league one if not higher, how we've got him is a mystery.

How you can be the better side when you dont have a shot on target. You deserve nothing.

2 poor sides, we won.

   A Great result but what a depressing performance! Yes, the three points are absolutely the most important thing, and we were obviously set up to keep it tight at the back rather than create much up front, but I have to be honest, Forest Green looked like a much better footballing side than we did in that game. Their passing didn't lead to anything in the end thanks to some dogged defending, but they were finding their men much better than Town's players were. I think a lot more flair going forward, use of the flanks, and accurate passing through midfield are going to be called for in future games or we should be prepared for a lot of 1-0 defeats.  
    This season I will settle for finishing 22nd. Anything better will be a bonus.

Our passing is shocking poor performance great result

Great goal, great 3 points and one of the worst games of football I've seen in along time.

Would like to see Liam Smith back in on Tuesday, Harry back in midfield if at all.

It wasn't pretty, it was a hard grind we probably made harder for ourselves, but I'll take 13 more just like it if it means we get the same result each time for the rest of the season.

Wasn’t a pretty game as others have said but an important win. Nice to be able to say we defended well - I definitely think three at the back suits us and the centre halves we have.

Thought Clifton struggled at times as did Thompson and Andrews and I think there may be a fitness issue with the latter two (though Andrews’ delivery from set pieces was decent).

Firstly, I would have taken a crap 1-0 win before the game 100%.

I know this and also know that this was a game where 3 points was the only thing that matters. It gives us a free swing at Wimbledon on Tuesday and hopefully the lads will relax a bit and play better.

However, there is a but at the back of my mind.

It was an awful game of football to watch and we are definitely not in a false position ( that said, neither is FGR)

But if I was a FGR fan watching that, I would be seriously frustrated that they dominated play, played much netter than us and despite getting into great positions at least 10 times, their final ball was garbage. Thankfully.

Rose - you are a star
3 CB’s - well done, you did your job today.

Clifton and Hume - ur distributions was poor.

What has happened to Clifton?

His first touch was so bad again today and he got himself and the team into trouble a couple of times by not being able to control the ball and then having to lunge into challenges as it bounced away from him.

I wasn’t overly impressed by Thompson today either, he looked less mobile than we need and fingers crossed it’s just match fitness?

Andrew’s was also poor as well and Holohan also had one of his less impressive games.

We started 3-5-2 but after we scored. It was definitely 5-3-2 and we were overrun in midfield.

However, I am travelling to Wimbledon on Tuesday and do feel better with these 3 points in the bag.

UTM

Credit to DA today got his tactics bang on .Town's midfield where shocking but the back 5 Rose and Wilson all played like lions .Have to give the fans Credit today as well all 4 stands did the team proud especially the last 20 mins when the players needed the lift.Not pretty I don't care its 3 points and nothing else matters. Well done All

In all honesty an awful game between two awful football teams.  That really was at best a poor to mediocre national league game. Bloody terrible game

Definitely wasn't pretty but a massive result. How he only added 4 minutes on at the end I'll never know, we were proper shithouses, I would've been fuming if it was the other way round. Cartwright should've been booked in my opinion but all good, if you can't beat em join em and all that.

Thought Thompson looked pretty good. I still feel like there is a decent player there in Andrews, some terrible moments but he kept going and did some decent things second half.
Surprised nobody has mentioned Hume, he looks a cut above this level.

Great passion at the end there by everyone, especially from Tharme. Mullarkey looked much more comfortable and hats off to Danny Rose, incredible effort and desire. I was a bit worried he might miss one of those challenges but luckily no problem.

We need to be much better on the ball but I think Artell will improve us on that front. Nice to have a Saturday night without all of the anger and arguments. Saying that we certainly need to improve but getting the result was the most important thing today.

Quoted from CSLM

Definitely wasn't pretty but a massive result. How he only added 4 minutes on at the end I'll never know, we were proper shithouses, I would've been fuming if it was the other way round. Cartwright should've been booked in my opinion but all good, if you can't beat em join em and all that.

Thought Thompson looked pretty good. I still feel like there is a decent player there in Andrews, some terrible moments but he kept going and did some decent things second half.
Surprised nobody has mentioned Hume, he looks a cut above this level.

Great passion at the end there by everyone, especially from Tharme. Mullarkey looked much more comfortable and hats off to Danny Rose, incredible effort and desire. I was a bit worried he might miss one of those challenges but luckily no problem.

We need to be much better on the ball but I think Artell will improve us on that front. Nice to have a Saturday night without all of the anger and arguments. Saying that we certainly need to improve but getting the result was the most important thing today.

