Great debut match, especially beating a full-fledge Newcastle team. Keep it up

Justice:I couldn't quite believe it. Bring on the next round!

Pauker:It couldn't have gone any better! It was worrying when I saw their line up but they were no match for the mighty Grimsby Town.

When I joined Grimsby Town they had had an ok start to their Skrill Premier league campaign with them sitting mid table with some wins under their belt. They had managed to reach the third round of the historic FA Cup and the third round of the FA Trophy. I wasn’t brought into the club to save it from relegation but instead was brought in with the expectations of us challenging for the league title. It is a club with big ambitions and they dream of returning to the higher leagues of English football. When looking back on this first month in charge, you have to say that we have made a good start in meeting the board’s expectations.

The result against Newcastle United will go down in club folklore and we will join the long list of giant killing clubs in the notorious third round of the FA Cup. The fourth round was not a good game for us...lets just say Southampton finished the match with 51 shots on goal compared to our measly three. We never got into the game and Southampton was not up for doing us any favours. In the less presitigious FA Trophy, we have managed to progress to the fourth round against a confident win against Gainsborough. Two goals from Liam Hearn, who rightly deserves the player of the month award, helped set up a fourth round tie against Southport which we should comfortably win.

In my time so far at Grimsby, we have managed to put together an undefeated run in the Skrill Premier which is allowing us to move up the table. Liam Hearn is going to be an integral part of the team and is going to have to work hard to get his goals as a result of me choosing to play a 4-1-4-1 formation. This means he is getting very little support in the opposition half so has to create his own chances and put them away; this is something he has done with ease so far. The matches against Barnet and Hereford United were testing matches with both teams sitting near the top of the league. I was very impressed with the effort the players put in and it was great for us to come away with four points from a possible six.

The month of February should be an easier one but it is vital that we continue to get all three points from every game that we play.

Player of the Month – Liam Hearn

Liam Hearn looks quite good for the Skill, and great wins this month too, especially against Newcastle! Shame Chelsea couldn't do the same today huh

2013-11-02 17:21#141187 Louis O. : Liam Hearn looks quite good for the Skill, and great wins this month too, especially against Newcastle! Shame Chelsea couldn't do the same today huh

He is pretty damn good. I can't quite believe that he is at such a lower league club but I am not going to complain. We don't need to talk to Chelsea in this story unless I am playing against them

Only you could pull off a result like that against the not so mighty Newcastle! Good run in the skrill and well done against Barnet...also, were you being serious when you said Saints had 51 shots?

2013-11-02 23:39#141307 AaronHJFT96 : Only you could pull off a result like that against the not so mighty Newcastle! Good run in the skrill and well done against Barnet...also, were you being serious when you said Saints had 51 shots?

I am not quite sure how we managed it but I can see it definitely being a career highlight no matter what else I achieve on this save. And yes, unfortunately Southampton did have that many shots...I blame the dodgy beta!

Yeah, it was slightly dodgy to be fair:P but realisticly Southampton are a team that could potentially get that many shots in real life against a team like Grimsby:P

Mixed fortunes is a heading that I used back on my Rotherham United save. It signalled what I thought at the time could be the start of a steep decline in fortunes. Fortunately it never materialised and in fact we went on to get promoted so part of me is hoping that using this title stands in my good stead for the remainder of the season.

The month got off to a great start with a win against Southport which had been predicted; I was annoyed after the game that we didn’t put away many of our chances which in future games would be a reoccurring trend. The players did make up for it in a return match in the Skrill Premier with us finally getting a few more than one goal on the score sheet. What made this even more satisfying is that due to jaded and fatigued first team players, a lot of youngsters were brought into the team. I had pretty much made eleven changes and it paid off with them being a lot fresher than the Southport lads.

