Five Potential Replacements For Paul Hurst At Grimsby Town

Grimsby Town opted to part company with manager Paul Hurst after a dismal start to the season, with his final defeat coming coming at the hands of Grant McCann’s Doncaster Rovers. 

The defeat leaves the Mariners languishing in 21st in the table after one win in ten league games. The decision comes in the same year that Hurst guided his side to the quarter finals of the FA Cup, only to lose 5-0 to Brighton and Hove Albion. This was the 49-year-old’s second spell in charge of the side, in which he achieved promotion from the National League via the play-offs in both periods.

Chair Jason Stockwood explained the decision to BBC Radio Humberside:

“We’ve looked at data and performances over six weeks so it’s not a snap decision,”

“We’ve been talking at length for the past two weeks in particular. The performances haven’t been bad but there’s something which isn’t in the data which tells us that we’re not getting the rub of the green, so we feel like it’s time to turn the page.

“The underlying performances are not that bad, but actually that doesn’t equate to positioning in the league. We’re in a challenging position. I feel confident we’ve got the right players in the team and enough quality but there’s something not quite working.

“There has to come a point where you go ‘we need to change our own luck somehow, we can’t just hope for the luck to change itself.’

The question now remains as to who will be the man to take over the reigns at Blundell Park?

David Artell

Artell has been linked with every job in League Two and has been close to a couple and for good reason. The former Crewe boss has demonstrated he has what it takes to guide a side at this level and work with a restricted budget whilst also playing an attractive style of football. He is also a free agent and can get to work pretty much straight away.

Phil Parkinson

No, not that one. The current manager of Altrincham FC in the National League. The 42-year-old has been with his side since 2017 and is ready to take the next step up. His side’s impressive start to the season has seen them pick up just two defeats in their opening 17 league games with an average PPM of 1.71. He favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, similar to what Grimsby have played at times this season, meaning it will not take long for the players to adjust to his methods. Altrincham are currently on a nine game league unbeaten run which dates back to the middle of September.

Neil Redfearn

A big name, with big experience. Redfearn hasn’t been a full time football league manager since the 2015/16 season and his primarily been working in the women’s game and the youth set-ups as well as taking charge of Oldham Athletic as a caretaker assistant manager alongside Steve Thompson for a period. The experienced manager took charge of Leeds United admirably during a difficult spell at the club during Massimo Cellino’s reign over proceedings. He could be tempted to step back into management to take over a historical club like Grimsby Town.

Graham Alexander

For a manager that has just been sacked in League Two, it could be somewhat surprising to see how many clubs Alexander has been linked with since leaving MK Dons. Bradford City and Gillingham have both been linked, so why not Grimsby Town too? The former Salford boss took some time away from football before deciding to join MK Dons in an appointment that was widely praised at the time but despite a promising start to the season criticisms over style of play and poor form started to creep in. However, his time at Salford cannot be overlooked with owner Gary Neville admitting his side made a mistake in parting company with him.

Neil Harris

The sacking that certainly shocked me, his departure came at a time the club were aiming high after the Gallinson’s take-over but some alleged off field reasons reportedly caused the split meaning Harris is a free agent. The 46-year-old has recently become one of the favourites to take over from Joey Barton in League One which should perhaps demonstrate his ability. However, if he is looking to get back into management quickly with a side and Rovers opt to appoint one of the other favourites such as Dean Holden, Garry Monk or Steve Cotterill then Harris could be tempted by Blundell Park.