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Fascinating Facts
Fascinating Facts

Strange But True

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 17/09/2007

THE Mariners have now gone eight league games without a win, their worst run for four years. Not since August 2003, when Paul Groves was manager and Grimsby had just been relegated from Division One, have the Mariners endured such a barren spell.

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That particular run back in 2003 saw a ten game spell without a victory, which ended with an unexpected 2-1 win at Luton. Town's next game is also away at a team beginning with L. Could this be an omen?

Town had their worst losing streak in living memory last season when they lost seven games on the spin, but the run was curtailed in the eighth with a remarkable 6-0 win at Boston.

  • There has been a lot of discussion on the Message Board recently about whether fans prefer attractive football or just winning games by whatever means. The subtext of this is whether Alan Buckley's football is better to watch than that of his immediate predecessors Graham Rodger and Russell Slade who many perceive to be more "direct" managers.

    Perhaps the ultimate barometer of popularity is how many fans came through the gate. The average attendances of the three managers in League Two games, along with the average points secured by each Town boss, are as follows:

    Recent Managers
    ManagerAv AttendanceAv Points
    Slade5,1001.53
    Buckley4,4171.34
    Rodger3,7140.94

    Russell Slade appears to be the clear winner even if his football was perceived as less attractive and Town had a poor home record in their near-promotion season of 2005-2006. The paying public from these stats would appear to rather watch a winning side than one who merely entertain.

  • Grimsby have currently drawn their last three home league games by a 1-1 scoreline. It is a comparatively common occurrence to have the same scoreline for three consecutive games, as shown below.

    Three Match Runs
    SeasonScoreline
    1908-19092-0
    1912-19130-0
    1928-19291-0
    1932-19331-1
    1937-19382-1
    1961-19621-0
    1972-19732-0
    1973-19741-0
    1977-19781-0
    1986-19870-1
    1991-19920-1
    1992-19931-0
    2004-20050-0
    2007-20081-1

    However, surprisingly the Mariners have never experienced the same scoreline four times on the spin at Blundell Park in league games despite there having been 13 occasions in the past on which they could have done so. If Town draw 1-1 with Hereford a week on Saturday this will be the first time which a Grimsby side have produced the same score at home in four consecutive league games. Is this something we will be able to tell our grandchildren about?

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