You say about the no arguements stuff whilst Niall Maher is calling out Town fans on twitter...

Quoted from Hagrid

Incredibly biased interview by their manager who described them as miles better than us and they deserved to win.

Didnt have a shot on target you clown

Yes I’ve just listened to it. It’s funny their game on Thursday they scored an early goal and then defending for the rest of the game, just like today except of course Wrexham got the equaliser which they didn’t manage. He was a melt all game with his complaining, good old Steve member-erall 😂🤣😂🤣

Quoted from Hagrid

How you can be the better side when you dont have a shot on target. You deserve nothing.

2 poor sides, we won.

They looked in control of the game and did most of the attacking play.
They could pass to each other, run past our players like they were stood still.
The reason they had no shots was due to the fact we threw bodies at them in a last ditch heroic defensive Alamo style siege.
We at no stage looked in control of the game and the ball came back at us time after time.
If their forwards could shoot straight we'd of been turned over
Our keeper gives me heart palpitations every time the ball comes anywhere near him.
Let's not forget we had one shot on target in 90 minutes football,at home, against the bottom team in league 2 .
Before we get too ecstatic.

Quoted from Phil the cod

They looked in control of the game and did most of the attacking play.
They could pass to each other, run past our players like they were stood still.
The reason they had no shots was due to the fact we threw bodies at them in a last ditch heroic defensive Alamo style siege.
We at no stage looked in control of the game and the ball came back at us time after time.
If their forwards could shoot straight we'd of been turned over
Our keeper gives me heart palpitations every time the ball comes anywhere near him.
Let's not forget we had one shot on target in 90 minutes football,at home, against the bottom team in league 2 .
Before we get too ecstatic.

They're 2nd bottom

Quoted from Hagrid

How you can be the better side when you dont have a shot on target. You deserve nothing.

2 poor sides, we won.

It's one of those games where we don't if we were better than them, or if they were worse than us.
I'm still pinching myself as other results around us just fell into place.
God was a Mariner today.

Not particularly impressed with Maher’s comments on twitter

Quoted from LocalLadGTFC

You say about the no arguements stuff whilst Niall Maher is calling out Town fans on twitter...

The laughable part about him calling out Town fans is he’s doing it saying criticism of Andrews is wrong and that he’s been doing well apparently. He’s a central midfielder who managed to complete less than 30% of his passes today playing against the 2nd worst team in the FL. If he’s played well today, I’d hate to see him have a stinker.

That was more Paul Hurst then any Paul Hurst performance . My last visit to the dentist passed quicker minute for minute. Three points is what mattered but we can’t go into next season with this set up. I would still hoof the lot out ( Rose excepted).

Quoted from mariner91

The laughable part about him calling out Town fans is he’s doing it saying criticism of Andrews is wrong and that he’s been doing well apparently. He’s a central midfielder who managed to complete less than 30% of his passes today playing against the 2nd worst team in the FL. If he’s played well today, I’d hate to see him have a stinker.

Very stupid of him. I mean intercourse me, we’ve been hammered for the last 2 months and he’s not said a word

Quoted from bawarmy

Not particularly impressed with Maher’s comments on twitter

He’s defending a young lad (Andrews) who’s had some harsh stick recently, not the overall performances from the squad.

People happy to giving it to individuals yet kick off on Twitter when a player dares to defend them.

Quoted from bawarmy

Not particularly impressed with Maher’s comments on twitter

He's sticking up for a colleague, which is fine I guess...
The thing that really really annoys me, is these players have been silent on Twitter for weeks, and now come out giving it.... Be happy with the result, we all are, but don't give it the big one over our 1st home win since 9th December

Anyway, let's not turn this into a negative thread, we did what we needed to do

Good performance up until the goal.

Then we defended the 1-0 lead.

Awful spectacle but who cares, those 3 points against a relegation rival will turn out to be crucial.

I though Rose and Thompson had good games

Quoted from Tommy

Did what we had to do to win the game. And that's thay really.

Poor in possession, carried Andrews who was a liability throughout, and Clifton was so wasteful with the ball. But Rodgers excellent at the back.

Probably won't see many games where both keepers have so little to do, but couldn't give a toss. All that was needed today was 3 points and we got them.

But according to Naill Maher, Andrews "silenced the critics" today. He was the worst player on the pitch and should have been replaced by Wood who showed last week that he can pick up the ball and get us up the pitch.

