New Direction?

Obviously, with the takeover not quite complete, and limited information coming out about future direction etc, was very intriguing to read a tweet from Mr Stockwood about us going for Bcorp accreditation.

https://bcorporation.uk/

Sorry dont know how to link the tweet, but it demonstrates they are looking to build a club to make us proud for a change, instead of the constant shameful episodes of the last god knows how many years, UTM

Quoted from coddy60

Obviously, with the takeover not quite complete, and limited information coming out about future direction etc, was very intriguing to read a tweet from Mr Stockwood about us going for Bcorp accreditation.

https://bcorporation.uk/

Sorry dont know how to link the tweet, but it demonstrates they are looking to build a club to make us proud for a change, instead of the constant shameful episodes of the last god knows how many years, UTM

My employer is a B Corp - GTFC will need a complete culture change to achieve it, I wonder if there any other professional clubs that have that designation. It would be great to be a first for something good for a change...

Don't believe any other football club is B Corp currently

You can just imagine Stockwood mentioning this to the Principal Funder and him nodding and saying 'yeah, great idea...'

He then races home, Googles it and sits thinking 'what the f*ck is Stockwood on about? I don't understand that at all. There's nothing in there about the chairman's profit. Benefit the community? WTF is all that about?!'

Definitely sounds good, but the only thing that anybody really cares about is success on the pitch. Hopefully this builds a positive atmosphere and it spreads throughout the club.

Quoted from pen penfras

Definitely sounds good, but the only thing that anybody really cares about is success on the pitch. Hopefully this builds a positive atmosphere and it spreads throughout the club.

I agree to a certain point.

However, i would love to be proud of the club for a change
Be proud of having 5k+ to home games again
Be proud to see young kids wanting to go support them, instead of watching Man Utd on tele
Be proud to see a chairman walking round the ground on match days knowing hes achieving something.
Be proud of a new community stadium that will be more than just somewhere to play football on a Saturday.

If/When this goes through, i don't expect promotion in the first season
i don't expect a new stadium in 3 years.

I just want my youngs boys (5 & 2) to be going to games with me in 10 years time

Quoted from pen penfras

Definitely sounds good, but the only thing that anybody really cares about is success on the pitch. Hopefully this builds a positive atmosphere and it spreads throughout the club.

I believe this statement to be incorrect. Of course, what happens on the pitch is one of the most important determinants of success, however it’s not the only thing that anybody really cares about.

I think the fact that most Town fans would take the completion of this takeover over football league survival is testament to that. People want a football club that they can genuinely proud of, not necessarily Champions League or even Championship football.

Spot on, Poojah.

I hate it when people accuse me of not being ambitious but the truth is there are far more things I want to see from my football club before it becomes about winning games.

Firstly, I'd like it to exist.
Secondly, I'd like it to be run by someone (or a group of people) with morals.
Thirdly, I'd like it to be a community asset to be proud of (which depends on the above point, and a few below).
Then I'd like to be able to go to games, catch up with friends, see family, enjoy a trip to an away game.
I don't expect world-class facilities, but a ticketing system that's at least in this millennium would be a start

If we can get all that right, then the wins are the cherry on top. Clearly, obviously, we ALL want our team to be a success on the pitch. But we're in such a bad shape right now that we can't hope for that to happen unless there is significant change at the top.

The dream is that we are successful both on and off the pitch, and I truly believe we can be that again in the next few years once the takeover has gone through.

Quoted from RichMariner

Spot on, Poojah.

I hate it when people accuse me of not being ambitious but the truth is there are far more things I want to see from my football club before it becomes about winning games.

Firstly, I'd like it to exist.
Secondly, I'd like it to be run by someone (or a group of people) with morals.
Thirdly, I'd like it to be a community asset to be proud of (which depends on the above point, and a few below).
Then I'd like to be able to go to games, catch up with friends, see family, enjoy a trip to an away game.
I don't expect world-class facilities, but a ticketing system that's at least in this millennium would be a start

If we can get all that right, then the wins are the cherry on top. Clearly, obviously, we ALL want our team to be a success on the pitch. But we're in such a bad shape right now that we can't hope for that to happen unless there is significant change at the top.

The dream is that we are successful both on and off the pitch, and I truly believe we can be that again in the next few years once the takeover has gone through.

Change the culture around the place, move the negative people who refuse to change on and invest in our training facilities and coaching staff. Do that and success will follow.

Quoted from Poojah

I believe this statement to be incorrect. Of course, what happens on the pitch is one of the most determinants of success, however it’s not the only thing that anybody really cares about.

I think the fact that most Town fans would take the completion of this takeover over football league survival is testament to that. People want a football club that they can genuinely proud of, not necessarily Champions League or even Championship football.

I don't buy for one second that the majority of fans would have taken relegation to get the club sold if that was a possible choice. Some would, but people are saying that because relegation is almost nailed on and the positive is that there will be a change that we hope leads to a more successful future.

The good will is there, but if we're still in the NL in 5 years time, there will be a whole load of vitriol towards the new owners regardless of how much good they do in the community. This is a feature of every football club, and social media is the driving force.

Quoted from pen penfras

I don't buy for one second that the majority of fans would have taken relegation to get the club sold if that was a possible choice. Some would, but people are saying that because relegation is almost nailed on and the positive is that there will be a change that we hope leads to a more successful future.

The good will is there, but if we're still in the NL in 5 years time, there will be a whole load of vitriol towards the new owners regardless of how much good they do in the community. This is a feature of every football club, and social media is the driving force.

I think if you'd have asked the question back in December, when relegation was much less nailed on, you'd have found the sentiment to be much as it is now. The Alex May saga was a watershed moment for John Fenty - it was the moment that it became unequivocally clear that the club was not in sound, morally responsible hands acting in the best interests of GTFC and its supporters.

That is a perilous position for any club to find itself in, more so than relegation back into non-league in my opinion, even in these most perilous of times for sport.

No doubt that in time there will be pressure on the new owners if things aren't happening on the pitch. But don't lose track of the fact that much of the vitriol directed at John Fenty over the years has been borne out of events off the pitch, not on it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that the brunt of the anger of our 2010 relegation was channelled at Fenty, a man who had been held aloft by Town fans after avoiding relegation at Bournemouth a year earlier.

Quoted from RichMariner

Spot on, Poojah.

I hate it when people accuse me of not being ambitious but the truth is there are far more things I want to see from my football club before it becomes about winning games.

Firstly, I'd like it to exist.
Secondly, I'd like it to be run by someone (or a group of people) with morals.
Thirdly, I'd like it to be a community asset to be proud of (which depends on the above point, and a few below).
Then I'd like to be able to go to games, catch up with friends, see family, enjoy a trip to an away game.
I don't expect world-class facilities, but a ticketing system that's at least in this millennium would be a start

If we can get all that right, then the wins are the cherry on top. Clearly, obviously, we ALL want our team to be a success on the pitch. But we're in such a bad shape right now that we can't hope for that to happen unless there is significant change at the top.

