Football Season Guide

Grimsby Town will be looking to push on after consolidating their place back in the Football League. They have an experienced manager in Paul Hurst and whilst a play-off challenge was never on the cards, there was also never any concern about a relegation battle. They spent five years struggling in League Two after being promoted in 2016 and eventually returned to non-league football. Hurst pulled off something of a minor miracle in leading back at the first time of asking and then guided them to their highest place finish (11th) in 17 years. The club are also in much better shape off the pitch and have the continuity and stability to push on. The loss of goalkeeper Max Crocombe is their most significant blow this summer. He rejected a new deal to join League One Burton Albion. The departure of attacking midfielder John McAtee was expected and he has returned to parent club Luton Town. Harvey Cartwright and Jake Eastwood will fight it out for the No. 1 jersey this season. The latter has had eleven different loan spells whilst at Sheffield United and will want to establish himself. A significant fee has been paid to bring winger Charles Vernam back from Lincoln City and it was interesting to see if he can justify it and fulfil his potential. Centre-back Harvey Rodgers has spent the last few years playing League One football with Accrington Stanley whilst striker Danny Rose won promotion from League Two with Stevenage last season. These additions strengthen an already strong core in the likes of Luke Waterfall, Gavan Holahan and Kieran Green. With a couple more attacking additions, the Mariners can look forward to a positive campaign.