Grimsby Town F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Grimsby Town


fullname = Grimsby Town Football Club
nickname = The Mariners
founded = 1878 (as Grimsby Pelham)
ground = Blundell Park
Cleethorpes
capacity = 9,106)
(10,033 with temporary seats
chairman = flagicon|England John Fenty
mgrtitle = Manager
manager = flagicon|England Mike Newell
league = League Two
season = 2007–08
position = League Two, 16th
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pattern_la2= | pattern_b2= | pattern_ra2=
leftarm2= FFFFFF
body2= FF0000
rightarm2= FF0000
shorts2= FFFFFF | socks2=FFFFFF
pattern_la3=|pattern_b3=|pattern_ra3=
leftarm3=1E90FF|body3=1E90FF|rightarm3=1E90FF|shorts3=1E90FF|socks3=1E90FF

Grimsby Town are an English Football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club is located at Blundell Park in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, part of the conurbation of Grimsby borough in North East Lincolnshire, on the Humber estuary. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/g/grimsby_town/7616440.stm]

Despite having fallen on hard times in recent years, the club has been the most successful of the three professional league clubs in historic Lincolnshire, being the only one to play top-flight football. It is also the only club of the three to reach an FA Cup semi-final (doing so on two occasions) and is the only one to succeed in two finals at the old Wembley Stadium. It has also spent more time in the English game's first and second tiers than any other club from Lincolnshire.

Notable managers include the late Bill Shankly, who went on to guide Liverpool to three League titles, two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup triumph and Lawrie McMenemy who, after securing promotion to the then third division in 1972, moved to Southampton where he won the FA Cup in 1976. Alan Buckley is the club's most successful manager, he had three spells as team manager between 1988 and 2008, and guided the club to two Wembley appearances during the 1997–1998 season winning both the Football League Trophy and the Nationwide Division 2 Play Off Final. In 2008 Buckley took Grimsby to the capital again, but lost out to MK Dons in the final of the Football League Trophy.

History

Early history

The club was formed in 1878 after a meeting held at the Wellington Arms public house in Freeman Street. Several attendees included members of the local Worsley Cricket Club who wanted to form a football club to occupy the empty winter evenings after the cricket season had finished.

The club was originally called Grimsby Pelham, this being the family name of the Earl of Yarborough, a significant landowner in the area. In 1880 the club purchased land at Clee Park which was to become their ground until 1889 when they relocated to Abbey Park, before moving again in 1899 to their present home, Blundell Park. The original colours were blue and white hoops, which were changed to chocolate and blue quartered shirts in 1884.

In 1888 the club first played league football, joining the newly-formed 'Combination'. The league soon collapsed and the following year the club applied to join the Football League, an application that was refused. Instead the club joined the Football Alliance. In 1890 the club became a limited company and in 1892 finally entered the Football League, when it was expanded to two divisions. The first game was a 2-1 victory over Northwich Victoria.

The 1901-02 season saw promotion to the first division; two seasons later they were relegated and within a decade they would be a non-league side again, failing re-election in 1910 and falling to the Midland League. However they won that at the first attempt and at the subsequent re-election vote, replaced local rivals Lincoln City in the Football League.

Grimsby Town and Hull City were the only two professional teams which had official permission to play league football on Christmas Day because of the demands of the fish trade. That tradition has now disappeared following the dramatic reduction of their trawler fleets in recent years. [ [http://www.fishupdate.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/6186/Grimsby_fish_market_to_open_over__festive_period.html Grimsby fish market to open over festive period] - FISHupdate.com]

The Inter-War Years

This was probably the most successful period in the club's history as they played at the highest level. The first full season after the Great War the club was relegated to the new Third Division North. By 1929 they were however back in Division One, where they stayed (with a brief break from 1932 to 1934) until 1939, obtaining their highest-ever league position, 5th in Division One, in the 1934-35 season. In 1925 they adopted the black and white stripes as their colours.

On 25 March 1939, Wolverhampton Wanderers played Grimsby, in a FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford. The attendance of 76,962 remains Old Trafford's largest ever attendance, though it is likely to be exceeded in the near future. The Mariners lost the game 5-0 after the second choice goalkeeper George Moulson was injured early on in the match (first choice keeper George Tweedy had caught the flu days earlier). With the then rules forbidding substitutes for injuries Grimsby had to play with 10 men and an outfield player in goal. It was at this match that the squad wore numbered shirts for the first time, three months before it became official.

