From positive to negative....

I hardly ever post on here, but I have a look at the other posts all the time.  I love this site as some cracking bits of info are leaked.  I very rarely feel the need to post, but I am certainly one of those, the minority it seems today, who feels the Connell deal is a kick in the teeth.

I have been confident of our chances so far this pre-season, but now I feel completely deflated.  I also feel a little bit stupid; I went in the club shop a few weeks ago, and some guy was buying a new Town shirt.  He was asked if he wanted a name and number, and he asked "which number will Connell be this season?".  The woman in the club shop said "well, it hasn't been decided if he's staying yet".  Why not?  He was under contract and we'd had no official approach for him from a FL club, so we were told.  With hindsight, all the fans who said Hearn was signed as a replacement for Connell were absolutely spot-on.  The club obviously knew Alan was leaving, and Career Underdogs deserves some credit for saying this many weeks ago, he clearly got it right.

The thing that gets me is, I've turned from an optimist into a pessimist within the space of reading the news of Connell's departure.  I can understand why Fenty has kept quiet and rebuffed Luton, this all makes sense, but letting Connell go does not.  How do you replace 29 goals?  You can't.  I think Swindon have got a bargain at 150K.  We couldn't replace Alan like-for-like if we spent every penny we've got for him.

This has all made me feel, for the first time, that maybe we'll struggle this season.  OK, maybe the managers were just assessing the whole squad at the tail end of last season, and maybe that's why it took them so long to win a game, but maybe they're actually out of their depth at BSP level?  Maybe all the BSN players are glorified Sunday Leaguers?  Maybe our arrogance in thinking that Lincoln will fall into the same trap we did last season is well off the mark?  Why do we assume they'll go the same way we did, and struggle?  It's not a given.

Every year a minnow (Crawley; Rich?  Yes. A minnow? Still yes) gets replaced with a big club; Stockport, at least as big as us.  And what do we do?  We try to replicate every small club in the BSP by recruiting "grafters" and "athletes".  You can bet your a#se that Southport and Kettering have plenty of them, too.  What set us apart from all the average BSP teams?  Connell.  The one bit of class we had.

There is this myth that you need to fight your way out of this league, but I'm beginning to think the truth is that you can assimilate yourself into a typical, brusing BSP team and just fall in line with all the other dross.  We might currently be doing that, who knows, really?  We haven't got a Scooby Doo whether Hearn, Pearson or Church can step up.  We don't know if Disley is in the BSP because he's no good anymore.  We don't know if Spencer is the biggest donkey we've had since Iffy Onoura!!!!!

I'm going to support this team, no question, but all of a sudden I'm not so sure we're playoff certainties, as has regularly been predicated on here (and by me to people I know, also).

The 150K (which we don't even know if this is true, probably nearer 100K is more like the correct figure) is merely a drop in the ocean when looking at the club's overall debt.  Every penny needs pumping into the squad via transfer fees for in-demand players, but this won't happen.  And Fenty will never let us find this out, due to the "undisclosed" nature of the fee.  We get 100K every year for 5 years due to the Bennett deal, and how much of this did Fenty splash to keep us in the league?  Nothing.  And don't tell me that we spent a fortune on loans to keep us up, they saved a fortune by taking on Woods (we all knew it was a stubborn mistake) and the likes of Devitt, basically a school kid, were probably on peanuts.

Basically, unless Fenty and his cronies are willing to do a Jack Walker and buy our way out of this league, we're here to stay.  We can complain about Crawley over spending, but they've done what we simply cannot do as things stand; get promoted.

The curse with this club still remains, and he's stearing the ship this season too.  God help us!

Fenty; prove me wrong, please!

Worried, of Grimsby.........







Rant over, I promise!

