Hannah - Sky Sports Expert

Out of the Woods?

Caretaker takes over at Grimsby - Hannah Cawsey has her say

Posted: 23rd November 2009 14:57

Send an email to HannahEmail Hannah

Out of the Woods?

Neil Woods: new man in charge

Also see

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls allow me the pleasure to introduce to you... Mr Neil Woods.

Having played eight years for Grimsby then taking control of the youth team in 2003 and then taking over as caretaker manager following the sacking of Mike Newell. Neil is now full time manager of Grimsby Town Football Club.

Yes, we all know I was team Slade - mainly because I could envisage many puns around Christmas also his radio interviews always provide entertaining listening - whether he means to be so amusing is another question.

However, Woods is a good choice and I wish him all the best! He has a huge job ahead of him but I personally think he's already provided a promising input to the team with his excellent loan signings: Lancashire, McRory, Featherstone and Coulson. They have all made a valid contribution to the team and looked brighter than some of Mr Newell's signings.

Not quite a Teddy bear's picnic

Lincoln City away and I had managed to butter up Lincoln's MP Gillian Merron who is somewhat of a legend at Sincil Bank and rightly so, Gilly got us tickets (me and my Dad) and we sat with her in the Lincoln stand as she pointed out to everyone that we were Grimsby fans. Although we were not alone as we found out a lot of people around us were supporting The Mariners! Phew!

I enjoyed the Lincoln game actually, I can't decide if it was because I was sat near a guy who resembled Tony Gordon from Coronation Street, or if it was because I could see a clear formation in Woods' team. Possibly not the strongest team he could have played as Baz Conlon (the bald James Nesbitt) and young Bradley Wood definitely deserve a first team place. Other than that the new signings impressed me. (Wood and Woods - my 'W', 'O' and 'D' keys are well worn after a few matches with Woods in charge.)

My Dad bet that I couldn't get the phrase "fast, flowing football that was a joy to watch" in this blog. Well there you go I did but it definitely doesn't describe anything like what Town have been playing since the first half at Cheltenham away, although it's 'out there' now and the bet is complete.

Site maintenance

I thought I would just keep you all posted on the up and coming fixtures for Grimsby Town. The Official Grimsby Town FC site seems to think we're playing Bradford on Friday night and then Rochdale on Saturday! Sounds a bit much if you ask me and obviously terribly professional baring in mind that the site will have a lot of interest with a new manager being announced... I can confirm Bradford will be at Blundell Park on Tuesday night and that we have Macclesfield away on Saturday. Wonder why people use the unofficial site?! ... This mistake has been rectified but in case you didn't know these fixtures or want to know any future fixtures I'd look elsewhere in future!

'Can somebody drunk me home I'm drived?'

I got an inbox this week from a Town fan in Saudi Arabia who said he reads my blog to follow GTFC and my drinking habits. So, just for him I'm going to end my blog in the standard you've all become accustom to... I'm going to go eat my roast dinner and have a large glass of wine and celebrate another point for The Mariners.

If you had asked me at the start of the season if I'd be happy with a point away at Lincoln, I would have said no! How the times have changed... I didn't think I'd be spending this much money on 'comfort booze.'

Up the Mariners!

Click Here for Your Free Bet

The views expressed are not necessarily those of skysports.com

Comments (1)

  • Page 1 of 1
  • 1

Jordan Park (Grimsby Town fan) says...

I for one am disappointed with the full time appointment of Neil Woods, whilst he has made a handful of decent loan signings I feel he hasn't got the full package for what we need in the current situation. I was hoping for a manager with good connections in the game, with experience at this level and an idea of how to rectify our situation. So whilst he wasn't my first choice, when Russell Slade's name got mentioned I was happy to think that he would be making a return to Blundell Park. As we all know he was the most successful manager we've had this decade, and has consistently done well at clubs he has managed (bar Brighton). I felt that with him in charge we would move away from the drop zone and finish in a respectable mid-table finish. However he we have Neil Woods, and despite his success with the youth team he has no relevant experience. He has also failed to make a significant claim to getting the job in his time as caretaker, as shown by some of the results over the past month or so. Neil has also failed to field a full strength team that was available to him at the time. Overall, I just feel that there was at least 2 candidates that were more qualified for the job. But as per usual, we have been handed the cheap option in a time of need.

Posted 16:28 23rd November 2009
  • Page 1 of 1
  • 1

Add Comment*

Send us your views

Are you a Sky Sports subscriber?

*All fields required, your email address will be kept private