#WeGoAgain - Grimsby Town 2015/16 season preview supplement

2015/16 PREVIEW SUPPLEMENT

#WeGoAgain AT THE

GTFC V BARROW GAME

T&C’s: One programme per voucher. Only at the selected game on Tuesday, August 11, 2015.

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£1 MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

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“MARINERS CAN COPE WITH THE PRESSURE” INTERVIEW: Paul Hurst

PAUL Hurst knows most people will expect by Matt Dannatt Grimsby Town to do well this season – and he’s Deputy Sports Editor happy to go along with that. matthew.dannatt@grimsbytelegraph.co.uk After a busy summer spent moulding his new-look Twitter: @mattdannatt squad and then leading them through an unbeaten pre-season campaign, Hurst is eager for the talking to stop so they can finally get down to business at Kidderminster on Saturday (3pm).

National League pundits have mixed views on Town’s chances of finally clawing their way out of what Hurst expects will be another tough league.

But he’s comfortable with the fact that more than a few of them are tipping his squad for success this season.

“It will always be a competitive league,” he said. “You get people from some quarters trying to talk it down but I’ve been in it long enough to know that it is a good league.

“Barnet had a tremendous start last season, got out in front and after looking like they were going to get caught, managed to see the job through.

“But we weren’t a million miles off ourselves and I’d like to think that in my time as Town manager, progress has been made season-on-season.

I’m sure we’re on a lot of people’s lists as a team that’s expected to do well and I’d go along with that Town boss Paul Hurst

PICTURES: Rick Byrne (main), David Horn and Michael White

“The signs in pre-season have been good and we’re optimistic, but I know there’ll be a hell of a lot of other clubs who will be hoping to challenge us for that automatic spot.

“You’d expect the teams who missed out in the Play-Offs last season to be up there again as well as Cheltenham, who’ve had a good pre-season and Tranmere who were most bookies’ favourites.

“Wrexham and Halifax, who have both had decent pre-seasons as well as one or two others that I haven’t mentioned, will also fancy their chances.

“All I would say is that I’m sure we’re on a lot of people’s lists as a team that’s expected to do well and I’d go along with that. We’re comfortable with that and we’re looking forward to getting the season underway now.”

Hurst’s men will be roared on in their opening game by a travelling army of fans, with well over 1,500 set to descend on Aggborough.

He added: “I know we’re going to take another tremendous travelling on Saturday and it’ll be great to recreate some of the scenes we saw at away games last season this time around.

“I’m not entirely sure what Kidderminster are expecting from their fans but we could well have as many fans as them on Saturday – we certainly won’t be far off – and the lads are looking forward to it.

“At the Boston game last weekend, alright it isn’t a million miles away, but it was still a great effort from our fans and a couple of the new lads mentioned that after the game and are now starting to realise the kind of support that they get with this club.

“It’s a chicken and egg situation. We’ve got to give the fans something to cheer about, which in turn lifts the team – it’s a case of which comes first.

“Hopefully, when each other needs it, we’ll be able to help each other out – whether it’s the team struggling and needing the team to lift them or vice-versa.

“It’s got to be a combined effort for us to finally achieve what we want this season.”

Monkhouse: Why Town have got what it takes to emulate Rovers – p5

PICTURES: Rick Byrne

IDEAL PREPARATION RECAP: Town’s pre-season

NINE victories and just one Youth team defeat – courtesy of a penalty lottery – makes good summer reading for any Grimsby Town fan.

Paul Hurst’s men started off their National League preparations with a routine 4-0 win at neighbours Cleethorpes Town, and quickly began to pick up some Football League scalps.

Championship side Derby County were next up for the Mariners.

And in front of a sizable crowd at Blundell Park, Craig Clay and Padraig Amond netted as impressive Town silenced the Rams.

Hurst was pleased with those two displays, but his side took “a backwards step” at North Ferriby and then Gainsborough, even though two more victories were added to the tally.

Nathan Arnold and Amond were the chief destroyers at Ferriby, combining well in attacking quarters as the Mariners earned a 3-1 verdict.

At Gainsborough, it was a similar story as both men got on the scoresheet – Amond notching a brace on his way to a pre-season return of nine.

Those results were marred by the news that James McKeown was admitted to hospital, after being diagnosed with viral meningitis.

Thankfully, the Mariners’ number one stopper has now made a full recovery – and resumed his duty between the posts in place of Andy Warrington.

But that wasn’t before the goalkeeping coach rolled back the years to play four-and-a-half of Town’s preseason matches.

Heading into their home encounter with Huddersfield Town, fans would have forgiven Hurst’s men for losing their perfect record.

But not only did the Mariners overcome their Championship visitors, they did it in style.