Back 3 were great today, wish Cartwright would come off his line for balls a bit more. Thompson and Hollohan did the important stuff in the middle and Hume is looking a real coup on the left. Rose did what Rose does and Wilson was a decent outlet alongside him. Like others have said it wasn't pretty but we got the job done. If we can somehow get another 4 points this week things might not be looking so precarious.

Not bothered about Maher’s comments and I don’t think any other fan should be. He should however, focus on his own performances which haven’t exactly been great this season.

Because as it stands, whether we go down or not, the likelihood is that he’s heading back to the National League.

Quoted from mariner91

The laughable part about him calling out Town fans is he’s doing it saying criticism of Andrews is wrong and that he’s been doing well apparently. He’s a central midfielder who managed to complete less than 30% of his passes today playing against the 2nd worst team in the FL. If he’s played well today, I’d hate to see him have a stinker.

Very stupid of him. I mean intercourse me, we’ve been hammered for the last 2 months and he’s not said a word

Awful game but 3 points was all that mattered , said weeks ago & got red crosses galore maher was the issue cant head a ball cant defend last two games without him starting to prove a point , rodgers & waterfall took the flak for him in my opinion

Quoted from Hagrid

Very stupid of him. I mean intercourse me, we’ve been hammered for the last 2 months and he’s not said a word

Maher been here 2 years so contract presumambly up in May . Nowhere near good enough so probably on his way. . Playing rather then tweeting would probably member up his whiplash compo so let’s have a go at the fans

Credit to the players today and bigger credit to Artell - it was messy ,scrappy and ugly - qualities  that get you results in league 2 .

I think we have to give Artell praise because of the wilingness to change , I thought he was too stuborn and would continue doing things his way taking us down in the process  or getting removed from situ relatively quickly .

Keep doing the basics well and we will stay up comfortably imo

I thought Rose and Wilson did well , it makes things so much easier for Rose when there is someone to share the load with up top .

I actually really like Wilson as a player (I know he has not been on the pitch enough + likely won't be here next season )
He reminds me a touch of Michael Boulding (without that electric pace he had , although Wilson looks no slouch ) in that he can stretch the play well , offering that different threat in behind and the opposition something different to think about .

The back 5 which it ended up being most of the game all deserve a mention Rodgers looked somewhere near the player we thought he was early door , Mullarkey looks much better in that right sided CB role and Tharme looked solid . Hume is obviously a good player and  Harry showed how he can do a competent job anywhere aslong as it's not CM .

I don't want to be negative so will leave midfield out of the discussion .

Great 3 points and a 'free hit ' now against Wimbledon on Tuesday , could we manage back to back wins ?

Stranger thing's have happened

Quoted from Phil the cod

They looked in control of the game and did most of the attacking play.
They could pass to each other, run past our players like they were stood still.
The reason they had no shots was due to the fact we threw bodies at them in a last ditch heroic defensive Alamo style siege.
We at no stage looked in control of the game and the ball came back at us time after time.
If their forwards could shoot straight we'd of been turned over
Our keeper gives me heart palpitations every time the ball comes anywhere near him.

lmao what absolute garbage - they were as bad us. They had zero sustained pressure, zero shots on target, were allowed to pass the ball across the back line as they never did anything with it. No idea why they were looking to Keogh as some kind of lynchpin - he’s a 37-year-old former Championship defender, not a fit & mobile midfielder fresh out the Prem.

McAllister looked a bright spark at times but that’s all he was, a spark. Never felt like we were stretched, partly due to the formation, and anytime they had the opportunity to cross the ball they never had any quality.

Honestly couldn’t care less about the performance, we’ve spent all season saying good performances are meaningless if you don’t get any points at the end of it.

Thought Wilson did really well at times and shows what we’ve been missing in terms of another option up top & support for Rose.

Couldn’t make today but really pleased to hear they were quite poor as Tondeur had them sounding like Barcelona on the radio. Clearly we aren’t great but sounds like they are similar so hopefully they aren’t going to start picking up lots of points. So good to hear we did a job on them when it’s usually other teams doing that to us. UTM. Lots of beers tonight.

Quoted from GrimRob

This was the real Grimsby Way. Digging in and grafting a result. We wasted time very well and the ref should have added a lot more on than he did.The FGR attendance spoke volumes for how relegation matters to their little community. Be great if they and Colchester go down.

Yeah hopefully we’ll see the last of them at the end of this season , they’ve added now value at all to the league and other then being one man’s play thing they won’t be missed

Quoted from Hagrid

Incredibly biased interview by their manager who described them as miles better than us and they deserved to win.

Didnt have a shot on target you clown

Haven't heard it but to be fair in terms of possession and passing I thought they were better than us but had zero threat up front.