The dream is that we are successful both on and off the pitch, and I truly believe we can be that again in the next few years once the takeover has gone through.

Have to agree. I always watch with excitement. I have missed going to Blundell Park. The late Jimmy Hill knew what Coventry City meant to the community.
The club must be defined as more than a win on the pitch
Of course winning helps.
My father took me occasionally. He was a skipper on a trawler, 3 weeks away, three days on shore, one of which was spent in The Oberon. My sons all have gone to games and have 2 have season tickets.
In the Fall and Rise of Grimsby Bob Lincoln describes how Clee Park was not only a Football Stadium but also cycling and athletic took place.

If I had the choice now of a miraculous escape from relegation but the takeover collapses or we go down but the takeover happens then I would take the latter in a heartbeat.

It's good to see that the new owners want to rebuild the club on a solid foundation. In whatever they do I feel that everything will be done correctly and not the cheapo Fenty way.

Hopefully, the 6th of May will bring the good news of a promising future.

The B Corp thing is really interesting and a move that in my view is a mechanism that holds all stakeholders Board, Officials, Staff, Players and Supporters to account for pulling together to re-program this fractured club's DNA, something that has been overdue for years. Do that and I firmly believe success on the pitch will happen.  

I love my football club and we are getting it back

Quoted from pen penfras

I don't buy for one second that the majority of fans would have taken relegation to get the club sold if that was a possible choice. Some would, but people are saying that because relegation is almost nailed on and the positive is that there will be a change that we hope leads to a more successful future.

The good will is there, but if we're still in the NL in 5 years time, there will be a whole load of vitriol towards the new owners regardless of how much good they do in the community. This is a feature of every football club, and social media is the driving force.

Last summer I wouldn't have taken relegation but once the Alex May scandal broke, feelings changed completely and John had to go, no matter what.

I would take relegation and new owners over staying up and fenty remaining, without doubt. For both on pitch and off pitch reasons, fenty is a selfish walking disaster zone of a chairman only looking out for himself. Nothing is more important than getting rid of the bustard.

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

I agree to a certain point.

However, i would love to be proud of the club for a change
Be proud of having 5k+ to home games again
Be proud to see young kids wanting to go support them, instead of watching Man Utd on tele
Be proud to see a chairman walking round the ground on match days knowing hes achieving something.
Be proud of a new community stadium that will be more than just somewhere to play football on a Saturday.

If/When this goes through, i don't expect promotion in the first season
i don't expect a new stadium in 3 years.

I just want my youngs boys (5 & 2) to be going to games with me in 10 years time

I want your boys to want to PLAY for the club.

We start from a very low base.  Therefore even mediocrity is a big improvement for us.  The sky is the limit for us.  

Quoted from TownSNAFU5

We start from a very low base.  Therefore even mediocrity is a big improvement for us.  The sky is the limit for us.  

God, I'll kill for a season of mid table mediocrity.

Quoted from pen penfras

Definitely sounds good, but the only thing that anybody really cares about is success on the pitch. Hopefully this builds a positive atmosphere and it spreads throughout the club.

That is so out of tune with what I'm hearing from so many other fans.

This is all of our club, no matter who the current man at the top may be, and we should all be able to feel proud of it, as we have previously, instead of feeling recurring embarrassment at the shenanigans going on from that position.

Success will come, and this should be built on rather than waiting for footballing fortune, or luck, to hand it to us as has been the norm for so long.

We will do this with foresight and good planning, I.e. making our own luck, and plans such as the Bcorp one will give us a good grounding to build on it and sustain it.

Quoted from coddy60

That is so out of tune with what I'm hearing from so many other fans.

This is all of our club, no matter who the current man at the top may be, and we should all be able to feel proud of it, as we have previously, instead of feeling recurring embarrassment at the shenanigans going on from that position.

Success will come, and this should be built on rather than waiting for footballing fortune, or luck, to hand it to us as has been the norm for so long.

We will do this with foresight and good planning, I.e. making our own luck, and plans such as the Bcorp one will give us a good grounding to build on it and sustain it.

But you're only hearing from the fans who are complaining, the rest are just quiet. We took about 15k to Wembley and I think even more in 2015. Having a nice community spirit isn't going to get those people to regularly turn up to matches, at least not in the long term. Success is what keeps people going and the other stuff is a bonus.

Of course everybody wants to lose the embarrassing events and not have them happen any more. Yes, it's about time a different direction was taken to try and turn our fortunes around, but that is not what brings fans through the gate, and anybody that genuinely believes that is deluded. Is there any example of a club that has significantly increased its following without success being the precursor to this?

A direction at all would be nice!

We have been treading water for far too long when investment has been badly needed. We must have the worst facilities in the league, and it's about time something was done to bring us up to date with all the other teams we compete with, and that includes the majority of teams in the conference.

Little wonder we can't attract decent players, and keep the ones we've got. It's not just about the money we pay, but the facilities we have, and that they show lack of ambition.

Quoted from pen penfras

But you're only hearing from the fans who are complaining, the rest are just quiet. We took about 15k to Wembley and I think even more in 2015. Having a nice community spirit isn't going to get those people to regularly turn up to matches, at least not in the long term. Success is what keeps people going and the other stuff is a bonus.

Of course everybody wants to lose the embarrassing events and not have them happen any more. Yes, it's about time a different direction was taken to try and turn our fortunes around, but that is not what brings fans through the gate, and anybody that genuinely believes that is deluded. Is there any example of a club that has significantly increased its following without success being the precursor to this?

Ok, let's just stick with your notion that success on the field is all that matters for a moment. How do we get from where we are right now, which by all accounts is the polar opposite of successful, to a point where we are at the very least punching at our natural fighting weight?

The club's reputation is toxic - we are a killer of careers, both managers and players alike. We are an absolute laughing stock. As is often referenced on here, we are geographically disadvantaged and the area itself, unfairly in my opinion, does not have the best of reputations amongst outsiders.

Add to that training facilities that are well below par for this level in this day and age, matched by a complete lack of infrastructure in terms of non-playing staff. A decrepit ground with dank, cramped changing rooms (and yep, I've been in 'em). An owner who is almost universally disliked by the fan base. Year upon year of abject failure. We are a last resort for players, and rightly so it would seem.

You can't just focus on the end-product - results. You have to concentrate on the means to the end. Strong moral values mindful of all those who work for the club and the wider community don't pay the wages of better players, but they absolutely will in the short-term get more people through the gates. Then you can think about organically funding better training facilities, bringing in specialised coaching staff, building an effective scouting and recruitment system, shaping a philosophy and attracting better players and longer-term initiatives like the long overdue new stadium.

