Cod Almighty | Diary

Don't wag your fingers at them and turn to walk away

3 June 2019

Trentside Diary writes: My heart is black and white and if you’re reading this, yours probably is too. We’re a proud club and a proud area with fishing in our blood and Mariners on the pitch. My dad was a hard-working seine net skipper with a passion for beer and football when he was home. We went to Blundell Park when he wasn’t at sea, not because Town were his club, but he had lived in Grimsby from the 50s and believed we should support our local club. Once he retired and had the time, he went back to his club as often as he could. He refused to set foot in Blundell Park once Fenty was involved and probably regretted ever taking us there.

Many Town fans are scattered far and wide, but the siren call of a match day still tugs us home and we’re there as often as we can make it. The fallow years for me were when my children were small. It can be a bleak place on the banks of the Humber and so my attendance waned, but as soon as they were old enough we were back and season ticket holders again. How many business owners would marvel at our tenacity and loyalty? How do they do it? They treat them like crap and they still come back. You couldn’t recreate that in any business. It’s why we’re not customers and some in football take us for granted.

The world has changed since I started watching Town and nowhere more so than the Grimsby area. Gone are the opportunities that awaited people who were prepared to work hard. Yes, fishing was tough but you could earn a good living. The Humber bank factories had large workforces doing skilled jobs, and they paid a decent wage. The docks at Grimsby and Immingham were thriving places and a hub of many people’s lives.

The country has had its ups and downs but in our area there have definitely been more downs than ups both economically and in football. What stands out is the distinct lack of ambition some have for the area, and that apathy oozes from the football club. There are suggestions about ways to improve attendances, the regeneration of Freeman Street including a shiny new stadium. What is the club doing? Nothing.

The idea of shift worker tickets has been suggested for years, and even that wild curveball, selling chips on a match day, has been raised. Zilch. If something doesn’t happen soon to bring in the new generations, then Town won’t be in their DNA and crowds will drift further away.

My sons played football locally for years, running around Bradley pitches or Ploggers, and made friends who they went to watch Town with. I realised just how pathetic the leadership of the local council had become when I saw last week that they have turned down an extension to the facilities at Bradley pitches because of noise.

Councillor Steve Beasant said: "I wouldn’t want to be living down there when referees are blowing their whistle because it will be deafening for some residents at that time."

Councillor David Hasthorpe said: "None of the people, or computers that have done the modelling here are going to have to live with it. If this goes ahead, it will be hell in high water [sic]."

You couldn’t make up that lack of intelligence or ambition in an elected official. Thank goodness none of them are involved in running the football club. Oh, wait...

Recently Casual Diary was amazed at the placidity of Town fans. Sadly, I’m not. It’s the same placidity and lack of organisation that saw the decline of the fishing industry. The mentality of "we can’t do anything about it", "Johnny Foreigner got our fishing rights", "it will be fine after B****t", "if it wasn’t for Fenty we wouldn’t have a club".

Well, I’ll tell you a couple of things. First, British governments always have and always will be happy to trade our fishing quotas to Johnny Foreigner as they do now – and Brexit won’t resurrect the fishing industry despite the smoke and mirrors some have fallen for. Second, Grimsby Town Football Club would manage perfectly well without Fenty.

Casual Diary started the discussion. So let me add a couple of ideas. Let’s ask local businesses to sponsor individual match or season tickets that can be given to youngsters. And let’s look at the budgets in detail. There will be supporters out there who would offer time and expertise and there will be savings to be made along the way. It’s not fanciful: it just takes enough of us prepared to commit. I’m in. UTM!