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Posted by: lew chaterleys lover, November 27, 2019, 5:27pm
I am surprised more posters haven't commented on last night's figure of less than 2500 home fans.

I was at the Brentford game in 1969 when 1,833 (I think) turned up, so not many more there last night considering most/all of them will be season ticket holders.

I can't imagine we had many season ticket holders in 1968/69 so probably more pay on the gate fans attended then.

That must be a further worry for the board? Once interest plummets to those levels, it is difficult to get it back.

Following that shocking 68/69 season Lawrie Mac arrived bringing a new positivity. He was a one-off obviously, but we could do with a lift from a charismatic, larger than life character who might spark us into life. The takeover seems as far away as ever, so sadly it won't happen down that route, so a new manager would have to be the answer.

Just got to find one.
Posted by: Les Brechin, November 27, 2019, 5:36pm; Reply: 1
How many season ticket holders do we actually have this season?
Posted by: MuddyWaters, November 27, 2019, 5:40pm; Reply: 2
I am surprised more posters haven't commented on last night's figure of less than 2500 home fans.

I was at the Brentford game in 1969 when 1,833 (I think) turned up, so not many more there last night considering most/all of them will be season ticket holders.

I can't imagine we had many season ticket holders in 1968/69 so probably more pay on the gate fans attended then.

That must be a further worry for the board? Once interest plummets to those levels, it is difficult to get it back.

Following that shocking 68/69 season Lawrie Mac arrived bringing a new positivity. He was a one-off obviously, but we could do with a lift from a charismatic, larger than life character who might spark us into life. The takeover seems as far away as ever, so sadly it won't happen down that route, so a new manager would have to be the answer.

Just got to find one.


The two Newport Cup games were dire, I don't think anyone can deny that but the two performances since have been much better bearing in mind our opponent's form/league positions. If you also factor in the various illness/loans/injuries then we have seen signs of a recovery. In terms of attendance, I didn't expect many to pay on the gate last night but it will be the players and the results that see gate increases not a big name manager because we won't appoint a big name manager.
Posted by: lew chaterleys lover, November 27, 2019, 5:48pm; Reply: 3
Quoted from MuddyWaters


The two Newport Cup games were dire, I don't think anyone can deny that but the two performances since have been much better bearing in mind our opponent's form/league positions. If you also factor in the various illness/loans/injuries then we have seen signs of a recovery. In terms of attendance, I didn't expect many to pay on the gate last night but it will be the players and the results that see gate increases not a big name manager because we won't appoint a big name manager.


Not a big name, that is very unlikely, but a new manager who will give the club a lift. I am not a fan of those tainted by the previous regime taking over.

Our slight improvement has been welcomed, but the team would have to go on one hell of a run to have the punters flocking back to BP.
Posted by: Bigdog, November 27, 2019, 5:49pm; Reply: 4
Quoted from Les Brechin
How many season ticket holders do we actually have this season?


2700


Less than 2500 home fans for a home league game should be a massive wake up call for everybody, the board, the most loyal of fans, potential investors. No excuses, Champions League, the weather, six weeks to Xmas, results, performances, i-Follow, blah, blah, blah. It's completely unacceptable..Only a couple of hundred more than FGR on the same night and they get ripped to shreds on here for their tinpot support.

Home attendances are the true barometer of where a club is.. not the bank balance or profit and loss account. Was going to say balance sheet too, but that's as fooked as the waning interest in the club..

This club is on life support, when is everyone going to wake up to the fact?
Posted by: FishOutOfWater, November 27, 2019, 6:01pm; Reply: 5
Quoted from Bigdog


2700


Less than 2500 home fans for a home league game should be a massive wake up call for everybody, the board, the most loyal of fans, potential investors. No excuses, Champions League, the weather, six weeks to Xmas, results, performances, i-Follow, blah, blah, blah. It's completely unacceptable..Only a couple of hundred more than FGR on the same night and they get ripped to shreds on here for their tinpot support.

Home attendances are the true barometer of where a club is.. not the bank balance or profit and loss account. Was going to say balance sheet too, but that's as fooked as the waning interest in the club..

This club is on life support, when is everyone going to wake up to the fact?


Just my opinion but it's more or less out of our hands.... only one man has the chance to make those big decisions that will determine the future of our club
Posted by: MuddyWaters, November 27, 2019, 6:02pm; Reply: 6
Quoted from Bigdog


2700


Less than 2500 home fans for a home league game should be a massive wake up call for everybody, the board, the most loyal of fans, potential investors. No excuses, Champions League, the weather, six weeks to Xmas, results, performances, i-Follow, blah, blah, blah. It's completely unacceptable..Only a couple of hundred more than FGR on the same night and they get ripped to shreds on here for their tinpot support.

Home attendances are the true barometer of where a club is.. not the bank balance or profit and loss account. Was going to say balance sheet too, but that's as fooked as the waning interest in the club..

This club is on life support, when is everyone going to wake up to the fact?


You raise valid points Bigdog, but the simple truth is that we can do eff all about it. I'm delighted we still have a club to support, albeit that it's skin & bone and in need of a money transfusion.
Posted by: Rik e B, November 27, 2019, 6:04pm; Reply: 7
If in doubt, blame Brexit.
Posted by: ska face, November 27, 2019, 6:05pm; Reply: 8
At £300 a year, a fan would have to buy a season ticket for 50 years just to cover the £15,000 the club poured down the drain through Nick Dale’s antics in the Port Vale fixture.

