Cod Almighty | Article

by Chris Mills

24 July 2024

Ah, young people with their colours and their noise and fading memories of the old times and the old timers way back long ago when we were still just about fab. They didn't realise they never had it so good as when they first started watching Town as the century turned.

Saturday 1st January 2000. The turn of the 21st century.

Tony Blair's New Labour continues to sweep the nation, the universally feared millennium bug fails to materialise and Irish heartthrobs Westlife top the charts. Overseas Bill Clinton is nearing the end of his controversial second term as American president, Serena Williams bursts on to the world tennis stage and, perhaps more ominously, Vladimir Putin becomes acting president of Russia. The post-Cold War 1990s are giving way to a more technological 2000s with the rise of the internet and social media platforms about to change our lives forever.

Closer to home Grimsby Town are enjoying one of their most successful periods competing in the second tier of English football for most of the '80s and '90s.

But for how long?

By a cruel twist of fate and perhaps the greatest example of a sliding doors moment ever witnessed, Grimsby's last game of the previous century was against Manchester City. The following 24 years would go on to prove somewhat kinder to one of those sides, who would go on to dominate the English domestic game, I was already witnessing the last of the glory dayswinning the Premier League eight times, the FA Cup three times, the League Cup six times and the Champions League once. The other would embark on a very different trajectory and a decade of decline, enduring three relegations in seven years, culminating in their lowest ever league finish in the fifth tier.

Yes, that last one was us. In case you were wondering.

And so it was around this time I, perhaps morbidly and definitely naively, began supporting the Mariners as a fresh-faced, wonky-eyed 12-year-old. One of the first "Post 98" generation, I'd just missed out on the club's last promotion and first ever Wembley win. That meant all I'd ever known was Grimsby in the second tier of the football league and I didn't yet have the maturity or understanding to appreciate that I was in fact already witnessing the last of the glory days. And we might never have it as good again.

What followed was 16 years of continual lows and endless misery. A downwardjoy arrived at last with promotion back to the football league spiral of disbelief and bitterness. Mismanagement and poor leadership on and off the pitch. I formed a thick skin borne out of disappointment and resentfulness. The familiarity of failure made success begin to feel unachievable and forever just out of reach. But joy arrived at last with promotion back to the football league in 2016 which, when it finally came, felt more like relief than reward. And would ultimately be short lived.

However, through it all there were moments of hope, flashes of inspiration and periods of adoration. Sparks of colour in a sea of grey. They were for the most part transient and delivered more by individuals than a collective team effort. But they were just fleeting enough for us to hold on to and remember with fondness. We were still young enough to have idols, old enough to appreciate a hero. Or know better.

So fast forward to the summer of 2023 and the launch of the View From The Findus Podcast, designed to be an independent voice and balanced opinion detailing the weekly goings on at Blundell Park but also a nostalgic reminder of yesteryear. As a way of engaging with our new audience, over our first season we set about discussing, debating and compiling our "Ultimate 21st Century XI".

Obviously there are a lot of fans who remember players prior to the year 2000 but as the majority of the podcasts' panellists only began supporting Grimsby around the turn of the millennium, it would have been remiss of us to have talked about players we hadn't seen play in the flesh. I also made an assumption that the age demographic of those listening to podcasts generally and posting on 'X' would be similar to ours. Though hopefully a few oldies are proving me wrong.

And so it began: a different position each month in a traditional 4-4-2 formation. We narrowed down our favourites on the podcast and then put it to a vote online to let the fans decide a winner each time. In total, over 2000 votes were cast during the season and this is the XI that was decided upon.

GK Danny Coyne, RB John McDermott, LB Conor Townsend, CB Andy Todd, CB Ryan Bennett, RM Alan Pouton, LM John Oster, CM Paul Groves, CM Craig Disley, SC Michael Reddy, SC John McAtee

Not bad, eh?

In the main the winners were agreed upon with relative ease but there were a few tighter votes and cross words along the way. Some quite rightly pointed out that it would be hard to compare players that played four leagues apart but this was, after all, only hypothetical. So honourable mentions should go to the likes of Tony Gallimore, Zhang Enhua, Nathan Arnold and Padraig Amond who only narrowly missed out in their positions and would almost certainly make up a formidable bench! I only briefly thought about pulling rank to include my all-time favourite player Alan Connell who was criminally overlooked.

So at last, we are delighted to announce a collaboration with Cod Almighty. Together with their contributors, we will be profiling each of the XI over the coming months and reminiscing as to why they live long in the memory. And why their names alone still bring out the giddy child in all of us.

The first quarter of the 21st century has so far proven a testing time for the world with the rise of terrorism, economic downturns and concerns over climate change. But through it all we have had one constant and that is our football club. Saturday afternoons remain a haven of hope, excitement and devotion for an ever loyal and growing fanbase. Although we haven't reached the heights of our opponents back in 28th December 1999, we have had something oil money can't buy – a love that still burns bright.

Listen to weekly episodes of the View From the Findus Podcast here