Then and only then, will the results start to come. Check out how the likes of Brentford, Wycombe, Rotherham, Peterborough, Accrington, Fleetwood and Shrewsbury are doing and then look at some of the commonalities. What about AFC Wimbledon, who had to start from the ninth step of non-league in the early noughties and still managed to get themselves back in the football league before we did. All of them no bigger clubs than us historically, most of them smaller in fact. It's no fluke whatsoever that they are where they are and we are where we are.

We are a million miles away from where we ought to be, but sooner or later we have to take that first step. It may only be a small one, but it is one which is absolutely necessary and by no means insignificant.

Quoted from pen penfras

But you're only hearing from the fans who are complaining, the rest are just quiet. We took about 15k to Wembley and I think even more in 2015. Having a nice community spirit isn't going to get those people to regularly turn up to matches, at least not in the long term. Success is what keeps people going and the other stuff is a bonus.

Of course everybody wants to lose the embarrassing events and not have them happen any more. Yes, it's about time a different direction was taken to try and turn our fortunes around, but that is not what brings fans through the gate, and anybody that genuinely believes that is deluded. Is there any example of a club that has significantly increased its following without success being the precursor to this?

There is a response to this above this post on the thread that Poojah has written which gives some brilliant examples.

I'm sorry but reading what you have written in the thread and various other threads it seems that you are the of the same prehistoric ilk as the dinosaurs on the Board who have held this club back and soon will be put to extinction, not before time may I add! To believe that those of us who are completely dissatisfied with this mess are in the minority is to believe that the Earth is flat.

To think that things will be o.k. without fundamental change in this club's DNA is misguided at best, you're clearly and intelligent guy but I'm amazed that you can't see that the only we for us to sustain this club is for it to become part of the fabric of the community and then operate in manner that has mutual benefit for all of it's stake holders and the 1,000's many of whom regularly post on this site who are emotionally invested in the club that they love. A club I might add that over a lot of years has just let them down and taken them for granted.  

Yes if we start to do well the gates will lift, to a degree but to start to do well we need to build from within using a culture of involvement and make GTFC an attractive option on a Saturday (and more Tuesday's if we go down) do that and the rest should happen on the back of it.          

Quoted from pen penfras

But you're only hearing from the fans who are complaining, the rest are just quiet. We took about 15k to Wembley and I think even more in 2015. Having a nice community spirit isn't going to get those people to regularly turn up to matches, at least not in the long term. Success is what keeps people going and the other stuff is a bonus.

Of course everybody wants to lose the embarrassing events and not have them happen any more. Yes, it's about time a different direction was taken to try and turn our fortunes around, but that is not what brings fans through the gate, and anybody that genuinely believes that is deluded. Is there any example of a club that has significantly increased its following without success being the precursor to this?

So you believe there are a silent majority who are satisfied with the last 20 years?? Absolute balderdash mate.

If you're talking numbers, we took 28k to Wembley in 98, and we were a very, by our standards, successful team in that era, but still we never kept pulling them through the gates following our double Wembley visit.

How come they never came back?

I'll tell you one reason, because they would be visiting a second rate stadium, obviously I'm not knocking JF for it at that point, but for a long time now, our plan of attempting to have success with no engagement,  at no cost and with no plan to move forward has been a veritable sack of excrement, so I am well behind any plans the new owners have to bring us up to date as regards training, bringing the fans and community back onside and feeling valued, and, godwilling, a new stadium seems like a way forward to me, and a way to encourage, tentatively, those missing 10 or 23k to the club regularly or even semi regularly.

For me it's all about producing a virtuous circle, every aspect of the club moving forward and upwards. Better facilities and staff bring better players brings better results etc

Right now we are in the opposite of a virtuous circle, we just go backwards and down.

Poojah's list above is spot on but there's one glaring omission - Lincoln. All we have to do is look down the A46 to see how it's done!

Can we become Brentford? Possibly not, we don't have the catchment area. Can we be Lincoln? Bloody right we can and we can realistically believe that we will go beyond them, in time.

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

For me it's all about producing a virtuous circle, every aspect of the club moving forward and upwards. Better facilities and staff bring better players brings better results etc

Right now we are in the opposite of a virtuous circle, we just go backwards and down.

Poojah's list above is spot on but there's one glaring omission - Lincoln. All we have to do is look down the A46 to see how it's done!

Can we become Brentford? Possibly not, we don't have the catchment area. Can we be Lincoln? Bloody right we can and we can realistically believe that we will go beyond them, in time.

It wasn't an omission - I just couldn't bring myself to do it...

Quoted from Poojah

It wasn't an omission - I just couldn't bring myself to do it...

Be thankful Scunny aren't an example.

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

Be thankful Scunny aren't an example.

Arguably they are....

Just compare what's happened to both clubs since we came down to the bottom tier in 2004, which is where they were at the time ( having just avoided relegation out of the league )

They might be struggling this season but what wouldn't we have given to have been on the same successful journey for the past 17 years, compared to what we've had to endure under the regime that's thankfully about to come to an end

I agree the club being run in the right way should lead to success, better traing facilities etc. but in the end fans will not turn up in a couple years time if we are playing rubbish and not winning very often. How many used to turn up every week in the Championship when we were finishing around 16th-18th, not as many as were watching us get promoted in the 2 leagues below 3/4 years before.
Bums on seats other than the hardcore, mainly comes from winning games, whether there is a fanzone, cheaper/better beer, or better food (more people will buy it but wont increase the crowd size). (Look at Lincoln what changed there so that more than 2500 started turning up - winning games and promotions, despite the Cowleys awful anti-football) I know I'm partially agreeing with PenPen and expect a load of XXXs but in the end winning adds crowds and bigger crowds add money.

Quoted from Madeleymariner

I agree the club being run in the right way should lead to success, better traing facilities etc. but in the end fans will not turn up in a couple years time if we are playing rubbish and not winning very often. How many used to turn up every week in the Championship when we were finishing around 16th-18th, not as many as were watching us get promoted in the 2 leagues below 3/4 years before.
Bums on seats other than the hardcore, mainly comes from winning games, whether there is a fanzone, cheaper/better beer, or better food (more people will buy it but wont increase the crowd size). (Look at Lincoln what changed there so that more than 2500 started turning up - winning games and promotions, despite the Cowleys awful anti-football) I know I'm partially agreeing with PenPen and expect a load of XXXs but in the end winning adds crowds and bigger crowds add money.

I think you are missing the bigger picture.
To win games you need a team capable of doing that, to build that team you need a good infrastructure, decent training facilities ect...one comes before the other. If 1878 fail to invest in the club from the ground up then of course the fans will walk away, that's only natural, but I highly, highly doubt 1878 will do that.
They've already stated an immediate investment in the training facilities so I suspect they are pretty much on the ball on how to make a football club a success, won't be instant and we, the fans, will have to be patient.

Quoted from pen penfras

..........there will be a whole load of vitriol towards the new owners regardless of how much good they do in the community.