Omar Bogle – the club’s marquee signing this summer

by Liam Wood Sports Writer

liam.wood@grimsbytelegraph.co.uk Twitter: @liamwoodGT

– was the star of the show at Blundell Park, scoring and making another as Town won 3-1.

Arnold underlined his ability to play in a central role with the opener, while Danny East curled home a superb free-kick before Tommy Smith’s consolation.

With victories over Derby and Huddersfield already in the bag, Hurst and co welcomed Notts County and Peterborough to Cleethorpes inside 72 hours – after a 6-0 demolition of Brigg Town.

And the pre-season fairytale continued with two more convincing results against teams from higher up the footballing pyramid.

Jon-Paul Pittman, Marcus Marshall and Amond were all on target against County, while McKeown made a welcome return – from the bench – as Town won 2-1 against the stopper’s former club.

Hurst’s side were in unfamiliar territory that evening, though, as Kieran Sadlier put the visitors ahead, only for Marshall and Arnold to complete an eighth friendly victory on the bounce.

Then came the only minor blip of the Mariners’ otherwise faultless pre-season campaign.

Two days on from their Peterborough clash, a young Town XI – managed by Alan Lamb – headed to Grantham in the second round of the Lincolnshire Senior Trophy.

James Wroot equalised for the visitors to send the game into penalties, and after former Mariner Ellis Humble converted from 12 yards, Josh Venney was denied by the woodwork.

It was a cruel end for the youngsters, who probably did enough to win the tie within the 90 minutes – only to

lose out in the lottery of the shoot-out.

However, with plenty of familiar faces back in the starting line-up, normal serviced was resumed as Town completed their preparations at Boston United.

Amond – who arrived at the club following his summer release from Morecambe – bagged another brace, while Shaun Pearson nodded home against his former club in a 3-1 win. Roll on Saturday at Kidderminster!

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#WeGoAgain

FANS PLEDGE SUPPORT 3,000

£500k

Season Tickets sold Running totals

Cash taken £460,013 2015/16 season Running totals

2,426

2015/16 season

£371,662

2,008

1,500

2014/15 season

0

2014/15 season

£250k

£0

SEASON TICKET OFFER

The Grimsby Telegraph has teamed up with Grimsby Town Football club to bring you this fantastic offer. Simply cut out this coupon and purchase your GTFC 2015/16 Season Ticket for the early bird price which ended on the 18th July! Make massive savings with this one off offer and show your support to GTFC this season with an exclusive reduced Season Ticket rate!

For Ticket Prices visit

www.grimsbytownfc.co.uk/ tickets/ season-tickets or call

01472 605050

HOW TO CLAIM: Simply cut out this exclusive Grimsby Telegraph voucher and hand over to the Blundell Park Club Shop when purchasing your 2015/16 season ticket.

Valid: Until Tuesday, August 11, 2015 only.

#WeGoAgain T&C’s: Standard Local World Promotion Rules apply see www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/houserules. No photocopies accepted. One voucher per person, per season ticket.

Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Offer cannot be transferred or exchanged and has no monetary value. A full list of savings, prices and season tickets terms and conditions can be found at www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk/tickets/season-tickets. ©LW

“I AM SURE TOWN HAVE GOT WHAT IT TAKES” INTERVIEW: Andy Monkhouse

AS Grimsby Town begin their quest for by James Findlater promotion, they know they’ve got the perfect Sports Writer man to turn to in their squad. james.findlater@grimsbytelegraph.co.uk

Midfielder Andy Monkhouse was part of the Bristol Rovers side that beat the Mariners in the Play-Off Final at Wembley back in May. The 34-year-old made 39 league appearances as the Pirates made it back into the Football League at the first time of asking.

Rovers also narrowly missed out on automatic promotion, finishing just a point behind champions Barnet.

Town were part of the hunt for the title after a brilliant run in the second half of the season saw them go on a ten-game unbeaten run.

But their charge ended with defeat at home to Wrexham in April, leaving the Bees and Rovers to fight it out between themselves in the two remaining league fixtures.

And after falling so agonisingly short of the championship with the Pirates, Monkhouse feels he can share his experiences with his new teammates and help get their long-awaited promotion this season.

Twitter: @GrimsbySport

since 2010.

They’ll face some tough competition from recently relegated sides Cheltenham and long-time Football League members Tranmere.

But there will also be challenges from some of the Mariners’ closest rivals from the past few years, including Forest Green Rovers, Halifax, Eastleigh and Wrexham.

And with all of those teams chasing just one automatic promotion spot, Monkhouse is expecting the forthcoming National League season to be even more difficult than the previous campaign.

“I think there’ll be a few more teams that will think they can go up, whether it’s automatically or through the Play-Offs,” Monkhouse added.