As well as the semi-final of 1939 the club also reached the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1936 but lost 1-0 to Arsenal.

Postwar decline

With the resumption of the Football League for the 1946-47 season after World War II the club were relegated at the end of the 1947-48 season and have never returned to this level. Much of the 1950s and 1960s were spent alternating between the Second Division and the Third Division North, later the Third Division. In 1968 they slipped into the Fourth Division for the first time. The following season the club had to apply for re-election to the league having finished second from bottom. It was in this season that the lowest-ever attendance for a Football League match at Blundell Park was ever recorded; 1,833 saw a 2-0 defeat to Brentford.

Revival during the 1970s

Three years later 22,489 people witnessed a home victory against Exeter City that saw the club promoted as Fourth Division Champions. This turnaround was credited to the appointment of Lawrie McMenemy as manager. The club stayed in Division Three until relegation in 1977 but were promoted again in 1979. A year later they finished as Third Division Champions under the stewardship of George Kerr and returned to the second tier of the English game, a level they had not been at for 16 years.

In 1976 the club saw what could be said to be its' most prestigious visitor when the local Member of Parliament and then Foreign Secretary Anthony Crosland invited the then American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to watch the Mariners play. The game they viewed was against Gillingham.

Back in the Second Division

The first season back (1980-81) saw the club finish 7th. Work started that year on a new £1m stand, originally called the Findus Stand (now the Carlsberg Stand) after the former Barretts Stand had been declared unsafe. In the 1983-84 season the club finished fifth in the Second Division after spending most of the latter part of the campaign in the top three promotion places. This was their highest league finish since the 1947-48 season.

Grimsby's stay in the Second Division ended in 1987. They actually spent much of the 1986-87 season in the top half of the table, but a run of 8 losses and 2 draws in the final 10 games saw them fall from 8th to 21st.

Another decline and another revival

By 1988 the team were back in Division Four and the club was in extreme financial difficulties. Following the resignation of Dave Booth in 1986 (to pursue outside business interests) the club had two managers in two years (Mick Lyons and Bobby Roberts). Alan Buckley was appointed and by 1991 had led the club to two successive promotions with the chairman at that time being Peter Furneaux. Grimsby established themselves in the First Division with Buckley's current crop of players currently boasting some of the most popular and biggest cult heroes in the clubs. Players such as Shaun Cunnington, Mark Lever, Dave Gilbert, Steve Livingstone, Paul Futcher, Paul Groves and Clive Mendonca were mixed with a crop of fresh faced youngsters like Peter Handyside, Gary Croft, John Oster and Jack Lester to make the club a mid-average first division outfit. Buckley departed Grimsby in 1995 to join West Bromwich Albion and was replaced by Brian Laws. During his tenure Laws became famous for a changing-room altercation after a defeat at Luton with Italian striker Ivano Bonetti, which left the latter with a broken cheekbone, and caused the popular player to leave the club at the end of the season.

The 1997 relegation

In 1996–1997 season The Mariners were releagted from the First Division. Despite flowing goals from Clive Mendonca, and notably good performances from John Oster and new comer Kingsley Black, Grimsby failed too save themselves. The club had suffered at the losses of Gary Croft, who made a £1.5 million move to Blackburn Rovers and ever present Goalkeeper Paul Crichton, who would see his replacement, Jason Pearcey(who had been the clubs second choice keeper in the previous season) struggle to fill his boots.

Back in Division One

The 1997–98 season saw the return of Alan Buckley as manager after an unsuccessful period at WBA. That season was the most successful in recent times, in which the club won the AutoWindscreens Shield final at Wembley Stadium courtesy of a golden goal from Wayne Burnett, followed four weeks later by promotion via the Second Division play-off final at the same venue. The same season saw notable victories against several clubs above them in the league structure, including (in the League Cup) Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City (who were the holders of the cup at the time).

