Stand-up comedian and TV presenter Lloyd Griffith is a dyed-in-the-wool Grimsby supporter, following his beloved Mariners up and down the country whenever his work schedule allows.

The former Soccer AM host tells us why supporting a smaller club is much more fun and predicts a bright future at Blundell Park.

The beautiful game

I just love supporting Grimsby. Some people won't understand that but let me try and tell you why.

Of course, it's my hometown, so you instantly have a connection you can't match with any other club. But it's also an unrivalled sense of community that lower-league football brings.

Not to get too deep but we're rapidly running out of communities in the UK, aren't we? Working men's clubs, coal-mining communities are all things of the past.

Lloyd Griffith will be embarking on a brand new nationwide stand-up tour, Baroque & Roll, from March 1, 2024. More info and tickets are available HERE.

Nowadays, everyone flocks to social media to try and find communities to be a part of, which has made football very tribal — particularly at the highest level.

With a lower-league team, not only are you part of an actual community but you are with a group of people. You are a name and a face, not a number or a username.

You feel a part of something special, rather than just being a part of some billionaire's vanity project.

Special memories

Last season was a memorable one for Grimsby fans thanks to our unbelievable run to the FA Cup quarter-finals.

We beat four teams from higher divisions along the way and if we'd have added Brighton to that list, the Mariners would've been walking out against Manchester United at Wembley!

I was at virtually every round and those are memories that will stay with me forever — particularly the quarter-final.

We played a remarkable Brighton side who gave us a bit of a masterclass in how to play football, to be honest. 

But even though we lost 5-0, all of our travelling fans hung around for 20 or 30 minutes after full-time just bouncing around like lunatics with our inflatable haddocks!

Our manager for that run, Paul Hurst, left the club last month after a run of poor results but he'll always have a place in our hearts.

Bright future

There's no doubting we are in a transition period but I'm really optimistic about the future under our new boss David Artell.

David is not your average League Two manager. For a start, he has two degrees in microbiology!

But seriously, he is a manager who has succeeded at our level before and tries to play really attractive football, which is always exciting as a fan.

I went to watch us play MK Dons in his first game and it was honestly the best stuff I've seen a Grimsby side play for years — and that was after one day of training!

Of course, it's a project with us and it's going to take time because we can't just spend our way out of League Two.

However, I think we have a really shrewd chairman now who is trying to modernize the club and put plans in place for long-term progression.

Hopefully we can become a Bournemouth or Brentford of the lower leagues. It's the hope that kills you, isn't it?!

Lloyd Griffith was speaking to Matthew Hill