“We’re an ambitious little football club,” the Grimsby Town manager, David Artell, says. “Why can’t we be the next Bournemouth or Brentford?” It is an indication that Manchester United will not be visiting your average League Two side in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, because the Mariners are doing things differently.
Artell has spent recent summers scouting in the Faroe Islands – and eating sea urchins with the owners – 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 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.
“I appreciate that’s big dreams,” Artell says of the desire to emulate Premier League clubs. “I’m in division four of England, let’s not get carried away, but at the same time we’re unbeaten this season, we’re doing a lot of things right, there’s a long way to go. We’ve put some real good foundations in place for the rest of the season.”
From Víkingur 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. “We can’t pay the most money because I’ve not got the biggest budget, it’s not Chelsea or Oxford or somewhere really exclusive to live, but it has got its real qualities,” Artell says of his sales pitch.
“The people are salt of the earth, it’s fairly cheap in terms of houses to live in, one of the cheapest places in the country, you’re going to get well coached, you’re going to get treated properly, you know we’re ambitious, we’re progressive, you’re going to leave a better player whether that’s in one year, three years or five years, whatever the number is. And you’re going to enjoy it here and you’re 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’re trying to get better every day.”
Artell signed a new three-year contract last month, to show short‑termism 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.
Grimsby access the same data as Brighton, a relationship that goes back to when the clubs met in an FA Cup quarter-final 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.
“We’ve earned our right to be playing against Manchester United by winning in the previous round and we’re here to compete and we’ve got to make it as hostile as we can for them both on and off the pitch,” Artell says. “The fans have been absolutely magnificent – it’ll be a sellout. We are hoping that United don’t particularly like the ground, the dressing rooms.”
After Grimsby’s 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.
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“There is an element of this that can be uncomfortable [for United] and we’ve got to make it so on the pitch,” Artell says. “It’ll be an extremely tough night for us, we’re under no illusions about the size of the task, but it’s 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’s my job to make sure they go out ready to compete.”
Regardless of perceived struggles at United, Amorim could offer a full debut to the £73m striker Benjamin Sesko and first starts of the season to England’s Kobbie Mainoo and Cameroon’s André 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’s status or XI, a victory for the hosts would be a historic upset.
“We’re unbeaten and we want to make that continue,” Artell says. “However difficult that may be, that’s got to be our belief. We’re not stupid, we’re not getting ahead of ourselves, we know our place, but that doesn’t mean we just roll over. We’re here to compete and we’ve 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.
“We 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’s euphoric.”
