Cod Almighty | Diary

Pssst. Ignore Ian Holloway. Pass it on.

16 April 2025

Earlier this season I wrote a piece for the Cod Almighty Diary about how desperately I wanted Town to beat Swindon. More precisely it was about how badly I wanted us to beat Ian bloody Holloway. I wanted us to show him that we were better now, we had survived his bluster and nonsense. That we were now a progressive club rather than the terminal basket case that he had left behind.

Obviously, that didn't quite work out how I imagined. The collective will to get one over our former manager, somehow manifested an intense fifteen-minute gale that blasted directly into the Town players' faces, precisely as the game kicked off. Swindon scored twice, hit the post, and missed a penalty before Town even managed to clear a ball beyond the edge of their own penalty area. Even allowing for the mitigating circumstances provided by the freak weather, it was probably one of worst performances of the season. To make things worse all the buildup and grief directed at Holloway only served to elevate the attention that he duly lapped up post-match.

Ultimately that game against Swindon reminded me that wanting to win any game that badly in mid-December is probably a waste of energy. It wouldn't really define the season at that point. The points won or lost are the same no matter the opposition. I resolved to just accept the defeat, move on, and enjoy the fact that no matter the result, we are over that dark period and its influence on our club.

I'm sure you can imagine, then, my absolute delight when I realised that Town probably do need a win on Friday at the expense of Ian Holloway to keep our play-off hopes alive. Can you conceive a more Grimsby Town situation than for us to have a decent shot at the play offs, sell out the ground, only for our least popular former manager to take a load of abuse before gleefully sinking our season?

We know that Holloway is a man who thrives on the emotions of football. He will absolutely use the atmosphere and not-so-good-natured banter from the Blundell Park crowd to motivate his team. I guess it's a silver lining that the amount of vitriol directed at him will be diluted when he shares it with Marcus Bignot and Mad Gav Gunning as well.

To derail Swindon, I think we need to do the unexpected. I say we execute a comprehensive and collective ghosting. The type he can't ask his wife to exorcise through shaman prayers and sage. No nasty chants, no comments from the Main Stand. We must ignore Swindon's management team entirely. Show them we don't care anymore. A full-on Grimsby omertà.

Perhaps at full time, pending the right result, we could allow ourselves a word or two. But then it really is time to move on. Whether we make the play offs or not, better things are to come. Let's focus on that, rather than what went before.