The 1998–1999 season saw Grimsby hold there own in a hard division, and a poor end to the season would deny them any hint of a play-off place and a chance of gaining promotion to the Premiership . The following season, more shrewd signings by Buckley, notably Bradley Allen, Danny Coyne and Alan Pouton would see The Mariners finish just below mid table and despite a slight relegation dog fight the team were able to pull together and get wins out the bag. The 2000–2001 season saw a boardroom change with Doug Everitt taking over from Bill Carr and this would eventually lead to popular manager Alan Buckley getting dismissed after just 2 games of the season. This was especially harsh as they managed a draw and a defeat against significantly better financed opponents. He was replaced by Lennie Lawrence . The new manager changed his entire team around and brought in some expensive loan signings from abroad. Chinese International skipper Zhang Enhua was joined by former Ajax midfielder Menno Willems, Danish super striker David Nielsen and Knut Anders Fostervold . Despite this the club were in for another relegation battle, and they left it to the last day of the season to secure there safety, a Paul Groves goal secured a victory over Premiership bound Fulham to see them survive again. The 2001–2002 season saw The Mariners bounce into an early lead in the league, after a 5 games they were table toppers thanks to the on form strike force of new signing Phil Jevons and rising star Jonathan Rowan .The club bypassed local rivals Lincoln City and Sheffield United in the Worthington Cup to meet holders Liverpool at Anfield, the game went into extra time, and despite Gary McAllister scoring to put the Reds 1-0 up, loan signing Marlon Broomes and Jevons scored to give the club a historic victory. Lawrence found himself dismissed halfway into the season as Town slipped from the top of the league, down to the bottom. Skipper Paul Groves was the odd but successful choice to replace him. Shrewd signings in capturing players such as Andy Todd and the decent form of squad players such as Michael Boulding were to be instremental in helping the club pull of yet another against all odds relegation fight. The club though would have a dark period, losing loan star Martin Pringle, the popular Swedish forward saw his career ended through a nasty tackle from Stockport County defender Dave Challinor which would break his leg in two places. However the subsequent collapse of ITV Digital put enormous strain on finances. Despite Groves putting together a tasty looking squad in 2002–2003 the club would eventually lose its place in the division come the end of the season, and with relegation players had to be sold to cut costs and this would see the end of an era at Blundell Park.

Financial crisis and another relegation

Relegation hit Grimsby hard. Integral team members such as Danny Coyne and Georges Santos jumped ship, and for money reasons as well the club had to supply its own kits for the season. Groves dabbed in the transfer market and brought in some rough diamonds, notably Jason Crowe and Des Hamilton, while Dutch striker Laurens Ten Heuvel joined on loan. His dealings saw The Mariners boast a thick squad for the 2003–2004 campaign but despite this, Groves soon found his men sliding down the league. And they found themselves involved in another relegation scrap with Sheffield Wednesday like the previous season. Groves was sacked in 2004 following a 6-0 drubbing against Oldham Athletic and was replaced by Nicky Law. To be fair, things were always against Law, after the club lost Goalkeeper Aidan Davison to injury, as well as players like Marcel Cas ,Alan Pouton and Michael Boulding departing for various reasons. Other players such as Iffy Onuora were deemed surplus to requirements and were released. Law brought in his own team, veterans Paul Warhurst, Alan Fettis and Jamie Lawrence were joined by controversial journeyman Mickael Antoine-Curier and injury prone Huddersfield midfielder John Thorrington. With little time left for the new team to gel, Grimsby dropped into the relegation zone and went down again on the last day of the season.

The sudden collapse of ITV Digital had left the club with debts of over £2m, £700,000 of which is owed to the Inland Revenue and a further substantial amount to their bankers, Lloyds TSB. In 2005 director John Fenty became the controlling shareholder in the club after a search for outside investors failed, and a sale of shares to the local public was poorly received. He now owns 51% of the club and has made significant loans to the club to ensure its continued operation.

In 2006 the club announced an arrangement with the Revenue which allowed the club to repay its tax liabilities in instalments. In the report for the year ending 31 May 2006 it was revealed that the club made a profit after tax of over £400,000, due mainly to cup exploits and the play-off final.

