{"id":376063,"date":"2025-08-26T22:37:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T22:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/376063\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T22:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T22:37:11","slug":"grimsby-seek-to-build-on-foundations-to-make-it-as-hostile-as-we-can-for-manchester-united-grimsby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/376063\/","title":{"rendered":"Grimsby seek to build on foundations to \u2018make it as hostile as we can\u2019 for Manchester United | Grimsby"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe\u2019re an ambitious little football club,\u201d the Grimsby Town manager, David Artell, says. \u201cWhy can\u2019t we be the next Bournemouth or Brentford?\u201d It is an indication that Manchester United will not be visiting your average League Two side in the Carabao Cup<\/a> on Wednesday, because the Mariners are doing things differently.<\/p>\n

Artell has spent recent summers scouting in the Faroe Islands \u2013 and eating sea urchins with the owners \u2013 and tried to sign a player from the Czech league this year. The tone is set at the top by the owners, Andrew Pettit and Jason Stockwood. There is data aplenty at Blundell Park, giving Grimsby<\/a> an identity and bringing stability, a word sometimes forgotten in the fourth tier. United will be facing an unbeaten team high on confidence and with a long-term strategy to keep pushing them forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate that\u2019s big dreams,\u201d Artell says of the desire to emulate Premier League clubs. \u201cI\u2019m in division four of England, let\u2019s not get carried away, but at the same time we\u2019re unbeaten this season, we\u2019re doing a lot of things right, there\u2019s a long way to go. We\u2019ve put some real good foundations in place for the rest of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

From V\u00edkingur to Truro, Artell and his recruitment team are combing through statistics to find gems who can help the club to feature in the third tier for the first time since 2003-04. \u201cWe can\u2019t pay the most money because I\u2019ve not got the biggest budget, it\u2019s not Chelsea or Oxford or somewhere really exclusive to live, but it has got its real qualities,\u201d Artell says of his sales pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people are salt of the earth, it\u2019s fairly cheap in terms of houses to live in, one of the cheapest places in the country, you\u2019re going to get well coached, you\u2019re going to get treated properly, you know we\u2019re ambitious, we\u2019re progressive, you\u2019re going to leave a better player whether that\u2019s in one year, three years or five years, whatever the number is. And you\u2019re going to enjoy it here and you\u2019re going to live with a group of players that are all in it together so we know where we are in the grand scheme of things and we\u2019re trying to get better every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artell signed a new three-year contract last month, to show short\u2011termism is not part of the thinking. The immediate plan, however, is how to get the better of Ruben Amorim and United. The two clubs have not met since 1948, adding to the sense of occasion.<\/p>\n

Justin Amaluzor celebrates after scoring Grimsby\u2019s opening goal in the win at home against Shrewsbury that set up the tie against Manchester United. Photograph: Jez Tighe\/ProSports\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Grimsby access the same data as Brighton, a relationship that goes back to when the clubs met in an FA Cup quarter-final<\/a> two years ago. It shows that playing against Premier League opponents is a bigger event than the minutes on the pitch and a lucrative windfall; it offers the chance to gain insight and share ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve earned our right to be playing against Manchester United by winning in the previous round and we\u2019re here to compete and we\u2019ve got to make it as hostile as we can for them both on and off the pitch,\u201d Artell says. \u201cThe fans have been absolutely magnificent \u2013 it\u2019ll be a sellout. We are hoping that United don\u2019t particularly like <\/strong>the ground, the dressing rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Grimsby\u2019s draw at Accrington on Saturday, Artell travelled to London to watch Manchester United be held by Fulham a day later, the banks of the River Thames offering quite a contrast to the Wham Stadium. There are weaknesses to be found in United and Grimsby will be hoping to exploit those, despite the chasm between them in the pyramid.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere is an element of this that can be uncomfortable [for United] and we\u2019ve got to make it so on the pitch,\u201d Artell says. \u201cIt\u2019ll be an extremely tough night for us, we\u2019re under no illusions about the size of the task, but it\u2019s a great game. It might be the biggest game some of the lads will ever play in their careers but I want them to see it as an opportunity, not just as an occasion, and this is what helps make players grow and it\u2019s my job to make sure they go out ready to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of perceived struggles at United, Amorim could offer a full debut to the \u00a373m striker Benjamin Sesko and first starts of the season to England\u2019s Kobbie Mainoo and Cameroon\u2019s Andr\u00e9 Onana. It may not be a vintage side of yesteryear but it will be full of quality. Grimsby will be hoping to sense some visiting nerves because, regardless of United\u2019s status or XI, a victory for the hosts would be a historic upset.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re unbeaten and we want to make that continue,\u201d Artell says. \u201cHowever difficult that may be, that\u2019s got to be our belief. We\u2019re not stupid, we\u2019re not getting ahead of ourselves, we know our place, but that doesn\u2019t mean we just roll over. We\u2019re here to compete and we\u2019ve got to make sure that the processes that we have in place are maintained and make sure that the principles on the pitch are maintained and that will give us our best shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be authentic and go out there with freedom to express ourselves both with and without the ball and, if we do that, then if there is any emotion after 95, 98 minutes, whatever it takes, then we hope it\u2019s euphoric.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe\u2019re an ambitious little football club,\u201d the Grimsby Town manager, David Artell, says. \u201cWhy can\u2019t we be the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-376063","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115097465501874947","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}