Cod Almighty | Diary

The likes of Gainsborough, Glossop or Grimsby offer exercises in humility

15 July 2025

Their shirts give them the nickname the "Holy Blues", but not so much in 1903-04. When Gainsborough Trinity, who we play tonight, met Burnley, they complained that Trinity's colours were so badly faded that it was impossible to distinguish them from Burnley's green jerseys.

Formed in 1873, Gainsborough spent 16 seasons in Division Two until in 1912 they finished bottom and failed to gain re-election. They made three applications to rejoin the Football League, the last in 1921 when it was expanded to four divisions, but after that it was a century of football in the Midland League and the Northern Premier League. Newbegin Diary doesn't have the data to count Division Two and Lincolnshire Cup fixtures against Midland League games, but Grimsby's reserves must have played Gainsborough in competitive fixtures more often than our first team.

Their current forward Dayle Southwell is following celebrated footsteps. When the former Town great Joe Robson played for Trinity he drew a record Blundell Park crowd for a reserve team match. He was cheered mightily when he scored, and performed a cartwheel on the strength of it.

There ought to be medals for clubs which endure, providing pleasure and pain and a focal point for their communities. Or perhaps the right to rub shoulders with mightier egos is its own reward. In 1901, Preston North End, the grandest of grandees from the early days of professional football were relegated. For the next three seasons they competed against what Simon Inglis, in his history of the League, termed "the likes of Gainsborough and Glossop."

A century later, when the Mariners resurfaced in the second flight, we were also bracketed as a "likes of" club. It felt quite annoying at the time, but if we ever reach those heights again, we should embrace it as a back-handed compliment. It will mean that we, like Gainsborough once, are punching above our weight.