After a fruitful stint with the Mariners, keeper Harvey Cartwright was thrilled to win three awards with loan club Grimsby Town.
After making 32 appearances for Grimsby and keeping six clean sheets in the EFL Trophy, FA Cup, EFL Cup, and Sky Bet League Two, the 22-year-old earned all three Young Player of the Year accolades.
After stints with Wycombe Wanderers and Peterborough United the previous season, the former England youth international has enjoyed his loan with his hometown club despite missing the last six league games due to injury.
“The loan was excellent overall before my injury, but it was a disappointing finale in that regard. Just by being in that first-team setting, I’ve learned so much,” Cartwright remarked.
“I understood that I had to take care of myself and play games wherever I could. It was, of course, at Grimsby. I had two different managers there, each with a distinct style of play, so it was a steep learning curve. Since we were close to the bottom of the table, all we could do was work towards achieving the desired outcomes.
“I am truly appreciative of the supporters that came out and voted for me; it was an honour. Cartwright continued, “I didn’t expect to win three prizes at all, and I was incredibly proud, as was my family.
The 22-year-old was first recruited to Blundell Park by Paul Hurst at the beginning of the 2023–24 season. Hurst only had five appearances under his leadership. Cartwright made his league debut in the away 1-0 loss to Doncaster Rovers in Hurst’s final game as manager. After that, he and the squad were managed by David Artell.
Artell and Grimsby finished 21st in League Two, avoiding relegation to the National League by keeping Cartwright as their starting custodian. Assisted by former Hull City Academy goalkeeping coach Steve Croudson, Cartwright, 22, discussed his experiences at Grimsby and how current first-team goalkeeping coach Barry Richardson kept in touch with him for updates.
The two managers were really understanding with me. “Hursty” was truthful. He was correct when he predicted that I would get my chance to play Doncaster. Although I didn’t collaborate with him for a long time while I was on the team, Cartwright said, “He just told me to stick at it and to keep it up in training so that is what I got from him.”
“Under David Artell, he expressed confidence in me, expressed a want to work with me, and claimed I had performed really well, all of which I wanted to hear. He stayed with me. He was an excellent manager and assisted me in many ways.
“Steve had a significant impact. Every day, we would have sincere conversations in which he would express his opinions on what he thought was good or terrible. We had a great working relationship because I get along with your goalkeeping coach as a buddy and it’s beneficial to have that degree of honesty. I spent a lot of time communicating with “Baz” following every training week and game. He was also a major factor for me because he has been so sweet and persistent in calling and texting.
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