Football Season Review

It was a season of relative stability for Grimsby Town under manager Michael Jolley as they avoided the previous season's battle against the drop. The previous two seasons back in the Football League have been a test of endurance for the Mariners faithful. There was no repeat of the previous season’s protests against director John Fenty and the board and it allowed rookie boss Jolley to bring some continuity to the club. There were fears of another relegation battle following a disappointing start to the campaign but they rediscovered their form and briefly threatened a flirtation with the play-offs before tailing off again. They won just two of their last 13 league matches to finish in a lowly 17th place. Jolley wasn’t helped by the loss of influential loan midfielder Elliott Embleton to injury whilst a fall-out with leading goalscorer Wes Thomas saw him left out of the squad for the final month. Thomas bagged a dozen goals and will need replacing this summer. James McKeown was outstanding between the sticks again and voted player of the season for the second successive year. Luke Hendrie was reliable at right-back whilst young midfielder Harry Clifton enjoyed a breakthrough season. Jolley looked to youth towards the end of the campaign and if he can balance his squad with some experienced additions this summer, they can hope for a play-off challenge next time around.

Player of the Season: James McKeown