Operation Promotion: how Grimsby fans crowdfunded £110,000 for their manager

28 July 2015 02:01
When Grimsby missed out on promotion to the Football League in May a few fans decided to set up a crowdfunding campaign to help their manager buy new players. They hoped to receive £20,000 but ended up with over £110,000Grimsby Town missed out on promotion to the Football League by the closest of margins last season. By the time their players lined up for a penalty shootout against Bristol Rovers in the Conference Premier play-off final, they had already completed a mammoth season: 46 league matches, a two-legged play-off semi-final and 120 minutes of football at Wembley. It all came down to nine penalty kicks, and all that effort came to nothing; Bristol Rovers won the shootout 5-3 to return to League Two and Grimsby were back where they started.When asked how he felt after that defeat at Wembley the Grimsby manager, Paul Hurst, was understandably deflated. “Devastated would be a good word,” he said, as he reflected on the long, unforgiving campaign. “It wasn’t our day. No matter what I say here it doesn’t change the fact that we’ve lost the game and lost out on promotion back to the Football League that we all desperately craved.” Continue readingreadfullarticle

Source: TheGuardian