Carlo, If a portion of the money we received for AC is invested in areas of the team that need strengthening, this is actually a very good deal for GTFC - Connell was idolised by the fans as one shining light in an otherise mainly poor set of players, but is he a world beater NO, his previous league record shows that - he was a class above at times last season, but without actually saying it  was clear he wanted away, anyone sensible  knew he was likely to be on his way - very few clubs outside Championship level are paying transfer fees, so the deal we got from Swindon was a good one.
We were never 'play off certainties', even if AC stayed, but the news of him going doesn't make me any less optimistic for next season, others will step up to the plate, as i posted on another thread ,Coulson  will score goals if played as a striker and not wasted out wide, Hearn has a fantastic goalscoring record, admittedly  at a slightly lower level  and the other new players MIGHT just have as much impact as AC did for us last year, Disley for example is a very good player in the middle of the park,  which was something lacking ALL last season - keep the faith and support us back to the FL at the end of next season.
We will be thereabouts come the end of the season - mark my words.

Quoted from petethemariner

Carlo, If a portion of the money we received for AC is invested in areas of the team that need strengthening, this is actually a very good deal for GTFC - Connell was idolised by the fans as one shining light in an otherise mainly poor set of players, but is he a world beater NO, his previous league record shows that - he was a class above at times last season, but without actually saying it  was clear he wanted away, anyone sensible  knew he was likely to be on his way - very few clubs outside Championship level are paying transfer fees, so the deal we got from Swindon was a good one.
We were never 'play off certainties', even if AC stayed, but the news of him going doesn't make me any less optimistic for next season, others will step up to the plate, as i posted on another thread ,Coulson  will score goals if played as a striker and not wasted out wide, Hearn has a fantastic goalscoring record, admittedly  at a slightly lower level  and the other new players MIGHT just have as much impact as AC did for us last year, Disley for example is a very good player in the middle of the park,  which was something lacking ALL last season - keep the faith and support us back to the FL at the end of next season.
We will be thereabouts come the end of the season - mark my words.

Despite how negative my post was, I really hope you're right.  I just can't help thinking that a good 7 or 8 teams in this division have squads maybe better than ours.  We finished low down last season, and we've replaced BSP players with BSN players.  There are risks there, I just hope S&H have got it right.  I hope we're not turning into a typical BSP team, because every season 22 of those either stay down or go down, and I'm not sure we can rise above the likes of Luton, Wrexham, Stockport, Darlo etc......

Cracking post and I share a lot of your concerns.

You made several good points and the best one I thought was "We couldn't replace Alan like-for-like if we spent every penny we've got for him."

There is speculation we'll be doing just that but I don't think we will be - it now looks like Hearn was his replacement all along.

Even if we do, what would be the point in selling to acquire anybody else who couldn't fill his shoes ? It makes little sense.

I'm still optmistic, but the picture you paint of "grafters" lacking quality is just as believable.

Luton and Wimbledon footballed their way out and it's gonna take more than just graft to get out of the league.
Like you say, most other teams will grafting away too.

Sorry to be pedantic  80's but Luton are still with us in the BSP wilderness - Crawley for all the money
they spent weren't just a footballing side, they 'mixed it a bit' and also went long when the need required it,
we have to get out of this Buckleyesque dreamworld of passing our way out of this league - it will not happen.
Maybe you will be proved right that we will be TOO direct, onlt time will tell that, but i think we have to give everyone at GTFC the benefit of the doubt before a BSP ball has even been kicked.

No problem pete and thanks for putting me right.
Sorry I meant Crawley.  

And yeah, I totally agree with what you say.
Whilst I have some "doubts" it's got to be more effective than Woods style !
So I'm certainly not writing us off before a ball has been kicked, I'm optimistic.

I have to say I too share your concerns. Although I don't doubt for a moment that this is probably a good bit of business, as Alan wanted to be back in the league and with his family in the South, that doesn't make up for the loss.

As you said, if we spent every penny we'll receive for him, we probably won't get another striker of his quality. It has been 15 years since anyone banged in as many goals as he did. That doesn't come along too often. And although I like the sentiment of bringing up players with ambition, on paper, the 'non league-ness' of our squad worries me. I'll reserve full judgement until I see the new lads play, but letting quality like Alan go, whilst bringing in players from beneath us doesn't scream playoff push to me. It says mid table obscurity.

I guess what I'm basically saying is quality like Connell helped me believe we were a cut above. I don't think now we've ever looked more non league. Time will tell I guess.

