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We all love him but a quick appreciation post for Neil Woods, as well as all the other lads in the academy structure. The man has worked wonders with the GTFC Academy in recent years, and we’ve seen that first hand with the likes of Clifton, Wright, and Pollock all quickly becoming Town stalwarts, as well as the likes of Curran, Battersby, Starbuck, Idehen, Hope, and young Louis Boyd all showing heaps of potential.

Well done Woodsy!

Agreed
BTW why would anyone give this a red X FFS

We're quietly becoming a very good destination for youth development. It will attract more promising youth players and in turn push the club further. Very very happy to see this progression.

I don't know how much it costs per year to invest in an academy but just one sale could justify the whole thing for years to come.

Obviously we'd like to enjoy watching some of the emerging talent before they're sold, but if a big club is willing to pay a serious amount of cash for someone like Pollock then that money *should* be reinvested to bring through the next batch of talented youngsters.

But given what Woods and his staff have had to work with during these extra lean times, they're performing miracles.

And it helps that they have a first team manager who is actively looking to use their players, instead of some dilbert like Slade who basically neglected the youth teams completely.

Everyone in the academy do a sterling job which I have seen first hand. Long may the great work continue UTM

This weekends opponents benefitted greatly from Neil Woods in his time there after he left us. They brought through quite a few under his guidance and he seems to be repeating the job here.

I was surprised how well we did on Tuesday night considering the amount of young inexperienced players we had on the pitch. They looked very fluent at times and it bodes well, so yeah, a big thumbs up for him and his staff.

Yes big appreciation for Woodsy Fantastic servant of the club, great memories of him as a player would be happy to see him assistant manager but then if it’s not broken!

The guy is a Grimsby Town legend. Simple as that.

I do know that when we got back into the league additional funding was available specifically for the academy, pays for additional coaching and full time physio and the likes

Quoted from Humbercod

Yes big appreciation for Woodsy Fantastic servant of the club, great memories of him as a player would be happy to see him assistant manager but then if it’s not broken!

Surprised he came back after the slating Fenty gave him for the signing of Serge and that his replacements were computer literate.

Quoted from sam gy

The guy is a Grimsby Town legend. Simple as that.

Better gloss over his management abilities then eh?

Quoted from ginnywings

This weekends opponents benefitted greatly from Neil Woods in his time there after he left us. They brought through quite a few under his guidance and he seems to be repeating the job here.

I was surprised how well we did on Tuesday night considering the amount of young inexperienced players we had on the pitch. They looked very fluent at times and it bodes well, so yeah, a big thumbs up for him and his staff.

Rico Henry at Brentford is one of the players that Neil Woods has nurtured. My favourite Bees player too.

Quoted from Ipswin

Better gloss over his management abilities then eh?

8 years as a player, and a combined 10 years as youth team manager versus about 18 months as a manager. I know what i'd prefer to focus on when assessing his contribution to our club.

Yep, we were crap when he was manager, but it's pretty much a miracle that we even took it to the final game of the season before we were relegated given the bunch of drunk up arseholes he inherited.

Let's hope that Neil is passing on all he knows to an understudy?

Quoted from sam gy

8 years as a player, and a combined 10 years as youth team manager versus about 18 months as a manager. I know what i'd prefer to focus on when assessing his contribution to our club.

Yep, we were crap when he was manager, but it's pretty much a miracle that we even took it to the final game of the season before we were relegated given the bunch of drunk up arseholes he inherited.

That is a bit rose tinted Sam. Yes, he inherited crap and his only mistake that season was taking the job. Next season though, with one of the biggest budgets in the Conference he had no idea how to put together a team that could get promotion and was conned by other clubs into buying more crap.

However I rate him very highly as a developer of players and the club owes him a great debt for keeping the youth system producing at the level we have.

Oh yeah, not for one second defending his reign as manager - it was obviously a misstep in his career.

Then again, during Hurst and Scott’s first full season in charge we finished 11th, exactly the same as the season before.

Did he have one of the biggest budgets in the Conference at the time? We assume so, but as Hurst will tell you, we never had a top budget.

