Andy Smith Returns

The telegraph have copulated up and announced it before the club hahaha

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/paul-hurst-hints-grimsby-town-7394626

Wow, I wasn't expecting this news.

Whoops. Great, if somewhat expected news all the same.

Oh wow, that's GREAT news! 😁

What news? I've seen nothing until Sam or the club posts something.

Great news 😊

Quoted from lukeo

What news? I've seen nothing until Sam or the club posts something.

have you even read what i've posted

Great news. Thought he was our best player in the play off final. What a nice headache to have picking from Smith, Waterfall and Maher. Plus Pearson is more than able back up.

Quoted from lukeo

What news? I've seen nothing until Sam or the club posts something.

Paul Hurst has said how pleased he is to get Smith back. That’s good enough for me!

“copulated up” or released it ahead of the embargo after losing exclusivity deal to a rival. Hmm.

Really good signing . He improved our defence so much last season  once he got his position in the middle. I can see him being an ever present if he stays fit and won’t be troubled much by L2 strikers

Really pleased with this. The anticipation and craft he showed with his interception and pass for McAtee’s Play-off final equaliser underlines what a quality player he is and at 20, will only get better.

Quoted from LH

“copulated up” or released it ahead of the embargo after losing exclusivity deal to a rival. Hmm.

Makes you wonder. I think it's a combination of dropping a clanger and wanting to get a +1 with the exclusive. Hasn't worked, staff have publicly commented about it on their own profiles so it clearly justifies the decision to build a relationship with GI Media.

Good news for us and good news for him and his development
🤙

Just been to GT site
Great headline
Grimsby Town setting new season pass and excrement sales records on eve of season

excrement should be shi...

Quoted from mariner91

Great news. Thought he was our best player in the play off final. What a nice headache to have picking from Smith, Waterfall and Maher. Plus Pearson is more than able back up.

Brace yourself for 3 CB’s starting when required, possibly.

Club about to confirm it now it seems.

https://mobile.twitter.com/officialgtfc/status/1552699152256999424

Now on OS

https://gtfc.co.uk/smudge-returns/

Quoted from Hagrid

have you even read what i've posted

To be fair it's almost impossible to read the telewag's website unless you have an adblocker 🤣

There on the ball. Just launched Mariners TV and now you have to register for the rest of the interview.

Yeah i saw that DB

Surely you dont have to pay a monthly fee to listen to interviews only?

He looks very happy considering he was diddled out of an all-inclusive to Tenerife.

Fantastic signing - what a find he turned out to be last season. Interesting to see how things pan out now. You would imagine Maher has signed to play every week so someone is going to be disappointed. For me we have to start with the Waterfall Smith pairing and see what happens form-wise.

FWIW I doubt we will try three together with wing-backs since we’re stacked with wide players who play high up. We did also give it a go a couple of times last season with no success.

Excellent signing.

He clearly loves it here and the fans.

If, in the event we get promoted ( never say never), it could set up for a more permanent transfer.

They do say that league 2 and the national league standards aren't that far apart so he should fit right in.

Quoted from Hagrid

Yeah i saw that DB

Surely you dont have to pay a monthly fee to listen to interviews only?

Looks like we need short pockets and long arms. lol

Great news. So we've only lost Fox and Sousa from the side that started against Solihull. Not too shabby.

It pays to be patient, and happy to see any 2 from 3 in place for the regular centre half positions, with apologies to Shaun Pearson, who will always give of his best whenever picked to play.

A solid defence is a must in any league, but more so to stay established in League 2 this season.

The better the defence, the higher we will find the team in the league.

Thank you, Hull City !!

Excellent signing, well happy with that.

So we now have four good full backs and four good centre halves. When have we ever been able to say that?

Also great to hear him saying how fantastic the support was. It’s clearly part of the reason he was so keen to come back.

It says that Smith signed a new deal with Hull shortly before joining Town on loan.

Quoted from Hagrid

The telegraph have copulated up and announced it before the club hahaha

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/paul-hurst-hints-grimsby-town-7394626

I don't think it is the Telegraph that have copulated up.

Not sure is there is a problem with the official site but it isn't accessible for me.

Quoted from Meza

It says that Smith signed a new deal with Hull shortly before joining Town on loan.

I was just going to ask what his contract situation was, because there could be a clause in the loan agreement for us to buy him at the end of the season

Fantastic news and even more so as it's for a full season. Certainly far better to have a young developing player in the squad than a player from a higher league in his twilight years. Much was made about the possibility of Bennett coming back but this is a far better long term acquisition. A full season loan makes it much easier to plan for the full sesson-long campaign.

That headbutt on the Solihull player in the final is worth a season loan on its own.

Quoted from acko338

It pays to be patient, and happy to see any 2 from 3 in place for the regular centre half positions, with apologies to Shaun Pearson, who will always give of his best whenever picked to play.

A solid defence is a must in any league, but more so to stay established in League 2 this season.

The better the defence, the higher we will find the team in the league.

Thank you, Hull City !!

Completely agree. I’ve made this point in slightly different ways in three posts now - over the course of a season the best defences in L2 concede low 40s ...... are we in that bracket? ...... time will tell, but if we are, we don’t need to be prolific scorers to be challenging for a play-off place.

What a fantastic signing. Don't think he put a foot wrong once he got to his preferred position, and at 20 years old is a great prospect.

Absolutely fantastic signing, really pleased, hope there's a clause in the deal that Hursty can't move him to right back  

Thankfully, he’ll only be 3rd choice right back. Welcome back Andy.

Quoted from ginnywings

What a fantastic signing. Don't think he put a foot wrong once he got to his preferred position, and at 20 years old is a great prospect.