I don't care who the player is, if he doesn't want to be here then get rid and get the best you can for him.  Upgrade the midfield with a mix of skill and guile and you have a team that can and will get goals and more importantly see games out.  I'm hoping for a play off play and anything can happen from there.

Quoted from 1600

Cracking post and I share a lot of your concerns.

You made several good points and the best one I thought was "We couldn't replace Alan like-for-like if we spent every penny we've got for him."

There is speculation we'll be doing just that but I don't think we will be - it now looks like Hearn was his replacement all along.

Even if we do, what would be the point in selling to acquire anybody else who couldn't fill his shoes ? It makes little sense.

I'm still optmistic, but the picture you paint of "grafters" lacking quality is just as believable.

Luton and Wimbledon footballed their way out and it's gonna take more than just graft to get out of the league.
Like you say, most other teams will grafting away too.

we couldnt replace AC for the money we got for him ?

wasnt he a free transfer ?

maybe we could then ?

A Bloody good point !  

Tough ask though.

Well did anyone even expect Connell to score even 20 goals? I didn't.

Who knows, he might go back to scoring 8 goals a season, everything is a gamble when it comes to football.

Quoted from 470

Well did anyone even expect Connell to score even 20 goals? I didn't.

Not when he signed but I've never seen a player give me such a good feeling in pre-season so I got my money on top goalscorer.
Had to back Tubbs later but still a good bet.

Can't wait to see Hearn tomorrow.  

Quoted from 470

Who knows, he might go back to scoring 8 goals a season, everything is a gamble when it comes to football.

Talking of a gamble, Coral have got the odds up for tomorrows game.

Town 6/4
Draw 5/2
Rotherham 5/4

Not giving much away, but I I can see it being a draw.
2-2 my guess.

Couldn't disagree more, as far as I'm concerned this should not dampen the mood. Al wouldn't have come as good last season and a 6 figure sum for a player that has had 1 GOOD season in his career is a cracking fee. See my thread anyway, Connell (The final SAGA!), no need to worry mate, all is good!

It's understandable that people might see this as retrograde. Many moons ago I was devastated when Town sold Tees and Green and Charlie Wright to Charlton. Then we had the saga of Drinkell's sale a bit later on. But they were different to this. They went for knock down fees and decimated a good side. Tees and Green especially were essential to the team and once they went we went on a slide down the leagues. If this sale can be compared to any other past sale it is probably Mendonca's.

The facts are what need to be considered though, not the emotion.

Connell is 28 years old.
Connell came on a free but his wages were high.
Connell signed for 2 years and his agent made him refuse to sign a 3rd year option.
Connell wanted to play league football again.
Connell wanted to move closer to his home base.
Connell asked for a transfer.

In those circumstances, it would be foolish for any club to keep the player once a decent offer was made by a team outside of our league. Not only is there a handy bit of cash for team building but the wage bill for this season has been evened out as well.

Other factors to think about would be -

Connell scored 29 goals in a side that came to rely on him for scoring and played (most of the time) in a way that suited him.
Connell this season would be playing with at least one other prolific (in theory) striker in a way that might not suit him, as Hurst indicated the side would favour 4-3-3.
Connell would have to play as first choice if the club was to get value for wages from him otherwise we would have an expensive depreciating asset sitting on the bench.
Connell's value at the end of the season would be precisely zero pounds no matter how many goals he scored.
Connell would only re-sign if the club was promoted this year and if we did go up his terms would have to be substantially improved at a time when the whole team would need strengthening for L2.

What would be the plus points to keeping Connell?

Connell became a sort of talisman for some fans, no Connell = no chance.
Connell could have repeated his form of last season and helped us mount a promotion challenge.
Connell staying would be a statement of intent from the board that the club does not need to sell and wants to keep its best players.


To be honest I cannot think of any other good reasons to keep him and weighing up the pros and cons it really is no contest in my eyes. It was good financial business and quite possibly good football business too. Only time will tell about the football but certainly Connell going has not made me feel the least bit negative.

