Cod Almighty | Postbag
Return of the post-sack postbag
1 March 2011
Last week, we published articles by Pat Bell and Tony Rogers arguing the case for and against the dismissal of Neil Woods. This postbag presents your responses.
Please send your thoughts on the continuing chairmanship of John Fenty, our new manager, or anything else to postbag@codalmighty.com.
"Expecting Woods to turn it round in a season was pathetic"
While I find your politics irritating, I would like to thank Pat Bell for carefully detailing the thoughts of the decent, silent majority who are appalled at this latest dismal attempt at "management" by our Directors. It was calm, dignified and honest and should be mailed to Fenty. Non league football has been 12 years in the coming and expecting Woods to turn it round in a season was pathetic. Shame on Fenty and shame on the witless morons who precipitated this. Perhaps you can do a piece on how the stupidity of our "supporters" has contributed so much to our situation.
from Simon Crisp
The players and the crowd let him down
What a brilliant article, written from the heart I feel, about the continued demise of our proud club. I too have sympathy with Neil Woods. You could see what he was trying to do with the team and I feel the players let him down too often. The crowd also let him down. I was always taught not to boo your own (It's somewhat hypocritical to cheer when they score!) and you can see the effect it has on some of the youngsters, the ball resembling a hot potato at times.
As for the chairman. He may seem a likeable chap as he goes on his walkabouts and he, like the rest of us, wants the best for the Club but, if he was to analyse his performance as the politician he strives to be even he could not argue for another term.
Up the Mariners.
from Dave the ex-engineer
Woods would have sorted it but I can't say Fenty did the wrong thing
It seems that if we want our club to survive we have to put up with Fenty - without his money where would we be? Would we still be?
So the Fenty tyranny dictates that as true supporters we watch and support with our own money a side so inconsistent you wonder from week to week what you're going to get!
Having read the articles submitted by Messrs Bell and Rogers, I can't help but feel that given another season Woodses would have sorted it - I would have given him that as a supporter but if I were Fenty, and having put in the money he has and knowing that Straight Peter and Atko wanted away I can't say that he didn't do the right thing - to keep those two by getting us in the playoffs and so promotion.
But he's sacked Neil and in doing do has kicked us all in the b******s because he's Grimsby Town, so am I and so are all of us.
from Alan Dickens
I hope the new man is given the long term chance Woods was promised
There are a couple of points in Tony Rogers's "End of an Error" article that I just felt had to be addressed.
According to the piece, which is pretty pursuasively written, Woods has been "saved by Alan Connell". Interesting interpretation of events this, given than Connell was brought to Grimsby by the aforementioned Woods. Connell clearly is a talented player, who had the potential to be succesful at many clubs. But before Woods took a chance on him, Alan was a middling to average League striker, with an unremarkable goal scoring record. It is Woods who spotted Connell, brought him to Town and gave him the chance to seriously enhance his reputation. And could it be possible that Connell has actually benefited from playing under Woods?
Moving on from this point, there is talk of changes to the team being neccesary - well absolutely they were. Under Newell we were a complete rabble. The standard of the playing staff was shocking. They lacked quality and fitness and the spiral of decline had been ongoing for long before that. I doubt anyone would argue we now have more quality, more professionalism and a fitter squad than at anytime since the last decent season we had under Russell Slade. These are considerable achievements. They have not fully transmitted to the pitch yet, but have they realistically been given enough time? When a culture of defeat sets in over such a long period of time, all the evidence - including from many other clubs at many levels - suggests turning things around is like halting a supertanker under full steam. It doesn't happen in 16 months. It doesn't matter what league you are in, changing an orgainsation's whole culture needs serious time. The aim for this season should have been stability, stemming the tide, applying a halt to the tortuous decline we haved been in for years. A playoff place, which is still possible, should have been a bonus. Does the Chairman have a serious, considered, long term plan to get us back in the league? This decision suggests not.
While the Woods debate should clearly now be a thing of the past, the short-termism of the decision leaves me seriously depressed. I have seen it described as panic, and knee-jerk and it is both those things and worse. I just hope the new man in charge is given the long term chance that Woods was promised, but then deprived of. Yours
from Tim Jays
Linkless in Lincs
How am I suppose to find the Grimsby Telegraph news when you don't stick the links up? I presume the links are for people who cannot read?
from Mick
Letters Ed responds: Come on Mick, everyone knows the Diary just cuts and pastes articles from the SNOS.
Free Fandango
In response to the postbag's appeal for pleas on behalf of D'wayne Fandango, I'd like to say that I am a firm supporter of the Free Fandango! campaign, but won't be doing anything constuctive to help poor D'wayne bacause I'm far more interested in not attending matches yet still managing to criticise players in depth on various messageboards. I personally blame Neil Woodses for this whole fiasco, he's the worst "cheap option" manager we've had in a long list of "cheap option" managers, and he should be sack....oh, he's been sacked? Boooo Fentys! Knee-jerk reaction, Woodses needed more time....
from Armchair Mariner
Send your letters to postbag@codalmighty.com.