Month by month
August 2003
A new hope
September 2003
The Mariners strike back
October 2003
Return of the Geordie
November 2003
Great, kids - now don't get cocky
December 2003
All too easy
January 2004
Watch out for those fighters
February 2004
Stay on target
March 2004
The emperor's March
April 2004
Almost there
May 2004
Let's blow this thing and go home
About this series
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March 2004: The emperor's March
Mat Hare
31 July 2003
Can you believe it's March already? This is the month where promotion and relegation issues start to be decided. Grimsby Town have five league games this month that they hope will keep them firmly on the promotion track. In what seems a quiet month in terms of the number of fixtures, the Mariners face Blackpool (h), Swindon (a), Brentford (h), Barnsley (a) and finish with yet another team beginning with 'b', Bournemouth (h). [There's too many of the bastards in this division, and no mistake - Ed.]
February was spoilt rather by injuries to Town's best players. Let's hope March is kinder. It starts well, Livvo back in the goal hunt with the opener in a 3-0 win over Blackpool. The goals dry up again though as the Mariners play out a dull 0-0 draw with Swindon, Town not managing a single shot on target that match while the Robins can eke out only one. The goals soon return, though, as the Mariners beat Brentford 3-1 in front of a crowd of fewer than 5,000. Stuart Campbell and Michael Boulding get on the scoresheet in that match.
The Barnsley match becomes the Livvo show as the large departed one bags all three Town goals with no reply from the Tykes. A wonderful performance against woeful opposition who fail to register a shot at goal all game. Livvo continues this fine form in the following game, scoring its only goal in a win over Bournemouth. He should have more though as Town get nine shots on target. Again Town's opponents fail to get a shot.
A much better month for the Grimsby front two, then, especially Steve Livingstone - four goals in the last two games for him, including a hat-trick. Livvo is now ahead of Boulding in the scoring stakes, 27 to 25, and also leads the club's average performance rating chart with 7.66 out of 10. He is fourth best in the division with that score. The lad also leads the squad in terms of assists, with 15 this season. And for a clean sweep he has the most man of the match awards too, with nine while Macca has collected eight.
Grimsby go through March unbeaten, then, dropping points only to Swindon and conceding just one goal throughout the five matches played. It is this sort of excellent form that sees the Mariners rise back to the top of the table. They are now three points clear of QPR - who have played their games in hand.
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P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
+/- |
Pts |
| 1 |
Grimsby |
41 |
25 |
7 |
9 |
70 |
33 |
37 |
82 |
| 2 |
QPR |
41 |
23 |
10 |
8 |
64 |
23 |
41 |
79 |
| 3 |
Brighton |
41 |
23 |
9 |
9 |
92 |
59 |
33 |
78 |
| 4 |
Stockport |
41 |
23 |
8 |
10 |
63 |
34 |
29 |
77 |
| 5 |
Chesterfield |
41 |
21 |
13 |
7 |
49 |
23 |
26 |
76 |
| 6 |
Notts Co |
41 |
22 |
7 |
12 |
68 |
45 |
23 |
73 |
| 7 |
Bristol City |
41 |
21 |
7 |
13 |
67 |
41 |
26 |
70 |
| 8 |
Swindon |
41 |
18 |
10 |
13 |
47 |
38 |
9 |
64 |
| 9 |
Rushden |
41 |
19 |
6 |
16 |
54 |
54 |
0 |
63 |
| 10 |
Sheff Wed |
41 |
17 |
8 |
16 |
52 |
48 |
4 |
59 |
| 11 |
Oldham |
41 |
16 |
10 |
15 |
57 |
54 |
3 |
58 |
| 12 |
Blackpool |
41 |
17 |
6 |
18 |
61 |
62 |
-1 |
57 |
| 13 |
Colchester |
41 |
15 |
10 |
16 |
50 |
52 |
-2 |
55 |
| 14 |
Tranmere |
41 |
14 |
10 |
17 |
57 |
62 |
-5 |
52 |
| 15 |
Brentford |
41 |
14 |
9 |
18 |
48 |
56 |
-8 |
51 |
| 16 |
Hartlepool |
41 |
14 |
8 |
19 |
50 |
58 |
-8 |
50 |
| 17 |
Plymouth |
40 |
13 |
10 |
17 |
51 |
63 |
-12 |
49 |
| 18 |
Port Vale |
41 |
14 |
7 |
20 |
46 |
61 |
-15 |
49 |
| 19 |
Luton |
41 |
13 |
9 |
19 |
39 |
52 |
-13 |
48 |
| 20 |
Wrexham |
42 |
12 |
9 |
22 |
46 |
68 |
-22 |
44 |
| 21 |
Wycombe |
41 |
13 |
2 |
26 |
47 |
77 |
-30 |
41 |
| 22 |
Barnsley |
41 |
12 |
4 |
25 |
53 |
86 |
-33 |
40 |
| 23 |
Peterborough |
41 |
11 |
3 |
27 |
42 |
86 |
-44 |
36 |
| 24 |
Bournemouth |
41 |
8 |
7 |
26 |
40 |
78 |
-38 |
31 |
Fucking hell! I'm sorry but there are no other words for it. Peterborough had just won six matches before the start of this month; now they have 11 wins to their name. They were 10 points adrift at the foot of the table last time out but are now five points clear of Bournemouth after winning all five matches this month. An amazing run - but whether it is enough to save them is yet to be seen. They are still eight points from safety and even if it is too little too late I am staggered to see them pick up maximum points this month. I am not going to overshadow this achievement by even mentioning any other clubs this month. Wow!
Are Liverpool still top of the Premiership? Rather uninterestingly, yes they are - they're now nine points clear of their nearest rivals Arsenal. But good old Wolves - after trying to fool us all a few months back into thinking they were any good, they have slipped back into the bottom three, joining Portsmouth and Leicester. It doesn't look good for the newly promoted teams there, does it? Things are tighter than ever in the first division, with three clubs now on 79 points. Coventry still top the file but on goal difference from Millwall and Sunderland. At the other end of the table we have our first relegated club. Sheffield United have gone down, with just 22 points thus far. Crystal Palace and Wimbledon are the other clubs faced with relegation at the minute. In Division Three Hull and Cambridge have clinched promotion and Cheltenham have secured at least a play-off spot. They are the top three at present. At the foot of the table it is still Yeovil and Macclesfield in danger.
Not much cup action left to report on now. The FA Cup has reached semi-final stage. Town's conquerors Tottenham got past QPR comfortably and now face Chelsea. The remaining Premiership side, Middlesbrough, face Wimbledon. Could this cup run explain why Wimbledon are in the relegation zone? The Vans Trophy final is not 'til next month and the League Cup has finished, so that is all the domestic cup news for this month.
Do we still have three English teams in Europe? Er, no. Man Utd failed to qualify from their Champions League group, finishing third on goal difference. Arsenal stormed their group, though, and are in the quarter-finals. Newcastle continue to impress in the UEFA Cup, winning their last round 7-0 on aggregate. That'll be a comfortable passage to the semi-finals for them then.
So March sees us settle a few things. We have our first relegation and two team confirmed as automatically promoted. Grimsby Town still have everything to play for though. Yes, they are top of the league and went through the month unbeaten but there are still five more games to play. How many of those games will the Mariners win? And will it be enough? Maybe we will know by the end of next month...
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