I thank AC for the wonderful season, he individually gave us, irrespective of our final position.

Connell was a southern lad and it is no surprise he is on his way, and good luck to him, I think he, although being homesick, has maintained a professional image throughout this saga.

I am gutted that we have potentially lost 20-30 goals out of our front line next season, when we potentially had added another 20-30 in Hearn, as it could be the difference between top, top 5 and mid table obscurity again.

I trust the managers probably knew this was going to happen and all the talk has been a smokescreen, now I hope they have some replacements lined up or have every faith they have already done that, fully. Hearn should be one of the top scorers in this division, but the gamble is that this may be his level, I hope not. Spencer may go onto become the target man we so need, or Duffy may pull his finger out of his bottom and start working, Duffy actually had a really good record at Oxford, but nothing since. Mulready has potential but is still a season or 2 away from being close to the finished article, but due to his short contract really needs to impress. Personally I think we need to get another Connell, some striker, who gets 20-30 next season, but who may not have been wonderful last season due to poor tactics, and cheap.

Hey!! here hoping eh!!

Top post Raffers.

Quoted from Mariners_15

Couldn't disagree more, as far as I'm concerned this should not dampen the mood. Al wouldn't have come as good last season and a 6 figure sum for a player that has had 1 GOOD season in his career is a cracking fee. See my thread anyway, Connell (The final SAGA!), no need to worry mate, all is good!

Agree with the one good season sentiment as I think teams in our league started to suss him out after xmas. He set off like a train in the first half of the season but his scoring seemed to slow after the January transfer window.

Quoted from Steve_gtfc

Agree with the one good season sentiment as I think teams in our league started to suss him out after xmas. He set off like a train in the first half of the season but his scoring seemed to slow after the January transfer window.

16 goals in the first 21 games of the season.
9 goals in the last 25 games of the season.

Quoted from Abdul19

16 goals in the first 21 games of the season.
9 goals in the last 25 games of the season.

Thanks for that. I had a feeling that was the case but didn't have the stats to back it up.

Quoted from Steve_gtfc

Agree with the one good season sentiment as I think teams in our league started to suss him out after xmas. He set off like a train in the first half of the season but his scoring seemed to slow after the January transfer window.

Not only that, Steve.

In 9 years as a pro he made 214 appearances and scored a grand total of 41 goals according to Wiki. So he really has done very little in his career to justify this fee. Admittedly he was not always played as a striker but he was always a forward. Credit must go to Woods for giving him the chance to play that position regularly but as you say, he went off the boil. Seems like a risky "undisclosed six figure fee" to me but I'm not complaining.

Top post earlier in this thread TRRFC, only just read it.

what bothers me, and i have said it before is nuzzle and scratch are  non league managers. and from a league below us. just above sunday league standard. and have as i said before got players from below us . now as i see it they where there for a reason ,. yes its true you do get the odd diamond from none league but not 3/4 of a team . i cant see us doing any better than last season , hope i am wrong

Quoted from Steve_gtfc

Agree with the one good season sentiment as I think teams in our league started to suss him out after xmas. He set off like a train in the first half of the season but his scoring seemed to slow after the January transfer window.

That's the problem with relying on one player to score your goals - the opponents get wise and plan accordingly. To be successful you need more than one goal threat.

Quoted from denni266

what bothers me, and i have said it before is nuzzle and scratch are  non league managers. and from a league below us. just above sunday league standard. and have as i said before got players from below us . now as i see it they where there for a reason ,. yes its true you do get the odd diamond from none league but not 3/4 of a team . i cant see us doing any better than last season , hope i am wrong

We're a non league team. Nearly all the teams that have been promoted from the conference have sourced the majority of their team and their manager from the non league scene.

Quoted from CarlitoBrigante

  The club obviously knew Alan was leaving, and Career Underdogs deserves some credit for saying this many weeks ago, he clearly got it right.

pmsl all CU does is try to wind people up by saying what they don't want to hear no special insight or anything. Many people thought he might go but hoped he wouldn't unlike cu they didn't use it to wind people up though

Quoted from mariner2000

pmsl all CU does is try to wind people up by saying what they don't want to hear no special insight or anything. Many people thought he might go but hoped he wouldn't unlike cu they didn't use it to wind people up though

Would you rather I not tell you things as I get my info through?