Who remembers the last person who wanted to take the club to the community?

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

Lets hope the next incumbants make a better job of it.

Quoted from WayneBurnettsJockstrap

Who remembers the last person who wanted to take the club to the community?

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

Lets hope the next incumbants make a better job of it.

Did you have to, I've just regurgitated my tea looking at that!..🤢🤢

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

God, I'll kill for a season of mid table mediocrity.

Not in the National League you wouldn't!

Quoted from WayneBurnettsJockstrap

Who remembers the last person who wanted to take the club to the community?

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

Lets hope the next incumbants make a better job of it.

That picture has to be worthy of a caption competition!!!!

Quoted from smokey111

That picture has to be worthy of a caption competition!!!!

"...and when I walked out of that first press conference, my nose was literally this big..."

Quoted from Poojah

"...and when I walked out of that first press conference, my nose was literally this big..."

A decent start Poojah.....8/10.

Quoted from WayneBurnettsJockstrap

Who remembers the last person who wanted to take the club to the community?

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

Lets hope the next incumbants make a better job of it.

I know a member of staff at that school he said the speech / talk to the kids was cringe

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

I know a member of staff at that school he said the speech / talk to the kids was cringe

Ditto. However, they said it was inspirational. Although they were a member of the senior leadership team!!!!!!!

"And when I started my ego was this big".

Quoted from WayneBurnettsJockstrap

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

"I went fishing the other day and caught a roach this big".

[quote=140625]



[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]


"The list of 18 year old loanees I have got lined up is this long!"

I’m afraid PP’s comments are typical of the thinking of the current regime.

To add to Poojah’s excellent points I would add that a good culture is what keeps people coming when the team are not performing well. We need to build up all those things that sustain people through the hard times.

The other point to make is that if we were that bothered about success on the pitch we wouldn’t be Grimsby fans. If success was the critical factor we’d all be Real Madrid fans.

Quoted from smokey111

[quote=140625]



[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

"

Someone needs to get the teachers back in here quick as this deluded washed up narcissist is claiming to be a football manager.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

I’m afraid PP’s comments are typical of the thinking of the current regime.

To add to Poojah’s excellent points I would add that a good culture is what keeps people coming when the team are not performing well. We need to build up all those things that sustain people through the hard times.

The other point to make is that if we were that bothered about success on the pitch we wouldn’t be Grimsby fans. If success was the critical factor we’d all be Real Madrid fans.

My comments are based on reality, not some phantom ideology that people turn up because of a community image. None of those clubs poojah mentioned had fans turn up before success, except AFC Wimbledon which was a different situation entirely, and comparing them as being smaller historically is living in a past that has completely changed, and would have done regardless of who was in charge because they are all from areas with greater populations that have been turning towards football.

I completely agree that we need investment and new thinking and it is a start and will in the short term create excitement and bums on seats. But not a single bit of that will matter if we don't get results. And to think it's as simple as a little investment will lead to success is hugely underestimating the situation. If it was that simple, then every club would do it. Every single club out there is trying to improve one way or another and not everybody can get it right. We have to hope that

Quoted from WayneBurnettsJockstrap

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

Lad with hand on his chin......"he really does talk out of his @rse"

Quoted from WayneBurnettsJockstrap

Who remembers the last person who wanted to take the club to the community?

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

Lets hope the next incumbants make a better job of it.

“Who on earth signed all this shite?”

Quoted from pen penfras

My comments are based on reality, not some phantom ideology that people turn up because of a community image. None of those clubs poojah mentioned had fans turn up before success, except AFC Wimbledon which was a different situation entirely, and comparing them as being smaller historically is living in a past that has completely changed, and would have done regardless of who was in charge because they are all from areas with greater populations that have been turning towards football.

I completely agree that we need investment and new thinking and it is a start and will in the short term create excitement and bums on seats. But not a single bit of that will matter if we don't get results. And to think it's as simple as a little investment will lead to success is hugely underestimating the situation. If it was that simple, then every club would do it. Every single club out there is trying to improve one way or another and not everybody can get it right. We have to hope that

To be fair, that's not really true of Wimbledon who used to average around 10,000 in the Prem, of which a third of that was typically away fans anyway - their actual home crowds were probably no higher than Town's would have been had we ever reached the modern top flight, with no limit on capacity (albeit they weren't playing in their own ground).

That aside, I don't think anyone has said that making commitments to run the club in a more respectful and empathetic way with greater community involvement is some kind of magical panacea that's going to see fans flocking back en massé with complete indifference about results on the field.

However, by beginning to address the things that have long frustrated the fans and held the club back in general, you can begin to set the club back on a pathway more likely to deliver on-field success. Marginal gains across an abundance of heavily neglected areas can, in the long run, make a huge collective difference to what happens on the pitch.

Results and entertainment value will almost always correlate with supporters through the gate - that much is pretty obvious. But if you scratch beneath the surface, the clubs I mentioned in my earlier post (and Lincoln, urgh...) set their positive on-field fortunes into motion by taking positive action off it first, some of which will have involved some managed financial risk, no doubt. All the while we have rarely speculated, and when we have it's generally been ill thought out - see Marcus Bignot's 'mad January'.

Finally, let me address your point of "if it's that easy, why isn't everyone doing it?". Fundamentally, that assumes that every other club is competently run, and we of course know that isn't true. However, if I may refer you to the League Two table for a moment, the evidence indicates that literally every club in the entire English football league system is doing a better job of it than we are right now.

Short of pumping millions into the club, that's not going to change overnight. If I had spent the best part of the last two decades gorging myself on Chinese takeaways and Irn Bru, dieting for a month isn't going to have me looking like Cristiano Ronaldo. But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't opt for the salad rather than the sweet 'n' sour fried chicken balls...

Quoted from pen penfras

My comments are based on reality, not some phantom ideology that people turn up because of a community image. None of those clubs poojah mentioned had fans turn up before success, except AFC Wimbledon which was a different situation entirely, and comparing them as being smaller historically is living in a past that has completely changed, and would have done regardless of who was in charge because they are all from areas with greater populations that have been turning towards football.

I completely agree that we need investment and new thinking and it is a start and will in the short term create excitement and bums on seats. But not a single bit of that will matter if we don't get results. And to think it's as simple as a little investment will lead to success is hugely underestimating the situation. If it was that simple, then every club would do it. Every single club out there is trying to improve one way or another and not everybody can get it right. We have to hope that

I can see your arguments to a degree, but in so many posts there is an excuse. In this one it is other clubs have larger population areas.

This is another red herring. The population of NE Lincolnshire alone is something like 160,000 and then parts of North Lincolnshire contain towns and  villages that Grimsby Town support could come from. This is easily enough, more than enough to get really good gates if everything goes to plan.*

Also your point about every club is making improvements seemed to omit the obvious exception to that statement! We have not improved anything as far as I can see for 20 years, apart from some very minor things like sinks for the ladies.

