Where To Now Mr Lawrence?

By: Bill Osborne
Date: 04/11/2001

DEAR Mr Lawrence, The question that must be on every Grimsby fans' mind at this moment is "Where to now?"

The Mariners losing to Wimbledon yesterday was, to some, the final straw that will drag us down to the second division. To others it may be just another stumbling block along the way to survival whose spirits were perhaps lifted by the report that "Town played better"

Those who were at the game will know the truth to that statement although the commentator on Radio Humberside said that Town had a better game than some he had seen recently and that Town controlled the game for a large part of the second half before conceding a goal that should never have been.

But that is part and parcel of the Grimsby game. As you said yourself in the post game interview, "We could have done with playing less well and getting something out of it."

"This was the best away performance we have seen for a while and we had a couple of scares". (We also had a couple of goals against us Mr. L)

"We just never closed them down when we should have"

Fortunately, Town did not slip further down the table, due to results in other games, so in that sense luck was with us. But the fans are calling for more than that. Some are calling for your head!

Others are already resigned to relegation. A few predict a change in our fortune sufficient to keep us in the first division and I must confess that I am in the latter group.

After a brilliant start to the season with gates beginning to improve, Grimsby fans were given hope that finally we might be going somewhere. That unfortunately did not turn out to be the case with probably one of the worst performance runs in the clubs history following.

You commented recently that this run has seriously affected the confidence of the players. For your information Mr Lawrence, it has also affected the confidence of the fans too.

A fan, posting as EvilGarlicNaanBread on the Fishy Message Board, perhaps summed up the feeling of a great number of fans.

I just wondered if anyone else felt the same as I do right now. I just don't get the excitement out of Town as I used to. I wasn't able to make the match today, but in past times missing a match left me feeling totally frustrated and agitated, today I just didn't give a *****

My mind flicks back to a couple of seasons ago, we played Watford around Christmas time. David Smith smashed home the winning goal, everyone went wild, some people ran on the pitch. I was one of the unlucky ones arrested for running on the pitch that day. Still at the time, did I care? No, that goal was more important to me, in fact at the time Town were the most important thing in my life.

In the past, I've cried, fought (literally), been held in custody, got stupidly drunk and even publicly exposed myself, all in the name of GTFC! I would sing to every chant in the pontoon, and shout abuse at every opportunity. But now, I've mellowed, if we lose I shrug my shoulders rather than cry and if someone badmouths them I tut them rather than chin them. These days I'm quite happy to sit there and watch the referee make shocking decision after shocking decision, no gestures, no nothing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still at Blundell Park every home game, and every away game I can physically make it to, but I just don't get the same buzz out of match days that I used to. I can't help it, I really wish I could feel the way I used to, but I don't. I am so deeply saddened by what's currently going on at the club.

So am I the only one who feels like this? I'm black and white through and through, but I just don't feel the same anymore.

There are many more just like him out there Mr. Lawrence.

Where to now? That is the question Mr. Lawrence! Perhaps the answer will come in the game against Sheffield Wednesday or it may not come until the last day of the season as it did last year. But one thing is for sure. We will not survive if changes are not made!

I leave it to others more qualified, like yourself and the board of directors, to decide what those changes should be, but may I suggest Mr. Lawrence, that whatever they are, they should be in place by next Saturday.

No excuses! No shit!

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