“It’ll be difficult, but then every league in the world is like that, it’s never easy.

“It’ll take a lot of hard work, a lot of spirit and togetherness throughout everybody, and hopefully in the end we’ll be the ones who are celebrating.”

It’ll take a lot of hard work, and a lot of spirit and togetherness throughout everybody and hopefully in the end we’ll be the ones celebrating Andy Monkhouse “Barnet had a really good start and got quite a good lead early on, so that will be really important to make sure we stand out from the rest straight away,” Monkhouse told the Telegraph.

“They obviously had Akinde up top who scored a lot of goals for them and that made such a big difference, and in the end they fully deserved to go up as champions.

“Then Bristol and Grimsby were fighting it out for second place, and the way it ended up Bristol went up and Grimsby are still in the league.

“But that’s all gone, I’m a Grimsby Town player now, and I’d like to think that I can make an impact on this season and it can go the same way as last year with Bristol.”

It’ll be a whole new test for Paul Hurst’s men this season as they look to get back into the league for the first time

Since joining the club, Monkhouse has been impressed by everything at Blundell Park.

The winger was one of the Mariners’ summer signings, along with Danny East, Omar Bogle, Marcus Marshall, Richard Tait and Padraig Amond.

And with the new arrivals seemingly settling in quickly, Monkhouse is confident this will be the season that Town finally get their promotion.

“I’m excited, there’s a lot of positivity around the place, the club and the fans, and hopefully we can finally get out of this league.

“We’ve brought some good players in, obviously we lost a few in the summer but we’ve brought some real quality in which can only help the squad, and hopefully it can be a successful season.”

PICTURES: Michael White and Neil Brookman/JMP

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#WeGoAgain GRIMSBY TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB SQUAD 2015/16

Back row, from left to right: Marcus Marshall, Shaun Pearson, Toto Nsiala, Omar Bogle, Josh Gowling. Middle: Andy Monkhouse, Josh Sunter, Craig Disley, Callum Bastock, James McKeown, Andy Warrington (goalkeeper coach), Craig Clay, Richard Tait, Jon-Paul Pittman. Front: Harry Clifton, Scott Brown, Jack Mackreth, Padraig Amond, Chris Doig (assistant manager), Paul Hurst (manager), Dave Moore (physio), Danny East, Josh Venney, Nathan Arnold, Andrew Newman (supporter).

ANDY WARRINGTON Brought in as a goalkeeping coach, the 39year-old found himself thrust into the action in pre-season during James McKeown’s illness and could deputise again.

SIGNATURE HERE MARCUS MARSHALL The winger is preparing for his second spell at Town after joining in the summer following a loan spell in 2013. He scored twice in pre-season.

SIGNATURE HERE ANDY MONKHOUSE The winger is aiming to make it back-to-back promotions after helping Bristol Rovers to beat Town in the Play-Off Final last season before joining the Mariners.

SIGNATURE HERE

SHAUN PEARSON The popular centre-half was highly soughtafter in the summer, but chose to sign a new deal to extend his stay at Blundell Park into a fifth season.

SIGNATURE HERE JOSH SUNTER Having signed professional terms with the Mariners in April last year, the young centre-half is currently recovering from a broken bone in his foot.

SIGNATURE HERE

TOTO NSIALA The talented defender impressed during his first season at Blundell Park and was deployed at both centrehalf and full-back.

SIGNATURE HERE CRAIG DISLEY The Mariners’ captain is preparing for his fifth season with the club after another stellar individual campaign last time out, in which he scored nine goals.

SIGNATURE HERE

OMAR BOGLE After finishing as the leading marksman in the Conference North, Town snapped up Bogle on a three-year deal.

He has scored twice in pre-season.

SIGNATURE HERE CALLUM BASTOCK The promising young stopper recently made his comeback from a serious knee injury and will provide back-up for established number one James McKeown.

SIGNATURE HERE

JOSH GOWLING Often a thorn in Town’s side, while playing for Lincoln and Kidderminster, the defender is now a fully-fledged Mariner after last season’s brief loan spell.

SIGNATURE HERE JAMES McKEOWN After having his pre-season disrupted by illness, Town’s number one is back to full fitness and ready for another season between the sticks.

SIGNATURE HERE

MEET THE SQUAD GREGOR ROBERTSON A solid and dependable presence following his arrival towards the end of last season, the full-back is currently recovering from a knee injury.

SIGNATURE HERE CRAIG CLAY After arriving on trial, the midfielder went on to impress in his first season at Town and was named as the Young Player of the Year after a promising debut campaign.

