Grimsby Town

After years of flirting dangerously with demotion, in 2010 the unthinkable happened to Grimsby Town. After 99 years of membership, the club tumbled through the dreaded trap door and out of the Football League. It was a major shock for a club with a proud history and traditions. The Mariners are one of Englands oldest senior clubs, founder members of Division Two, and they even enjoyed three spells in footballs top division. Demotion means they play in the Blue Square Bet Football Conference. This book charts the decline that led to this calamity. That decline can be traced back to 2001, when the Mariners briefly sat on top of Division One (now the Championship), before beginning their inexorable slide. Since automatic relegation from the Football League was introduced in 1987, few clubs have bounced back immediately but Grimsby fans can take heart from knowing that more than half of all demoted clubs have eventually returned from their brush with oblivion.