Getting To Know..........Ian Townsend

Describe yourself in 5 words or less.

Fat, fifty, but faithful.

When did you first grace Blundell Park?

August 1968.  A fine 3-0 win over Newport County and I was hooked. Little did I know at the time that after such a promising start, Town would end up applying for re-election. On the positive side it was character forming and prepared me for the next 40 years.

Some players have bizarre matchday rituals/superstitions.  What are yours?

Always have breakfast in Cleethorpes before Saturday games

What is the funniest thing you have seen/heard at a football match?

Some guy in the crowd kept pleading with Town to test the opposition keeper. After about 20 times someone nearby said “Oi keeper what’s the capital of Portugal”. The funniest thing I have seen is a fox running very quickly round the perimeter of the pitch about 15 years ago during a game.  It was far, far quicker than any of the players (and raised a bigger cheer!)

Have you ever made a fool of yourself whilst supporting The Mariners?

Every week! 

Which one football match is the most memorable for you, and why?

For me it would have to be one of the last Good Friday games. We played Barnsley in April 1982. Our Yorkshire friends went 2-0 up but led by Trevor Whymark (incidentally the most skilful player I’ve ever seen in a Town shirt) we beat them 3-2. Fantastic stuff!

In your opinion, how could the match day experience be improved? 

It is surely time for “the powers that be” to consider bringing back standing areas for the fans that wish to use them.  Financially, it allows the clubs to offer cheaper entry to the large numbers of people who, in a recession cannot afford to regularly pay the cost of a seat. It can also serve to improve the atmosphere as fans who wish to sing and chant can congregate together. From the safety point of view no-one has yet been able to convince me that I’m in more danger in a crowd of 3000 at a lower league football match than I would be going into a pub in Grimsby or Cleethorpes on a Saturday night.

What do you love most about being a Grimsby supporter?

The fact that wherever you go in the country watching Town play you can meet people who left the town years ago but still feel an affinity with the club. Away trips under the control of the official GTFC supporters club are a great way of spending a Saturday and the club should recognise the efforts of the organisers who ensure that the team get backing everywhere on the road.

And conversely, what do you find most annoying about being a Grimsby supporter?

 I’ve watched football all over the country yet nowhere have I come across so many people who are keen to boo certain of our players when their names are announced before the game or when they come on as subs. Quite how this is supposed to help requires answers on a post card to the usual address.

If you didn't support The Mariners, how would you spend your Saturday afternoons?

Shopping, ironing, cleaning, gardening…..

What role do you think Supporters Trusts have in the modern game?  Supporters trusts should be the link for ordinary fans to get their views across to the people who run football clubs about the things that matter to them. At a time when GTFC need to appeal to a far wider proportion of the people of the area than they currently do, an active GTST sends out the message that there are people working with the club for their benefit

How could GTST appeal more to the GTFC supporter base?  

At the moment far too many Town fans are unaware of the existence and function of GTST.  Now that people have seen an improvement in the financial well being of the club after the disasters of the ITV Digital experience there is a view that the need for the trust has gone. We need to show that the trust can help shape the future of the club to make sure that those bad times don’t return. As the link to the club for fans I’d like to see more functions where players/ex players and the management team can meet fans and hear their views on the future of the club. I’d also like to see the trust offering incentives to people to join such as discount cards for local shops/the club shop. This would appeal to townsfolk across the board in these difficult financial times and would show the town pulling together with GTFC as the common link.

The FA/FL seem to 'champion' one rule each season.  If you were in charge, what rule would you champion and why?

I would make dissent towards the officials a straight red card offence. Players should leave dissent to the fans…we are better at it!!