The Fishy - Grimsby Town FC



League Two Table

  PGDPts
1Port Vale16+833
2Crewe15+628
3Doncaster16+428

4Walsall14+1227
5MK Dons16+827
6Notts County16+827
7Grimsby16-625

8AFC Wimbledon14+1023
9Bradford16+423
10Gillingham15+423
11Chesterfield16+922
12Barrow16+222
13Fleetwood Town14+521
14Salford16-321
15Newport County16-720
16Accrington Stanley16-418
17Cheltenham16-418
18Harrogate Town16-818
19Tranmere14-717
20Bromley15-216
21Colchester15-414
22Swindon16-713

23Carlisle16-1512
24Morecambe16-1310

Full League Two Table
Prem|Champ|L1|L2|NL|NLN|NLS
SPL|SC|S1|S2

Follow the Fishy on Twitter
NewsNow logo

Question of the Week

Is football a business or a sport?




 

Norwich Preview

By: Stephen Bateman
Date: 15/12/2000

Norwich City make the trip to Cleethorpes on Saturday, as the Mariners look to build on a steady mid-week performance at Wimbledon. Chinese international skipper Zhang En Hua looks as though he may be finally set to make his first start for the Mariners against the Canaries.

Grimsby Town

The Mariners home form has been impressive this season. In fact, it may well be argued that the major contributing factor regarding Grimsby's current lowly position in the league is that of the last 10 games Lennie Lawrence's men have played, 7 have been away from home.

At Blundell Park, it is another story entirely, with Town unbeaten in their last four home performances, taking 10 points from the last 15 available. It is a particular speciality this season for the Mariners to take 3 points from teams which surround them in the lower reaches of the first division; QPR, Huddersfield and Gillingham have all fallen foul at the hands of Grimsby so far this season.

Injury problems continue to hamper Lennie Lawrence's plans, although the bad news is, for a change, also tempered by good news. Bradley Allen, Paul Raven, Peter Handyside, Neil Murray, Kingsley Black and Alan Pouton will all definitely miss the game through injury - Steve Livingstone (flu), John McDermott (toe), Knut Anders Fostervold (nose), Tony Gallimore (shin) and Richard Smith (flu) will all undergo fitness checks before the Mariners squad is named.

On a brighter note, having secured a work permit earlier this week, Zhang En Hua, described by his new manager last week as "a class act", looks almost certain to make his debut on Saturday. The Chinese international captain looks likely to partner Paul Groves in the centre of defence, as Richard Smith is rested.

Speaking of Smith, Lawrence told the Grimsby Evening Telegraph: "I've got to weigh up whether he can play three games in seven days and it's tall order to ask him to play. He finished with cramp on Wednesday."

Lawrence's words ahead of the match had a most familiar ring to them as he spoke of yet another game where avoiding defeat is his priority:

"Norwich will be tough after their recent managerial change and they had a good win last time out so, we can't afford to go into the game unprepared. It's vital that we get something out of the match and preferably three points, however, not losing is a top priority.

"If we can get a couple of wins we'll be alright, but we've got to be careful. We could draw tomorrow and still end up bottom."

Grimsby Town: Coyne, Butterfield, McDermott, R Smith, Groves, En Hua, Gallimore, Fostervold, Donovan, Willems, Coldicott, Burnett, Nielsen, Livingstone, Croudson, D Smith, Jeffrey, Bloomer.


Norwich City

Having recently parted company with former Northern Ireland manager Bryan Hamilton, these are turbulent times for the Canaries. As the mists clear, it now seems that the current favourites for the vacancy are current caretaker boss Nigel Worthington and former Grimsby local-hero, Kevin Drinkell. Former Manchester United and Norwich captain Steve Bruce has also been rumoured to be in the running.

The Canaries recent away form has been poor, to say the least. Losses to Portsmouth, Burnley, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston in their last four away fixtures should give the Mariners cause for optimism, although Norwich returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory against Gillingham at Carrow Road last Saturday.

Iwan Roberts Striker Alex Notman and former Manchester United midfielder Phil Mulryne could both make returns for Worthington's struggling side. Iwan Roberts (pictured), once again the leading scorer after topping the Norwich charts for the last two seasons, will be the main concern for a Mariners defence that has struggled against both physical and aerial attacks throughout the season.

Norwich are currently lying in 17th place, just 4 points ahead of Grimsby and will be anxious not to be drawn into the relegation quagmire with a defeat on Saturday.


Last Season

Last season's games with Norwich ended up 2-1 at home and 0-3 away.

For a complete list of fixtures between the Mariners and Norwich click here


Directions

For Norwich fans looking for directions to Blundell Park look no futher than our directions page.

Add To Facebook


This site is by the fans, for the fans, and we will consider articles on any subject relating to the Mariners whether it be related to current news, a nostalgic look back in the past, a story about a player, a game or games in the past, something about Blundell Park or football in general. Click here to submit your article!


Related Stories


Forum Latest
Thread TitlePostsLatest Post
JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW 38The Dogs Testicles22/11 05:54
TV Games/Upcoming Fixtures3SiteBot22/11 03:30
BOXING DAY11Running like emson21/11 21:16
Prediction Thread Colchester Home29FrazerGTFC21/11 20:03
Colchester Saturday18The Caterham Mariner21/11 19:39
"Beat the Clock"  Colchester20thespiffing21/11 19:32
Lincs. Cup Highlights14Lincoln Mariner 5621/11 16:05
Pubs in York showing game - Sat6bradzmilne21/11 14:35
Lincoln City 725David Frazer21/11 12:42
It’s all gone ‘quite’8BobbyCummingsTackle21/11 10:02