On that display both teams look like they should go down and I still don't have faith in Artell keeping us up just that hopefully 2 teams get less points than we do.

I’d not enjoy it but if we can have another 5 of them before the end of the season I could live with it.

Shape was much better at the back and you could see they’d been working on what to do out of possession.

At last some grit, determination & resilience.

Quoted from chaos33

Danny Rose. All season. 100%. Highest of standards. Just fantastic. God knows where we’d be without him. Thank you Danny. Talk about leading by example. Colossus of a pro.
So, so relieved and grateful for 3 points.

He's the epitome of the Engergizer Bunny player. Never shirked a tackle. Always available for a pass.  Great in attack AND defence.

Plastered in mud by half time - he was really getting stuck in. Proper captain's performance.

Few comments about Clifton and his distribution are fair, but I think we benefit so much more from having his energy there than we're hindered by his wayward crossing.  We're simply not exposed down the flanks as much now.

Rose and Wilson outstanding. Didn't really think of Wilson as the targetman type but he showed second half he can do it and do it very well. Gives an extra dynamic to our attack and allows Rose to be more of the 10 than both the 9 and 10.

Plenty piling in on him but I thought Andrews was really poor again. Easy to forget he's a young lad but so little came off for him today and he manages to flounder about the play an awful lot without ever getting involved in it.

Win is a win and that's all that counts. But intercourse me that was painful to watch. Like two bald blokes fighting over a comb. Two awful sides scrapping to find out who is the least excrement.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Few comments about Clifton and his distribution are fair, but I think we benefit so much more from having his energy there than we're hindered by his wayward crossing.  We're simply not exposed down the flanks as much now.

Rose and Wilson outstanding. Didn't really think of Wilson as the targetman type but he showed second half he can do it and do it very well. Gives an extra dynamic to our attack and allows Rose to be more of the 10 than both the 9 and 10.

Plenty piling in on him but I thought Andrews was really poor again. Easy to forget he's a young lad but so little came off for him today and he manages to flounder about the play an awful lot without ever getting involved in it.

Win is a win and that's all that counts. But intercourse me that was painful to watch. Like two bald blokes fighting over a comb. Two awful sides scrapping to find out who is the least excrement.

Really don’t like the Twitter scrap tonight, not a good look, best that Andrews and, more importantly, Maher keep quiet.

We won, that’s great, but this season has been shite, mostly due to abysmal recruitment and the only vague comfort is that there’s two potentially worse than us.

Just back from the pub and where we had celebrations instead of commiserations for a change.

Thought that was one of the worst performances I can remember from a Town side, with some of the worst control, passing and defensive clearances in many a season. We were abysmal at times and barely ever got more than three or four passes completed before giving up possession. Our throw ins were embarrassing at times too.

FGR looked way better on the ball than us and kept it from us far too easily, but ultimately, Cartwright left the pitch as clean as he entered it and didn't have a save to make all game, so credit to the back five who protected him superbly, and were matched by the effort and endeavour of the two forwards. They totally made up for a truly shocking midfield, who worked hard, but had very little else to offer. Some of their passing and decision making was worryingly bad. Andrews is and was getting loads of stick, but he wasn't any worse than the others. Thompson has great touch and technique, but he was dead on his feet after 40 mins and could barely run. Holohan was like a headless chicken with passing to match but the result will paper over all those cracks tonight.

This felt like a cup tie, and I was concerned that one of only two teams below us looked much better at football than we did, but they had no goal threat whatsoever, which probably explains why they are one of the only teams below us.

Dreadful performance football wise, but the heart and character got us through and it all felt a bit like a PH type backs to the wall win, but who cares, we had to win and we did, which greatly enhances our survival chances. They now have to win three more games than us with the season running out fast.

I’ve not much too add that hasn’t already been said. Was today the kind of home performance that people are going to watch over the course of a season? No. Does it matter? Not in the slightest. I’ve been very clear how important I felt this game was; to win it is absolutely huge not just in terms of this season but the long-term club’s future.

I wanted Artell gone after the Donny capitulation. I felt it would be absolute madness to let him preside over a game of such magnitude with the glaring issues we’ve seen in recent weeks, but today he displayed a level of pragmatism I didn’t think he had in him. Gone was the playing out from the back, the badly executed press and the poor impersonation of a passing side.

It was ugly, but we did everything we hadn’t been doing at home. We kept a proper defensive shape, we were dogged, and we defended a lead to keep a clean sheet. I’d have taken that before the game.

Forest Green were poorer than I expected them to be. I had been nervous about the threat of Christian Doidge before the game, but he was absolutely anonymous. Richard Keogh looked old, slow and grossly overweight for a professional footballer.