You do have a point in that success on the field is vital to everything but if the infrastructure and plan are in place to achieve it, it is more likely to happen than just trusting to luck.

*There is a long term problem with attendances though, and I think that will be a tough nut to crack, even for Stockwood and co. When things were so much better pre-Fenty with Buckley at his pomp, the club was disappointed with the gates. I remember a night match against Wolves in the now Championship and just before kick-off the ground was nearly empty and I guess the attendance was about 5,000 in the end.

Imagine playing Wolves now in the league - really 5,000 was an embarrassment.

Quoted from pen penfras

My comments are based on reality, not some phantom ideology that people turn up because of a community image. None of those clubs poojah mentioned had fans turn up before success, except AFC Wimbledon which was a different situation entirely, and comparing them as being smaller historically is living in a past that has completely changed, and would have done regardless of who was in charge because they are all from areas with greater populations that have been turning towards football.

I completely agree that we need investment and new thinking and it is a start and will in the short term create excitement and bums on seats. But not a single bit of that will matter if we don't get results. And to think it's as simple as a little investment will lead to success is hugely underestimating the situation. If it was that simple, then every club would do it. Every single club out there is trying to improve one way or another and not everybody can get it right. We have to hope that

Except GTFC under Fenty who was happy to tread water to such an extent that we went backwards as everyone else went forward. Imagine thinking adding some portakabins to your training ground was investing in the facilities.

Quoted from WayneBurnettsJockstrap

Who remembers the last person who wanted to take the club to the community?

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

Lets hope the next incumbants make a better job of it.

There is one lad in that picture who is looking at Holloway and the look on his face says....." smells like bullsh!t "


Well done that boy.

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]


When i have finished my "recruitment", we will be this far behind the rest of the teams in League 2.

Jason is a founding member of B Corp UK

Reading this thread, I think PP is suffering from the same delusion that JF was, in that the dissenters are seen as a vocal minority, and restricted to the fishy.

All the fans I know personally (none of them are members of this site) are saying the same thing, that this season has been the final straw. Not only did the board totally misjudge the season and made us worse than ever, from a low bar to start with, but they also totally misjudged the whole Mr May saga and it's effect on the fans thinking. There has been a sea change, of that I have no doubt.

While out walking today, I bumped into my brother and we sat on the seafront for a chat. Talk turned to GTFC as it usually does and he said he would be buying a season ticket for next season whatever league we are in, but only if we have new owners. Like me, he didn't get one this season after getting totally disillusioned with the goings on at BP. And that was before the sh1t show we have witnessed this term. If there is no change, he will carry on not bothering. I feel the same and we have nearly 100 seasons support between us. We are not fickle fans who are in it for the good times. There have been precious few of those the last 2 decades.

I think It's just as important how the club is run off the pitch as well as on it. Success on the pitch is great, but it's not the only reason we attend. It just doesn't feel like our club anymore and there is a disconnect between the fans, the board and the team. The last time it felt like the connection was there between the team and the fans was the squad that PH built, but once we got back into the league, the board let all that hard work drift away into the ether. Their time is up and the sooner they leave, the sooner we can get that connection back and enjoy being connected back to the club again.

Quoted from ginnywings

Reading this thread, I think PP is suffering from the same delusion that JF was, in that the dissenters are seen as a vocal minority, and restricted to the fishy.

All the fans I know personally (none of them are members of this site) are saying the same thing, that this season has been the final straw. Not only did the board totally misjudge the season and made us worse than ever, from a low bar to start with, but they also totally misjudged the whole Mr May saga and it's effect on the fans thinking. There has been a sea change, of that I have no doubt.

While out walking today, I bumped into my brother and we sat on the seafront for a chat. Talk turned to GTFC as it usually does and he said he would be buying a season ticket for next season whatever league we are in, but only if we have new owners. Like me, he didn't get one this season after getting totally disillusioned with the goings on at BP. And that was before the sh1t show we have witnessed this term. If there is no change, he will carry on not bothering. I feel the same and we have nearly 100 seasons support between us. We are not fickle fans who are in it for the good times. There have been precious few of those the last 2 decades.

I think It's just as important how the club is run off the pitch as well as on it. Success on the pitch is great, but it's not the only reason we attend. It just doesn't feel like our club anymore and there is a disconnect between the fans, the board and the team. The last time it felt like the connection was there between the team and the fans was the squad that PH built, but once we got back into the league, the board let all that hard work drift away into the ether. Their time is up and the sooner they leave, the sooner we can get that connection back and enjoy being connected back to the club again.

As usual well said ginny.

I wonder if any longer term club owner of a football league club has had as bad a record as fenty. He has owned the club for what 17 seasons? Of those 17 7 have been our worst ever positions in a 120 year history, soon it will be 8 out of 18. Has any EFL club owner with more than 10 seasons spent over 40% of their tenure presiding over the worst positions of their clubs history?

It would be genuinely difficult to make as big a intercourse up of it as fenty has so the consortium has a pretty low bar to beat. And all that is without the tantrums, debacles, selfishness, bitterness and other off field disasters culminating in the Alex may fiasco that could easily have cost the fans their club entirely.

Quoted from ginnywings

Reading this thread, I think PP is suffering from the same delusion that JF was, in that the dissenters are seen as a vocal minority, and restricted to the fishy.

All the fans I know personally (none of them are members of this site) are saying the same thing, that this season has been the final straw. Not only did the board totally misjudge the season and made us worse than ever, from a low bar to start with, but they also totally misjudged the whole Mr May saga and it's effect on the fans thinking. There has been a sea change, of that I have no doubt.

While out walking today, I bumped into my brother and we sat on the seafront for a chat. Talk turned to GTFC as it usually does and he said he would be buying a season ticket for next season whatever league we are in, but only if we have new owners. Like me, he didn't get one this season after getting totally disillusioned with the goings on at BP. And that was before the sh1t show we have witnessed this term. If there is no change, he will carry on not bothering. I feel the same and we have nearly 100 seasons support between us. We are not fickle fans who are in it for the good times. There have been precious few of those the last 2 decades.

I think It's just as important how the club is run off the pitch as well as on it. Success on the pitch is great, but it's not the only reason we attend. It just doesn't feel like our club anymore and there is a disconnect between the fans, the board and the team. The last time it felt like the connection was there between the team and the fans was the squad that PH built, but once we got back into the league, the board let all that hard work drift away into the ether. Their time is up and the sooner they leave, the sooner we can get that connection back and enjoy being connected back to the club again.

With you 100% there. For as long as I’ve had a season ticket, which is at least as long as my entire adult life if not longer, I’ve never considered not renewing my season ticket. Even this season; in fact I wanted the club to have my money more than ever to try and support the club’s survival in uncertain times.

