The Blundelles: a female perspective on the beautiful game

Cod Almighty | Article

by Hannah Dawson

20 July 2017

Women aren't pushed aside at Blundell Park, but the appearance of a new blog suggests there is always time to consider different viewpoints

Having wanted to set up a football blog for a long time, I had been struggling to find the time to constantly write down my thoughts and keep one going. I came across a Cod Almighty tweet on my dinner break one day last week, and it suddenly hit me… I didn't have to write it alone!

Working in marketing, I'm well aware that to make something successful that stands out from the crowd, you need a unique selling point. With this in mind, I sat and thought about how I could capture the attention of fellow Grimsby Town fans, and even fans further afield. After toying with a few ideas, I decided to create a blog that captures a female perspective on football.

I have been impressed by the amazing work that females at Grimsby Town FC do, and also by the brilliant female fanbase we have at the club. For this reason, I thought it would be fantastic to hear more about football from a female perspective. Although males and females are treated equally at our football club, it is perfectly natural for different genders to see things in different lights. The aim is to get more females talking about football, and not being scared to let their opinions be heard.

I certainly don't feel that females are pushed to one side at Grimsby Town, but there is always time to consider different viewpoints at the club.

The first step I took was to poll my Twitter followers, who are predominantly Grimsby Town fans. I wanted to gather feedback for this idea and see if it was something fans wanted to read! As you can see, the final result showed 71 per cent of people thought it was a good idea. Although 29 per cent did not, none of them let me know their reasons.


So taking this into account, I spoke to some friends, and together we came up with The Blundelles. Along with various female Grimsby Town fans from all walks of life, I hope to entertain with our interesting and sometimes slightly bonkers points of view on football.

I've had several people ask to write for the blog already, which is amazing! It is a brilliant feeling knowing that I am empowering females to voice their opinions

Recently, it has come to light that some view this blog as sexist. I could not disagree more! My friend Trevor Hewson helped me to launch the blog by sharing his funny stories about the females of Grimsby Town as our first post. None of the articles speak ill of males, and having been a Grimsby fan for nearly 24 years, I have met some amazing males and females who follow the club.

In my opinion someone who is that invested in equal rights would be better spending time campaigning against television adverts and the gender pay gap than picking apart a harmless blog with innocent intentions.

Who knows, if I had set up another standard football blog, there may be the accusation that it was imitating Cod Almighty and the likes. It certainly wouldn't be as well read, that's for sure.

So I would like to thank people for their opinions on the new blog – you are all entitled to them! I would also like to invite the female writers of Cod Almighty to submit the odd piece for The Blundelles, as I have submitted this at CA's suggestion. My view is that we are all joined in our mutual love of Grimsby Town Football Club, and have no reason to put each other down. There will always be differences of opinion, but let's save the real battle for when we head to Sincil Bank!

I've had several people ask to write for the blog already, which is amazing! Although not the main reason behind the blog setup, it is a brilliant feeling knowing that I am empowering females to voice their opinions, when in some cases they may not be so vocal. I'm particularly proud that my youngest writer, Ruby Lawler (aged 11), will be submitting pieces for my blog. This is an absolutely amazing thing for an 11-year-old to be doing, and she is setting a great example to other young children.

I'd love it if the Grimsby Town fanbase could get behind The Blundelles as much as possible. All shares, feedback and content ideas would be much appreciated, and I urge as many female Grimsby fans as possible to get in touch and help make this a success!

For those of you wanting to get involved, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter, drop me an email at hannah@marinerstrust.co.uk, or fill in the form on our contacts page. Don't be afraid to get involved, even if you aren't a natural writer. This blog is for all women of all ages, so let's see what happens!

Send us (as well as Hannah, naturally) your feedback on this article.