16th - Grimsby Town

By all accounts, Grimsby should have been relegated last season. Last time out, they were dire and few could disagree with that. It'd been a few years of decline but in any other season, they'd have been dropping out of the Football League. After all, it was only the 30 point penalty that hit Luton Town which ensured that the Mariners finished in 22nd place.

But, lets give Grimsby some credit here. Grimsby have had one or two financial worries over the past couple of years with a very large amount of money being owed to the tax man. Repaying that tax bill has had an effect on the pitch, and how refreshing it was to see a team like Grimsby do it the hard way and repay their debts and stay up at the expense of one taking the easy escape route of administration.

When Grimsby proved last season's prediction right last season by getting rid of Alan Buckley early doors and appointing Mike Newell, it seemed like it would be a matter of time before they got themselves away from that mess at the bottom of the division. However, I didn't expect that time to be the last weekend in April as it became very close to being a season of relegation for the Mariners.

You could argue that Newell as a manager did the job that he was brought in to do by keeping them up, and he now has three years left on his contract with Grimsby to do something a bit more positive, but I think even the most pessimistic Town fan would have been expecting a touch more from Newell so far.

Newell is another one who's reputation in the game is a little difficult to work out. Sacked for winning the title at Hartlepool, and then sacked for criticising the board at Luton which ultimately led them to a 30 point penalty. If it doesn't work out at Grimsby, you can't see him being given another crack of the whip in League Football which would be a real shame as there has been promise shown by Newell at times during his various tenures.

As for the new season, it's hoped for Grimsby's sake that Newell will be able to bring about a bit of freshness to the place - something that was sadly lacking during Alan Buckley's 476th and penultimate time in charge of Grimsby.

There's been a few new entries in at Blundell Park over the Summer, as Newell attempts to turn Grimsby from relegation fodder into something capable of competing in League Two.

One of the most notable signings has been the permanent capture of Barry Conlon. Conlon has been something of an enigma over the years. At times unplayable and one of the best goal scoring target men to play at this level. At other spells, he's anonymous. He had a great time for Grimsby last season after joining on loan from Bradford. He scored five goals in eight games. History indicates he does well in short spells at clubs before losing form. Newell's ability to get the best out of Conlon will have a huge influence on the season.

Another loan signing turned permanent is Adam Proudlock. He's another player with all the skills in the world without every really taking full advantage. Huge things were expected from him back in Sheffield Wednesday days but since then its been a slide down the divisions where potential is often discussed but never realised.

We think it will be a season of transition for the Mariners. Not enough changes for them to start challenging at the top end of the division but enough for their fans to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and have hopes that 2010-11 might give them a chance to push on to the sort of bigger and better things that their fans have been used to seeing over the past 20 years or so.

Young Ryan Bennett may have a similar influence on their season to the form of their strikers. He's a highly rated central defender who's captured the interest of higher division clubs, and if he stays and continues to show the sort of form which saw him awarded the captaincy late on last season, then the Mariners have an outside chance of doing something. It's probably more likely however that Town will accept a decent bid for him and use that money next Summer to fund an exit to the Rochdale division via the correct end.

So all in all, improvements for Grimsby this season, but not perhaps as much improvements as they might be hoping for, with inconsistent players being the key factor in all of this.

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