But look what they did with it. It’s unforgivable that we find ourselves in this position, let alone all of the many, many mistakes of the past.

With new ownership, I’m there in a heartbeat next season, assuming we’re all allowed to be of course. Without it, regardless of our league status, my money stays with me. The management of the club over the past 12 months, in fact going all the way back to Holloway’s appointment which was clearly loaded with subterfuge, has been appalling. Before that, it’s been dismal at best for the past 15 years.

If that meant phoenixing the club, so be it. The shít show can go on no longer.

Fortunately, I don’t think it will come to that. We seem to be all but there. But if it did, I and I suspect most others will be finished with the current administration.

Good article by Cod Almighty...

http://www.codalmighty.com/site/ca.php?article=7832

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

".......and when that million quid is in front of me, I'll grab it like this"

[img]https://i2-prod.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article3770536.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_IMG_0262.jpg[/img]

"yes kids.............I AM THE MESSIAH"

Quoted from promotion plaice

Good article by Cod Almighty...

http://www.codalmighty.com/site/ca.php?article=7832

This is a very good article and sums up towns' plight with regard to ITV Digital, blamed by Fenty for the start of towns downward spiral. However, Town would have not been the only club caught up in this.

This quote from wiki claims 14 clubs, some unnamed, had problems:-

" ITV Digital's collapse had a large effect on many football clubs. Bradford City F.C. was one of the affected, and its debt forced it into administration in May 2002.[60][61]

Barnsley F.C. also entered administration in October 2002, despite the club making a profit for the twelve years prior to the collapse of ITV Digital.[62][63] Barnsley had budgeted on the basis that the money from the ITV Digital deal would be received, leaving a £2.5 million shortfall in their accounts when the broadcaster collapsed.[63]

Clubs were forced to slash staff, and some players were forced to be sold as they were unable to pay them. Some clubs increased ticket prices for fans to offset the losses.[64]

The rights to show Football League matches were resold to Sky Sports for £95 million for the next four years compared to £315 million over three years from ITV Digital, leading to a reduction from £2 million per season to £700,000 in broadcasting revenue for First Division clubs."


None of them fell from the grace of the EFL like Town did under Fenty into the NL. He managed the balance sheet and mismanaged everything else at the club.

A new era is dawning, let's hope that Stockwood and Pettit can restore Town to its former glories.

Quoted from pen penfras

My comments are based on reality, not some phantom ideology that people turn up because of a community image. None of those clubs poojah mentioned had fans turn up before success, except AFC Wimbledon which was a different situation entirely, and comparing them as being smaller historically is living in a past that has completely changed, and would have done regardless of who was in charge because they are all from areas with greater populations that have been turning towards football.

I completely agree that we need investment and new thinking and it is a start and will in the short term create excitement and bums on seats. But not a single bit of that will matter if we don't get results. And to think it's as simple as a little investment will lead to success is hugely underestimating the situation. If it was that simple, then every club would do it. Every single club out there is trying to improve one way or another and not everybody can get it right. We have to hope that

And there you go again. Completely missing the point.

I did not say results don’t count. And neither did any one else. Let me repeat this in simple terms.

When people are treated with respect and their needs and wishes are taken into consideration, they are more likely to keep going to the games even when results are poor. A closer identification with the club will help.

It might not put huge numbers on the gate, but even 5% will make a big difference on the budget. I’m sure you can appreciate that 5% extra for little outlay means a big difference in profit.

I don’t think anyone is silly enough to ignore the fact that results naturally impact attendance and success on the pitch is something every fan wants.

As a club we’ve existed, simple as that, and the rhetoric from within the club has promoted that as a success, a lot of fans have swallowed the nonsense and some still seem to listen to Fenty. It’s clear he isn’t the saviour and the continued blooming of everything but himself/themselves is tiresome and pathetic.

Moving forward it isn’t just about results, investment isn’t always about cash either. The fans of this club have dipped their hands in their pockets numerous times, they’ve supported the club through some horrific times and in reality, the non non chairman has gotten away with murder in comparison to other clubs. However, he, being the arrogant girl private that he is has failed to realise that, instead choosing to present a woe is me type attitude. He’s belittled and alienated fans. He belittled a previous manager, one of only a few that’s had success with this club.

I’d like a club that doesn’t exploit its fan base; one that invests genuinely in the community and one that promotes a positive culture. Not the flipping archaic Sunday league nonsense we have now.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

And there you go again. Completely missing the point.

I did not say results don’t count. And neither did any one else. Let me repeat this in simple terms.

When people are treated with respect and their needs and wishes are taken into consideration, they are more likely to keep going to the games even when results are poor. A closer identification with the club will help.

It might not put huge numbers on the gate, but even 5% will make a big difference on the budget. I’m sure you can appreciate that 5% extra for little outlay means a big difference in profit.

I think almost everybody is completely missing my point and saying I'm trying to defend Fenty, I'm not talking one single bit about him, just the future and how it will go. I'm actually saying the exact same thing as a lot of you, that a change in image and investment in facilities WILL make a big difference. Initially. Success has to follow, or else we will be back where we are now, or at least last season. I'm well aware that since December the outlook has changed and there's no going back for Fenty. I'm also well aware that there hasn't been enough investment in the club since the 80's, long before Fenty was on the scene.

There are lots of clubs that have had a boost from things that are being talked about, but when results turned, so did the fans. One of the prime examples I can think of is Middlesbrough, they used to chant the chairman's name at almost every game for what he did for them. But when improvement stagnated, attendances slightly dropped and when they regressed they dropped by 50% of the peak and only go up when they're winning.

I believe when ITV digital went belly up Crewe and Grimsby were the worst affected, losing just over 60% of their income. One of them came out of it reasonably

Quoted from buckstown

I believe when ITV digital went belly up Crewe and Grimsby were the worst affected, losing just over 60% of their income. One of them came out of it reasonably

Crewe were in the middle of a purple patch in terms of selling products of their youth team; players like Dele Adebola, Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson, Rob Hulse and Dean Ashton - the best part of £10m in transfer fees right there over 7 or 8 years. Of course, the fact they were able to produce those players was no fluke, though for obvious and very dark reasons the Crewe academy is no longer revered like it once was.

It's not unfair to suggest that Town were the hardest hit by the ITV Digital collapse, and you can credit it as a major contributing factor in out double relegation from the second to the fourth tier. That said, any business is at risk when it is too reliant on a single income stream, no matter how safe it seems - our failure to produce any saleable talent at the time since 1997 exacerbated the impact.

As I've said many times before, John Fenty's loans did get us out of a hole, and it should be possible to isolate that act from his subsequent actions and give him due credit for it. We can have the debate as to whether we should have gone into admin, however I don't think that was as straightforward as it sounds since out major creditor was HMRC.