The fans are not the problem.
Posted by: TownSNAFU5, November 27, 2019, 6:38pm; Reply: 9
Arguably, there is more a catalyst for change at the top (or by the Board) if fans do NOT turn-out.  Sad but probably true.
Posted by: Les Brechin, November 27, 2019, 6:43pm; Reply: 10
I noticed that Wrexham who are having a shocking season in The National League and are in the bottom 3 currently, got just under 3000 and Chesterfield another team struggling in the NL got almost 3500.
Posted by: Northbank Mariner, November 27, 2019, 6:56pm; Reply: 11
It's not just the lack of numbers in the ground...it's the lack of atmosphere...BP used to bounce from the kick off to the final whistle...last night, apart from the occasional muted chants of "Mariners" coming from the pontoon, you could hear a pin drop for the most part ...
Something is rotting this club away and as we all know, a fish rots from the head....
From a once proud historic club to one that is sinking into the abyss and it breaks my heart...
But in reality is the club just indicative of the town itself?....
Great Grimsby needs major investment and it needs it quick...
The people will always be the best and I for one continue to fly the flag for my beloved home town amongst all these mud rats I now live with..
Posted by: moosey_club, November 27, 2019, 7:30pm; Reply: 12
i fear last nights attendance will maybe influence the choice and speed of the new appointment.  With a gate that low then a "name" manager might be favoured to try and wake the support, a relative unknown appointment would have to build momentum to win the fans back.

I honestly think that apart from any new appointment going on an unprecedented winning streak then only a change of hands at the top will spike enough interest to start  bringng the support back.

Posted by: golfer, November 27, 2019, 8:08pm; Reply: 13
Come on. Irrespective of how the team has been performing under Jolly The weather has been pss poor for days now=Tuesday night is hardly ever a big gate and there are no suitable buses to get into Town after the match so not many are going to walk in the rain. I didn't go for health reasons but I bet there were quite a few who decided to watch on ifollow which isn't usually on.
Posted by: lew chaterleys lover, November 27, 2019, 10:00pm; Reply: 14
Quoted from golfer
Come on. Irrespective of how the team has been performing under Jolly The weather has been pss poor for days now=Tuesday night is hardly ever a big gate and there are no suitable buses to get into Town after the match so not many are going to walk in the rain. I didn't go for health reasons but I bet there were quite a few who decided to watch on ifollow which isn't usually on.


Next time it rains on a Tuesday it might be just 2000.

I don't think you can be complacent. If we don't suddenly start winning, or something happens to stir some interest the attendance for the remainder of the season could be terrible.

I agree with posters that say a change at the top is the only thing to really galvanise the club, but that looks as unlikely as ever so we need to do something on the playing side sharpish.
Posted by: supertown, November 27, 2019, 10:12pm; Reply: 15
Sad times , I hated non league but this is no better
Posted by: heppy88, November 27, 2019, 11:44pm; Reply: 16
I believe a tipping point has been reached.
Fans are just sick of the mediocrity surrounding the club. How many more seasons of "nothing to play for by November" do we have to put up with?
New season, new manager,  new squad and repeat. Over and over. Makes me laugh thinking about all the posters on here when we finally got promoted. All you ever read was " consolidation this" and " building that" and then the false promises of Bignot, Slade, Jolley.........of Fenty.
For the first time in my 40 years supporting town I walked out at half time last night. Sat in a soulless ground with an attendance less than season tickets sold, watching a team, many of the names of which will be a distant memory in a year or two. No, too many false promises of promotion pushes, takeover bids, new stadiums.....all balderdash. Anyone would think the club was run by a politician!
I don't mind admitting I actually enjoyed the last couple of years in the conference. There was a togetherness, true belief and a palpable feeling of excitement. It was by no means perfect but we felt a connection with the team and a shared belief that promotion was ours for the taking and with that a hopefulness, an excitement for the approaching years back in the league. If Rovers could get back to back promotions then surely so could the Mighty Mariners?  
I envy those who posted on the "just back" thread on Tuesday night. With their positivity and hope that we may have just turned a corner, celebrating a clean sheet and 00 draw with the mighty Cheltenham at home. ........
Posted by: forza ivano, November 27, 2019, 11:49pm; Reply: 17
Quoted from supertown
Sad times , I hated non league but this is no better


What bollox.weve been to palace n Chelsea in this calendar year alone never did that in 6 years of non league  shite. If u prefer coalville chasetown ebbsfleet hayes bath  hyde altrincham nuneaton tamworth n a whole load if others I could mention then u must have a screw loose
Posted by: LH, November 28, 2019, 12:00am; Reply: 18
Quoted from forza ivano


What bollox.weve been to palace n Chelsea in this calendar year alone never did that in 6 years of non league  shite. If u prefer coalville chasetown ebbsfleet hayes bath  hyde altrincham nuneaton tamworth n a whole load if others I could mention then u must have a screw loose


With respect having a season ticket and being gullible enough to financially and mentally back this rubbish in the summer and then through the following nine months is hard work. Pick a few lowlights from non league out but there was a season we match Barca and Madrid for home goals (didn’t do anything with it mind) and it was entertaining. If we aren’t going to be winners at least give people something interesting to watch.

