Cod Almighty | Article

by Tony Butcher

17 June 2025

As if by magic Paul Groves appeared…The human embodiment of Buckleyball, solid, sensible and sensationally effective, in the summer of 92 Captain Sensible breezed in from Blackpool and replaced Sunderland-bound Captain Shins.

"I replaced Shaun Cunnington with a player I had admired for a while, in fact he had knocked us out of the FA Cup the year before. He was an elegant midfielder, great engine and a range of passing but I felt he would score more goals than Shaun and so it proved."
                                Alan Buckley, Pass and Move

GET IN THERE!

All great Town sides have had at their heart the same type of character whose existence is a prerequisite for success. They are sensible, unfussy, long-standing rocks in the centre of midfield. At the nadir of the Fenty era Pat Bell ruefully reflected upon "a broken chain of midfield captain leaders…Far from identical but what they had in common was the organic quality of unselfconscious leadership: no ostentatious pumping of fists, no badge kissing. They led because that was who they were, and that leadership transmitted itself from the pitch into the stands."

In the golden years of Alan Buckley that man was Paul Groves.

For those of you under 30 perhaps it's just a name. He may as well be Harry Betmead, Martin Spendiff or Malcolm Partridge. But for more ancient Mariners we know who Paul Groves is and was: Golden Groves, Mr Reliable, Captain Sensible, a man for all seasons and reasons; as much a fixture and even more of a reassuringly permanent presence as Sir John McDermott in the last great Town era.

Where to start? Let's start at the very beginning. Derby born and bred, young Paul’s teenage years were at non-league Burton. He played at Wembley in the 1987 FA Trophy final and, suitably impressed, Leicester City bought him, then kept loaning him to dead-beat, dead-end lower league teams. He played for Lincoln, you know.

Grovesie really started to make a name for himself at fourth division Blackpool, scoring an eye-catching 21 goals in 107 midfield games. On the look out for a replacement for Shaun Cunnington, Buckley's eye was caught and he signed Paul Groves in the summer of 1992, paying £150,000. We call that a bargain, just about the best we ever had.

He came on as a late sub in the opening game of the season and then Grovesie was in a groove: he just didn’t miss another game, or tackle, or the goal. Over the next four seasons 184 games and 38 goals. Marvellous, magnificent. When pure passing hit a brick wall Golden Groves was the salvation with a ghostly far post arrival, or a pinging whacker from afar. When a nick and knock away from opposition socks was required, as if by magic Mr Groves would appear.

You want one example of his worth? Take your pick from that decade of dreams before the decay. How about 27 February 1993. Town drew 3-3 at home to Notts County in the second flight - Grovesie scored a hat-trick from central midfield. A hat-trick. From central midfield. Man he was good.

And then there was the West Brom interregnum. Cut him some slack, he didn't decamp immediately and was subject to some snide insinuations from Brian Laws. Paul Groves played on with honour, with commitment, helped keep Town up during and after the Bonetti chicken farrago. And we got £600,000 for him in the summer of 1996.

It didn't really work out over there. More fool them lot for knowing the price they paid for Paul Groves, but not the value of the man.

Grovesie returned with Sir Alan in 1997 for £250,000. The fun began again as Town eventually clicked into gear and a lethal midfield partnership with Wonderful Wayne Burnett flourished. Town played 68 games that season. Liverpool, Leeds, Leicester, Wembley, Wembley, all points east, west, north and south.

Paul Groves, captain, leader, played every single minute of every single one of them.

As Town gently settled into the lower reaches of the second flight Paul Groves gently settled back into the middle of defence, losing the pace he never had but using the brain he still had to read minds and predict the future.

But who could have predicted the boardroom blitz that detonated under Alan Buckley. In came Lennie Lawrence for a rollercoaster ride of market trading as the new regime sought to build the brand. In China.

But Paul Groves was still here. In Grimsby. He was at the heart of Town's defence for Jevons' Anfield rap. He stepped up to the broken plate as player-manager when Lawrence was discarded. He orchestrated the miraculous swing through spring in 2002: Palace thumped, Wimbledon thrashed, and Town saved from relegation. A new season, a new hope.

And then came the ITV Digital implosion. No money, no players, an impossible job as Town were in the right place at the wrong time, but Paul Groves scraped a team together that only deflated in the final month. He did his best and it was almost enough against all odds.

The man deserves more than the last memory of him in a Town shirt, the travesty of his final game at Oldham in 2004. One man left alone on a burning bridge after his hand-picked crew stood aside and let the waves crash over him. He led, they fled and then he was gone, but not forgotten.

Paul Groves joins Joe Waters and Craig Disley as our holy trinity: three players above reproach to be revered forever for their contribution to our happiness. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

Great players, great people, Great Grimsby.

Paul Groves: he walked tall and acted fine, a true Grimsby great.

Artwork courtesy of Alex Chilvers