Ultimately, there’s still a long way to go, but today’s result takes a little bit of pressure off in the short-term. We can’t afford to rest on our laurels, we have to kick-on from this, but I feel markedly more relaxed about our circumstances than I did 24 hours ago.

Oh, and here’s a photo I took of a rainbow over BP. I’ll that as a good omen for the future.

I agree Clifton's distribution was poor but he put a shift in.  He also hassled and harried.  Not sure Rose played well (this will make me unpopular).  He went down to easily, fouled too much and I didn't hear is name in the first 15  to twenty minutes. His running was good and he popped up to defend frequently as usual. Rodgers and Wilson had a good game.  Still no idea why Obikwu wasn't at least on the bench.

Did what we needed to and showed a grit we've lacked this season, but thoroughly detested the fact we had to turn to anti-football, every man behind the ball - it was necessary, but I'm so sick of season after season in this shitty league of scrapping for our lives.

Shout out to Tharme who has made a big difference over the last couple of games, adding some physicality we've lacked and we've looked much better at defending crosses with him in there. I actually think it's his leadership qualities that have made a massive difference, though, adding another voice on the pitch that we were sorely lacking, especially at the back.

Quoted from Mariner93er

Did what we needed to and showed a grit we've lacked this season, but thoroughly detested the fact we had to turn to anti-football, every man behind the ball - it was necessary, but I'm so sick of season after season in this shitty league of scrapping for our lives.

Shout out to Tharme who has made a big difference over the last couple of games, adding some physicality we've lacked and we've looked much better at defending crosses with him in there. I actually think it's his leadership qualities that have made a massive difference, though, adding another voice on the pitch that we were sorely lacking, especially at the back.

Yeah fair play to Tharme, whilst he isn't exactly setting the world on fire he does look an improvement on our CBs (low bar admittedly) and he is doing a lot of talking and organising during games which I think we've needed

Passing was really poor i thought Holohan had a shocking game he came off the pitch cleaner than when he went on shirked a lot of tackles Andrews had his best game for us.
Wilson looked dead on his feet after 25 minutes Pyke is a far better player than him bigger puts himself about a bit.
One thing baffles me why can we not clear balls down the pitch we only seem to kick it 20 yards and invite pressure straight back on us.

A really ugly game of football but the most vital thing came of it - 3 points!

Having watched us this season we just look so poor when it comes to passing the ball or taking ball in the midfield, other teams seem to do it with ease just knocking it about. It seems we are a yard-off or don't have a plan what to do with the ball when it comes into feet. I think the summer (depending on if we do stay up), the midfield will be ripped apart and hopefully replaced with quality. Thompson who's come in looks to have something about him, a more polished and better footballing version of Green.

Could people stop creaming ther underpants about  Danny rose ?
Very decent player in one of the most dreadful teams I’ve seen in nearly 40 years . Great 3 points yesterday and hopefully be safe with a few more wins but how did we get as poor as this . I reckon I could have played yesterday and nobody would have noticed . Utm

Quoted from Lincspoacher

Firstly, I would have taken a crap 1-0 win before the game 100%.

I know this and also know that this was a game where 3 points was the only thing that matters. It gives us a free swing at Wimbledon on Tuesday and hopefully the lads will relax a bit and play better.

However, there is a but at the back of my mind.

It was an awful game of football to watch and we are definitely not in a false position ( that said, neither is FGR)

But if I was a FGR fan watching that, I would be seriously frustrated that they dominated play, played much netter than us and despite getting into great positions at least 10 times, their final ball was garbage. Thankfully.

Rose - you are a star
3 CB’s - well done, you did your job today.

Clifton and Hume - ur distributions was poor.

What has happened to Clifton?

His first touch was so bad again today and he got himself and the team into trouble a couple of times by not being able to control the ball and then having to lunge into challenges as it bounced away from him.

I wasn’t overly impressed by Thompson today either, he looked less mobile than we need and fingers crossed it’s just match fitness?

Andrew’s was also poor as well and Holohan also had one of his less impressive games.

We started 3-5-2 but after we scored. It was definitely 5-3-2 and we were overrun in midfield.

However, I am travelling to Wimbledon on Tuesday and do feel better with these 3 points in the bag.

UTM

I think you have it wrong with your line up.  When we are on the attack we play 3-5-2. When not on attack  5-3-2 .

Horrible game of football but vital vital 3 points. Rose was immense as usual, the whole team grafted but again I'm not sure what Jamie Andrews offers us ? He never gets into the game,  I'm not sure what his role is meant to be because this might sound harsh but it's like playing with 10 men sometimes.

