Cod Almighty | Diary

Home is where the defeats are

7 November 2024

Who doesn’t want peace and love? Well, the rich and powerful. They only stay rich and powerful if there is violence and division in this world, and they will do and say pretty much anything to exploit the inner prejudices of the weak and fearful to maintain power indefinitely.

No clever analogy to bring us from the States of America to Grimsby Town Football Club here. What’s happened on the other side of the North Atlantic is hard to believe, and even harder to accept. Coupled with Town’s insipid surrender of our FA Cup first round tie last Saturday, let’s just say it’s done little to lift your West Yorkshire diary’s mood this week.

Saturday’s listless defeat was our 14th in 25 home games this calendar year — and some of those defeats have been by uncomfortable margins.

We’ve been very patient absorbing these hits while David Artell was rightly given time to coach new recruits into playing the Grimsby Way™. After all, Alan Buckley’s first year in charge wasn’t a particularly comfortable ride at home, either.

Think it’s fair to say my take on Town’s tribulations is a little different to yesterday’s VFTF diary. Artell has been afforded a little more charity given how fans treated previous managers who had an equally questionable first six months in charge — and that’s possibly down to him being the choice of a very sensible, pragmatic and astute board with an actual long-term plan. While you’d question Fenty’s character judgment, it’s hard to consider how anyone the current board appoints could go awry.

The ambition is there, the plan is there, the strategy is there, the infrastructure is there, the squad is there. What’s not there is a team that crosses that white line before each match and is crystal clear on what it needs to do, and how it plans to do it.

We have shown glimpses of what we’re capable of this season. One of the criticisms levelled at Paul Hurst during his death throes was the lack of identity in the way we played. This appeared to be addressed in the appointment of Artell, with the board making it a very clear desire for us to play exciting, attacking football — and I’m sure most of us are willing to take the occasional hit if that style is present.

But, too often this year, particularly at home, we’ve crashed out with a whimper. Artell is nearing a year in charge of the Mariners and that performance last Saturday was not a ringing endorsement of the Grimsby Way — or any way to play a game of football, least of all against part-time opposition in the relegation zone of the league below who hadn’t won on their travels all season. Even more damningly, you could see it coming.

The team lacks leadership; someone who takes games by the scruff of their necks; someone who gees up his teammates and gets them going in times of adversity. On Saturday there was no urgency, no energy, no bravery, and no obvious signs of passion or desire to go and win the game when it was meandering at 0-0.

The players look like they’re caught between knowing when to follow Artell’s style and knowing when to depart it when the match situation evolves. Do they demonstrate their own football intelligence and abandon the plan with the risk of receiving a rocket up their arse if it doesn’t work? Or do they stick to the plan no matter what, even if it’s not paying dividends when the pendulum has clearly swung? Their decision-making looks as muddled as Artell’s response was to the missed penalty debacle at the weekend, and our ill-discipline puts us top of the fourth division’s naughty table.

The players had no clear plan of what to do if they won a spot kick. If this is the lack of clarity which they walk out bearing, then perhaps it’s no wonder we tend to fade as the games wear on. There are some exceptions, of course, with the win at Carlisle being a source of satisfaction.

But a well-drilled team with a vocal captain doesn’t deliver the tepid second halves we’ve been witnessing at Blundell Park. Six defeats on the trot at home — seven in our last eight — should provide copious amounts of data to analyse and make identifying the cause relatively easy. The measure of this team, and its manager, is in how they respond.

For too long now, we have been repeating the same mistakes. Incremental improvements only hold value if there isn’t regression elsewhere. Artell was brave enough to change things up last season following a frank and honest conversation with his players after the Doncaster defeat. It’s possible another discussion of similar tone may be required.

Artell is only part of the plan. He will rightly receive the backing of the board for as long as we’re not near the position we were in when he took over. The gains have been noted and applauded. The areas of regression have also been noted, so now he has the time to prove his credentials and steady the ship at home.

Without those four away victories we’d be 22nd, which is pretty much where we were when he took over. By that measure, if all that matters is three points on a Saturday, then we have clearly improved — although that won’t feel the case if you’re a fan who only tends to make it to Blundell Park, where we’ve been conceding, on average, two goals per game since Artell’s appointment. That's not just bad; it's pretty awful.

Only once in our last 28 home games have we won by a greater margin than one goal. Our biggest victories at Blundell Park since returning to the league have all come in the FA Cup, against Plymouth (5-1), Luton (3-0) and Slough (7-2). Our victories this season have been by slim margins; our defeats have been heavy. A seven-goal deficit despite a perfect balance of games won and lost means those losses will inevitably begin to outnumber the victories. 

Our away form has rightly been applauded. But what our poor home form does is put increased pressure on us to pick up points on the road. Let's see what kind of performances and results we get at Wimbledon this weekend and Newport the next.

As we’ve seen in America, you’ve got to continue asking questions, as uncomfortable as they may be. There is no crisis; just a reality check. We all want what is best for our club. UTM!