Introduction
Pre-season: WorldNET
January 2007 update
June 2007 update
Merseyside 2007
Blackpool 2007
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Internet Mariners: Introduction
Craig Nuttall
30 July 2006
The Internet Football Association brings together fans across England and Scotland to represent their clubs by playing against each other before the 'real' teams meet in the afternoon. Played in a good spirit, the matches echo the motto of internet football: "It's about taking part and building bridges between rival sets of supporters."
The original Grimsby Town fans team was formed in 1998, since when we have enjoyed seven good years, meeting other supporters to play football together in the right spirit. Naturally, we are in this for a laugh and to take part in an enjoyable game. We try to play every Saturday when Town also have a fixture.
The team went through some difficult times during the end of the 2004-05 season but the core of the squad stuck together. Following the recruitment of a few new faces, the team emerged under a different guise: a slight name change and we are now known as Internet Mariners IFC. We have gone from strength to strength since then. The highs were beating Leicester 7-3 at their place, and overall we have won more games than we lost. Lows? Not many, but most definitely losing to Hull heavily. Twice.
Last season for the Internet Mariners matched that of Russell Slade's GTFC as we enjoyed one of our best seasons in recent times. We started by progressing into the quarter-finals of WorldNET - a summer tournament for fans' teams from around the country - and then managed to carry this form into the season, playing the full quota of 20 games in the league. Never before had the team played this many games in a season. We also reached the final of a tournament hosted by Tranmere Rovers during the May bank holiday weekend. After progressing undefeated from our four-team group, we stuffed Everton in the next round before drawing 2-2 with Liverpool after extra time, only to lose on penalties.
In the summer of 2006 we headed to WorldNET again, and the new season cannot come quickly enough for us. We are likely to get in the maximum number of games again and hopefully we'll be hosting our own tournament. Who knows - with a bit of luck and continued hard work we may even end the season with some silverware.
If you are interested in joining the Internet Mariners, visit our website. The team is mainly based in the Cleethorpes and Grimsby area but don't let that put you off. Remember we play all over the country so if you fancy a game and we are playing near you, I'm sure we'll be able to sort something out.
Over the coming season you will be able to follow our progress every month on Cod Almighty. We're looking forward to some good games and we'll always approach them in a friendly manner.
Further details about internet football - including its history - are available on the Internet Football Association website.
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