Back in the basement division

With Nicky Law failing to keep Grimsby in the Second Division, chairman Peter Furneaux wielded the axe and ended his short stay as first team manager. The club move to appoint Scarborough manager Russell Slade as his replacement, and despite being questioned by some of the clubs supporters, he answered his critics with the signings of Michael Reddy, Andy Parkinson, Dean Gordon and Ashley Sestanovich who were all arguably considered to be of a standard higher than the division. However with the current cash flow a problem, corners had to be cut and the squad was paper thin, numbers were mainly made up by inexperienced youth team players, and pointless loan signings. Like many other teams who suffer a relegation in the previous season Grimsby got off to a mediocre start and a lower mid table finish was a good as it would get for Slade's men. For the 2005–2006 season, The Mariners started well. Slade made more additions with popular signings Jean Paul Kamudimba Kalala and Gary Croft added to the already hungry looking team, the club soon found themselves rising to the top of Coca-Cola League Two, and beating Derby County and Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup (although they were finally knocked out of the cup by Newcastle United). Grimsby failed to gain automatic promotion into League One after conceding a last minute goal against Northampton Town, although a Lee Steele goal giving Leyton Orient victory at Oxford United condemned Grimsby to the play-offs regardless. This despite being amongst the automatic promotion places for the majority of the season. The Mariners faced local rivals Lincoln City in the play-offs semi-finals, going on to win 3-1 on aggregate. They faced Cheltenham Town at The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff but, perhaps surprisingly as the bookmakers made them favourites, they lost 1-0.

Buckley returns

On 31 May, manager Russell Slade left the club after failing to agree terms on a new contract. His assistant, Graham Rodger, was promoted to replace him, but was himself dismissed by the board on 6 November 2006 after a disappointing beginning to the season. The club released a statement, saying "He has been a loyal servant to the club, but has become a victim of circumstances,... Graham has qualities this club needs - the shame of it is that this man deserved better." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/g/grimsby_town/6120532.stm]

9 November 2006 saw the return of Alan Buckley for his third stint at managing the club in the last twenty years. Generally agreed to be the club's most successful manager,Fact|date=August 2007 he had already taken the club from a basement division position to one that became established in what is now the Championship in his first term at the club (1988–1994).

On 4 March2008 Grimsby booked their place at the new Wembley Stadium after beating Morecambe in a nervy two-legged Northern Final of the Football League Trophy, a Paul Bolland goal in the away first leg enough to see Town through. They went on to play MK Dons in the Final on 30 March, losing 0-2 after Danny Boshell had missed an early penalty.

After a 13-game winless streak in the league stretching from 22 March 2008, on 15 September 2008 Alan Buckley was sacked as manager of Grimsby Town FC. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/g/grimsby_town/7616440.stm]

On 06 October, Mike Newell was appointed manager of Grimsby Town on a 3 and a half year contract.

Mike Newell in charge

On 11 October, Grimsby Town played their first game under Mike Newell against Wycombe Wanderers. Grimsby played well but Wycombe scored late on in the game and 1-1 was the result Mike Newell would have to settle for in his first game.

tadium

Grimsby play their home games at Blundell Park in Cleethorpes. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of just under 10,000 since 1995. Since the late 1990s, there have been plans for a new 20,200-seat stadium at nearby Great Coates - tentatively titled the Conoco Stadium after a naming rights deal with the American oil producer ConocoPhillips. Delays have marred the progress of this new stadium but the local council have finally granted planning permission. The Mariners hope to kick-off the 2010/11 season in their new home.cite web
publisher = Grimsby Town
title = The New Stadium - What Happens Next?
url=http://www.grimsby-townfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10417~1156816,00.html

accessdate=2007-11-01]

Mascot

Mighty Mariner is the Grimsby Town mascot. He normally torments the opposition fans, plays football with the mascots and warms up the Grimsby Town fans.

Rivals

Hull City - Grimsby share a geographical rivalry with Hull, but the two clubs have rarely played each other in recent times. Within recent years Grimsby dropped from the higher breaches of professional football down to the bottom, while Hull did the opposite. The last time the two clubs met in a competitive game was in the Football League Trophy in the 1997–1998 season, with Grimsby winning the game 1-0.

Scunthorpe United - The closest professional football club to Grimsby, is Scunthorpe. Like Hull rivalry is high, but the teams have rarely spent time together in the same leagues. With Grimsby spending most of their time in higher divisions than Scunthorpe. Which like Hull, is now reversed.

Barnsley - Yorkshire outfit who are in Grimsby's geographical catchment area, and have spent recent years playing in the same division.

Lincoln City - In recent years, Lincoln has been Grimsby's local derby games, but to Grimsby supporters, Lincoln have not been thought of as local rivals until recent seasons. And to some supporters they are not seen as rivals at all.