I'm willing to defend Woods a bit on this. He can't delete the record that's on his name — record amount of games without a win; relegation out of the league — but he must have known what he was taking on, or walking into, and to manage the likes of Conlon, Proudlock and Linwood must have taken balls.

And let's not forget he almost turned it around. He got the team fighting at the very end, just when we looked doomed with about 8 games to go. We took it to the last day.

We may not remember the likes of Kempson, Ridley and Watt fondly, but Woods also got the very best out of Peter Bore; he signed Alan Connell and there were those big wins against Mansfield (7-2) and Histon (6-1) that don't suggest flukes.

I'm not professing he's even a good manager, but I think he probably deserves a little more credit than what he gets considering everything conveniently falls under the blanket of relegation. As we've seen with many other teams that drop into non-league, they can keep dropping.

In relegation, Woods cleared out the dead wood and signed competent players that were at least professional. And, as I'm led to believe, he instigated some improvements in training facilities, which Hegarty spoke about in that CA article. He steadied the ship when we were rotten to the core.

I don't think the squad Scott & Hurst inherited — or the club in general — was any worse than the one Woods inherited. We just happened to be in a lower division.

Yeah, in hindsight maybe management was a misstep in his career. I'm not saying he was a brilliant one — I'm just keen to highlight some of the good he did when it's convenient for us all to say he was a disaster because of relegation.

Maybe, given another club, at another time, he could've proved his credentials and become a great manager. Who knows. All we know now is that he's a brilliant youth coach who deserves all the credit he gets.

The youth scheme is proving its worth in tight financial times, and must be encouraged and continued as a viable way of economically producing young talent that will have genuine chances of first team games.

Praise to ALL of the coachs and scouts involved.

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

That is a bit rose tinted Sam. Yes, he inherited crap and his only mistake that season was taking the job. Next season though, with one of the biggest budgets in the Conference he had no idea how to put together a team that could get promotion and was conned by other clubs into buying more crap.

However I rate him very highly as a developer of players and the club owes him a great debt for keeping the youth system producing at the level we have.

Lee flipping Ridley. One of the worst players to wear a Town shirt. What the intercourse he was doing signing him, only he knows.

The world's slowest full back

Two of our better games under Neil were a 7-2 win at home to Mansfield followed by a 6-1 win at Histon the very next game. Then sad to say it went downhill from there.

Some ex players are better working with the youths than grown men Woodsy is one of those and long may it continue.

Quoted from grimsby pete

Two of our better games under Neil were a 7-2 win at home to Mansfield followed by a 6-1 win at Histon the very next game. Then sad to say it went downhill from there.

Certainly did, we lost at Chasetown 12 days later!

Quoted from Abdul19

Certainly did, we lost at Chasetown 12 days later!

That has to be one of the lowest points in our history.

After that defeat we won only 6 games out of 22, why the frig John Fenty didn't sack him after that game, God only knows.

Neil Woods may be ace at working with the youth players but as a First Team manager he was absolute cack.

Perhaps it took honest John a while to sack him because he felt guilty for giving him the job in the first place...that or at that stage Woodsy could still use the computer.

In all seriousness, whilst I commend the bloke for taking on the job, I’ve never seen a football manager less excited about the job than Woodsy. Those were dark times but in all honesty I hold no malice towards the man.

Had the chance to meet him several times, great bloke, always happy to say hello and he works wonders with our youth system, and let’s face it, we’re hardly rolling in cash for the latest thing and have a limited pool to choose from.

Always wish Woodsy all the best and hope he continues to do wonders with our youth system.

Wasn't his caretaker period 6 games without a win including being knocked out of the cup by some pub team, couldn't believe he was appointed after that tbh. Really badly not up to it as manager. Fair play has done really well with the youth team tho and clearly that is where his strength lies.

Quoted from toontown

Wasn't his caretaker period 6 games without a win including being knocked out of the cup by some pub team, couldn't believe he was appointed after that tbh. Really badly not up to it as manager. Fair play has done really well with the youth team tho and clearly that is where his strength lies.