Anyway that's my main gripe , the effort and commitment in the defence was superb. FGR are a Horrible club so it made it even sweeter, I hope they go down.

I think we will be ok but certainly we have a massive massive job in the summer to get a team together.

Ugly game but the defensive doggedness got us the result.

We were effectively playing 6 at the back when they got over the halfway line with Clifton, Hulme and Thompson dropping deep. FGR used width as much as possible making really hard work for Holohan and Andrews to get on to them effectively and also very difficult if we won possession in the middle as there were very few immediate options.

Not pretty but it worked today and that was always going to be the most important thing for this match.

UTM

Quoted from Terry duckworth

Could people stop creaming ther underpants about  Danny rose ?
Very decent player in one of the most dreadful teams I’ve seen in nearly 40 years . Great 3 points yesterday and hopefully be safe with a few more wins but how did we get as poor as this . I reckon I could have played yesterday and nobody would have noticed . Utm

‘Creaming their underpants’? What are you, 13?

Quoted from Terry duckworth

Could people stop creaming ther underpants about  Danny rose ?
Very decent player in one of the most dreadful teams I’ve seen in nearly 40 years . Great 3 points yesterday and hopefully be safe with a few more wins but how did we get as poor as this . I reckon I could have played yesterday and nobody would have noticed . Utm

You're just after a nibble, and I'll give you one...

The lad has had one of his best scoring season in a very poor team. He runs more than anyone I can remember in a town shirt.
He's a pain to defenders and gives them no time on the ball, instead of just standing off like most. He's passionate, even when we are playing crap, not just winning.
He's a real shithouse of a player. I'll admit I hated him when he was at Mansfield, for the exact same reasons I love him here.
He just gets it and he's already a hero for me.

Not pretty but more importantly took all three points just about sums up yesterday. I actually agreed with their manager in that they probably had the better of the ball across two thirds of the pitch but they literally did nothing in the all important final third. We did, and what a cracking finish it was from Rodgers.

We weren’t spectacular but I did think we were fairly solid apart from in the middle again, which barely comes as any surprise. Thompson did well screening the defence but he had little in front of him in Holohan and Andrews, but that’s what we have to work with until the end of April. Credit to all players though for battling all game. Something we have been lacking lately.

If yesterday was your very first football match you had been to watch you would never go again, the 3 points was the most important result but the game was awful. I know the wind didn’t help but what happened to all our midfield playmakers? it was just boot it upfield anyhow and anywhere and hope it found one of our players. I know DA said pre match they had changed a few things but that was a totally different way of playing to the Morecambe game that we almost won. Hopefully yesterday’s result will allow us to actually play football that we can enjoy watching. UTM

Got us out of jail and masks a lot, but onwards and upwards UTMM

Rolled their sleeves socks underpants up and ground out a clean sheet. It was a dire game. One of the worst I’ve seen at BP  from a Towns point of view. But as you know the only thing that matters to us is the result UTM

Rolled their sleeves socks underpants up and ground out a clean sheet. It was a dire game. One of the worst I’ve seen at BP  from a Towns point of view. But as you know the only thing that matters to us is the result UTM

Quoted from ska face

lmao what absolute garbage - they were as bad us. They had zero sustained pressure, zero shots on target, were allowed to pass the ball across the back line as they never did anything with it. No idea why they were looking to Keogh as some kind of lynchpin - he’s a 37-year-old former Championship defender, not a fit & mobile midfielder fresh out the Prem.

McAllister looked a bright spark at times but that’s all he was, a spark. Never felt like we were stretched, partly due to the formation, and anytime they had the opportunity to cross the ball they never had any quality.

Honestly couldn’t care less about the performance, we’ve spent all season saying good performances are meaningless if you don’t get any points at the end of it.

Thought Wilson did really well at times and shows what we’ve been missing in terms of another option up top & support for Rose.

What game were you watching? Thier number 46 and 7 were by far the best players on the pitch.
Rose put a great shift in as did most of the lads but to say they were as bad as us is stretching it tbh, everyone around us thought they would score a couple and beat us such was Thier possession of the ball especially in the second half, we ground it out in a last ditch lives depended on it battle, but there was only one team wanting to play football.

Quoted from Phil the cod

What game were you watching? Thier number 46 and 7 were by far the best players on the pitch.
Rose put a great shift in as did most of the lads but to say they were as bad as us is stretching it tbh, everyone around us thought they would score a couple and beat us such was Thier possession of the ball especially in the second half, we ground it out in a last ditch lives depended on it battle, but there was only one team wanting to play football.

