Grimsby Town never got what Wolves and Sheffield Wednesday did with player | OneFootball

Proudlock had been on the books of some big clubs, but the striker's performances in a Grimsby shirt were hugely underwhelming.

Grimsby Town supporters have suffered some difficult times this century, with 2008–2010 being a particularly bleak period, one that culminated in the Mariners' relegation out of the Football League for the first time.

A notable contributing factor to this was consistently poor recruitment, with an array of sub-par players donning the black and white stripes in what seemed like an endlessly revolving door at Blundell Park at that time.

One of the biggest disappointments in this regard was striker Adam Proudlock, who initially joined Grimsby on loan from then fourth-tier rivals Darlington in November 2008, before subsequently making the move permanent a couple of months later.

Proudlock, who came through the ranks at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1998, was a familiar face to the Mariners faithful, having played against them at Championship level for the Molineux club at the start of his career.

Having then gone on to spend time with the likes of Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, and Ipswich Town at second and third-tier level(s), it was hoped the 27-year-old's experience at bigger clubs could prove beneficial in lifting standards and performance levels for manager Mike Newell's struggling outfit.

This failed to materialise, however, as the Telford-born forward became part of the problem, rather than the solution, turning out to be just another cog in arguably the darkest era in the club's 147-year history.

Striker never got close to reaching his potential

When Proudlock made the breakthrough into the Wolves first-team picture in the late 1990s, he appeared to have the potential to have a successful EFL career.

Reasonably quick, strong, aggressive, and good in the air, the striker made 81 appearances in total, scoring 16 goals in the process. Taking in loan spells at Scottish club Clyde, Nottingham Forest, Tranmere Rovers, and Sheffield Wednesday along the way, he made the move to Hillsborough permanent in late 2002.

Again, Proudlock's figures while with the Owls make reasonable reading, with the attacking player netting 19 times in 67 games for the South Yorkshire club. The striker then moved on again, this time to Ipswich Town (initially on loan), before joining Stockport County upon departing Portman Road in 2006.

His time at Edgeley Park was successful, as he helped the Hatters to promotion to League One at the end of the 2007/08 campaign, though he was an unused substitute in the 3-2 final success over Rochdale.

A short spell with the Quakers followed, before Proudlock headed to Blundell Park with a respectable track record behind him.

The Mariners, however, were in a mess, with a group of largely poorly-prepared journeymen with a disappointing attitude representing them on a Saturday afternoon.

Proudlock, despite his abilities and experience higher up the pyramid, seemed to follow others into that trap, scoring just 10 goals in 58 appearances while on the east coast.

The striker was part of the side that narrowly avoided the drop into non-league in 2009, relying on heavy points deductions to others to see them safe. The experienced frontman and his colleagues didn't heed that warning, however, and would be relegated with a whimper the following year, taking the club to its lowest ebb.

Proudlock should have stood out in a desperately poor Mariners side, but his only real noteworthy moment was a hat-trick against neighbours Lincoln City in a rare triumph, and a costly missed penalty at Aldershot Town. The striker certainly didn't live up to expectations, or his potential and form of the past.

Proudlock drifted into non-league before retiring in 2015

Unsurprisingly, the forward was one of many Grimsby players released following their relegation to the fifth-tier, with the former Wolves man also drifting into non-league football himself.

Upon his Blundell Park departure, and numerous failed trials, Proudlock joined hometown club AFC Telford United, helping them to promotion from the Conference North in 2011.

Injuries led to the striker moving on from the Bucks a year later, and following sporadic spells at Chester, Market Drayton Town, Whitehawk, and Newport Town, Prouldlock called time on his playing days, retiring at the age of 34 to bring a close to a career that began with much promise, but always seemed to be on a downward trajectory, for one reason or another.

Proudlock then tried his luck in management, briefly taking the reins at Newport Town and Eccleshall, though both instances were short-lived.

The striker's 18-month spell with Grimsby won't live long in the memory, certainly not for the right reasons, anyway, as the Mariners didn't benefit from his earlier pedigree at some big clubs in the slightest.