Cod Almighty | Diary
It says here that this year's prince is born
14 June 2016
John Fenty – the man who once resisted a debate on ticket pricing because he didn't want to "devalue the product" – has voted to allow B teams into a first-team competition. Why? Because he doesn't know any better. Having surrounded himself with yes-men, and immersed himself in the business world, he has no instinctive sense of how offensive this is to supporters who care for the soul of the game, and how demeaning this is to the proud club he has chosen to run on our behalf.
It is to Fenty's credit that he has overseen the appointment of two supporter representatives to the GTFC board. Closer involvement of the Mariners Trust with the club has seen many benefits to the club and fans. Initiatives such as last summer's spectacular Operation Promotion have brought the two closer together than we have seen for many years. Season ticket sales are higher than we have any right to expect.
Like many other Town fans, your original/regular Diary's first reaction to the weekend's news from Portugal was that if the trust directors' input was to be denied on key decisions, then perhaps this would be the limit of their involvement. You can come in and cheerlead, but don't expect a say on anything that matters. I felt angry – partly because those directors represent me as a fan, so my views were being snubbed, and partly because they are good people with good intentions who were seemingly being treated badly.
GTFC have voted the wrong way. And they've mismanaged the decision-making and communications around the vote. They are, however, not the guiltiest party here.
Yes, there was a depressing familiarity about proceedings when Town fans were left in the dark for three days because nobody connected with the club appeared to have realised that communication has been made possible between people in different countries by such innovations as, say, electronic mail, or the telephone. But blame for this debacle deserves to be apportioned more widely. In springing the B team proposal on delegates only after flying them out to Portugal, the Football League and its chief executive Shaun Harvey clearly knew what they were doing.
They were removing any possible means for their proposals to be debated by supporters.
They knew their plans would be seen by fans for the squalid, elitist little stitch-up that they are. So they took us out of the equation. Harvey and the League have deliberately denied you a say. They don't think your opinion matters. They don't think you deserve a voice.
You're being treated like something unpleasant wiped off the sole of a shoe.
What are you going to do about it?
Join the boycott. Your support counts for something. Don't go to any Trophy games next season. Don't support an invalid competition.
Fenty asked Harvey if this was the thin end of the wedge. Doesn't this seem a little odd from someone who three weeks ago expressed great enthusiasm for Premier League B teams entering an expanded Football League?
Whether or not you join the boycott (and I know some fans baulk at staying away), at least have your say in the Mariners Trust online survey and make sure you've signed the petition. Read the trust's excellent strong response to the club's mishandling of the vote, and if you're not a member then please give fresh consideration to joining.
Town's official statement on the B teams vote is not the worst the club has ever issued. But it is not satisfactory. It tells us, although not explicitly, about the lack of time and space allowed for proper discussion. At the very least this suggests that the club should have abstained and called for a fuller debate.
The statement also says this:
John Fenty, personally asked the CEO of the EFL - Is this the thin end of the wedge regarding progressive Premiership involvement in the wider competition?
(Verbatim quote; incorrect use of comma after "Fenty" and dash after "EFL" are GTFC's own.)
Doesn't this seem a little odd from someone who went on record in the Non-League Paper three weeks ago expressing great enthusiasm for the idea of Premier League B teams entering an expanded Football League? Perhaps Fenty's query as to whether this would be the thin end of the wedge was made in hope that the answer would be yes.
Nevertheless, Town's superb new official website goes on to say "assurances were received" that there is no wedge (apart from the £1million sweetener, of course), and there is no intention to add B teams to the Football League.
I'm sorry, but that's not good enough.
Assurances were received that the footballing powers would start listening to fans. Assurances were received that the FA would reform its ridiculous constitution and procedures. Assurances were made that grassroots coaching in English football would improve and our players stop looking like donkeys in every international tournament. Assurances were received that the Elite Player Performance Plan wouldn't be a way for the Premier League to stockpile hundreds of young players and avoid paying reasonable compensation for poaching them from smaller clubs. Assurances were received that the formation of the Premier League in 1992 would benefit the whole of English football.
Make no mistake. There is no action the Premier League will not consider if it meant a way to increase its own wealth and power and strengthen its stranglehold on the game. If the Premier League were a human being, it would be diagnosed as psychopathic. You can't trust these people. Even for a single year. They say pilot? They mean precedent.
Let's assume for a moment that I'm being cynical, that Harvey and the real power brokers of the Premier League can be taken at their word – that there is no wedge. Let's assume this is just about B teams in the Football League Trophy, and nothing more will come of it than that. Would we be happy then?
Perhaps some supporters would. Perhaps they still get a bit starry-eyed when Match of the Day comes on. Perhaps they think it's exciting for little old Grimsby to breathe the same air as celebrity footballers. Perhaps they tweet Joey Barton and expect a reply.
Well, I take more pride in my club than that. I think the name of Grimsby Town FC is worth something. I think our 140-odd years of history should amount to more than a bit part as a trailer for the Premier League's TV show. I believe that for our first team to play an official reserve team in any competitive fixture is inherently degrading.
And I believe the same for Accrington Stanley, for Wycombe Wanderers, for Stevenage, Chesterfield and Yeovil Town. No club should be demeaned in this way. Whether or not there's a wedge with a thin end, we're all worth more than this. We don't have to stand for it. And we have the means to stop it. Let's use them.