From this week's Flying Kiwis. Maybe a veiled dig in there at Grant Brebner from Crocombe's time at Victory.
"After a couple of up and down years in Australia with Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory – making 16 A-League appearances across those two seasons, unable to hold onto the starting gig at either for as long as he’d have liked – it’s back to England now for goalie Max Crocombe. Back to England and back to a division that he’s familiar with having signed a one-year deal with Grimsby Town.
Grimsby Town are a pretty well known club and not only because of that Sacha Baron Cohen movie. They were a First Division (aka Championship) club as recently as 2002–03 but back to back relegations left them in a mess and by 2011 they were playing in the National League. Six years later they were promoted back into League Two – finally getting through the playoffs at the fourth time of asking in a row – but they never managed a top half of the table finish in five seasons and they’ve just been relegated back to non-league footy again after coming last in 2020-21.
There’s been chaos on and off the pitch, probably hitting a nadir when Iain Holloway resigned as manager in late 2020, but there are new owners in place now and there’s some hope that they can bounce straight back up again. They’ve certainly got a goalie who knows how to go about that task having done so with Salford City a couple years back.
Max Crocombe: “At the end of the season last year in Australia, I made the decision that I wanted to come back home, so I flew back, Grimsby got in contact with me, I spoke to the gaffer and everything moved on from there. The training was wicked, I loved it. It was really high-intensity training and I just loved getting back out on the grass after the offseason and everything so I was happy to be back. Having a bit of experience with that [promotion] before it definitely helps. Everyone is geared towards promotion here, we have got some good players and from my first day, I can see we've got a real hunger here so I am delighted to be here and those experiences of promotion can help us.”
It doesn’t sound like he’s necessarily gonna be a starter here either though. 32 year old Irishman James McKeown has played more than 400 games for the club having been there for over a decade and the indication from the manager’s words in the Crocombe announcement is that he sees MC as a backup to begin with and it’s up to him to apply the pressure to McKeown and try to win that spot off him.
GTFC Manager Paul Hurst: “With regards Max, I had a good chat with him earlier in the week when the first discussions took place. He seems really keen, he wants to push and be involved, but he understands the situation. It is important for me to be honest with him, we just had a keeper get a testimonial but that doesn't guarantee that he's going to play and Macca knows that, but what I do want is to be comfortable that whoever I put between the sticks can perform well and hopefully push each other on.
When you've experienced success it can often make you hungry for more. After speaking to him, his experience over in Australia, certainly more recently it maybe wasn't quite as intense as what he would like to have been involved in, he's played against Grimsby before, he knows what the fans are like and the aims for the season, so he was keen to get involved on that front. Once we had our conversation on Monday, it moved quite quickly, it was a fairly easy deal to get done and it was important we chatted about the whole situation and I never promise anyone that they're going to play and I made that clear, but Max will back himself to try and get that number one spot.”
Up Next: New season begins away to Bromley on 22 August at 2am (NZT)
From this week's Flying Kiwis. Maybe a veiled dig in there at Grant Brebner from Crocombe's time at Victory.
"After a couple of up and down years in Australia with Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory – making 16 A-League appearances across those two seasons, unable to hold onto the starting gig at either for as long as he’d have liked – it’s back to England now for goalie Max Crocombe. Back to England and back to a division that he’s familiar with having signed a one-year deal with Grimsby Town.
Grimsby Town are a pretty well known club and not only because of that Sacha Baron Cohen movie. They were a First Division (aka Championship) club as recently as 2002–03 but back to back relegations left them in a mess and by 2011 they were playing in the National League. Six years later they were promoted back into League Two – finally getting through the playoffs at the fourth time of asking in a row – but they never managed a top half of the table finish in five seasons and they’ve just been relegated back to non-league footy again after coming last in 2020-21.
There’s been chaos on and off the pitch, probably hitting a nadir when Iain Holloway resigned as manager in late 2020, but there are new owners in place now and there’s some hope that they can bounce straight back up again. They’ve certainly got a goalie who knows how to go about that task having done so with Salford City a couple years back.
Max Crocombe: “At the end of the season last year in Australia, I made the decision that I wanted to come back home, so I flew back, Grimsby got in contact with me, I spoke to the gaffer and everything moved on from there. The training was wicked, I loved it. It was really high-intensity training and I just loved getting back out on the grass after the offseason and everything so I was happy to be back. Having a bit of experience with that [promotion] before it definitely helps. Everyone is geared towards promotion here, we have got some good players and from my first day, I can see we've got a real hunger here so I am delighted to be here and those experiences of promotion can help us.”
It doesn’t sound like he’s necessarily gonna be a starter here either though. 32 year old Irishman James McKeown has played more than 400 games for the club having been there for over a decade and the indication from the manager’s words in the Crocombe announcement is that he sees MC as a backup to begin with and it’s up to him to apply the pressure to McKeown and try to win that spot off him.
GTFC Manager Paul Hurst: “With regards Max, I had a good chat with him earlier in the week when the first discussions took place. He seems really keen, he wants to push and be involved, but he understands the situation. It is important for me to be honest with him, we just had a keeper get a testimonial but that doesn't guarantee that he's going to play and Macca knows that, but what I do want is to be comfortable that whoever I put between the sticks can perform well and hopefully push each other on.
When you've experienced success it can often make you hungry for more. After speaking to him, his experience over in Australia, certainly more recently it maybe wasn't quite as intense as what he would like to have been involved in, he's played against Grimsby before, he knows what the fans are like and the aims for the season, so he was keen to get involved on that front. Once we had our conversation on Monday, it moved quite quickly, it was a fairly easy deal to get done and it was important we chatted about the whole situation and I never promise anyone that they're going to play and I made that clear, but Max will back himself to try and get that number one spot.”
