Cod Almighty | Article

by Dave Chambers

11 May 2004

So. The post-mortem begins. Endless possible reasons, theories, facts, all discussed by fans, probably on the medium of choice for the modern Mariners supporter - electronically. Before? Men sat around in pubs, smoking tabs, supping jars, mumbling their grievances. Letters were written by hand or on a typewriter to the Grimsby Evening Telegraph. People would use a telephone, a non-mobile one at that, and the bill would always be paid to British Telecom.

Now, right now, as you read this, some supporter of Grimsby Town Football Club, somewhere in the world, will be typing on their computer - onto a message board, into an email - why they think it has all gone wrong this season. Because it hasn't gone right. Not in one single way. The majority will voice thus (and consult a thesaurus to get the variations of words used): Groves stayed in charge too long; there was no need to get rid of Rodger as he was doing well; why was that evil disciple of that ugly, ugly football Nicky Law put in charge; and it is all the fault of the board.

Even those who reject some or all of the first three reasons will always reach the same conclusion: blame the board. You can't blame a fan for thinking that.

It is because of the board the football club is where it is. It survives, still exists because of their finance. But that it survives in the third division is down to the one key decision the board of any football club has to make: employing someone to manage the football affairs. On this the board have failed, and failed completely.

The Groves era was always characterised by those who were loyal to him. And then there were those who were fervently against him. Every manager divides a crowd upon his appointment, during his tenure, and even when he has departed. Before Groves there was Lennie Lawrence. Before Lawrence there was the return of Alan Buckley. Before Buckley there was Kenny Swain. Before Swain there was Brian Laws. And between several of those were a couple of short caretaker spells for John Cockerill. Each man had his pros and his cons. His strengths and weaknesses. And at worst fans will view those appointments as half for, half against.

To start with, Groves had the majority of the crowd behind him as a manager. When Groves was relieved of his duties it was a minority. Nicky Law simply picked up the baton for the minority. No matter how this season ended, Law would be on to a loser. The fans got behind the team, but the fans derided the board's choice of manager.

Rewind to the start of the season. The players brought in to join what was there already had Town fans quietly optimistic. On paper, they were right to be.

Early season there were signs. The surges of Marcel Cas down the right. Michael Boulding nicked the odd goal. Iain Anderson thumped in a few long-rangers. And the rustiness of the others? Des Hamilton wallowed around like a broken robot. Tony Crane was a lumbering, mindless oaf - as his booking count shows. Simon Ford had the attention span of a one-year-old. Stacy Coldicott's and Alan Pouton's returns, on which Town would turn the corner, seemed to get further and further away; anticipating them was like chasing a speck of dust on the windscreen. Meanwhile, players left, more players arrived. And so it went on throughout the season.

Local rumour passed off the return of the mercurial Phil Jevons was due to a masterstroke of straight talking by Furneaux. Towards the end of the season Furneaux even confirmed this. Thank Chairman Pete for coaxing out the ability that had eluded a succession of football managers! But in the run-in to the season Jevvo went awol again. He was on the pitch; he created the odd chance; he missed the odd chance. But he never played like someone who had his heart in it. He played like he knew what was coming. Who knew where he was going. Who knew he had done enough for himself. And he didn't seem to be alone.

For the last game of the season, Town fielded one player who had joined the club as a trainee: Darren Mansaram. One more - Stacy Coldicott - had been at the club for nearly six years. After that two more players were in their third seasons: Jevons and Campbell. And the other seven players? Three loanees, three players in their first seasons at the club, and Darren Barnard. How can these players care? They are just journeymen employees. Compare that to Tranmere on Saturday. They fielded five players who had come through the ranks at Prenton Park. Two other players were in their fifth seasons at the club. Two more had worked with the manager previously. Close-knit indeed.

We, the fans, are never allowed to forget by the chairman that the club's continued existence is down to the generosity of the current board. Speculation suggests that it is down to the very deep pockets of one board member in particular. I am sure there won't be a single fan out there who is not thankful that the club continues to thrive thanks to this lifeline. But it will be down to that one person, John Fenty, and no other person.

Furneaux's recent statement that "the fans, the management and the directors deserve better than they have been getting" is clearly a dig at one group: the players. The chairman may be right when he says it is a positive thing that there are only six contracted players left at the club. It is almost a clean slate to start from. Time to model ourselves on those smaller, close-knit clubs out there. Like Tranmere. Like Stockport. Like any number of the teams that finished above us in Division Two.

And the board have to take the lead. Appoint a new manager. Explain why the season went tits-up. Explain how they are going to put things right and what it will take. Shoulder some of the blame instead of looking elsewhere for excuses. Start working with the fans, not dictating to them. Maybe then - and it is a big ask - the fans will have some faith in the board. It will take a mighty effort though.