'Mariners Log' Video Review

By: Richard Lord
Date: 17/06/2001

FOR those of you suffering withdrawal symptoms from football, Mariners Log (GTFC's official Grimsby Town video) provides the perfect tonic. The Electronic Fishcake's Richard Lord now reviews the season's highlights video, which is currently on sale at the club shop priced £17.99.

If it's action you want, then this latest video, composed by John Moore and the crew, is a big improvement on any previous attempts. After the disastrous failure to release highlights of the 99/00 season, this latest version begins to compensate for the lack of action from two seasons ago.

To begin with, the crew look back on the 99/00 season, showing their "5 classic matches through popular demand". For those curious fans who, for whatever reason, have yet to purchase the video, these are: Ipswich home (2-1), Sheff Utd home (2-2), Nott'm Forest home (4-3), Port Vale home (2-0) and finally Man City home (1-1). Unfortunately, there is very little action in any of these games apart from the goals themselves, a theme to run throughout the whole video.

After looking at the 99/00 season for approximately 20 minutes at the start of the video, the team then concentrate on last season. John Moore walks around the ground introducing what is to follow, and then the action begins.

For coverage alone, only two games of the entire season (in all league and cup competitions) were not shown. The two games were Portsmouth away (1-1) and Carlisle away (League Cup second round, 1-1). This is probably the most impressive feature of the video, which in the past, failed to show half the action away from home.

The graphics at the bottom are a huge improvement on the past, as technology moves forward they leave behind the days from the 95/96 season when the '0' [Ed - not necessarily next to Grimsby!] would look more like a diamond. This time though, the score at the bottom of the screen appears as the goals go in, instead of emerging before you even get to see the game.

One of the disappointing features of the video is the music played in the background. Where before, when the pictures but not the commentary were available, just the sound of the crowd could be heard. Now, this is replaced by the cheesy kind of music you are likely to find on a home video editing program. The music varies from the type that could have been heard in the film Titanic (Wolves away) to just the plain old jolly/jingly music you hear on the radio (Gillingham away).

There are some bizarre moments on the video, such as the inclusion of Town passing the ball around, but nothing would ever materialise. Perhaps this was left in to sum up what we had to endure most of the year! Therefore a good representation of last season, just to remind us in the future that it wasn't all goals, goals, goals.

Another annoying feature of the video is the little 'pop-up Mighty Mariner' who appears in the bottom left in the screen to inform you of things varying from: "Sorry, there is no commentary today folks" to a more leisurely chat: "hope you like the music folks" and "this is becoming to be a bit of a habit". One of the more amusing wisecracks was when Town kicked off at West Brom and the commentator went on to say that the last time Grimsby won at the Hawthorns was back in the 1930s when Albion lost 6-5. Mighty Mariner appears saying "you'd wish you hadn't said that!"

But despite all this, there really can't be too many complaints about the content or of the commentary. It's still as biased as ever and that's what we like to hear. Anyone who collects these videos every season will not be disappointed with this, even if it does reduce the bulkiness of their wallet. I'm not quite sure whether it's worthy of a £4 increase, but the cover of the video (top) certainly has had a transformation. Gone are the days from when the cover was simply white with one badge the right way up, and the other below upside down!

There certainly has been a good effort into making it slightly more 'professional' - I'll let you decide whether this has been achieved. John now has Blundell Park as the background to introduce the video instead of the corner of his living room, as was the case in the 95/96 season.

But what is undoubtedly the highlight of the video is the last game of the season. The game against Fulham kicks off with Jerusalem playing in the background. This fades away but duly reappears to the sight of Groves stroking the ball home to score what was the winner. At the end of the game the camera ventures into the tunnel where you'll have the pleasure of hearing Wayne Burnett say a few choice words. You see the dressing room after the match, with John, his microphone and his big woolly green coat (on what was a very warm day) go around interviewing some of the Town players. There is the sight of Livvo completely knackered, and for this reason he couldn't even answer John's question.

If you didn't go to the Player of the Year awards staged at the Winter Gardens, then don't worry. You get to see all of the awards presented on the night, and also the words from manager Lennie Lawrence and Player of the Year Danny Coyne. For those of you who missed the trip to QPR, where Coyne famously got a 10 in the Grimsby Evening Telegraph, you get to see all of his six tremendous saves.

Ultimately, this video is destined to be a success amongst the GTFC supporters. Still the words of "Nasty!" and "Surely!" can be heard, along with what was the most popular phrase to be used: "Look, no marking!"

Buy and enjoy.

Richard Lord

You can purchase the video from the club using the secure order system below.

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Send a cheque for £17.99 + P&P (See above for Charges) made payable to Grimsby Town FC to:

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