As it happens I have info about another signing that is on the cards. A striker.

Quoted from Career Underdogs

Would you rather I not tell you things as I get my info through?

As it happens I have info about another signing that is on the cards. A striker.

Prove your credentials then seen as you have a strike rate of 1 right in about 100 and tell us who this striker is and we'll see if he signs.

See other post

absolutely anyone could have said connell will go it was always a possibility, personally I thought he would always go, especially as he was on a 2 year.  It's also more likely than not he'll be replaced by another striker, as despite duffy scoring he's still not in the gaffers plans.

Quote from Alan Alger writing in todays "The Non League Paper" regarding Connells' transfer:

"The undisclosed six figure fee will help the club who are still having trouble balancing the books at this level.
One thing i would say is that if Connell could have been persuaded to put his league ambitions on hold for one season, a partnership with Liam Hearn could have been worth more than the transfer fee in the form of promotion back to the Football League"

Quoted from CarlitoBrigante

now I feel completely deflated.  I also feel a little bit stupid; I went in the club shop a few weeks ago, and some guy was buying a new Town shirt.  He was asked if he wanted a name and number, and he asked "which number will Connell be this season?".  The woman in the club shop said "well, it hasn't been decided if he's staying yet".  Why not?  He was under contract and we'd had no official approach for him from a FL club, so we were told.  With hindsight, all the fans who said Hearn was signed as a replacement for Connell were absolutely spot-on.  The club obviously knew Alan was leaving, and Career Underdogs deserves some credit for saying this many weeks ago, he clearly got it right.

The thing that gets me is, I've turned from an optimist into a pessimist within the space of reading the news of Connell's departure.  
Worried, of Grimsby.........

I've just been reading some of these threads back and it's quite funny to see the derision that Career Underdogs received for predicting that Connell would go to Swindon for a six-figure sum.  Who would have thought?

I'm sure I never used to be this cynical, but how very coincidental that a rumour about Connell going to Swindon for a six-figure sum started circulating in June.  And now we are told that the club shop have been dubious about selling people shirts with his name on?   Ooh, and then just one day before the deadline for discounted season tickets (by which time most people would have bought their STs if they were going to) ... only then do things kick into action and the Connell deal is announced by the club.

Well it doesn't really bother me, because I think I'd have bought my ST anyway, but I'm curious to know whether some people might not have splashed out on STs if they had known Connell was definitely leaving?

I think it's very good business to get a six-figure sum for Connell when, after all, Woodsy signed him on a free, but the timing of it, when people have bought season tickets, makes me ever so slightly suspicious.

hence what i was saying about the sudden press articles a couple of days before with no apparent reason, sounds like its been on the cards for a while....

Clearly its not ideal to sell a 29 goals a year striker, but i think we have got a brilliant deal. By the end of last year AC was doubled up with marking and struggled to make as big as a impact as he did at the begining of the season. If the rumours/estimations are correct and we got 150k for AC in my eyes that is good business off a striker that cost us £0 and age is not on his side, hopefully now we can replace him well.Good luck alan thanks for last year man.

Quoted from marinette

I've just been reading some of these threads back and it's quite funny to see the derision that Career Underdogs received for predicting that Connell would go to Swindon for a six-figure sum.  Who would have thought?

I'm sure I never used to be this cynical, but how very coincidental that a rumour about Connell going to Swindon for a six-figure sum started circulating in June.  And now we are told that the club shop have been dubious about selling people shirts with his name on?   Ooh, and then just one day before the deadline for discounted season tickets (by which time most people would have bought their STs if they were going to) ... only then do things kick into action and the Connell deal is announced by the club.

Well it doesn't really bother me, because I think I'd have bought my ST anyway, but I'm curious to know whether some people might not have splashed out on STs if they had known Connell was definitely leaving?

I think it's very good business to get a six-figure sum for Connell when, after all, Woodsy signed him on a free, but the timing of it, when people have bought season tickets, makes me ever so slightly suspicious.