The semi final matches against Kidderminster were unbelievable to watch. They dominated us in the first leg with me not even wanting to play the second leg after I witnessed by team be well and truly hammered. However, I maintained some faith in them, played my strongest side and it resulted in us getting the three unanswered goals we needed to progress to the final. I did say in an earlier post I would take the competition seriously if we made it to the final and we have done just that. It is going to be great to get a trophy into the cabinet and against Chelmsford City it is something I expect us to do comfortably.

The remaining games in the Skrill Premier were very disappointing. It was suppose to be a month of win after win. With the team’s diabolical backroom staff, specifically physios, the players are shattered which means they are not putting 100% into each match. This meant that we were fortunate to come away with draws against high flying Dartford and struggling FC Halifax. The next month is a very long one and it includes a large number of difficult games. At the minute my aim is to challenge for a play-off position which I do think is achievable; it will however take a lot of effort and tactical expertise from myself.

Player of the Month – Clayton McDonald

am i right in saying there are three finals to the FA trophy? North, south and then whoever wins the north and south?? good luck in the next round aswell btw!

2013-11-03 14:51#141457 AaronHJFT96 : am i right in saying there are three finals to the FA trophy? North, south and then whoever wins the north and south?? good luck in the next round aswell btw!

I am not too sure to be honest. I joined the club when we were at the semi final stage and didn't spend time looking at results earlier in the competition. It will be great to get my first bit of silverware even if it is just the FA Trophy.

When I took the job of manager of Grimsby Town of the Skrill Premier I didn’t even take the time to look at what the expectations of me would be. After reaching the final of the FA Trophy, I felt that it would probably be a good idea to look at what the board of directors expected the club to achieve by the end of the season. This would then allow me to determine our priorities as a club; I had to decide whether the FA Trophy was an important competition or whether we should have a sole focus of doing well in the league. When looking at the expectations set by the board of directors, and the pretty bare trophy cabinet, it is clear that yes it is important to do well in the league and aim to achieve promotion but it is probably more vital to any future success I have as a manager and Grimsby Town have as a club that we win some silverware; even if it is just the FA Trophy.


In terms of the club, they haven’t won anything for years and the fans instead have had to get use to their team playing in the lower leagues for some time. A good cup run and a trophy at the end of it can help to really rally the fans behind the players which can then help breed future success. From a managers point of view, and when considering the aims of this story, even if we won the trophy it is not going to get me too much recognition by future employers. Potential employers aren’t going to sit there and think, “oh he won the FA Trophy, we definitely have to employee him, there is no-one better if he has won the FA Trophy.” However, it is the first potential trophy on my CV and with me falling into the same trap as I did with my Rotherham United team back on FM13, which is actually starting to like managing Grimsby Town despite not wanting to be there long term, I do feel it is important for me and the club to get this trophy in our cabinet and not Chelmsford City’s.

Despite it being one of the most boring cup finals I have ever witnessed on this game, it is brilliant to have put our hands firmly on the cup. We failed to dominate the possession and in fact found it very difficult to get into the match and I felt we always seemed to be on the back foot. What mattered though was that we managed to put away one of the thirteen chances we had on a goal. Of course it had to be Liam Hearn who stole the show with a cool finish mid way through the first half. Hearn is starting to become the Alex Revell (my main player from my time at Rotherham United) of Grimsby Town. He is a hard worker and will always come up with the goods when you need him to and we definitely needed him in this match.

The board of directors and fans are delighted with our success in the competition and it has made my job just that little bit more secure according to them. However, the media are still suggesting the jury is still out as to whether I am the man to bring success to Grimsby Town or whether the directors made a mistake hiring me in the first place. I guess I had better go on and challenge for the league title and achieve promotion then just to shut them up.

Good job in the final dude, night bit of silverware

Doesn't matter how you won the final, you just did

Pass&Move:It was great to get my first bit of nice silverware and I hope it won't be the last one!

Pauker:It is the final score that matters at the end of the day. Over the moon to have won my first trophy and I am hoping it isn't long until I win my next one.