‘I traded in Wall Street job to bag dream football role’
MICHAEL JOLLEY made his fortune on the Stock Exchange but the city slicker knows that saving Grimsby’s skin will be priceless.
As the Mariners battle to retain their Football League status, installing Jolley as their new boss this month was seen as a major gamble.
But for Jolley, the high-pressure nature of his new job is nothing new, given his background as an investment banker.
The Cambridge University graduate regularly took risks on the cut-throat environment of the trading floors of London and New York.
It was 14 years ago that Jolley took his biggest punt of all – turning his back on a lucrative career on Wall Street for a part-time coaching position at Crystal Palace.
Passion
Jolley, 40, said: “At the time I’m sure some people thought, ‘What on earth are you doing?’.
“Most people on the trading floor get well paid. I took a pay cut to join a riskier industry.
“But football is where I wanted to go in my life. I just went all in. It’s an obsession and where my passion lies.”
Jolley’s initial journey was as a player with Barnsley, where he represented Sheffield Schoolboys alongside Kevin Davies.
But while Davies went on to become a Premier League star, Jolley was released at 16 and went down the academic route before giving it all up to learn the ropes at academies home and abroad. He eventually climbed up the ranks to take charge of Burnley’s Under-23s and was poached by Swedish minnows Eskilstuna last summer. And his work didn’t go unnoticed, with Grimsby hiring him to replace Russell Slade earlier this month. Jolley said: “I understand that in football a Cambridge degree in economics doesn’t mean a great deal. “Everywhere I’ve been it’s been a case of making people believe I can do a job. If I walk in somewhere and the players don’t think you are credible, you will be found out.
“Although many people haven’t heard of me, I feel I have served my apprenticeship and earned my stripes over these years.
“Being the world’s best player doesn’t necessarily make you the best manager.”
Judged
City trader turned football manager Jolley says there are parallels between the jobs.
“So much can be taken from that trading world into a dressing room,” he said.
“Both are highly competitive environments. You are judged every day and it’s the survival of the fittest.”
The numbers have not added up for Grimsby this season after 17 matches without a win. Ahead of today’s trip to Coventry they sit just one spot and six points above the relegation zone.
Jolley added: “I’m asking the people of Grimsby to be patient and support me. We need to make sure this club is still at this level next season. “Then we can focus on the bigger picture of building a club that the people here will be proud of.”