I don't buy a season ticket but if i did,the news that Connell was leaving/had left would make no difference to my decision.He would have left at the seasons end anyway,so getting the deal we did was the right thing in my eyes.

Players come and go,but i support GTFC,not individual players.

Quoted from Perkins

Quote from Alan Alger writing in todays "The Non League Paper" regarding Connells' transfer:

"The undisclosed six figure fee will help the club who are still having trouble balancing the books at this level.
One thing i would say is that if Connell could have been persuaded to put his league ambitions on hold for one season, a partnership with Liam Hearn could have been worth more than the transfer fee in the form of promotion back to the Football League"

That's simply not true is it? If Connell had stayed and if Connell had made a decent partnership with Hearn and if the club had got promoted and if my auntie had balls she'd be my uncle.

Suppose it had all worked out like that - what money would Connell have wanted to make him stay? He would still have wanted to get back "darn sowf" and he would have been able to go for free. The club would certainly gain money from promotion but would also have to spend money in advance of receiving it to consolidate a league spot. So Alger's argument really doesn't hold water.

Good and sensible business.  He wanted to play league football so let him go, he deserves the opportunity.
We need the cash and if reinvested in 2 to 3 more players (i'm sure it will) then everyone wins.

Quoted from Perkins

No, i don't feel it's a valid argument either. I posted Algers comments just to guage reaction.It's all hyperthetical now anyway. I still believe the Connell deal to be good business.

Yes, I undertand that Mr P, I was having a go at Alger's opinion not yours!

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

Yes, I undertand that Mr P, I was having a go at Alger's opinion not yours!

No thats ok, i didn't think you were. Apologies if my comment read as if i thought that.

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

That's simply not true is it? If Connell had stayed and if Connell had made a decent partnership with Hearn and if the club had got promoted and if my auntie had balls she'd be my uncle.

So you're writing us off for promotion then ?

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

Suppose it had all worked out like that - what money would Connell have wanted to make him stay?

Do we even care if we're back in the Football League ?

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

The club would certainly gain money from promotion but would also have to spend money in advance of receiving it to consolidate a league spot.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but your whole argument seems to be there's no point in promotion because we MIGHT be paying higher wages ? Sorry but who is forcing us to pay these higher wages ? The fans ?

If Scott and Hurst are good enough to take us up, then they're arguably good enough to survive relegation from League 2 even with a young squad of players on lower L2 wages.

And even if they don't we'll still be £500K a year better off for the year whilst we're there - it's a no brainer in my view.

Are you seriously suggesting promotion is a bad thing ?

Quoted from 1600

So you're writing us off for promotion then ?


Do we even care if we're back in the Football League ?


Correct me if I'm wrong, but your whole argument seems to be there's no point in promotion because we MIGHT be paying higher wages ? Sorry but who is forcing us to pay these higher wages ? The fans ?

If Scott and Hurst are good enough to take us up, then they're arguably good enough to survive relegation from League 2 even with a young squad of players on lower L2 wages.

And even if they don't we'll still be £500K a year better off for the year whilst we're there - it's a no brainer in my view.

Are you seriously suggesting promotion is a bad thing ?

Did you invent Twister?

What am I twisting exactly ?

Quoted from 1600

What am I twisting exactly ?

My melon man !

Quoted from CarlitoBrigante

I hardly ever post on here, but I have a look at the other posts all the time.  I love this site as some cracking bits of info are leaked.  I very rarely feel the need to post, but I am certainly one of those, the minority it seems today, who feels the Connell deal is a kick in the teeth.

I have been confident of our chances so far this pre-season, but now I feel completely deflated.  I also feel a little bit stupid; I went in the club shop a few weeks ago, and some guy was buying a new Town shirt.  He was asked if he wanted a name and number, and he asked "which number will Connell be this season?".  The woman in the club shop said "well, it hasn't been decided if he's staying yet".  Why not?  He was under contract and we'd had no official approach for him from a FL club, so we were told.  With hindsight, all the fans who said Hearn was signed as a replacement for Connell were absolutely spot-on.  The club obviously knew Alan was leaving, and Career Underdogs deserves some credit for saying this many weeks ago, he clearly got it right.