Up Next: New season begins away to Bromley on 22 August at 2am (NZT)
Grimsby Town (National League) more intense than Melbourne Victory?
What's he alluding to here? The matches or the training?
And who knows but maybe being at a National League club like Salford chasing promotion, things are naturally more 'intense' even if the football is lower quality, than say VUC who early on were out of playoff contention and of course couldn't be relegated.
Anyway he's now probably 5th-6th at best in any list of AWs keeper contenders.
Crocombe (age 28) been mostly warming the bench (6 starts only in 23 league games), in the National League, but seems to have become the starting keeper at Grimsby of late, being in goal for their last 6 league games (Dec-Jan).
Grimsby currently 1 pt & 1 spot outside playoff spots, and in form unbeaten in their last 6 games (5W). But only 2 teams get promoted to League Two, and Stockport County 15 pts ahead of Grimsby are likely to grab the automatic promotion spot. Then 1 other team will be promoted from 6 teams who go into the playoffs (spots 2-7). https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2022/03/05/england/conference-national/grimsby-town-fc/woking-fc/3545935/
From Flying Kiwis. Didn't a bunch of Grimsby supporters go to a WC Final, England verus Germany Santiago, Chile in that Sacha Baron Cohen classic film?
Still reckon Crocombe is unlucky not to be in Qatar ahead of Gould (loaned out to a English 7th tier club). I guess all a bit moot, as either is/would be just making up training numbers.
Good point & clean sheet on the road ✅ Brilliant turnout from our travelling fans again👏🏼👏🏼 #UTMhttps://t.co/3Dx0yu2bn8
0-0 draw away to Boreham Wood. Another clean sheet for Crocombe who joined Grimsby as the backup to James McKeown but dislodged him as the first choice in November and is busy trying to prove to the club that he deserves a new contract for next season.
As it stands Grimsby are right in the hunt for the playoffs and with that an outside shot at promotion to League Two. Could be a funky last couple months of the season.
Grimsby (7th) with a 4-1 win at Chesterfield (5th). Crocombe in goal.
Hopefully Grimsby can rise up the table a bit and get a home promotion playoff game. They have been in top form after Xmas (about when Crocombe became first choice keeper), only losing 1 of their last 12 games. Who knows could be 2 Kiwi keepers in League Two next season.
Unlikely Grimsby will finish better than 5th now, but have a 4 point buffer on 8th (6 spots 2nd-7th are in the promotion Playoffs). So likely looking like 1st round Playoff spot at least.
Grimsby stay 6th on GD, and with 2 regular season games left, are 3 pts above 8th (spots 2-7 make playoffs), and have a game in hand on 8th. So should still be okay. Can only miss out on GD.
Beat/draw with FA Cup giant killers Boreham Wood (9th & out of playoff running) next and they are in the playoffs.
Edit - a 1-0 win for Grimsby, who lock in a playoff spot. They can't finish any higher than 6th, unless they get a big 6 goal swing in GD, in their favour in the last round.
Looks like Grimsby have rested a few players including Crocombe. They may even be keen to lose this last game and drop to 7th.
First round of promotion playoff ties is 23rd & 24th May. Grimsby (6th) may prefer to play Halifax Town (4th) in the north, rather than longer trip to Notts County (5th).
4th host 7th, and 5th host 6th in first round promotion (elimination round) knock out ties.
2nd (Wrexham) & 3rd (Solihull Motors) come into the 2nd round. Though Solihull & Halifax could yet swap places. 1st Stockport County automatically promoted.
Grimsby score in the 97th min for an equaliser, to take the game to ET (1-1). C'mon Grimbsy! Edit - and Grimsby with a 2nd goal in 119th minute are through to playoff semis! Looks like they travel to Wrexham in Wales for their semi.
Elsewhere in lower league European promotion playoff action, there were some genuinely incredible scenes for Grimsby Town as they managed to score a 96th minute equaliser against Notts County in the National League playoff quarters to force extra time. Then they scored the winner in the 119th minute to advance to the semis. Outrageous yarns.
They’d gone behind in the 73rd minute. A handball penalty had Max Crocombe bouncing on his line but he went the wrong way against Ruben Rodrigues’ effort. Time ticked away. Deep into the added on stuff. Last chance saloon, attacking free kick, up went Crocombe. The ball bounced around in the area. It hit Crocombe on the shin before he could react. Then Gavan Holohan smacked it home. Max is claiming the assist and fair enough, you’ll hear no arguments here.
Grimsby Town have snatched a late equaliser with the last kick of the game! 😱
Notts County thought they had this game won, but Gavan Holohan had different plans.
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 23, 2022
Yeah then Mani Dieseruvwe put one away with like two mins left in the second half of extra time. Not the most relaxing way to advance but who cares. They’re now two wins away from the Football League.
Up Next: Wrexham away on Saturday at 11.30pm in the NL semis (NZT)
Another dramatic happy day for Grimsby Town in the National League Playoffs. A win at Wrexham (finished regular season 2nd) for Grimsby (6th) in their knockout semi.
A 5-4 win in ET. 4-4 end of NT. Grimsby's 2nd road knockout win in the Playoffs!!!
Final taking place at the London Stadium on Saturday, 5 June. Other semi tomorrow is Solihull Moors hosting Chesterfield.
The kiwi keeper one game away from joining Tommy Smith & Tzanev in League Two.
If a 3rd keeper needed to be called up by AWs in a hurry I'd almost be tempted to call up Crocombe before Woud. At least the latter is playing regularly, and he was there as the 3rd keeper against Peru in 2017, so some useful experience of the build up etc for big occasion.
Big game at London Stadium Monday morning NZ time as Crocombe's Grimsby Town meet Solihull Moors in the National League Playoff final, for promotion to League Two. Proper football aye.