PS. Chasetown was in the FA Trophy that every twit and his dog wanted us to get knocked out in the first round by the end of our stint in Non-League. It’s about time we started to think of that as a lucky escape rather than an embarrassment.
Posted by: Northbank Mariner, November 28, 2019, 6:53am; Reply: 19
Its a catch 22 position.  
You show a disdain for the current board and playing style by not going, gates keep reducing, less money into the club, the budget gets chopped, the quality of players you can afford drops, the playing style gets worse, the gates drop further, the money in reduces further....you get the picture ..at some point in that cycle the club becomes financially unviable and completely unattractive to any potential investors and goes out of business...
So, by not sucking it up, getting ourselves down to BP and doing what any True supporter of GTFC would do and supporting the CLUB through thick and thin we end up with no club to support....
It's all well and good shouting for Fenty to sell up and leave but if no one's there to buy it you may as well be shouting at yourself in a padded cell...
I, for one, will keep buying my season ticket, I will keep going go, making the trios on a cold, wet Tuesday night because for as much as I've hated and booed the recent form I still love my GTFC.... Christ, people have short memories, 8 weeks ago Jolley was the best thing since sliced bread and fans we're buzzing and talking about promotion...
How can anyone call Lincoln fans plastic because their gates have only increased because of the football success yet when there's a downturn here have the audacity to say "I'm not wasting my hard earned money to watch that sh!te"....
Posted by: chaos33, November 28, 2019, 7:06am; Reply: 20
Quoted from heppy88
I believe a tipping point has been reached.
Fans are just sick of the mediocrity surrounding the club. How many more seasons of "nothing to play for by November" do we have to put up with?
New season, new manager,  new squad and repeat. Over and over. Makes me laugh thinking about all the posters on here when we finally got promoted. All you ever read was " consolidation this" and " building that" and then the false promises of Bignot, Slade, Jolley.........of Fenty.
For the first time in my 40 years supporting town I walked out at half time last night. Sat in a soulless ground with an attendance less than season tickets sold, watching a team, many of the names of which will be a distant memory in a year or two. No, too many false promises of promotion pushes, takeover bids, new stadiums.....all balderdash. Anyone would think the club was run by a politician!
I don't mind admitting I actually enjoyed the last couple of years in the conference. There was a togetherness, true belief and a palpable feeling of excitement. It was by no means perfect but we felt a connection with the team and a shared belief that promotion was ours for the taking and with that a hopefulness, an excitement for the approaching years back in the league. If Rovers could get back to back promotions then surely so could the Mighty Mariners?  
I envy those who posted on the "just back" thread on Tuesday night. With their positivity and hope that we may have just turned a corner, celebrating a clean sheet and 00 draw with the mighty Cheltenham at home. ........


This.
Posted by: Davec, November 28, 2019, 7:15am; Reply: 21
we need a few wins to make attendances pick up, playing well against Cheltenham but not scoring will not entice people back, but a winning team and ideally good football will, if we do not get a few wins soon attendances will be even less and season ticket sales for next season could even be at an all time record low.
Posted by: supertown, November 28, 2019, 7:31am; Reply: 22
Quoted from forza ivano


What bollox.weve been to palace n Chelsea in this calendar year alone never did that in 6 years of non league  shite. If u prefer coalville chasetown ebbsfleet hayes bath  hyde altrincham nuneaton tamworth n a whole load if others I could mention then u must have a screw loose


How is cherry picking a couple of cup games making our league form any better . Incidentally we got hammered in one of them
Posted by: golfer, November 28, 2019, 8:28am; Reply: 23


Next time it rains on a Tuesday it might be just 2000.

I don't think you can be complacent. If we don't suddenly start winning, or something happens to stir some interest the attendance for the remainder of the season could be terrible.

I agree with posters that say a change at the top is the only thing to really galvanise the club, but that looks as unlikely as ever so we need to do something on the playing side sharpish.


I agree-I was just trying to give a few MORE reasons why it was a low attendance. At one time we would scramble through a foot of snow to see Town. I remember Duncan Welbourne doing his famous sliding tackles through snow drifts at BP-don't think we will see anything of the like again.
Posted by: cannylad68, November 28, 2019, 8:52am; Reply: 24
Only making a statement.
My first match at BP was in 1950.
I have always been a loyal supporter, but when we were relegated to the Conference, I stopped attending the matches, thinking I would return whenever we got back into the Football League.
Guess what, I haven't.
The point I am making is that it is almost impossible to regain lost supporters unless ?
Posted by: wiggers, November 28, 2019, 9:09am; Reply: 25
Why I’m not going is for a combination of reasons tbh. Work and being away at weekends when Town have been at home have meant I haven’t had the option to attend my times. But speaking to friends and family who have been, I have to say for the first time in a long time I’m really not bothered that I’ve yet to step foot inside BP this season. When Jolley went I thought this would give me the incentive to go, I watched the Newport game on the telly, it was absolutely dire. Personally I feel we need a new manager to come in to lift us all again. With Limbrick in charge it doesn’t feel any different. Jolley minus the suit. Surely with all the applicants that JF has had there must be at least one to get us all believing again..... Div 2 football shouldn’t be this complicated
Posted by: ginnywings, November 28, 2019, 9:37am; Reply: 26
There were some mitigating factors on the night. Tues/Weds night games are always slightly down on attendances as a rule, plus there was the foul weather, the recent poor run of results, and the dire football that seems to go hand in hand with it. The fact it was on iFollow and the opposition not being much of a draw all helped to lower the figures, but i was genuinely shocked at how low it was. Thought it would be the low to mid 3000's. I'm also surprised to learn that we only sold 2700 season tickets this season, as i assumed it was the usual 3000, so that's a 10% drop in sales before the season had even kicked off. The usual poor form and manager under pressure we see repeated year on year has just confirmed to former die hards such as myself and my brother, that nothing has changed and we were not missing much by our decision to not purchase one for the current season.

Like heppy, i think we are at a tipping point. A lot of former long term fans such as myself have just drifted away and are not seeing anything that wants to drag us back. The longer this goes on, the less i miss going to BP, and i suspect others feel the same way. All i hear when i discuss Town is how interminably boring it is, with the same lack of drive, urgency and a plan for success repeating season after season.

For me, going to BP had become a chore and a duty which left me feeling mostly frustrated, sad and usually in a foul mood. It's not even so much about the results, as the poor all round experience and dire football on offer. Neither is it because i don't care, it's because i care too much. Giving up weekends to watch Town, when i could be somewhere else doing more enjoyable stuff, just became too much of a compromise for me. I could have gone Tues night and did consider it, but to be honest, i was in my workshop and i completely forgot about the game until kick off time. That would never have happened in the past. My brother would have been texting asking where we were meeting up, but he has stopped going also. Nearly a hundred seasons support between us, and we just can't face it at the moment.