Sheffield Wednesday - From 2001 to 2004 especially rivalry intensified, both Grimsby and Wednesday involved themselves in the same relegation battles in both First and Second Divisions. Games between the two teams were very heated and at the time were Grimsby's main local derby.

Sheffield United - Yorkshire outfit who are in Grimsby's geographical catchment area, and have spent recent years playing in the same division.

Rotherham United - Yorkshire outfit who are in Grimsby's geographical catchment area, and have spent recent years playing in the same division.

Doncaster Rovers - Yorkshire outfit who are in Grimsby's geographical catchment area, but have not spent recent years playing in the same division.

Bradford City - Yorkshire outfit who are in Grimsby's geographical catchment area, and have spent recent years playing in the same division.

Huddersfield Town - Yorkshire outfit who are in Grimsby's geographical catchment area, and have spent recent years playing in the same division.

Leeds United - Yorkshire outfit who are in Grimsby's geographical catchment area, but have not spent recent years playing in the same division.

Rivalry with the following teams is now dorment due to the clubs playing at non-league level.
*Mansfield Town
*York City
*Boston United
*Gainsborough Trinity

Players

:"As of 27 September 2008."cite web
title = First Team Profiles
url = http://www.grimsby-townfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10417,00.html
publisher = Grimsby Town FC
accessdate = 2008-01-03]

Current squad

Grimsby Town FC Transfers

Notable Former Players

:"See also: - a list of all Grimsby Town F.C. players with a Wikipedia article."Famous former players include: ;Australia
* Nicky Rizzo;Cape Verde Islands
* Georges Santos;China
* Zhang Enhua;Democratic Republic Of Congo
* Jean Paul Kamudimba Kalala;Denmark
* Morten Hyldgaard
* David Nielsen;England
* Paul Agnew
* Bradley Allen
* Lee Ashcroft
* Rob Atkinson
* Nigel Batch
* Peter Beagrie
* Dave Beasant
* Jackie Bestall
* Garry Birtles
* Michael Boulding
* Dave Boylen
* Marlon Broomes
* Wayne Burnett
* Danny Butterfield
* Steve Chettle
* Gary Childs
* John Cockerill
* Gary Cohen
* Stacy Coldicott
* Terry Cooke
* Tony Crane
* Dean Crombie
* Gary Croft
* Jason Crowe
* Paul Crichton
* Bobby Cumming
* Shaun Cunnington
* Terry Curran
* Tony Daws
* Kevin Donovan
* Kevin Drinkell
* Paul Emson
* Nick Fenton
* Terrell Forbes
* Jamie Forrester
* Ben Futcher
* Paul Futcher
* Tony Gallimore
* Dave Gilbert
* Dean Gordon
* Stewart Gray
* Paul Groves
* Des Hamilton
* Rob Jones
* Phil Jevons
* Keith Jobling
* Kevin Jobling
* Gary Jones
* Steve Kabba
* Brian Laws
* Jason Lee
* Jack Lester
* Mark Lever
* Steve Livingstone
* John McDermott
* Clive Mendonca
* Steve Mildenhall
* Dave Moore
* Kevin Moore
* Marc North
* Andy Parkinson
* Alan Pouton
* Isaiah Rankin
* Graham Rodger
* Ashley Sestanovich
* Craig Shakespeare
* Steve Sherwood
* David Smith
* Nicky Southall
* Andy Todd
* Harry Wainman
* Paul Warhurst
* Neil Webb
* Justin Whittle
* Trevor Whymark
* Tommy Widdrington
* Clive Wiggington
* Paul Wilkinson
* Curtis Woodhouse
* Neil Woods;France
* Mickael Antoine-Curier
* Thomas Pinault;Italy
* Ivano Bonetti
* Enzo Gambaro;Jamaica
* Simon Ford
* Jamie Lawrence;Montserrat
*flagicon|MontserratJunior Mendes;Netherlands
* Marcel Cas
* Laurens Ten Heuvel
* Menno Willems;Nigeria
* Chima Okorie;Northern Ireland
* Kingsley Black
* Aidan Davison
* Alan Fettis
* Martin Paterson
* Ciaran Toner;Norway
* Knut Anders Fostervold;Republic of Ireland
* Daryl Clare
* Jon Daly
* Terry Donovan
* Jason Gavin
* Michael Keane
* Michael Reddy
* Joe Waters;Saint Lucia
* Keith Alexander;Scotland
* Iain Anderson
* Stuart Campbell
* Colin Cramb
* Jim Dobbin
* Martin Gritton
* Peter Handyside
* Richard Hughes
* Iffy Onuora;Sweden
* Martin Pringle;Trinidad And Tobago
* Clint Marcelle;United States Of America
* Jake Sagare
* John Thorrington ;Wales
* Darren Barnard
* Danny Coyne
* Alan Neilson
* Lee Nogan
* John Oster
* Tony Rees
* Anthony Williams

