David Artell believes that his Grimsby Town side gave Manchester United ‘a rude awakening‘ last year, revealing that he believed the Premier League giants greatly underestimated the League Two side after Ruben Amorim compared the Blundell Park outfit to the Portuguese fourth division in the pre-match build-up.
It has now been a year since Grimsby Town shocked the world in a historic cup upset over Premier League giants Manchester United.
Charles Vernam struck first to send Blundell Park into raptures, while former United academy talent Tyrell Warren capitalised on a goalkeeping error to give the home side a two-goal advantage at half-time.
The Mariners were incredibly unlucky not to win in full-time, with Darragh Burns coming close in the second half while Cameron Gardner’s goal was controversially ruled out for offside. Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire were able to take their side to penalties.
A penalty miss from Mbeumo saw the North East Lincolnshire side mark a historic victory, one that will never be forgotten amongst the Blundell Park faithful.
David Artell Gives Brutal Ruben Amorim Verdict
Speaking exclusively to Football Lowdown, Artell was particularly critical of the attitudes shown by the Premier League side coming to Blundell Park in the pre-match build-up:
“I can remember it was on the TV, and he said a line that I’ll never forget. He said, ‘I’ve come to these teams when I was managing in Portugal; I’ve been to fourth division teams; I know what to expect’
“I just thought, I hope to God, for your sake, mate, one of the staff told you this isn’t the fourth division in Portugal,
“…I thought if you are, you’re going to set your team up for a right rude awakening. And the truth is they got a rude awakening.”
Amorim went on to eat those words, as it was not the typical “backs-to-the-wall” cup upset from the League Two outfit, with the Red Devils left completely stunned by the Mariners’ press for the entire first half.
Town were completely fearless throughout the first half, and battled through a testing second half and dramatic penalty shootout to mark a timeless victory.
“Because the fourth division in Portugal is not Colchester, it is not Grimsby, it is not Fleetwood. It’s just not. There’s no pyramid like our pyramid in the world.
“And if you’re comparing us to some part-time plumbers that you know, go to work in the Algarve, we’re a million miles away from that, mate.
“…I thought, I hope you underestimated us, and the truth is I think they did. As a team, as a football club, and we took advantage.”
Grimsby Town Boss On Comparing Manchester United to Brentford
Grimsby went on to continue their cup run, with a 1-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the following round.
Drawn at home to another Premier League side in Brentford, Town adopted a similar approach to the one that beat Manchester United, but the quality ultimately shone through with the Bees netting five.
Artell was full of praise for Keith Andrews’ side, who were resoundingly professional on the day:
“We then beat Sheffield Wednesday away; the next round Brentford came.
“They had five shots on target, and they beat us 5-0. They showed us how good a Premier League team actually is. Because we tried to do exactly the same and they were too good for us.
“And on one hand, I was actually really pleased that we saw a Premier League team at Blundell Park.
“I’m not saying this to have letters from Man United fans, but that was the first Premier League team that came to Blundell Park that season.
“Because they showed their quality. And that’s ultimately what you want.“
The match-up between Grimsby and Brentford was somewhat refreshing, and a nice showing of two of England’s most progressive football clubs.
As it hasn’t been too long since the clubs were competing in similar leagues, the respect between the two fanbases was clear throughout.
With an impressive set-up and effective recruitment model, Brentford have established themselves as the benchmark for lower league clubs. Grimsby Town have acted similarly in recent years in their recruitment partnership with Jamestown Analytics.
Artell spoke of the Bees in great regard while comparing them to the Manchester giants, a comparison previously unthinkable:
“…As disappointing as Man United were, Brentford were a proper team, a proper Premier League team, and they were magnificent on the pitch, off the pitch.
“That’s not to say Man United can’t be or aren’t, or won’t be. That’s just the experiences of those two games. They were polar opposites.“
These quotes were courtesy of Football Lowdown’s specialist fourth tier podcast: League Two Lowdown, with the full David Artell interview coming soon to YouTube, Apple, and Spotify.