I hope this is our Lincoln before the Cowley's period, and we get someone in who turns the club around like they did. I'm not just talking about a manager here, but others coming onto the board as well with fresh ideas and impetus. It feels like we are on life support at the moment, with the club ticking over financially in a holding pattern, waiting for someone else to pick up the baton and run with it. JF wants out, we know that, so his thoughts are just to keep the status quo, keep the books balanced and wait for something to happen. We are all waiting for something that never arrives.
Posted by: Northbank Mariner, November 28, 2019, 9:43am; Reply: 27
Welcome to Bury in the making with the current attitude I'm afraid...
Posted by: supertown, November 28, 2019, 9:47am; Reply: 28
Quoted from Northbank Mariner
Welcome to Bury in the making with the current attitude I'm afraid...


Really? What you basing that on
Posted by: ginnywings, November 28, 2019, 9:49am; Reply: 29
Quoted from Northbank Mariner
Welcome to Bury in the making with the current attitude I'm afraid...


You can keep blaming the fans, but ultimately, it was the board who did for Bury. At least they got to see a promotion season before the sh1t hit the fan.
Posted by: Northbank Mariner, November 28, 2019, 10:15am; Reply: 30
Quoted from ginnywings


You can keep blaming the fans, but ultimately, it was the board who did for Bury. At least they got to see a promotion season before the sh1t hit the fan.


Yes, it was the board that eventually did Bury I agree...all I'm aiming at is that with current attitude of not bothering to support the club it's simple mathematics that at some point the books will no longer balance, the business will fail and the gates will be locked...
There's no new investment looking likely in the near, or far future, for what I can see, so we either get in there and keep the club afloat or sit back and watch it's demise...
Then when there is no club to support who do we blame then?...
Posted by: ska face, November 28, 2019, 10:40am; Reply: 31
So your solution is to guilt people into doing something they don’t enjoy, haven’t got the money for and watch their money being p1ssed up the wall by a set of incompetents in the boardroom?
Posted by: golfer, November 28, 2019, 10:47am; Reply: 32
Quoted from Northbank Mariner
Welcome to Bury in the making with the current attitude I'm afraid...


No it's not-the exact opposite-we might be down but we're not out-and never will be,thankyou very much
Posted by: marinerdazza, November 28, 2019, 10:54am; Reply: 33
I'm a season ticket holder, I didn't go. it's a 140 mile round trip for me and a very late night. The weather, the Newport game and the general malaise around the Jolley situation made sure I stayed home. I can't blame iFollow because I didn't watch it on that either. To be fair, I actually wish I had at least watched it online given the reports.

As far as we're concerned there are no "big name" managers who'll get bums on seats. The names floated around once a manager has been sacked are always a wake up call. Most posters, myself included, are getting used to the reality that we'd be unlikely to entice Barrow's manager in the league below. I'm pretty sure we tried to get John Askey when he was at Macclesfield, but failed.

I don't like hasty appointments and I think that changing managers mid season is often the start of a dangerous downward spiral. Especially with our reverse midas touch in this area.

For what it's worth, I think Limbrick and Davies should be given it until the end of the season and then take a view. If they're not up to it, it'll have been obvious to the board for some time and they can make a considered decision then.
Posted by: Northbank Mariner, November 28, 2019, 11:00am; Reply: 34
Quoted from ska face
So your solution is to guilt people into doing something they don’t enjoy, haven’t got the money for and watch their money being p1ssed up the wall by a set of incompetents in the boardroom?


Nobodies trying to guilt anybody into anything but as usual Ska you go straight for the throat of the board as Scargill went straight for the throat of Thatcher....
You tell me the solution then, where is the money, investment, buyer coming from?...
I know the board is culpable of incompetence in the appointment of several managers but, as it stands, we still have a club to support...
The Draconian attitude is to say "f@ck this, I ain't going while he's in his comfy seat" and if you think that works then good for you but ask the dockers,, miners, steel workers if it worked for them??..
Complain about the board until your blue in the face but they're going nowhere, not now, not next month, next year because no fool is going to buy a club with no fan base...that's where I am ultimately coming from..
Posted by: chaos33, November 28, 2019, 11:12am; Reply: 35
Aren’t you missing the point somewhat with that last statement?
On the contrary,the club has a very impressive fan base, especially away from home but the club has disenfranchised an awful lot of us by being perpetually sh1t and failing to make proper investments in all aspects to address that decline. There was something of a renaissance in the recent promotion season back to the league but the club quickly killed off all that positivity by - guess what - being really poor on and off the pitch. Successive relegation battles at a level we should be competing in undelining that point. We would be one of the best supported clubs home and away in L2 if there was anything remotely positive to get involved with .

I agree with ginnywings’ excellent post. The same applies to me and I’m a supporter of about 40 years. I suspect there are hundreds if not thousands of us.
Posted by: Northbank Mariner, November 28, 2019, 11:26am; Reply: 36
Quoted from chaos33
Aren’t you missing the point somewhat with that last statement?
On the contrary,the club has a very impressive fan base, especially away from home but the club has disenfranchised an awful lot of us by being perpetually sh1t and failing to make proper investments in all aspects to address that decline. There was something of a renaissance in the recent promotion season back to the league but the club quickly killed off all that positivity by - guess what - being really poor on and off the pitch. Successive relegation battles at a level we should be competing in undelining that point. We would be one of the best supported clubs home and away in L2 if there was anything remotely positive to get involved with .

I agree with ginnywings’ excellent post. The same applies to me and I’m a supporter of about 40 years. I suspect there are hundreds if not thousands of us.


