Football Season Review

Grimsby Town endured a desperate season that threatened to end in disaster before rescuing themselves under new manager Michael Jolley. There was plenty of disquiet in Cleethorpes last summer following the unpopular decision to reappoint Russell Slade as manager. It was one of a series of questionable decisions from the board, led by director John Fenty which saw supporters head into the season with a sense of trepidation. It proved to be well-founded several popular players leaving the club, including last season’s player of the year Danny Andrew and the first few months of the season saw inconsistent results and one-dimensional football. The downward spiral started in December and the situation was exacerbated in January when Slade allowed creative midfielder Jamey Osborne to rejoin Solihull Moors. Supporters were open revolt by the end of the transfer window when another creative midfielder in Sam Jones as sold to Shrewsbury Town and there were protests against both Slade and Fenty. Both men didn’t help the situation by responding in antagonistic fashion and were left with egg on their face when Fenty had to sack Slade in February following 12 games without a win. The relatively unknown Michael Jolley was appointed as his successor but faced the unenviable task of halting the downward spiral. The winless run stretched to 20 matches before beating relegation-rivals Chesterfield at Blundell Park in April and four wins in their last five games sealed an 18th place finish in the League Two table. Midfielder Mitchell Rose emerged as an unlikely hero with three crucial goals in those matches and finished as leading goalscorer with eight goals. The stand-out performer was goalkeeper James McKeown and Jolley will need to make several changes this summer as the Mariners look for a change in fortune.

Player of the Season: James McKeown