Cod Almighty | Diary

Scampi Fries and Play-Off Skies: Is It 1998 Again?

9 April 2025

With five games to go and Town parked firmly in the play-offs, you'll forgive me for staring dreamily into the distance and pretending it's 1998 all over again. The misty-eyed, sepia-tinged kind of dream. The kind that smells faintly of salt air and Scampi Fries and has a dog-eared copy of A Season To Remember on the coffee table, as your mind replays the highlights on an endless loop.

Back then the Mariners, under the stewardship of Sir Alan Buckley (the knighthood bestowed by us, not the Queen), defied expectations to win promotion at Wembley. We saw off Kevin Keegan's moneyed Fulham over two legs in the semi-finals, before Kevin Donovan's priceless finish secured a 1-0 victory over Northampton Town in the final. A goal past Andy Woodman, no less – who, in the circular way football likes to work, now manages Bromley, one of our promotion rivals(ish). Funny how the years loop back like that.

Apparently, amid the champagne-soaked celebrations of '98, someone waved a "Kevin Donovan for England" sign during the open-top bus parade. You'd be forgiven for thinking history might repeat itself, with a slightly reworked banner: "Kieran Green for England" – although I can't imagine even the most optimistic Town fan quite stretching to that (yet).

The numbers, too, are whispering of familiar promise. In the 97/98 season, we won 19 league games. As I write, with five matches still to play, we've already chalked up 20. Back then, we netted 55 goals in the league; this time around, we're already at 57. Of course, it hasn't been all smooth sailing – we've also shipped 58 goals this term, compared to just 37 back in the day. But then, it wouldn't be Grimsby Town if it wasn't a bit frayed at the edges.

Actually, a year after that famous 97/98 season, Buckley recalled: "These two old ladies came up to me before the QPR match in March 1999 and they wanted to know how we'd get on. I said something like: 'I don't know as we are carrying a lot of injuries and our form is a bit dodgy.' The ladies replied, 'Yes, we're both a bit disappointed because we've been saving up for Wembley again!'" Town fans have always dreamed big.

This could, potentially, be our first Football League promotion in 27 years. Twenty-seven. To put that into perspective, on the day of the play-off final in '98, the UK number one was Feel It by The Tamperer featuring Maya. ("What's she gonna look like with a chimney on her?" still confuses me to this day.) Tony Blair had just celebrated his first anniversary as Prime Minister. And just two days earlier voters in Ireland had backed the Good Friday Agreement – an agreement close to the heart of Darragh Burns, our flying winger from the Emerald Isle. (Or at least, I like to think it might be.)

There's an energy about the place right now. A cautious optimism. David Artell says he doesn't feel there's a buzz yet, but I reckon there's at least a slight one.

And if Artell is to follow in the footsteps of Sir Alan Buckley, he'll need his own sword for the inevitable knighthood. Forget the ceremonial Sword of State, let's forge it from the old stanchions that were removed from the Main Stand in pre-season. Melt them down, sharpen the blade, and bestow the honour at Message In A Bottle when the open-top bus rolls past.

It might still be a dream, but it's one worth holding onto. After all, we've felt this way before – and look how that turned out. And who knows, maybe one day soon we'll all be trooping into Wembley with a little less confusion over "what she's gonna look like with a chimney on her."