No, I'm not missing the point, if anything I'm trying to point out that we as a club are in a massive downward spiral...yes, for league 2, even league 1, we have a great fan base but for how much longer??...
If anything I suppose I'm trying to put out a last grasp rallying call to get people through the gates, increase the profits, increase the budget, make us more investable, get JSF his money back,..and move in to a brighter future ..
And in the other hand, how much longer before the lack of a crowd, inturn the lack of an atmosphere has an impact on the playing staff and there goes even more dire football, crowds drop again and BOOM.... we're looking at having to be a phoenix club ..
Posted by: Civvy at last, November 28, 2019, 11:27am; Reply: 37
Quoted from Northbank Mariner


Yes, it was the board that eventually did Bury I agree...all I'm aiming at is that with current attitude of not bothering to support the club it's simple mathematics that at some point the books will no longer balance, the business will fail and the gates will be locked...
There's no new investment looking likely in the near, or far future, for what I can see, so we either get in there and keep the club afloat or sit back and watch it's demise...
Then when there is no club to support who do we blame then?...


We blame the very people (person) that has lead to Grimsby Town Football Club being an awful experience both on and off the pitch.

  Let's say you had a car you once loved. But due to an absolute sh1te mechanic that you trusted to maintain it, it became a wreck, a depressing experience to drive or to even look at. Would you carry on paying the mechanic, getting depressed every Saturday when you went to drive it, and constantly moaning to the other half about how good it used to be.  If you did stop paying the mechanic  because of the state of the car,  but  no one else would maintain it because it was so run down and it got scrapped. Would you blame yourself, or the sh1t mechanic ??  
Posted by: chaos33, November 28, 2019, 11:29am; Reply: 38
You said nobody in their right mind wants to buy a football club with no fan base, but we have an excellent fan base. Many have been driven away.
Posted by: Swansea_Mariner, November 28, 2019, 11:36am; Reply: 39
The products been devalued to the point that's it's worthless. Chaos and Ginny got this smack on, we are dreadful and cannot even compete in the basement division.

It's nothing to do with the level of support, we have been well supported at this level and still shite.  Everyone has their limit.
Posted by: TheRonRaffertyFanClub, November 28, 2019, 11:44am; Reply: 40
Quoted from marinerdazza
I'm a season ticket holder, I didn't go. it's a 140 mile round trip for me and a very late night. The weather, the Newport game and the general malaise around the Jolley situation made sure I stayed home. I can't blame iFollow because I didn't watch it on that either. To be fair, I actually wish I had at least watched it online given the reports.

As far as we're concerned there are no "big name" managers who'll get bums on seats. The names floated around once a manager has been sacked are always a wake up call. Most posters, myself included, are getting used to the reality that we'd be unlikely to entice Barrow's manager in the league below. I'm pretty sure we tried to get John Askey when he was at Macclesfield, but failed.

I don't like hasty appointments and I think that changing managers mid season is often the start of a dangerous downward spiral. Especially with our reverse midas touch in this area.

For what it's worth, I think Limbrick and Davies should be given it until the end of the season and then take a view. If they're not up to it, it'll have been obvious to the board for some time and they can make a considered decision then.



I think you have encapsulated the dilemma, as it were. ;)

The most effective way to put bums on seats is by a reboot. But nobody with a name wants to come here and reboot us. So we appoint not very good managers who drift us further into the mire and more fans desert the ship. If someone helps us to tread water then we grab at the chance and we say "Give him a chance to build something and we might keep the 2.5k supporters and even add another 1k every home game which will help towards another player/portakabin."

If he does manage to arrest the decline a bit he is sainted and will no doubt leave for higher things. If not he gets the boot because we sank back into the mire again but a little bit deeper this time. We give the Limbrick/Davies duo some time and then what? We are lower mid-table.  We give them a bit more and a bit more time until it is clear they are not the answer and we are actually worse off than when they started. Are we more attractive or less attractive to prospective managers next February or May than we are this December if the L&D team does not flourish? While I understand this point of view, we  keep on doing it and just getting nowhere fast.

I don't know whether L&D can do any good but they have to do some serious PR with the fans on the way the team plays and some serious work with the players to find a cutting edge to the play before it's too late. If the manager thinks like some fans that Tuesday was a good performance then we are doomed. We all seem to agree there is the basis of a side there with the addition of some width, but is there any cutting edge to the management to get the results?

Posted by: oochiad, November 28, 2019, 11:47am; Reply: 41
I’m a season ticket holder and so is my Dad, he’s very ill so neither of us are going at the mo. Our slight improvement in performance we are hearing about by your good selves his helping his mood. We’re hoping to make it for the Swindon match which will be his first this season. UTM
Posted by: rancido, November 28, 2019, 12:09pm; Reply: 42
Quoted from ginnywings


You can keep blaming the fans, but ultimately, it was the board who did for Bury. At least they got to see a promotion season before the sh1t hit the fan.


And a fat lot of good that did them.
Posted by: rancido, November 28, 2019, 12:23pm; Reply: 43
Whatever happens I just sincerely hope we don't end up like another Stockport, Wrexham, Chesterfield or Notts County. A bunch of passionate fans wishing for the "glory days" of League Football and constantly saying "it was JF that did this to us". As much as we don't like what has happened under his tenure, I bet fans of the clubs I have mentioned would rather be in our shoes with JF at the helm than in their own situation.
Posted by: heppy88, November 28, 2019, 12:46pm; Reply: 44
Quoted from rancido
Whatever happens I just sincerely hope we don't end up like another Stockport, Wrexham, Chesterfield or Notts County. A bunch of passionate fans wishing for the "glory days" of League Football and constantly saying "it was JF that did this to us". As much as we don't like what has happened under his tenure, I bet fans of the clubs I have mentioned would rather be in our shoes with JF at the helm than in their own situation.


