By Nathan Jackson
July 29 2008

Grimsby Town are one of the division's most inconsistent teams. At times they have shown real promotion form in League Two, and on others they have looked like they'll be lucky to survive. This makes them an awkward side to predict because you never fully know exactly what you're going to get out of them.

WHO ARE GRIMSBY TOWN?

WHO IS ALAN BUCKLEY?

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?

LAST SEASON'S VIDEO

At one point last season the Mariners looked like one of those sides that could have broke into the playoffs. A run of just two defeats in twenty games saw them slowly creep up the table after a brief sniff of a relegation battle early on. However, they then went on to win just twice in twelve games at the end of the season, including an eight match losing streak.

Grimsby are the footballing equivalent of that kid in your class who always had "Could do better" written on their assessment at the end of the school year. They do have the potential to be fighting for a promotion place, but equally they also have that self-destruct button that means they could easily get involved in a relegation battle. They are near impossible to predict properly.

I think the Mariners made a huge mistake by letting Toner go. He is the one Grimsby player that has played consistently well against the Imps down the year and is one of the few players at Blundell Park that you could describe as a match winner. It could have the same effect to Grimsby's attack that Michael Reddy's sicknote status had. The Mariners haven't been the same since Reddy got injured a few years back and their season could depend on whether they properly replace him.

Grimsby, much like the Imps, have a habit of their best players leaving and never properly replacing them. Man-for-man, the current Mariners squad now compared to when Grimsby made the Playoffs in 2005/6 are insufficient. The 2005/6 team had arguably the best squad in the division this season, but the current Grimsby bunch of significantly average.

At the end of the day, I think Grimsby are far too good to get involved in another relegation battle, but I also think that they aren't good enough for a sustained promotion push. If they can get a striker who can hit the net on a regular basis then they could easily challenge for a playoff place, but they will certainly need to do that sooner rather than later.

13th : Inconsistent Mariners set for mediocrity?

Discussion started by theimps.tk (IP Logged), 29/07/2008 18:19

theimps.tk
29/07/2008 18:19

13th : Inconsistent Mariners set for mediocrity?

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mightyimp1
30/07/2008 20:49

midtable does sound about right for them
more nearer the bottom than top

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Jam Imp
30/07/2008 21:12

Was the 4-2 win the last time we actually scored at blundell park in the league, its about time we end that.

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Kate Jackson
30/07/2008 22:24

In the League, yes, but not overall. Robinson scored in the Playoffs but we are goalless in our three normal-season visits there since the 4-2 win.

Good Luck, Mr Gorsky

http://twitter.com/#!/katejackson84
http://www.katejackson84.blogspot.com

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