Past And Present International Players

;Australia
* Nicky Rizzo;Cape Verde Islands
* Georges Santos;China
* Zhang Enhua;Democratic Republic Of Congo
* Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala;Denmark
* David Nielsen (U21);England
* Michael Appleton (U21)
* Lee Ashcroft (U21)
* Peter Beagrie (U21/B)
* Dave Beasant
* Ryan Bennett (U18)
* Jackie Bestall
* Harry Betmead
* Garry Birtles
* Tommy Briggs (B)
* Steve Chettle (U21)
* Gary Croft (U21)
* Gary Crosby (B)
* Tony Ford (B)
* Paul Futcher (U21)
* Dean Gordon (U21)
* Des Hamilton (U21)
* Nigel Jemson (U21/B)
* Gary Lund (U21)
* Graham Rodger (U21)
* Steve Slade (U21)
* David Smith (U21)
* George Tweedy
* Javan Vidal (U19)
* Paul Warhurst (U21)
* Neil Webb
* Trevor Whymark
* Paul Wilkinson (U21)
* Curtis Woodhouse (U21);Italy
* Ivano Bonetti;Jamaica
* Simon Ford
* Jamie Lawrence;Montserrat
* Junior Mendes;New Zealand
* Jason Batty
* David Mulligan;Northern Ireland
* William Andrews
* Kingsley Black
* John Coulter
* Aidan Davison
* Alan Fettis
* Chris Nicholl
* Martin Paterson
* Johnny Scott
* Ciaran Toner;Nigeria
* Chima Okorie;Republic Of Ireland
* Daryl Clare (U21/B)
* Nick Colgan
* Jon Daly (U19/U21)
* Michael Keane (U21)
* Michael Reddy (U21)
* Joe Waters;Saint Lucia
* Keith Alexander;Scotland
* Iain Anderson (U21)
* Stuart Campbell (U21)
* Peter Handyside (U21)
* Scott McGarvey (U21)
* Neil Murray (U21)
* Robbie Stockdale;Trinidad And Tobago
* Clint Marcelle;United States Of America
* John Thorrington;Wales
* Darren Barnard
* Thomas Chapman
* David Collier
* Danny Coyne
* David Felgate
* Pat Glover
* Hugh Morris
* Richard Morris
* Alan Neilson
* Lee Nogan
* John Oster
* Anthony Pulis (U21)
* Tony Rees
* Ian Walsh
* Anthony Williams (U21)

Club Officials

Chairman:John Fenty
Life President:Dudley Ramsden
Directors:John Elsom,Michael Chapman,Peter Furneaux
Team Manager: Mike Newell
Team Assistant Manager:Stuart Watkiss
Reserve Team Manager:Stuart Watkiss
Youth Team Manager:Neil Woods
Physio:Dave Moore
Goalkeeping Coach:Steve Croudson
Club Captain:Matthew Heywood
Community Sport Officers:Gary Childs,Graham Rodger