So if I read this right. Its okay to be fed shite and okay to expect shite for the forseeable future, as long as we survive? The lack of ambition from the board and SOME supporters is another factor that will maintain us in this relentless cycle of decline.
Posted by: Bigdog, November 28, 2019, 12:57pm; Reply: 45
Quoted from Swansea_Mariner
The products been devalued to the point that's it's worthless. Chaos and Ginny got this smack on, we are dreadful and cannot even compete in the basement division.

It's nothing to do with the level of support, we have been well supported at this level and still shite.  Everyone has their limit.


In the latest JF interview with RH, something he said stuck out for me. I was pleasantly surprised at the tone of his voice and also his admission that things haven't been as successful as he would have liked under his tenure, but then went on to claim as a big positive on his custodial CV that he had led the club to six games at national stadiums. This is where the disconnect with the majority of the fanbase lies (that includes the thousands that have drifted off over the past decade and a half), and why the product has been devalued so much. It's because standards have been set too low by those in charge.

Let's look at the six visits to the national stadium..

2006 play-off final v Cheltenham.. that gets a tick but it's 13 years ago
2008 tinpot v MKD that gets a tick as it was a payday, a day out for the fans at the new Wembley, but it's nearly twelve years ago
The rest.. the two play off finals and two FA Trophy finals were non-league competitions, they shouldn't count as anything like feather in the cap success to put on a CV. We all felt the relief of beating FGR and returning to the League, but glory, not in a million years.

Nothing has been done to make the club progressive. No co-opting on the board of further ideas and investment in a very, very long time. Pretty much nearly everything the club tries to do is on a shoestring and lacks finesse. Patched up this, patched up that, harris fencing littered around the ground. It really is shoddy.

It's like someone else has said. We're pootling along until JF gets his money back. No ostensible plans for the future. Just stump up your money for the way things have always been done. Treading water, which is actually regressive when comparing to other clubs, coupled with a lack of vision and perennial poor football equals 2500 gates.

For his sake and ours, I hope JF pulls a rabbit out of the hat to push this club forward. Not just a manager, much more than that. I want him to have a better legacy than six national stadium visits with four not even counting. If he goes out and grabs himself a better legacy than that, then we'll all be happy, but fans present and lapsed are still waiting, holding their breath..
Posted by: Les Brechin, November 28, 2019, 12:59pm; Reply: 46
Quoted from oochiad
I’m a season ticket holder and so is my Dad, he’s very ill so neither of us are going at the mo. Our slight improvement in performance we are hearing about by your good selves his helping his mood. We’re hoping to make it for the Swindon match which will be his first this season. UTM


I don't suppose that you sit in The Upper Smiths Row P do you. There are 2 seats just to the left of where I sit that are supposed to be season ticket holders and no one has sat in them at any game this season yet.
Posted by: oochiad, November 28, 2019, 1:02pm; Reply: 47
No Les Brechin, we’re in the main stand row G.
Posted by: Azimuth, November 28, 2019, 1:25pm; Reply: 48
Its simple, we attend games to be entertained, yes there is some loyalty too but that loyalty can become stretched, I stopped going for a while when Hurst was manager after a game against Barrow, it was truely dire and I didnt enjoy the afternoon at all, that expereince was the tipping point and made me realise I didnt want to justify the financial outlay to not be entertained.
Posted by: lew chaterleys lover, November 28, 2019, 1:31pm; Reply: 49
I have just seen on the GTFC twitter page that we have scored ONE  home league goal since the 24th August.

I now realise why the attendance was so low.  ;D
Posted by: rancido, November 28, 2019, 1:42pm; Reply: 50
Quoted from heppy88


So if I read this right. Its okay to be fed shite and okay to expect shite for the forseeable future, as long as we survive? The lack of ambition from the board and SOME supporters is another factor that will maintain us in this relentless cycle of decline.



No, you have read this wrong. I never said it was ok but we could be a lot worse off. I don't know if by SOME supporters you allude to me but that could not be further from the truth. I want us to succeed as much as any fan but I am also a realist and know my limitations in how I can affect the club.Like I said , do you think Stockport fans would trade places with us even with JF running the show. Maybe I am a " glass half full guy " and I have watched town since 1965 so have seen many ups and downs. JF wants out and has made this perfectly clear. In fact I get the impression that once the club changes hands then he wants no more part in the club whatsoever apart from being a fan. Once he goes then we will see what lies before us until then we either carry on turning up or stay away in droves and make a difficult proposition in selling the club that bit harder. The choice is ours.
Posted by: TheRonRaffertyFanClub, November 28, 2019, 1:53pm; Reply: 51
I have just seen on the GTFC twitter page that we have scored ONE  home league goal since the 24th August.

I now realise why the attendance was so low.  ;D


Some people are never satisfied. It could have been worse.  ;D

Posted by: lew chaterleys lover, November 28, 2019, 2:03pm; Reply: 52


Some people are never satisfied. It could have been worse.  ;D



I've been spoilt rotten I have   ;D

Joking apart - the reasons people have given for a fall in interest are all valid, but you have to say there has been virtually no excitement on the pitch for the last two seasons.

As we look back over the Jolley era, it is apparent that he had a lot to answer for with his negative and aimless tactics, lack of goals and excitement. It didn't seem quite as bad at the time, but in hindsight what a let down.
Posted by: Swansea_Mariner, November 28, 2019, 2:04pm; Reply: 53
Please with the Stockports and Darlington, we can all throw in a handful of clubs that have made a worse fist of it than us.
What about the 60+ clubs that sit ABOVE us in the EFL, that far out numbers the Burys and Chesters of this world.
Posted by: TownSNAFU5, November 28, 2019, 2:14pm; Reply: 54
The definition of success between the Board and the fans is a chasm.  That is a big minus for starters.

Actively getting new (mainly young) fans in should be a top priority. They should also then suffer the many lows as we have over x decades. 😢. This new blood is needed as we fall by the wayside or just expire.

