It was 20 years ago that a group of disenfranchised Grimsby Town writers first proposed the idea of a Grimsby Town magazine. There’s so much rich history associated with the Mariners, much of it largely untapped in the shape of deep-dives and long-form articles that can really do the people associated with Grimsby Town Football Club justice.

But the Mariners were sailing into stormy waters in 2006, and it would take a skilful Mariner to navigate those waters. So, for the time being more pressing matters took precedent, but the vision of a dedicated GTFC publication remained. Fast forward two decades and the picture is rosier. The Mariners have spent two spells in non-league, unfathomable at the turn of the century, and gone through a host of managers and players, but now the scene is more stable. Indeed, Town’s fortunes are looking up for arguably the first time in 25 years.

So, now it’s time to not just delve into our extensive archives but to vault head-first into the stories, matches, and players that you deserve to hear about. That’s the driving force behind UTM Magazine—breathing space for these articles to come to life.

We are immensely proud to bring you the debut edition of UTM Magazine. We have some fantastic articles, exclusive interviews, and never-before-seen photos that we think you will really enjoy. The plan is for the magazine to become a quarterly publication, with Issue 2 due at Christmas, but this is pending financial and other commitments. We also hope to be able to turn this into a fully printed magazine moving forward, we will be actively looking for sponsors and advertisers through our website and socials shortly.

Now, all about our debut edition. We couldn’t let the 25^th anniversary of Town’s famous League Cup victory at Liverpool pass by without some special treatment. We have what led up to the game, a look back at the match itself, a view from the terraces, and an exclusive interview with goalscoring hero Phil Jevons that comes from deep within our archives.

We also have an extensive look at the Lancashire Ring—the match-fixing scandal that rocked English football at the start of the 20^th Century. Who were the main culprits? Was there really the evidence to suggest the Mariners had been victims of other teams trying to control the outcome of games? And was all this responsible for Town’s relegation to Division Two?

There is an interview with Jack Lester, who looks back at his hat-trick against Oldham Athletic in the League Cup in 1997, and a sit-down with the 2005 conquerors of Tottenham Hotspur: Gary Cohen and Michael Reddy, as well as a closer look at Daniel Barker Gray’s excellent From the Dock Tower to the Twin Towers book on 90s GTFC history.

Just click the button below to purchase. It’s just £3 for a 44-page digital edition.

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