Affordable Archive

On this day five years ago I made a first visit to the new Wembley Stadium to watch an exciting National League Promotion Final, Grimsby Town sealing a return to the Football League by beating Forest Green Rovers.

Sitting close to the halfway line that day it was clear to see how much the result meant, both to Mariners' supporters and those in official positions at the club.

Returning back to the National League will, of course, have hit people hard and it has been a dismal season, on and off the pitch.

But the man who masterminded that promotion, Paul Hurst, is back in charge and, more significantly, a takeover of the club by Andrew Pettit and Jason Stockwood has recently been completed.

The Mariners Trust continue to do great work connecting the club and the community.

Club & Fans Work Together at Grimsby Town

Wembley Stadium ahead of the 2016 National League Promotion Final

I was at Wembley four years ago then Grimsby Town won back their Football League status with an exciting win against Forest Green Rovers in the National League Promotion Play-Off and saw at close hand what it meant for those connected to the club.

Similar to when Tranmere Rovers were victorious in the same game two years later it seemed to be relief rather than elation that poured out upon a return to the 92.

The glory is in the cities but the fabric of football in this country is often to be found in towns up and down the land where the local club can still be an important part of the community in which it stands.

Grimsby’s experience since the suspension of League Two action is the perfect example of that.

Those in charge of the club have the unenviable (even before the coronavirus outbreak) task of trying to run a steady financial ship, put a competitive team onto the field, make ticket prices affordable enough to keep the loyal fanbase coming along to matches and reach out into the local community to try and attract the next generation of supporters.

A good working relationship with the hardcore support is vital, therefore, and the Town hierarchy have been very quick to praise the role of fans in raising funds over the past couple of months.

The Mariners Trust has been to the fore, promoting share ownership as a means both of generating funds and giving a feeling of genuine involvement in the club. 

There is also a crowdfunder in place while many fans have also opted not to take a refund for the unplayed matches on their 2019/20 season tickets.

Your amazing support continues.
Shares. £40200
Crowdfunder £ 11723
Ebay/Others. £ 2066
Total Fundraising £53989

ST replies so far are 810 of which 680 have donated back to club, worth £33k.

— MarinersTrust (@MarinersTrust) June 18, 2020

Grimsby Town, Chesterfield FC

A busy spell of in League Two, with Carlisle United, Crawley Town and Newport County all offering various deals for upcoming fixtures, and Grimsby too are looking to get more through the Blundell Park turnstiles for two importanct matches in their battle to stay in the Football League.

Anyone buying a ticket for this Saturday's visit of Port Vale can claim a free brief for the Stevenage clash on Good Friday and there also 'Kids go Free' and season ticket holder offers for both matches.

Fellow strugglers Chesterfield have a 'Three for Two' offer on their final three home fixtures of the season starting with the visit of Newport County on 2 April which is also a 'Kids for a Quid' fixture.

Wembley Stadium Sunday 15 May

An overdue first visit to the ‘new’ Wembley, two weeks earlier than I had hoped to be watching Coventry City in the play-offs, for Sunday’s National League play-off final between Grimsby Town and Forest Green Rovers.

The Mariners were 3-1 winners, deserved on the balance of the play, and their celebrations afterwards indicated how much it meant to people connected with the club to be back in the Football League after a number of near-misses.

A crowd of 17,198 watched the action, a slight disappointment given that the National League had run a good ‘early-bird’ sales campaign to attract neutral supporters but one that reflects Forest Green’s relatively small fanbase and, perhaps, Grimsby’s disappointment at the stadium when beaten by Bristol Rovers last season.

Full credit to Wembley themselves for the organisation of the event, the friendly welcome from staff and for giving it the same treatment as they would an England international or FA Cup final.

Grimsby will be back in North London next Sunday (May 22) for the first-ever National League Finals Day when they take on FC Halifax Town in the FA Trophy final at 4:15pm, preceeded by Hereford FC against Morpeth Town AFC in the FA Vase final at 12:15pm.

Tickets, covering both matches, are priced at £25 Adults, £10 Concessions and £1 for Under-16’s.

Grimsby Town FC, Salisbury FC

A couple of things that that have caught the eye in what is the quietest time of the year for fixtures and offers.

Grimsby Town have frozen season ticket prices (and not just in the Findus Stand!) after a succesful 2014/15 campaign which saw the Mariners reach Wembley and just miss out on promotion to the Football League after a tense game against Bristol Rovers.

The club seems to be on the up and a special concession price of £150 (£170 Upper Findus) on season tickets for 19-21 year-olds has been introduced to ease the gap into paying full adult prices.

Having been placed into the Wessex Premier League (Step 5 of the Pyramid) for their debut season, the newly-formed Salisbury FC have been consulting supporters on prices for 2015/16.

An interesting article on the club website explains how the decisions made have been arrived at and also detail an immediate change to prices for Under-16's after further feedback from fans.

Update - Grimsby & Hartlepool

Season ticket sales are going well at two of the clubs we have looked at here on Affordable Football in recent weeks.

Grimsby Town pegged prices at last season's levels while also cutting prices for over 75's. An update on the club's official website on Monday showed that 279 season tickets have been sold to date against 214 at the same time last year with income up by £9,000.

Hartlepool United's offer of a £180 adult season ticket, meanwhile, has seen strong interest at the League Two club with 1,220 tickets sold as of Friday 6 June.

Good news for both clubs and always interesting to see the difference even a handful of extra ticket sales can make at a lower level.

Senior Service at Grimsby Town

Although they were unable to regain their place in the Football League, missing out to Gateshead in the Conference play-offs, Grimsby Town enjoyed a positive season capped by a good FA Cup run.

The Mariners are marshalling themselves for another tilt at promotion and have held the majority of season ticket prices at the same level as last season. For those aged 75 and over, however, the club have reduced prices significantly with season tickets available from £110.

And for the superbly titled 'Ancient Mariners' who are aged 85+ then matchday admission will be free when accompanied by a season ticket holder or carer/family member.