Managers

* 2008-Pres flagicon|England Mike Newell
* 2008–2008 flagicon|England Stuart Watkiss (Caretaker)
* 2006–2008 flagicon|England Alan Buckley
* 2006–2006 flagicon|England Stuart Watkiss (Caretaker)
* 2006–2006 flagicon|England Graham Rodger
* 2004–2006 flagicon|England Russell Slade
* 2004–2004 flagicon|England Nicky Law
* 2004–2004 flagicon|England Graham Rodger (Caretaker)
* 2001–2004 flagicon|England Paul Groves
* 2000–2001 flagicon|England Lennie Lawrence
* 2000–2000 flagicon|England John Cockerill (Caretaker)
* 1997–2000 flagicon|England Alan Buckley
* 1997–1997 flagicon|England Kenny Swain
* 1996–1996 flagicon|England John Cockerill (Caretaker)
* 1994–1996 flagicon|England Brian Laws
* 1988–1994 flagicon|England Alan Buckley
* 1987–1988 flagicon|England Bobby Roberts
* 1985–1987 flagicon|England Mick Lyons
* 1985–1985 flagicon|England Peter Grotier (Caretaker)
* 1982–1985 flagicon|England Dave Booth
* 1979–1982 flagicon|England George Kerr
* 1976–1978 flagicon|England Johnny Newman
* 1975–1976 flagicon|England Tom Casey
* 1973–1975 flagicon|England Ron Ashman
* 1971–1973 flagicon|England Lawrie McMenemy
* 1969–1971 flagicon|England Bobby Kennedy
* 1968–1969 flagicon|England Bill Harvey
* 1967–1968 flagicon|England Don McEvoy
* 1964–1967 flagicon|England Jimmy McCuigan
* 1962–1964 flagicon|Scotland Tom Johnston
* 1960–1962 flagicon|England Tim Ward
* 1955–1959 flagicon|England Allenby Chilton
* 1954–1955 flagicon|Ireland Billy Walsh
* 1954–1954 flagicon|Hungary Elemer Berkessy (Caretaker)
* 1951–1953 flagicon|Scotland Bill Shankly
* 1951–1951 flagicon|England Frank Womack (Caretaker)
* 1937–1951 flagicon|England Charlie Spencer
* 1932–1936 flagicon|England Frank Womack
* 1924–1936 flagicon|England Wilf Gillow
* 1921–1924 flagicon|England George Fraser
* 1920–1920 flagicon|England Haydn Price
* 1902–1920 flagicon|England H.N Hickson

Famous Ex-Players/Managers

Person	Grimsby Record (league)	Claim to Fame
Jackie Bestall	Player 1926–38 427 games, 76 goals	1 England cap (6 February 1935, vs Ireland, 2-1, Goodison Park). Has the smallest road in Grimsby and Cleethorpes named after him, the only Town footballer to be honoured in this way.
Harry Betmead	Player 1930–47 296 games, 10 goals	1 England cap (20 May 1937, vs Finland, 8-0, Helsinki)
Danny Coyne	Player 1999–2003 181 games	Welsh international goalkeeper 1996–present, 11 caps.
Tony Ford MBE	Player 1975–86 & 1991–94 423 games, 58 goals	Holds all-time record, 931, for matches played in the English league by an outfield player. Youngest player to play for the club aged 16 years 143 days, 4 October 1975.
Hughie Gallacher	Player 1937–38 12 games, 3 goals	20 Scotland caps, 23 Scotland goals, member of the Wembley Wizards who beat England 5 - 1 in 1928
Pat Glover	Player 1929–38 227 games, 180 goals	Welsh international striker (1931–1937), 7 caps. Holds club records for most league goals in a career and in a season (42) as well as most international caps whilst a Grimsby player.
John McDermott	Player 1987–2007 647 games, 10 goals	Club's all time leading appearance holder with 755 games in all competitions
Clive Mendonca	Player 1991–97 187 games, 64 goals	Winner of Grimsby's BBC cult heroes poll in 2004 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/football_focus/3581200.stm BBC Sport] - Grimsby's cult heroes] . Scored a hat-trick in Charlton Athletic's 1998 play-off final win
Graham Taylor OBE	Player 1962–68 189 games, 2 goals	England Manager 1990–93, W 18 D 13 L 7.
George Tweedy	Player 1932–52 347 games, Caretaker Manager 1950–51	1 England cap (2 December 1936, vs Hungary, 6-2, Highbury)
Bill Shankly OBE	Manager 1951–53	Liverpool Manager 1959–74, 3 League titles, 2 FA Cup wins, 1 UEFA Cup win.
Billy Walsh	Manager 1954-55	Played for Manchester City and international football for four different teams, England Schoolboys, both Ireland teams, the FAI XI and the IFA XI, and New Zealand

In a survey published by the Professional Footballers' Association in December 2007, Matt Tees was listed as the all-time favourite player amongst Grimsby Town fans.

In the BBC Sports Cult Heroes poll, Grimsby fans voted Clive Mendonca as the all time favorite player, with John McDermott second, and Ivano Bonetti in third place.

