Grimsby v Bury Preview

Who are they?

Bury were formed in 1885 after a meeting at the Swan and Cemetery Hotel in the town, the meeting was between local sides Bury Wesleyans and Bury Unitarians. The first ever match at Gigg Lane was a game against Wigan Athletic in the same year which the Shakers won 4-3. The club have had a tough time in recent years. After spending two seasons at Championship level in the late nineties alongside the Mariners, relegation finally came in May 1999 on ‘goals scored.’ The Shakers went on to make progressively worse finishes for eight seasons in a row until they finished 13th in League Two in 2008. The next season under Alan Knill brought a 4th placed finish and a play-off semi-final against Shrewsbury. A cruel penalty shootout after a tense 0-0 saw Andy Bishop and Danny Rachhi miss from the spot. It was still a season of great success for the Shakers, with Knill taking the club to the playoffs on one of the lowest budgets in the division. During the past 10 or so years Bury have endured massive financial difficulties and survived being put up for sale by the High Courts, a failed takeover bid, going into administration and being without a chairman. In 2002, Bury were saved from the financial abyss by supporters trust ‘Forever Bury’ led by the clubs fans. In 2006 they were thrown out of the FA Cup for fielding an ineligible loanee against Chester City who went on to play a money spinning tie against Ipswich Town in the next round.

This season has been rather solid for Bury, so often have sides who failed in the previous year’s playoff campaign gone on to struggle in the next. They currently find themselves in 9th place in League Two, and their current form reads WLWLW. Their results have been a model of inconsistency, with wins against Rotherham, Crewe and Chesterfield met with losses against Grimsby, Cheltenham and Accrington. Their current top scorer is former Chester striker Ryan Lowe who has eight league goals including a penalty at Accrington Stanley on Monday. Bury picked up their first win of the season in their second League game, a 1-0 win at Darlington and went on to win 3-1 at Hereford before losing 1-0 at home to the Mariners in August. They managed to beat Tranmere 2-1 at Gigg Lane in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in October, the same Tranmere side that beat Town 4-0 in August.

In recent years, Gigg lane has been a breeding ground for young, talented footballers, the sales of which have secured the financial future at Bury. These include Dave Nugent, Simon Whaley, Elliott Bennett and Colin Kazim-Richards. Perhaps their most famous player is Craig Madden, a local-born striker who played nearly 300 games for the club between 1977 and 1986. Madden scored 129 goals in 297 games for Bury in that time, including a club record 35-goal season in 1981-82. Despite being only 5”8” tall he was a force to be reckoned with in the air. Madden went on to play for West Brom and Blackpool in a career which spanned 15 years in English Football.

Ryan Lowe. The 31 year old frontman was signed from relegated Chester City in the summer of 2009, having scored 18 goals for the club last season. Lowe began his league career with Shrewsbury Town and scored 30 goals for the club in five seasons, and went on to play for Crewe and Chester as well as a loan spell with Stockport. He went back to Chester in 2008 on a free transfer from Crewe, and became the leading player for the club in their unsuccessful battle for relegation against the Mariners. He signed for Bury last summer choosing them over a number of other league clubs, including Town. This season he has scored eight goals in 19 games and has flourished whilst playing alongside veteran striker Andy Morrell, becoming one of the most feared strikers in the league.

Grimsby 2-0 Bury (2nd March 2007)

Town secured a comfortable win against a Bury side who were without a win in 12 thanks to first half goals from Danny North and Ciaran Toner. Town had won four of the last five games in their rejuvenation under Alan Buckley, and were 13 points from the playoffs in 16th position. North scored the first after only 10 minutes when his cross eluded everyone to creep into the bottom corner. Town’s second came when Ciaran Toner scored a brilliant volley from the edge of the box. The home side could have had more as North and Fenton were both guilty of missing chances, but the damage had already been done.

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Head to Head

The two sides have faced each other 70 sides since their first meeting in 1894, which ended in a 5-1 win for Bury. Since then, things have got better for Grimsby who have won 29 games and losing 25, and there have been 16 draws in that time. It’s worth noting that Town have only lost two of the last nine against the Shakers, and there has only been one draw in that time. Town’s biggest win over Bury was a 5-1 win at Blundell Park in the 1962-63 season.

P70 W29 D16 L25 F 103 A 97

Head-to-Head (36th The Opposition Ladder)

Last Meeting

Bury 0 Grimsby 1 (Sat 22nd Aug 2009)

Town secured their first win of the campaign thanks to a hard fought win at Bury. A tight defensive performance came after a 4-0 home loss to Crewe, and it was Barry Conlon who scored the only goal of the game when he headed in Danny North’s cross after 20 minutes. It was a game of few chances and Town looked comfortable for the most part of the game although on-loan keeper Tommy Forecast saved well from headers from Bury’s Paul Scott and Jordan Robertson.

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