Cod Almighty | Diary

What’s the story Evan Khouri?

4 June 2026

I’m not usually part of a pitch invasion, and I don’t typically seek selfies, but when the Mariners defeated Man Utd back in August I found myself on the pitch and walking past Evan Khouri. ‘You were the best number eight on the pitch tonight,’ I told him, and I found myself holding out my phone and he leant in for a selfie. My son, whose interest in Grimsby Town had been growing slowly, learnt the name Khouri the next day when I showed him the picture and, from that, he began learning a few others.

A lot of things happened after that. More high-profile cup games, a painful slide down the division, a fight to get back into the play-offs, the Swindon game, and then, while watching the second leg of the play-offs on TV, my son — for the first time — admitted, during a Salford attack, feeling very nervous. By the expression on his face and the language of his body, I could tell he was being absolutely genuine.

That was the moment. Whether we went up or not from there didn’t seem to matter. What mattered was that the club had earned itself a new fan. It began with Evan Khouri and it ended with your West Yorkshire Diary buying a couple of season tickets. Evan has achieved a lot at the club, both personally and professionally, but the most valuable thing any player can do is earn the club a new fan.

It’s always sad to see a player who graduated through our youth team leave the club because we know how much we’ve invested in them, we know how hard they’ve had to work to create the opportunity for themselves and, as a result, we’ve been much closer to their development than those that develop elsewhere.

Over a hundred appearances for the Mariners and some great moments in there too. What any fan watching from the stands would give to be able to say that! And when my son is old and grey, Evan Khouri will still be talked about as fondly as Evan Khouri talks about the club.

All the best, King Evward! UTM!