WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
We catch up with Grimsby Town’s successful 1997-98 team
ALAN BUCKLEY had guided Grimsby to two promotions in his first spell at Blundell Park and returned in the summer of 1997 on a double mission.
He needed to rebuild his own management career following an unsuccessful spell at West Brom as well as get the Mariners promoted following relegation.
Buckley returned to the Hawthorns to land Paul Groves and Kevin Donovan, who top scored with 21 goals, and then, at the turn of the year, David Smith.
It was a season to remember for Grimsby, who knocked Premier League sides Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester out of the League Cup before losing to Liverpool.
But it was a campaign that is best remembered for two Wembley finals – in the Auto Windscreens Shield, beating Bournemouth, and the Division Two play-offs.
Smith said: “You grow up as a child always wanting to play there and to play there twice in the space of a month was something that you will never forget.
“As players you only see little bits. You drive in on the coach, go into the dressing room, get changed, go out onto the pitch and warm up, then you play the game.
“People say try and soak up the atmosphere but sometimes it’s difficult because you are doing a job really. Going twice in four or five weeks, I think, helped us.
“It made us more familiar with the bits that go on outside of it. No doubt the experience of winning there against Bournemouth helped for the second game against Northampton.
“We went a goal down in the first half against Bournemouth and then Kingsley Black equalised. We went into golden goal time and Wayne Burnett flicked one in with the heel of his boot.
Tough
“It was a tough game because Bournemouth played well on the day, but once we got the equaliser I didn’t feel that we would lose.”
In the league, a poor start to the season meant they were always playing catch up on the runaway winners Watford and second-placed Bristol City.
It meant they would have to go up via the play-offs, playing an expensively assembled Fulham team managed by Kevin Keegan in the semi-finals.
“Not going up never entered my head. At the time I never felt that we weren’t going to win or we weren’t going to go through. It was a strange feeling, there was never any doubt.
“Fulham had a very good side at the time. Peter Beardsley was playing down there at the time and scored, Chris Coleman, Paul Peschisolido, Paul Bracewell.
“They had a player sent off in both games – Paul Moody got sent off for a late challenge and then Peschisolido got sent off up here for a similar thing.
“That obviously helped us. I scored a goal down there on a very hot day into the bottom corner with my right foot (in a 1-1 draw) and then in the game here Kevin Donovan scored and we won 1-0.
“Then the final was another 1-0 game. Kevin scored but we missed a penalty. We should have put it to bed earlier than we did because at 1-0 you are always on a knife-edge,” he added. 1. Danny Butterfield: Defender won two promotions with Southampton, where he was a youth coach. Is now first team coach at MK Dons. 2. Adam Buckley: A midfielder, the son of Alan, settled in the Grimsby area where he has worked as a labourer. His son Brandon has played for Grimsby’s youth team. 3. Kingsley Black: Northern Ireland international won a Littlewoods Cup at Luton Town. Owned a small Majorca charcuterie but now works for Luton’s football education programme. 4. Peter Handyside: Scottish under-21 defender who was a play-off winner with Stoke, where he settled working as a delivery driver for Gilberts Furniture. 5. Steve Livingstone: A forward like his father Joe, he won promotion with Blackburn and now lives in his home town Middlesbrough working as a property developer. 6. Daryl Clare: Republic of Ireland under-21 striker managed Louth Town and Boston Town. He currently coaches football at the Grimsby Institute. 7. Aidan Davison: Goalkeeper was a League Cup finalist with Bolton Wanderers. Managed Hull’s reserves and coached FC JAX Destroyers and FC Arizona in the US and now Pune City in India. 8. Mark Lever: Central defender won three promotions with Grimsby. Managed Bridlington Town and became a postman. Is now operations manager at QFSL Cleaning. 9. Tony Gallimore: A left-back who returned to Grimsby when he retired. Became a scaffolder and now works for an engineering firm. 10. Jason Pearcey: Goalkeeper who won two promotions with Mansfield and another with Brentford. Is now a goalkeeper coach at Derby County’s academy. 11. Mike Bielby: He stayed on as kitman until retiring in 2011. 12. John McDermott: Rightback is Grimsby’s record appearance holder. Has been the manager of Alfreton Town and is now coach at Scunthorpe’s academy. 13. Lee Nogan: Wales international forward has been assistant manager to Neil Aspin at Halifax Town, Gateshead and then Port Vale. 14. Kevin Donovan: Midfielder won promotion with Grimsby. Runs his own coaching company and coaches in Huddersfield Town’s Academy. 15. Wayne Burnett: Midfielder who appeared in Sky One’s Dream Team. Managed Dagenham & Redbridge and is now Spurs under-23 boss. 16. Paul Groves: Defender has managed Grimsby and Bournemouth. He’s also coached at Portsmouth, West Ham, Crawley, Birmingham City and now in India at Chennaiyin FC. 17. David Smith: England under-21 international winger who returned to Grimsby to work in a car dealership before going into marketing. He is now the club’s commercial manager. 18. Kevin Jobling: Utility player who won three promotions with Grimsby. He worked at a hotel, then ran a restaurant and has since done groundwork for Tench’s in Shrewsbury. 19. Gerry Delahunt: He had a long career as a physio working for Sheffield Wednesday, Preston, Grimsby, Doncaster and York City.