However, no way can ITV Digital be held culpable for what has happened over the course of the past decade or so - it's relevance doesn't stretch that far. In 2005/6 we had a relatively successful season as one of the better teams in League Two with a squad full of talented players for that level. We've failed to get anywhere near that level since, not because of ITV Digital but because of gross mismanagement throughout the entire club.

It's a football club, and of course we all want to see the team doing well, winning games.

But I do also want the club to be something that I am proud of. I want to wear my scarf as a badge of honor, with real pride.

In recent years the club has been in a vicious circle of decay, mismanagement, lack of ambition, and failure. This last year we have been a laughing stock due to incompetence and just when we though it could not get any worse, disgraced by the stain of possible corruption.

I remember when being a Grimsby fan allowed you to walk with a spring in your step. Under Buckley we had a reputation for playing football the right way, and were widely respected as a well run club. We punched above our weight not by cheating, conning refs, playing the long ball game, or kicking opponents off the park, but by playing an attractive passing game. Proper football. So we could be proud even when we lost.

It was easy to love the club then. Recently it has become something to be ashamed of.

But change is coming. I believe the whole ethos and outlook will improve and we will once again be proud of our club. Our club. Because whoever owns it from time to time, it is always our club.


        

I'm not offering ITV digital as a defence for Fenty, quite the opposite in fact. A well managed club could have been reasonably successful after a period of resetting the finances. Crewe are the example having started from the same financial impact

Direction?

Their words said Championship in 5 years. Their actions equal non league...again.

It doesn't just happen because you say it, or you think it, or you would like it to be. The words have to be backed with action. They never are.

We can only hope that the new owners don't promise us outlandish progress, but that what they do offer, they actually strive to achieve. That'll do for me.

Quoted from pen penfras

I think almost everybody is completely missing my point and saying I'm trying to defend Fenty, I'm not talking one single bit about him, just the future and how it will go. I'm actually saying the exact same thing as a lot of you, that a change in image and investment in facilities WILL make a big difference. Initially. Success has to follow, or else we will be back where we are now, or at least last season. I'm well aware that since December the outlook has changed and there's no going back for Fenty. I'm also well aware that there hasn't been enough investment in the club since the 80's, long before Fenty was on the scene.

There are lots of clubs that have had a boost from things that are being talked about, but when results turned, so did the fans. One of the prime examples I can think of is Middlesbrough, they used to chant the chairman's name at almost every game for what he did for them. But when improvement stagnated, attendances slightly dropped and when they regressed they dropped by 50% of the peak and only go up when they're winning.

In the case of Middlesbrough, attendances back to where they were before the millions were pumped into the team.

It is too early to start a campaign for 3 or 4 clubs to be promoted from NL to the EFL?

Quoted from Fillipe Noche

Jason is a founding member of B Corp UK

Jason will be like a breath of fresh air running through the club, very professional, forward thinking and everything you read about him is positive so fingers crossed he can put a heart beat back into the club because we have been flat lining for so long under the current custodians

I genuinally enjoy reading the banter on your board - And as I have stated previously I am hopeful you will remain in the football league - I think that will be tough, but still see Southend and Colchester dropping out.

This thread pricked my ears though, obviously being a Lincoln fan since 77' I am aware of the enormous changes our club has seen - So if you were to have a similar change in fortunes and direction - I would see all of these things, gradually being key to success.

1. Cheif executive - We took ours from Doncaster and he has been integral to our success on and off the pitch.
2. The right manager - Personally I would always go on the up.
3. Training Facilities - Our performance centre on the A15 has definitely helped us recruit better calibre players - Man City/Forest/West Brom/West Ham/Fulham/Spurs happily loan us players knowing their players are well looked after and have great facilities. Appleton engaged with Power point presentations to these and many more clubs so we could get the cream - Our strike force is probably on paper worth 10 million.
4.As a visitor to BP over 10 times - It is tired and you need either reloaction or it making more attractive to visit for both home and away fans - When I used to go in the 80s I was with my mates and didn't care, but now with my 11 year old I wouldn't go - Not only is it tired but it also feels hostile. The fanzone at Lincoln is fantastic - Good food, beer - but also my son can have a game of football , see his mates and have a laugh. It can be done - Lincoln hasn't always had this atmosphere but the club have worked hard to change the atmosphere.
5. Investment - Looks like this could be sorted for you - But clealry it has helped us , with multiple investors covering losses and improving the team. We have also been savvy in tying down our assets and I would imagine we have players that would comfortably raise 7 figures so if we needed to resource this way we could too.
6.Club shops - We now have a superstore in the centre of Lincoln and this has hugely helped attract supporters but also increase revunue.
7. We also fix - upgrade anything that is tired. People who visit SB will be aware we own the 4g at the back of the stadium - It was tired - It has just been completely replaced with a state of the art 4g - It is always full of kids (Pre - Covid).

There are probably other important things but these are the things I would want and do - Good Luck for the remaining games and I hope you avoid NL - I know what it is like - Guisley on Boxing day was the coldest I have ever been, and we lost too...

Grimsby is an area where people have not much money , people on minimum wage or zero hours contracts if we dropped ticket prices to £5 for kids ,o.a.ps ,  £10 for adults i think we would get a hell of a lot more people through the turnstiles, ticket prices are astronomical and a few years ago it was 2 quid more to watch leeds United in the championship than paying for a ticket at £21 to watch town struggling in league 2

Quoted from nealeardleyscrossing

I genuinally enjoy reading the banter on your board - And as I have stated previously I am hopeful you will remain in the football league - I think that will be tough, but still see Southend and Colchester dropping out.

This thread pricked my ears though, obviously being a Lincoln fan since 77' I am aware of the enormous changes our club has seen - So if you were to have a similar change in fortunes and direction - I would see all of these things, gradually being key to success.

1. Cheif executive - We took ours from Doncaster and he has been integral to our success on and off the pitch.
2. The right manager - Personally I would always go on the up.
3. Training Facilities - Our performance centre on the A15 has definitely helped us recruit better calibre players - Man City/Forest/West Brom/West Ham/Fulham/Spurs happily loan us players knowing their players are well looked after and have great facilities. Appleton engaged with Power point presentations to these and many more clubs so we could get the cream - Our strike force is probably on paper worth 10 million.
4.As a visitor to BP over 10 times - It is tired and you need either reloaction or it making more attractive to visit for both home and away fans - When I used to go in the 80s I was with my mates and didn't care, but now with my 11 year old I wouldn't go - Not only is it tired but it also feels hostile. The fanzone at Lincoln is fantastic - Good food, beer - but also my son can have a game of football , see his mates and have a laugh. It can be done - Lincoln hasn't always had this atmosphere but the club have worked hard to change the atmosphere.
5. Investment - Looks like this could be sorted for you - But clealry it has helped us , with multiple investors covering losses and improving the team. We have also been savvy in tying down our assets and I would imagine we have players that would comfortably raise 7 figures so if we needed to resource this way we could too.
6.Club shops - We now have a superstore in the centre of Lincoln and this has hugely helped attract supporters but also increase revunue.
7. We also fix - upgrade anything that is tired. People who visit SB will be aware we own the 4g at the back of the stadium - It was tired - It has just been completely replaced with a state of the art 4g - It is always full of kids (Pre - Covid).