Equally, the Club need to look after their current, but diminishing loyal core of fans.  We are the current cash-flow that keeps the club going.  Which also helps attract some younger/new fans.  They are the future and not yet sadly disillusioned.

Many of the comments above from long-term fans are very sad. It is true though that there is only so many false-dawns that a person endure before cynicism and disinterest takes over.  

Never mind the dire football, decrepit stadium and poor leadership year-on-year.  It is the false hope that gets to you. New ground, new owners and an injection of money etc.

Without reasonable glimmers of hope for a better future then we are done.

I have to travel 130 miles to home games.  I have missed a few games this season and have not regretted going.  First time since the mid 1960s.   (although we did miss Docks Beers).  

I do not think that the visit to Cardiff was a “good day out or positive”.  As mentioned above when referring to John Fenty saying we had reached finals. It was a very long way to go to lose to a team that we beaten twice that season.  The timing of a managerial change was also awful.  So was the train back to Newport, which was full of Cheltenham fans.

A terrible day when promotion was probable.  The misery was to prepare us for future and even worse times.  Little did we know what was down the line.


Posted by: ginnywings, November 28, 2019, 2:28pm; Reply: 55
We just need to get to 50 points and job done. That's about the level of ambition coming from the club since we got back in the league.
Posted by: ska face, November 28, 2019, 2:38pm; Reply: 56
Quoted from Northbank Mariner


Nobodies trying to guilt anybody into anything but as usual Ska you go straight for the throat of the board as Scargill went straight for the throat of Thatcher....
You tell me the solution then, where is the money, investment, buyer coming from?...
I know the board is culpable of incompetence in the appointment of several managers but, as it stands, we still have a club to support...
The Draconian attitude is to say "f@ck this, I ain't going while he's in his comfy seat" and if you think that works then good for you but ask the dockers,, miners, steel workers if it worked for them??..
Complain about the board until your blue in the face but they're going nowhere, not now, not next month, next year because no fool is going to buy a club with no fan base...that's where I am ultimately coming from..


You appear to have forced yourself in to an analogy without really thinking it through - not to worry, I think I’ve picked your argument out from your incoherent ramblings.

The problem for the miners and the dockers is that they often had no other choice but to work in those industries. If they closed, they would struggle to find any other meaningful work. If town fans decide not to go on a Saturday, there’s a million other things they could do with their time and money.The club seem to overestimate their appeal and underestimate their competition.

They have also shown absolutely no desire to understand the fan base, their lives, their commitments, their circumstances, what they want from the club, why they go to matches, why they don’t go to matches, etc. I bet the club have absolutely no idea how many fans travel to home games from outside the area each week, when we all know the proportion of exiled fans at GTFC is enormous.

The club is run by a politician absolutely, ideologically committed to cutting costs and running services in the cheapest possible manner while maintaining the facade of a fully-functioning service. Outsourced, poorly trained stewards? Just do enough to cover the legal requirements, we don’t really need them. CJD burgers? They’re good enough for me, eat up serfs! Investment requested by promotion winning manager? You’ve got a new portacabin, what else do you want? If you don’t like it you can leave! The man knows the price of everything and the value of nothing...

Wishing for a bit of “football fortune” might balance the books at the end of the year, but it’s not a viable, long-term strategy to keep fans coming through the gates. The thought of a juicy cup draw isn’t going to get families to sit at BP on a p1ss-wet Tuesday night in November when we’re already out of all cups and on the slide in the league.

Blind loyalty can only stretch so far, and that is often determined by how long people can justify throwing good money after bad. I wouldn’t expect a multi-millionaire in Humberstone to understand the difficulties of a parent trying to scrape £50 together every fortnight to sit in the cold, or a why a 150-mile round trip plus petrol, plus a £20 ticket, plus an arbitrary tax of £1 just for having ordered a ticket isn’t so appealing to many exiles. I’d expect them to make an effort to try though.

As far as I’m concerned, I can’t see myself putting another penny into GTFC unless something drastic changes - and that doesn’t mean another face in the dugout.
Posted by: Northbank Mariner, November 28, 2019, 3:15pm; Reply: 57
Quoted from ska face


You appear to have forced yourself in to an analogy without really thinking it through - not to worry, I think I’ve picked your argument out from your incoherent ramblings.

The problem for the miners and the dockers is that they often had no other choice but to work in those industries. If they closed, they would struggle to find any other meaningful work. If town fans decide not to go on a Saturday, there’s a million other things they could do with their time and money.The club seem to overestimate their appeal and underestimate their competition.

They have also shown absolutely no desire to understand the fan base, their lives, their commitments, their circumstances, what they want from the club, why they go to matches, why they don’t go to matches, etc. I bet the club have absolutely no idea how many fans travel to home games from outside the area each week, when we all know the proportion of exiled fans at GTFC is enormous.

The club is run by a politician absolutely, ideologically committed to cutting costs and running services in the cheapest possible manner while maintaining the facade of a fully-functioning service. Outsourced, poorly trained stewards? Just do enough to cover the legal requirements, we don’t really need them. CJD burgers? They’re good enough for me, eat up serfs! Investment requested by promotion winning manager? You’ve got a new portacabin, what else do you want? If you don’t like it you can leave! The man knows the price of everything and the value of nothing...

Wishing for a bit of “football fortune” might balance the books at the end of the year, but it’s not a viable, long-term strategy to keep fans coming through the gates. The thought of a juicy cup draw isn’t going to get families to sit at BP on a p1ss-wet Tuesday night in November when we’re already out of all cups and on the slide in the league.

Blind loyalty can only stretch so far, and that is often determined by how long people can justify throwing good money after bad. I wouldn’t expect a multi-millionaire in Humberstone to understand the difficulties of a parent trying to scrape £50 together every fortnight to sit in the cold, or a why a 150-mile round trip plus petrol, plus a £20 ticket, plus an arbitrary tax of £1 just for having ordered a ticket isn’t so appealing to many exiles. I’d expect them to make an effort to try though.