Well everyone around you should get out a bit more. They didnt have a shot on target, they didnt even have a half chance in the second half

They were excrement and we won.

Quoted from Phil the cod

What game were you watching? Thier number 46 and 7 were by far the best players on the pitch.
Rose put a great shift in as did most of the lads but to say they were as bad as us is stretching it tbh, everyone around us thought they would score a couple and beat us such was Thier possession of the ball especially in the second half, we ground it out in a last ditch lives depended on it battle, but there was only one team wanting to play football.

You’ve just made a very important point.

Their 46 and 7 did exactly what Artell has accused Hunt of doing- looking ‘nice’ but having no end product. They played nice football but they lost. They didn’t even manage a shot on target.

Both teams showed why they are where they are imho. We didn’t do anything after getting in front, confidence/fragility/fear/forgotten how to win etc factors.. yes FGR had all the possession, but created nothing. Didn’t hurt us once. We defended slightly better but their lack of quality in final ball as much a factor. McAllister stuck to the touchline second half helped us massively. First half he was all over the place. The no 46 was gangly, awkward..but not impressive. And the no 3 was an absolute embarrassment..that dice in first half just one example. Spent most of the game on the ground.

We got the win..that’s all that matters. For now.

How was Hulme yesterday? Seems to be a much more solid all round option at left back/wing back..

The win yesterday should be used as a base to look at catching teams above us. Donney - maybe.


However, we have 3 games in hand on Salford, who lost at home yesterday 2-0.  Their new manager bounce seems to have come  to an end.   7 points from 3 games would see us go above them.

The approach was the right approach for yesterday, I wonder if it will be applied or as effective when we play better sides?

Like I’ve said on another post I’ll take another 5 or 6 I’d take another 5/6 of those though.

I thought Wilson did really well. Tharm decent too. Midfield was poor, but such a vital win. Still think we’ve gone backwards under Artell, but if we stay up maybe with different players he can get us playing….

I suspect nerves had an effect on yesterday. To say it’s been tense over the last 6 weeks or so is an understatement. Hopefully we might start to click a bit more now.

Okay, an abysmal game of football but it is Sunday and i dare Look at the league table. Walked out of Blundell  park. Happy, don’t give a toss about how we win, it is a hell of a lot easier to stay in this league than get back into it. Staying up is as good as promotion.

Well done, Doug Tharme, he made the difference for me. He was rough and crude and exactly what we need.
Utm

Andrews had a bit of a pasting yesterday due to poor passing, so I'm going to share some stats (don't tell Lew).

Andrews - 8 duels won. 5 recoveries. 5 defensive actions.
Thompson - 7 duels won. 9 recoveries. 9 defensive actions.
Holahan - 4 duels won. 3 recoveries. 6 defensive actions.

Clifton - 5 duels. 14 defensive actions.
Hume -  2 duels. 3 defensive actions.

https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/matches/forest-green-rovers-vs-grimsby-town/393ttl#4203749

Andrews off the ball stats don't look that bad. Better than Fishy favourite Holahan. Thompson did really well considering he went off at 76 minutes. No wonder he was knackered. Did more in that time than some did in 90 minutes.

Harry Clifton for all the stick he has has massive balls. Off the ball, an absolute monster. No wonder he keeps getting picked.

Quoted from AncientExiledMariner

Andrews had a bit of a pasting yesterday due to poor passing, so I'm going to share some stats (don't tell Lew).

Andrews - 8 duels won. 5 recoveries. 5 defensive actions.
Thompson - 7 duels won. 9 recoveries. 9 defensive actions.
Holahan - 4 duels won. 3 recoveries. 6 defensive actions.

Clifton - 5 duels. 14 defensive actions.
Hume -  2 duels. 3 defensive actions.

https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/matches/forest-green-rovers-vs-grimsby-town/393ttl#4203749

Andrews off the ball stats don't look that bad. Better than Fishy favourite Holahan. Thompson did really well considering he went off at 76 minutes. No wonder he was knackered. Did more in that time than some did in 90 minutes.

Harry Clifton for all the stick he has has massive balls. Off the ball, an absolute monster. No wonder he keeps getting picked.

I don't get the dissing of Clifton by some , he's not likely ever to be a great central midfielder nor would I ask him to be . But his energy & versatility is something any club would take  at this level surely . Seems like wingback is a position that suits his game aswell.

Quoted from Mappers

I don't get the dissing of Clifton by some , he's not likely ever to be a great central midfielder nor would I ask him to be . But his energy & versatility is something any club would take  at this level surely . Seems like wingback is a position that suits his game aswell.