There are probably other important things but these are the things I would want and do - Good Luck for the remaining games and I hope you avoid NL - I know what it is like - Guisley on Boxing day was the coldest I have ever been, and we lost too...

Very interesting post, I didn't know much of that.

There aren't many brands that are strong enough to live by the mantra 'build it and they will come' — it certainly won't work for Town just now — but if we can get our act together off the pitch, re-establish ourselves as a community club, rebuild our reputation, heal a few wounds, become a team to be proud of (irrespective of our place in the league), work with schools, then, for example, you could build a superstore in the town centre and people would spend their money there.

I honestly didn't think Lincoln had 9,000 crowds in them. There's a huge crowd laying dormant in Grimsby. We've long talked about this 'core' 2-3,000 fanbase we have, who'll be there come rain or shine.

Winning games does draw bigger crowds, no matter the level. I understand that argument, but being a sustainable, proud community club that builds relationships with kids, parents and grandparents through all sorts of ethical and innovative initiatives means that, over time, that 'core' 3,000 becomes more like 5 and 6,000 and a new generation of Town fans is born.

You have to do something seriously bad to lose a core fanbase. Ours has dwindled for sure. Winning games brings in large crowds temporarily; being a well-run club over years and years brings more people back - winning games just speeds it up.

Quoted from RichMariner

Very interesting post, I didn't know much of that.

There aren't many brands that are strong enough to live by the mantra 'build it and they will come' — it certainly won't work for Town just now — but if we can get our act together off the pitch, re-establish ourselves as a community club, rebuild our reputation, heal a few wounds, become a team to be proud of (irrespective of our place in the league), work with schools, then, for example, you could build a superstore in the town centre and people would spend their money there.

I honestly didn't think Lincoln had 9,000 crowds in them. There's a huge crowd laying dormant in Grimsby. We've long talked about this 'core' 2-3,000 fanbase we have, who'll be there come rain or shine.

Winning games does draw bigger crowds, no matter the level. I understand that argument, but being a sustainable, proud community club that builds relationships with kids, parents and grandparents through all sorts of ethical and innovative initiatives means that, over time, that 'core' 3,000 becomes more like 5 and 6,000 and a new generation of Town fans is born.

You have to do something seriously bad to lose a core fanbase. Ours has dwindled for sure. Winning games brings in large crowds temporarily; being a well-run club over years and years brings more people back - winning games just speeds it up.

Yep. I have a mate who lives in Lincoln but supports somebody completely different (hometown club) and he is always very complimentary and admiring of the way that The Imps go about things.

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

Yep. I have a mate who lives in Lincoln but supports somebody completely different (hometown club) and he is always very complimentary and admiring of the way that The Imps go about things.

Which is a far cry from where they were only a matter of years ago. They finished 13th in the National League the season we went up and were pretty dreadful by all accounts. They were, it seemed, a million miles behind us.

As frustrating as that is, there is some solace to take from that - when a club is competently run, transformation can come quickly. Not that we should take such a thing for granted, but it's possible.

Taking my black and white tinted glasses off for a moment, they've had a phenomenal few years.

Quoted from nealeardleyscrossing

Appleton engaged with Power point presentations to these and many more clubs so we could get the cream

Slade IN.

Quoted from TownSNAFU5

It is too early to start a campaign for 3 or 4 clubs to be promoted from NL to the EFL?

I think it should and not because we are about to end up there. It's more akin to a division 5 now, despite it being run by a different board. There are more professional clubs in there now and it's almost on a par with league 2 in standard. It wouldn't be as daunting for clubs that ended up there if it was a little easier to secure promotion back out of it. The days when clubs had to be vetted as to their structure and facilities before they were allowed into the football league are long gone, and most of them could easily make the leap to the EFL, so I can't see why there shouldn't be the same promotion and relegation places.

Quoted from ginnywings

Direction?

Their words said Championship in 5 years. Their actions equal non league...again.

It doesn't just happen because you say it, or you think it, or you would like it to be. The words have to be backed with action. They never are.

We can only hope that the new owners don't promise us outlandish progress, but that what they do offer, they actually strive to achieve. That'll do for me.

Oh that's a bit harsh Ginny, the only reasons we arent in the new ground and in the championship already is due to total lack of funds, the council not gifting us the land to build on, lack of partners to take forward the peakeds parkway site, lack of housing site planning and demand, appointing completely inexperienced consultants with a track record of fking zero to lead the project, lack of funds, ..oh I said that already, the site being completely unsuitable really and even if all that existed a complete lack of understanding of how long such a project would actually take. .....so c'mon..... who could have foreseen that statement wouldnt have become reality ??




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Quoted from moosey_club

Oh that's a bit harsh Ginny, the only reasons we arent in the new ground and in the championship already is due to total lack of funds, the council not gifting us the land to build on, lack of partners to take forward the peakeds parkway site, lack of housing site planning and demand, appointing completely inexperienced consultants with a track record of fking zero to lead the project, lack of funds, ..oh I said that already, the site being completely unsuitable really and even if all that existed a complete lack of understanding of how long such a project would actually take. .....so c'mon..... who could have foreseen that statement wouldnt have become reality ??




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You've missed out a deluded chairman who overpromised and underdelivered and who may have been viewing it as an opportunity to personally gain rather than move the club forward.

It's amazing it's never happened....

Quoted from Son of Cod

Slade IN.

I was thinking that.

What worries me about next season is that the standard in L2 has been so bad that the whole bottom half is probably worse than the entire top half of the National League.

I reckon each of the top 10 teams in the NL could’ve held their own in L2 this season. If we play like we’ve played this season we’d be closer to the bottom four in the NL than the playoffs for sure.

You’ve got a whole list of fully professional and ex-league clubs queuing up to get out of there. There’s a backlog and we’re gonna be just another one to add to the list. We all know how difficult a league it is to get out of; next season could be a testing one even with new owners.

But let’s try and use that time to get our club back in our hearts off the pitch, and hopefully success on the pitch will soon follow.

I think you could be right Rich. We need to go down there with positivity but not with complacency.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

I think you could be right Rich. We need to go down there with positivity but not with complacency.

Surely the fans and the club won’t be arrogant this time and dismiss it as a pub league?

Ha ha ha - a lot on here still do. Expressions s like "The Dog and Duck" demonstrate that.

Quoted from rancido

Ha ha ha - a lot on here still do. Expressions s like "The Dog and Duck" demonstrate that.

A mate self-publishes football history books under that name. He’s a Town fan. But I think he was using that name before 2010.

New direction?

How about UP?