As far as I’m concerned, I can’t see myself putting another penny into GTFC unless something drastic changes - and that doesn’t mean another face in the dugout.


Well, you may as well keep banking your hard earned money then, because there is nothing on the horizon in the form of change.

I will not defend the board, not their shortsightedness.

Unfortunately we are just not an attractive proposition.

Fenty has put in just enough to keep the club afloat we all know that and if I'm honest, that's fair enough, but we need more, we want more but we are not getting more.

So you can either, change accept, let go or sit at home and forget this club ever existed, because I'll guarantee we have no NEW money coming our way soon.
Posted by: chaos33, November 28, 2019, 3:47pm; Reply: 58
Quoted from ska face


You appear to have forced yourself in to an analogy without really thinking it through - not to worry, I think I’ve picked your argument out from your incoherent ramblings.

The problem for the miners and the dockers is that they often had no other choice but to work in those industries. If they closed, they would struggle to find any other meaningful work. If town fans decide not to go on a Saturday, there’s a million other things they could do with their time and money.The club seem to overestimate their appeal and underestimate their competition.

They have also shown absolutely no desire to understand the fan base, their lives, their commitments, their circumstances, what they want from the club, why they go to matches, why they don’t go to matches, etc. I bet the club have absolutely no idea how many fans travel to home games from outside the area each week, when we all know the proportion of exiled fans at GTFC is enormous.

The club is run by a politician absolutely, ideologically committed to cutting costs and running services in the cheapest possible manner while maintaining the facade of a fully-functioning service. Outsourced, poorly trained stewards? Just do enough to cover the legal requirements, we don’t really need them. CJD burgers? They’re good enough for me, eat up serfs! Investment requested by promotion winning manager? You’ve got a new portacabin, what else do you want? If you don’t like it you can leave! The man knows the price of everything and the value of nothing...

Wishing for a bit of “football fortune” might balance the books at the end of the year, but it’s not a viable, long-term strategy to keep fans coming through the gates. The thought of a juicy cup draw isn’t going to get families to sit at BP on a p1ss-wet Tuesday night in November when we’re already out of all cups and on the slide in the league.

Blind loyalty can only stretch so far, and that is often determined by how long people can justify throwing good money after bad. I wouldn’t expect a multi-millionaire in Humberstone to understand the difficulties of a parent trying to scrape £50 together every fortnight to sit in the cold, or a why a 150-mile round trip plus petrol, plus a £20 ticket, plus an arbitrary tax of £1 just for having ordered a ticket isn’t so appealing to many exiles. I’d expect them to make an effort to try though.

As far as I’m concerned, I can’t see myself putting another penny into GTFC unless something drastic changes - and that doesn’t mean another face in the dugout.


Absolutely bang on right.
Posted by: grimsby pete, November 28, 2019, 3:50pm; Reply: 59
Its taken me about 20 odd minutes to read all these posts,

I have a theory that most might agree with,

We play boring football with very few thrills or goals and the crowd will stay at home on a cold Tuesday night in November.

We turn things round playing fast exciting football with plenty of thrills and goals and the crowds will flock back.

Just ask Laurie Mcmenemy.
Posted by: rancido, November 28, 2019, 3:55pm; Reply: 60
Quoted from grimsby pete
Its taken me about 20 odd minutes to read all these posts,

I have a theory that most might agree with,

We play boring football with very few thrills or goals and the crowd will stay at home on a cold Tuesday night in November.

We turn things round playing fast exciting football with plenty of thrills and goals and the crowds will flock back.

Just ask Laurie Mcmenemy.


But according to one poster on here he was a "one hit wonder" for us!
Posted by: grimsby pete, November 28, 2019, 3:59pm; Reply: 61
Quoted from rancido


But according to one poster on here he was a "one hit wonder" for us!


Yes  ;D gates went from under 4,000 to average 11,500  and what a promotion year,

I think it was 10th in what is L1 now the following season and we still averaged 10,600 ish.

Then Southampton came and took him away.
Posted by: golfer, November 28, 2019, 4:44pm; Reply: 62
I have just seen on the GTFC twitter page that we have scored ONE  home league goal since the 24th August.

I now realise why the attendance was so low.  ;D


I can't even remember it yet I can remember Ron Rafferty shoulder charging their keeper into the net at Hull for a Town goal many moons ago.  Strange isn't it that I can't remember many good things this season.
Posted by: golfer, November 28, 2019, 4:53pm; Reply: 63
I have just seen on the GTFC twitter page that we have scored ONE  home league goal since the 24th August.

I now realise why the attendance was so low.  ;D



I have just read this post out to my wife- "And you'll renew your season ticket next year-you must be crackers" she exclaimed.  Is she right ?
Posted by: Posh Harry, November 28, 2019, 7:54pm; Reply: 64
Quoted from golfer



I have just read this post out to my wife- "And you'll renew your season ticket next year-you must be crackers" she exclaimed.  Is she right ?


If she has only just realised you are crackers, then it’s her that must be crackers.

You lost it years ago 😉
Posted by: 137 (Guest), November 28, 2019, 8:01pm; Reply: 65
Quoted from grimsby pete
Yes  ;D gates went from under 4,000 to average 11,500  and what a promotion year,

I think it was 10th in what is L1 now the following season and we still averaged 10,600 ish.

Then Southampton came and took him away.


So at least a two-hit wonder then, Pete.

I was a teenager when Big Mac was boss...not an adult, but I observed adults closely - being at the age when I wanted to act and hopefully
be treated like one.
When Big Mac was manager, the sometimes shambling/carefree population of Grimsby were strutting.

The league tables don't reveal that.

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