SIGNATURE HERE JACK MACKRETH The speedy winger enjoyed a solid debut season with Town and scored the club’s Goal of the Season in the 2-2 draw with Gateshead in April.

SIGNATURE HERE

RICHARD TAIT The Scottish full-back arrived in the summer having helped Cambridge United to promotion from the Conference in 2013/14.

SIGNATURE HERE PADRAIG AMOND Signed after his release by Morecambe, the Irishman has scored nine goals during preseason including braces against Cleethorpes, Boston and Gainsborough.

SIGNATURE HERE

JON-PAUL PITTMAN The frontman signed a new deal in the summer having helped Town to the Play-Off Final last season. Pittman scored on six occasions in pre-season.

SIGNATURE HERE DANNY EAST The versatile defender signed for Town after being released

by Portsmouth.

Originally from Hessle, the 23year-old has featured heavily throughout pre-season.

SIGNATURE HERE

HARRY CLIFTON The youngster signed a two-year pro deal last month after a string of impressive displays in the Youth team. He has also caught the eye during pre-season.

SIGNATURE HERE JOSH VENNEY The young midfielder has caught the eye during his cameos in the pre-season friendlies with his sharp awareness and keen eye for a pass.

SIGNATURE HERE

SCOTT BROWN The tenacious midfielder saw last season disrupted by injuries and has been frustrated by an ankle problem during pre-season, but will hope to be in action soon.

SIGNATURE HERE NATHAN ARNOLD The 28-yearold has been used as a striker more often than not in pre-season and has certainly caught the eye, notching four goals.

SIGNATURE HERE

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IN-STORE: BLUNDELL PARK CLUB SHOP

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Harriers (8/8/2015) 1 Kidderminster 165 miles (3 hours 11 minutes) (18/8/2015) 2 Altrincham 129 miles (2 hours 25 minutes) City (29/8/2015) 3 Lincoln 47.7 miles (1 hour 12 minutes) Wood (5/9/2015) miles (3 hours 15 minutes) 4 174Boreham Chester (15/9/2015) 5 157 miles (3 hours) Wrexham (22/9/2015) 6 166 miles (3 hours 6 minutes) (26/9/2015) 7 Southport 152 miles (3 hours 9 minutes) Town (10/10/2015) 8 Braintree 181 miles (3 hours 23 minutes) United (17/10/2015) 9 Torquay 322 miles (5 hours 21 minutes) Barrow (10/11/2015) 10 205 miles (3 hours 44 minutes) Eastleigh (21/11/2015) 11 241 miles (4 hours 19 minutes) (5/12/2015) 12 Bromley 211 miles (3 hours 55 minutes) (26/12/2015) 13 Guiseley 94.8 miles (1 hour 57 minutes) Welling United (9/1/2016) 14 205 miles (3 hours 44 minutes) (30/1/2016) 15 Gateshead 162 miles (2 hours 43 minutes) Town (20/2/2016) 16 FC93.6Halifax miles (1 hour 49 minutes) Aldershot Town (1/3/2016) 17 220 miles (4 hours 4 minutes) Forest Green Rovers (5/3/2016) 18 213 miles (3 hours 48 minutes) Woking (19/3/2016) 19 210 miles (3 hours 58 minutes) Town (28/3/2016) 20 110Macclesfield miles (2 hours 36 minutes) Town (2/4/2016) 21 Cheltenham 194 miles (3 hours 30 minutes) Dover Athletic (16/4/2016) 22 255 miles (4 hours 26 minutes) Rovers (30/4/2016) 23 Tranmere 148 miles (3 hours 4 minutes)

FOLLOW TOWN ON THE ROAD 15

10

13 23

7

16

2 20

5 6

3

1 21 18 11

9

4 17 19 12

8 14 22

Journey distances are calculated from Blundell Park to the opponent’s stadium.

All travel times are approximate and with traffic accounted for. Map locations are approximate.

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Support the youth of the town for just £1 per week and be in with the chance to win thousands in cash prizes such as: • The weekly £2k top prize • The 10k in the annual super draw • Over £17k in weekly cash prizes For full details and to sign up come into the Blundell Park Club Shop.

Kids Go Free To kick-start the new season Grimsby Town are giving families a fantastic chance to experience their first home game -

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With each full paying adult one junior aged 15 and under will receive a FREE ticket in the same stand.

T&C’s: Standard Local World Promotion Rules Apply see www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/houserules. One free junior ticket per one full paying responsible adult. Junior ticket valid for ages 15 and under. Proof of age may be required. This voucher is only valid for the game on the date listed above. Free junior ticket must be in the same stand as the accompanying adult.

No photocopies accepted. Available in any stand and coupon must be redeemed at the ticket office. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. This coupon has no monetary value and cannot be redeemed for cash.

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