Yep. Forgettable at right back. Unforgettable at centre half.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Thankfully, he’ll only be 3rd choice right back. Welcome back Andy.

I would think after previous displays comfortably 4th choice behind clifton, at least. Probably 5th behind Khan who's being played there in lg2 so can be used there in an emergency.

Think Smith’s as high up the pecking order as a RB as Giles Coke is for the match day squad!

I can’t blame him in wanting to play for a big club instead of Hull

How long is left on his Tahhgers contract?

Quoted from AdamHaddock

How long is left on his Tahhgers contract?

Just signed a 2 year deal with another year option.

https://www.wearehullcity.co.u.....ins-grimsby-on-loan/

Am  I right in saying that a season-long loanee cannot be called?

Quoted from Les Brechin

Am  I right in saying that a season-long loanee cannot be called?

There is often a January recall option in them. Fingers crossed he's still here come May.

How do we keep Smudger for another year if the team and he play well?

Promotion, then he'll be rejoining a club higher in the leagues yet again.

Currently, his parent club will monitor his playing progress one league higher, with no backlash on their games, ie no risk, and value him by holding him on a 2 year + option term contract for a transfer fee later, as he is under 24 years old.

So, carry on the good work, Smudger, everyone benefits this way !!

Talking of player progress - how is Sam Bell of Bristol City doing nowadays?

Looked ok, perhaps needed feeding up a bit, but needed more game time here, then went back, literally to a right back playing position at Bristol in a few games when they had injuries.

Hurst and Doug could make something out of him, perhaps?

Young, fit, mobile, and not too expensive as a loan?

His club know we look after loanees.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

There is often a January recall option in them. Fingers crossed he's still here come May.

I thought EFL season long loans were essentially one year contracts, unless it’s a keeper.

Quoted from grimps

I can’t blame him in wanting to play for a big club instead of Hull

😂 love that!

An incredible signing.  

Quoted from SouthLakesMariner

Completely agree. I’ve made this point in slightly different ways in three posts now - over the course of a season the best defences in L2 concede low 40s ...... are we in that bracket? ...... time will tell, but if we are, we don’t need to be prolific scorers to be challenging for a play-off place.

Smith was an ever present at centre-back from the Yeovil game in mid-march right up until the penultimate game of the normal season.  12 games.  In that time we conceded just 9 goals, that includes a home game against Champions elect Stockport with half the games against teams that were in or around the play-off/promotion places.

That level of stinginess over the course of a season is 34/35 goals.  Halifax, with the tightest defence in the league last year conceded 35, albeit that's over a 44 game season.  

We've retained everyone who was integral to that stinginess in the final stages of the season (we weren't exactly leaking goals at any point either - 46 conceded in 44 which was the 4th joint best defence) but we've taken the best defender and the guy who did the screening for that Halifax side.

League Two is a step up but if I'm totally honest, I don't think the gulf will be that vast at all.

Very, very encouraging signs.

Quoted from diehardmariner

An incredible signing.  



Smith was an ever present at centre-back from the Yeovil game in mid-march right up until the penultimate game of the normal season.  12 games.  In that time we conceded just 9 goals, that includes a home game against Champions elect Stockport with half the games against teams that were in or around the play-off/promotion places.

That level of stinginess over the course of a season is 34/35 goals.  Halifax, with the tightest defence in the league last year conceded 35, albeit that's over a 44 game season.  

We've retained everyone who was integral to that stinginess in the final stages of the season (we weren't exactly leaking goals at any point either - 46 conceded in 44 which was the 4th joint best defence) but we've taken the best defender and the guy who did the screening for that Halifax side.

League Two is a step up but if I'm totally honest, I don't think the gulf will be that vast at all.

Very, very encouraging signs.

Also worth nothing that 3 of those 9 goals where in that game at home to Maidenhead, when Waterfall had that absolute minute of madness which saw us 2-0 and a man down in a matter of seconds. Can’t attribute any blame to him for that.

I’m expecting this Town side to be very tight at the back and absolute workhorses in midfield. Still some question marks over our attacking fire power, but I see no easy victories over us this season.

Definitely worth noting.  So noteworthy that I decided I'd omit one of the goals from the TEN and count nine instead....

Still a tight as hell end to the season.

In terms of the gap diehard refers to, I think we’re likely to be better equipped, certainly defensively that some expect.

In 2020/21, Sutton won the NL with 84 points. They finished 8th last season, just missing out of the playoffs in their first season ever in the EFL.

We got 77 points last season, so the standard at the top of the NL improved last season. I can’t think the standard of L2 has improved dramatically since we were last there.

Hursty’s sides are always miserly at the back, and having added Green who I remember was an absolute nightmare to play against, we’ve gone up a level.

With McAtee, we’ve brought one of, if not the, best talents in non league up to the EFL with us.

I think we’ll compete

I agree.  I don't think we're there yet but I think we're closer than we have found ourselves for a long, long time.

There's definitely a need to either keep Taylor fit and doing what he does best, or a replacement coming in for him.  I'd argue another option wouldn't go amiss.  Not saying it should be them but someone in the mould of Sam Bell or Owen Windsor is definitely what I'm thinking,  Young, eager, fairly quick and aggressive.  

But we've also, for my mind anyway, strengthed our attacking options too.  Last season we had a constant in that McAtee was a threat for the majority of the season.  Sousa started the season well but never really delivered an output, JMD came in and added a threat with some product and then tailed off a bit before coming good when it really mattered.  Holohan chipped away with a steady return in a few games and Clifton averaged, what 1 in 4/5.  But it always felt like we were reliant on one individual at every single point in the season.  I think the additions of Wearne, Khan and Kiernan will give us more than we had last season.  Added to that we've got Glennon who showed he can be an outlet in his first spell too.