Kit

Football kit box
align = left
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
pattern_b = _blackstripes
pattern_ra =
leftarm = 000000
body = FFFFFF
rightarm = 000000
shorts = 000000
socks = FFFFFF
title = Grimsby Town's traditional home kit

The original 1878 kit of Grimsby Pelham FC, featured a shirt with narrow horizontal stripes in royal blue and white, with long white shorts and black socks. Between 1884-1910, various kits colours were introduced, with the most most common colours being variations of pale blue and chocolate brown, worn with white shorts and black socks. Other kits from this period include:

*1897-1898 - Plain white shirt, with royal blue shorts and socks
*1904-1906 - Pale red shirt, with black shorts and socks
*1906-1908 - White shirt with red collar and cuffs, red shorts, black socks with red bands

The trademark black and white bar stripes were adopted in 1910 and with a few exceptions, they have rarely been missing from the kit design ever since and have become one of the most recognisable features of the club. The 1911 kit included the black and white striped shirt, white shorts and black socks. Exceptions from the traditional bar-stripe kit:

*1935-1936 - Plain white shirt featuring the coat of arms of the County Borough of Great Grimsby, black shorts and red socks
*1958-1959 - White shirt with black pin stripes, black shorts, red socks
*1960-1962 - White shirt with black collar and cuffs, red shorts, red socks
*1963-1966 - White shirt with black pin stripes, black shorts with white stripe, white socks with black bands
*2006-2007 - Black and white halves, black shorts, black socks

Since the introduction of the black and white bar stripes in 1910, the GTFC kit have featured exclusively red, black and white. The only exceptions to this are the corporate colours used in a sponsor logo and the yellow/gold trim used between 2001-2003. The official GTFC club logo first appeared on the club kit in 1974.

The new home and away kits were unveiled on 8th June 2008 for the 2008-2009 season. The home is black and white strips with a red trim and the away is red with a white trim, with Errea being the new kit manufacturer. For the 08/09 season they will also have a third kit which will be all blue and will be worn in the first few away games of the season against Brentford and Lincoln City.

Kit Suppliers

* 1975-1976 Litesome
* 1976-1978 Bukta
* 1978-1981 Admiral
* 1981-1983 Adidas
* 1983-1986 Hobott
* 1986-1987 En-s
* 1987-1993 Ribero
* 1993-1994 Admiral
* 1994-1996 Diadora
* 1996-1998 Lotto
* 1998-2003 Avec
* 2003-2004 Grimsby Town Sports
* 2004-2008 Nike
* 2008-Pres Errea

Kit Sponsors

* 1979-1984 Findus (Frozen Food Company)
* 1984-1986 NISA (National Supermarket Chain)
* 1986-1987 Bluecrest (Frozen Seafood Company)
* 1987-1993 Ciba-Geigy (Industrial Pharmaceutical Company)
* 1993-1995 Ciba (Industrial Chemicals Company)
* 1995-1998 Europe's Food Town
* 1998-2003 Dixon Motors (National Automobile Dealership)
* 2003-2004 Jarvis (National Railway Contracting Company)
* 2004-Pres Young's Bluecrest (Frozen Seafood Company)

Honours

Player records

*Most League Goals In A Season: 42 by Pat Glover (1933–34)
*Most League Goals In Total: 180 by Pat Glover (1930–39)
*Most League Appearances: 647 by John McDermott (1987–2007)
*Most Appearances (all competitions): 754 by John McDermott (1987–2007)
*Most Capped Player While At Club: 7 by Pat Glover playing for Wales
*Most Capped Player: 31 by Kingsley Black playing for Northern Ireland
*Highest Transfer Fee Paid: £550,000 to Preston North End for Lee Ashcroft in 1998
*Highest Transfer Fee Received: £2 million from Everton for John Oster
*Current Longest Serving Player: Nick Hegarty 2004-Present

upporters Player of the Year

ee also

*
*

References

External links

;Official
* [http://www.grimsby-townfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Welcome Grimsby Town Football Club website]

;News
* [http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk Grimsby Telegraph]

;Fan sites
* [http://www.codalmighty.com Cod Almighty]
* [http://www.thefishy.co.uk The Fishy - News and fans site!]
* [http://grimsby.vitalfootball.co.uk/ Vital Grimsby - By fans, for fans!]

succession box
before=Carlisle United
title=Football League Trophy Winners
years=1997-98
after=Wigan Athletic