Former Mariners boss Ian Holloway sings praises of the 'sensational' people of Grimsby

                                                                         

Ian Holloway's new book: 'The fans wanted me to stay'

"THE people of Grimsby are sensational . . "

So says former Mariners boss Ian Holloway in his fast-paced and intriguing new book, How To Be A Football Manager.

He continues: "They were great towards me, and I hope they know how well I wanted to do for them."

Unfortunately, Holloway's short spell at Blundell Park was unsuccessful for which he largely blames the difficulties created by the pandemic.

"Covid ruined so much while I was manager of Grimsby.

"I lost some of our better players, and when you tried to get better players to move to the town and live there, it was almost impossible because of the perception that the location is a bit out on a limb.

"The recruitment policy we had at a very difficult time amounted to no more than a lucky dip."

He advises: "Get an academy in place and start to plan long-term - that will be vital in years to come."

Holloway, a high-profile appointment with a track record of managerial success, was famously persuaded to come to Grimsby by majority shareholder John Fenty over a fish-and-chip meal at Papa's restaurant on the pier.

After signing on the dotted line, he pledged to move his wife, Kim, and family from their home near Bristol to North East Lincolnshire - and even to buy a substantial shareholding in the club.

Alas (apart from a 2-0 away win at Scunthorpe), the good times never came, and morale at the club and on the terraces plummeted - not helped by the disruption caused by fractious takeover talks.

Some of his comments at the time suggested that he might be trying to engineer his own dismissal, but that was not to be, and, in the end, he resigned.

He writes: "The new guy at the club wanted me to stay, the fans wanted me to stay and work with the new owner, but I wanted to go, Kim wanted to go, and our minds were made up.

"Everything was wrong during my time at Grimsby Town, and it was, at the time of writing, my last job in football and not the epitaph I wanted." 

How To Be A Football Manager contains many other fascinating tales (and some words of wisdom) about his 40 year's in  football and the people with whom has he has crossed paths (and occasionally words).

The book is published by Headline Publishing Group at £22.