The thing that gets me is, I've turned from an optimist into a pessimist within the space of reading the news of Connell's departure.  I can understand why Fenty has kept quiet and rebuffed Luton, this all makes sense, but letting Connell go does not.  How do you replace 29 goals?  You can't.  I think Swindon have got a bargain at 150K.  We couldn't replace Alan like-for-like if we spent every penny we've got for him.

This has all made me feel, for the first time, that maybe we'll struggle this season.  OK, maybe the managers were just assessing the whole squad at the tail end of last season, and maybe that's why it took them so long to win a game, but maybe they're actually out of their depth at BSP level?  Maybe all the BSN players are glorified Sunday Leaguers?  Maybe our arrogance in thinking that Lincoln will fall into the same trap we did last season is well off the mark?  Why do we assume they'll go the same way we did, and struggle?  It's not a given.

Every year a minnow (Crawley; Rich?  Yes. A minnow? Still yes) gets replaced with a big club; Stockport, at least as big as us.  And what do we do?  We try to replicate every small club in the BSP by recruiting "grafters" and "athletes".  You can bet your a#se that Southport and Kettering have plenty of them, too.  What set us apart from all the average BSP teams?  Connell.  The one bit of class we had.

There is this myth that you need to fight your way out of this league, but I'm beginning to think the truth is that you can assimilate yourself into a typical, brusing BSP team and just fall in line with all the other dross.  We might currently be doing that, who knows, really?  We haven't got a Scooby Doo whether Hearn, Pearson or Church can step up.  We don't know if Disley is in the BSP because he's no good anymore.  We don't know if Spencer is the biggest donkey we've had since Iffy Onoura!!!!!

I'm going to support this team, no question, but all of a sudden I'm not so sure we're playoff certainties, as has regularly been predicated on here (and by me to people I know, also).

The 150K (which we don't even know if this is true, probably nearer 100K is more like the correct figure) is merely a drop in the ocean when looking at the club's overall debt.  Every penny needs pumping into the squad via transfer fees for in-demand players, but this won't happen.  And Fenty will never let us find this out, due to the "undisclosed" nature of the fee.  We get 100K every year for 5 years due to the Bennett deal, and how much of this did Fenty splash to keep us in the league?  Nothing.  And don't tell me that we spent a fortune on loans to keep us up, they saved a fortune by taking on Woods (we all knew it was a stubborn mistake) and the likes of Devitt, basically a school kid, were probably on peanuts.

Basically, unless Fenty and his cronies are willing to do a Jack Walker and buy our way out of this league, we're here to stay.  We can complain about Crawley over spending, but they've done what we simply cannot do as things stand; get promoted.

The curse with this club still remains, and he's stearing the ship this season too.  God help us!

Fenty; prove me wrong, please!

Worried, of Grimsby.........







Rant over, I promise!

I think you have just reached tipping point/breaking point Carlo. In many big shifts in outlook it might only be something relatively minor that tips the balance.

Mine was the scaking of Woods. In itself getting rid of Woods wasn't such a big deal - I was in two minds myself - it was just the final nail in the coffin of Fenty's credibility for me. Esp with the vote of confidence type statement beforehand. All the other bollux over recent years was inching towards that position.

Quoted from 1600

So you're writing us off for promotion then ?


Do we even care if we're back in the Football League ?


Correct me if I'm wrong, but your whole argument seems to be there's no point in promotion because we MIGHT be paying higher wages ? Sorry but who is forcing us to pay these higher wages ? The fans ?

If Scott and Hurst are good enough to take us up, then they're arguably good enough to survive relegation from League 2 even with a young squad of players on lower L2 wages.

And even if they don't we'll still be £500K a year better off for the year whilst we're there - it's a no brainer in my view.

Are you seriously suggesting promotion is a bad thing ?

You have completely lost me there 80s. I simply can't see where you are coming from. Perhaps you could explain how my comments translate into what you suggest because I just don't see it at all.