Yep. Having demonstrated no aptitude for the position, Neil was appointed by Fenty...presumably because he was the cheap option.

Questionable decision by JF.

I guess Neil took the job out of loyalty to the club; the players he inherited were pretty awful.

Am excited to see more home grown talent to have their chance in the starting XI... like Pollock, Clifton, Wright, Boyd, etc

(groupwave1)

Quoted from 137

Yep. Having demonstrated no aptitude for the position, Neil was appointed by Fenty...presumably because he was the cheap option.

Questionable decision by JF.

I guess Neil took the job out of loyalty to the club; the players he inherited were pretty awful.

If memory serves me right that’s a tad unfair. I think Fenty is recorded as wanting to give Slade another go but the board voted for woods?

Quoted from 137

Yep. Having demonstrated no aptitude for the position, Neil was appointed by Fenty...presumably because he was the cheap option.

Questionable decision by JF.

I guess Neil took the job out of loyalty to the club; the players he inherited were pretty awful.

It's very questionable, but it was Mike Parker that wanted him to have the job. But I suppose that doesn't fit into the mantra that Fenty makes every decision and the board are just his puppets...

Quoted from pen penfras

It's very questionable, but it was Mike Parker that wanted him to have the job. But I suppose that doesn't fit into the mantra that Fenty makes every decision and the board are just his puppets...

Stand back a bit though. JF was (officially) chairman of a football club in considerable difficulty.
The board appointed a completely inexperienced and (based on his caretaker results) unpromising manager.
Who wanted whom is a sideshow.
The required leadership (a steady hand) was not forthcoming, at that critical moment, from the chairman.

BTW I thought everyone in football knows that nice guys don't make good managers...

Quoted from 137

Stand back a bit though. JF was (officially) chairman of a football club in considerable difficulty.
The board appointed a completely inexperienced and (based on his caretaker results) unpromising manager.
Who wanted whom is a sideshow.
The required leadership (a steady hand) was not forthcoming, at that critical moment, from the chairman.

BTW I thought everyone in football knows that nice guys don't make good managers...

All decisions are board decisions. There was 5 on the board at the time ( i think). JF and one other wanted Slade, Parker wanted Woods and the 2 other members went with Parker, who was new to the board and had just put in 1 million, so probably had a bit of sway.

This i was told by JF himself. Up to you whether you believe it but i did at the time.

Quoted from Brisbane Mariner

Agreed
BTW why would anyone give this a red X FFS

Because they are sad pathetic winkers ;) ;) ;)

Nice one lads UTM
https://www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/news/2020/september/youths-get-off-to-the-perfect-start

Grimsby Town midfield duo Jock Curran and Cameron Painter have joined Spalding United on an initial three-month loan.

Seems like Curran has had a lot of loans now, and not many first team appearances at all. Hope it works out for the kid.

Quoted from sam gy

Seems like Curran has had a lot of loans now, and not many first team appearances at all. Hope it works out for the kid.

Seen him a couple of times and he's a loose canon, loves a tackle a bit too much for my liking, almost to the point where he'd quite happily break the opponent's leg if it meant getting the ball. Hopefully that can be tamed and he goes on to have a career as a combative midfielder.

Quoted from sam gy

Seems like Curran has had a lot of loans now, and not many first team appearances at all. Hope it works out for the kid.

Isn't this only his second loan spell? Max Wright was shipped off three times before he started seriously pushing for a first team place,including a whole season at Scarborough. Being sent out on loan isn't a sign they aren't good enough, it's that they have something but need to get some regular first team football playing against men. Max Wright and Harry Clifton came back from loans much better than they left us.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Seen him a couple of times and he's a loose canon, loves a tackle a bit too much for my liking, almost to the point where he'd quite happily break the opponent's leg if it meant getting the ball. Hopefully that can be tamed and he goes on to have a career as a combative midfielder.

Blimey.........I wish u had been lucky enough to have watched Bobby Cummings play. Thank goodness no one tried to “tame” Bobby!!!!!