Definitely. I'd love to get to the point where we have enough all round players we don't need him in the first 11, but for me, he's probably the 2nd or 3rd name on the teamsheet (maybe Rose, Thompson, Clifton), so we are a long long way off that. Clifton is a player most managers would love to have. "We've got 2/3 people out in this position? intercourse. Harry can do it!". He's also a excrement to play against. He's given no opposition an easy ride. Even if he doesn't shine, he takes the shine off opposition players.

Credit to the players for digging out a much needed win but it's far from over yet. FGR were poor at creating chances but Cotterill has made them harder to beat and if they can sustain their recent improvement I can see them picking up points in the next few games. Our next 6 games are probably the toughest of our run-in:

Wimbledon (A)
Sutton (A)
MK Dons (H)
Gillingham (A)
Wrexham (H)
Barrow (A)

If we can get through that run of games without too much damage then we should be fine. We obviously need to beat Sutton, and I'd be delighted with 2 wins and a draw.

Clifton worked hard yesterday, but his distribution and even his ability to control the ball was absolutely dismal. Same goes for Holohan who was clearly berating himself throughout the game for not playing at all well.

However, they both put enough of a shift in to stop the opposition doing anything too threatening, so effective enough on the day.

They will both need to play a lot better during the rest of the season if we're going to be playing a bit more football than that. Both are capable of it, if not exactly brilliant ball players.

I thought their No. 27 looked very solid in the middle yesterday. Tall, strong in the air and with a decent touch, he rarely lost possession and kept moving the ball on. I was surprised when they took him off near the end. I thought it was a bit odd that he was the one tasked with trying to obstruct Cartwright when they had a corner and the lad that replaced him was very much smaller, but took over the obstructing role!

Danny is also immensely quick.  He half-robbed the ball off Keogh (in front of the Osmond) when he was a fair distance away.  Keogh looked stunned.

Danny is also immensely quick.  He half-robbed the ball off Keogh (in front of the Osmond) when he was a fair distance away.  Keogh looked stunned.

I don't think it's as much that he is particularly quick (though he's not slow), just that his movement is good and he has a good instinct for running towards where the ball is going to be. He did a great job defensively yesterday and I can't complain that he didn't do much at the other end of the field as the front two had pretty much no support from the midfield.

Honestly you couldn't write it....
I'm currently having to defend Danny Rose on twitter...
Apparently he's "not all that" and saud person can't understand why we rave about Rose so much .

Yet, what he fails to understand is that without Rose we would be all but dead n buried by now , every game DR gives 100%, his work rate is up there with Cliftons, his effectiveness in both boxes is irreplaceable, but apparently  we fans shouldn't be spunking out baby gravy all over him...honestly, I ask you.

Let’s be completely clear …..anyone who would say ‘Danny Rose isn’t all that’, or words to that effect, is an idiot.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Honestly you couldn't write it....
I'm currently having to defend Danny Rose on twitter...
Apparently he's "not all that" and saud person can't understand why we rave about Rose so much .

Yet, what he fails to understand is that without Rose we would be all but dead n buried by now , every game DR gives 100%, his work rate is up there with Cliftons, his effectiveness in both boxes is irreplaceable, but apparently  we fans shouldn't be spunking out baby gravy all over him...honestly, I ask you.

I think that’s just symptomatic of someone who doesn’t really understand the game. I sort of get the perspective; Rose doesn’t have the pace of Michael Reddy, the tenacity of Liam Hearn, and doesn’t score goals with the frequency of Padraig Amond. They’re the kind of qualities that would be obvious to someone watching their first ever game of football.

I liken it to the odd time I’ve watched Leeds Rhinos play in Headingley. I know next to nothing about the intricacies of Rugby League, but I could always appreciate what a good player Rob Burrow was because he was so tremendously quick and skilful, being at least a foot shorter than anyone else on the field. But there were probably several other players out there having a better game that I completely overlooked, because I didn’t really know what was going on. Burrow just excelled in areas that were easy for numpties like me to grasp.  

Anyone not appreciating what Rose brings to the table has to be suffering the same thing - rank ignorance. He’s absolutely fúcking relentless, and must have covered every blade of grass yesterday, even in our defensive third. He’s clever as fúck, a champion shíthouse, and a very good scorer of goals (even if he didn’t get a sniff yesterday, that wasn’t his fault). Ultimately, he’s been setting a standard that most of his teammates simply haven’t been able to keep up with.

I feel for him that he’s had to be part of such a poor team this season, but blimey, we’d be so fúcked without him.