Quoted from TWAreaTownSupporter

Esp with the vote of confidence type statement beforehand.

Well technically Fenty was right - i.e. you always support a manager right up until the point you sack him because there's always a chance things can always turn round and you want to remain positive they will.

What bugs me is how the whole picture is painted in media - it almost swings from "everything fine" to "enough is enough" within a day.  
But by no means the only example, it's increasingly the norm.
Just look at the Connell transfer, even I was foolishly starting to believe the club were desperate for him to stay.  

Trouble with Fenty is, he fails to grasp down to earth Town fans appreciate a bit of straight talk.
He talks poiitically like he's talking to the Sunday Times.
Rule #1 - understand your target audience.

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

If Connell had stayed and if Connell had made a decent partnership with Hearn and if the club had got promoted and if my auntie had balls she'd be my uncle.

Just sounds like you're implying all that would take some sort of miracle.

Can't all of the above be boiled down to "Connell makes a decent partnership with Hearn and we get promoted" ?

My point was, presuming you think promotion is such a big ask had Connell stayed, then where do you think we are we now ?

Quoted from marinette

I've just been reading some of these threads back and it's quite funny to see the derision that Career Underdogs received for predicting that Connell would go to Swindon for a six-figure sum.  Who would have thought?

I'm sure I never used to be this cynical, but how very coincidental that a rumour about Connell going to Swindon for a six-figure sum started circulating in June.  And now we are told that the club shop have been dubious about selling people shirts with his name on?   Ooh, and then just one day before the deadline for discounted season tickets (by which time most people would have bought their STs if they were going to) ... only then do things kick into action and the Connell deal is announced by the club.

Well it doesn't really bother me, because I think I'd have bought my ST anyway, but I'm curious to know whether some people might not have splashed out on STs if they had known Connell was definitely leaving?

I think it's very good business to get a six-figure sum for Connell when, after all, Woodsy signed him on a free, but the timing of it, when people have bought season tickets, makes me ever so slightly suspicious.

What a very good point! Given our reliance on Connell last season leading to his almost god-like status amongst certain quarters of the support you would have to say the club have managed his transfer and it's effect on the fans extremely well. The main worry for me is the weight of expectation that will fall on the shoulders of the new lad Hearn. Am I right in thinking he hasn't played before at such a high level?

Quoted from 1600

Just sounds like you're implying all that would take some sort of miracle.

Can't all of the above be boiled down to "Connell makes a decent partnership with Hearn and we get promoted" ?

My point was, presuming you think promotion is such a big ask had Connell stayed, then where do you think we are we now ?

No I'm not implying that at all.

There was no guarantee that Connell + Hearn = promotion and it was an expensive gamble against a cash in hand sale that could make the side as a whole better contenders for a top spot. Simple as that and that's why the article was a load of "ifs".

Fair enough then.
I certainly hope the selling of Connell could make us better contenders for a top spot.
I find it rather hard to imagine though and still confused why the managers believe he might not have fitted into a 4-3-3.

Quoted from barralad

What a very good point! Given our reliance on Connell last season leading to his almost god-like status amongst certain quarters of the support you would have to say the club have managed his transfer and it's effect on the fans extremely well. The main worry for me is the weight of expectation that will fall on the shoulders of the new lad Hearn. Am I right in thinking he hasn't played before at such a high level?

Well one has to ask if the club knew all along that Connell was going to Swindon and all the talk of him lately was just a smokescreen from the club.

Unless Career Underdogs is Nostradamus,or had an incredibly insightful guess,the fact that Connell was moving to Swindon and for how much was posted on here a good while ago.So if he knew,then the club must have known and Connell must surely have known.

Perhaps (and i'm summising here) that Connell was asked to keep schtum while the club did a bit of spinning to keep up season ticket sales and the managemet had a couple of weeks to line up a replacement to soften the blow.Wouldn't surprise me if we have one or two players already signed but have delayed the announcement 'til the transfer has been digested by the faithful because as you say,any replacement has a thankless task.

The Connell anouncement also came just before a distracting home friendly.

Cynical,me?