My concerns

I'm not getting worried yet, far far too early for that but I think if one person said that they don't have any slight concerns I would say you're lying. So I'm not writing the team off yet I'm just airing the slight concerns I have.

And these are contracts (looking beyond this season)

Mckeown is on a 2 year contract which in theory,  I agree on, but I would be very disappointed if he doesn't have a serious number 2 challenging him like he used to, remember when we had Greg Fleming pushing him, Mckeown was absolutely outstanding that season, but last season and this season he has proved he really does need a number 2 to push him for his place, to stop him getting complacent, he doesn't get complacent on purpose, it's just a natural mindset and it's very hard to get out of it once in it, Warrington is a more than capable stand in keeper yes, but is he a serious number 2? No he isn't. So I would like at some point him to have a proper number 2 pushing him but Paul Hurst told me at the open day that we can't afford one.

Andrew Boyce Luke Summerfield and James Berrett are all competent enough players in my opinion but that's all they are, remember Summerfield and Berrett came from relegated York! and Boyce wasn't exactly well fancied by Hartlepool or Notts County fans, so my question is, are these 3 worth 2 year contracts? I'm dubious on that one.

Scott Vernon I'll single him out because his circumstances are different, he joined us extremely late in pre season, and he offers us something different to Jackson and Bogle which I'm appreciative of but let's remember he's he's in his 30s so as such is he worth a 2 year deal? There is certainly a risk there, surely he's better on a one year deal with maybe a clause or a another years option?

So as I said not mass panic, just a few small concerns.

Personally I don't feel that Macca needs anybody to push him, he pushes himself.
It was a tragic mistake yesterday, which he will be devastated about and that and poor Shaun's Stevie Gerrard unfortunate step on the ball, cost us the game.

Apart from that we totally outplayed Orient for a lot of the game, without scoring until it was too late.
We fired in a barrage of shots though and their keeper made 2 excellent saves.

However, my main worry since the beginning of the friendlies has been, where are all the necessary goals going to come from this season?

I would like to see better corners and some kind of rehearsed signal system for a free kick. Such as the deadly one that Ben Davies whipped into the six yard box and out the other side, when everybody else seemed to be expecting a floater.

Quoted from Mallyner

Personally I don't feel that Macca needs anybody to push him, he pushes himself.
It was a tragic mistake yesterday, which he will be devastated about and that and poor Shaun's Stevie Gerrard unfortunate step on the ball, cost us the game.

Apart from that we totally outplayed Orient for a lot of the game, without scoring until it was too late.
We fired in a barrage of shots though and their keeper made 2 excellent saves.

However, my main worry since the beginning of the friendlies has been, where are all the necessary goals going to come from this season?

I would like to see better corners and some kind of rehearsed signal system for a free kick. Such as the deadly one that Ben Davies whipped into the six yard box and out the other side, when everybody else seemed to be expecting a floater.

Seems to me that every other club has two goalies, why don't we? He's made two mistakes in a week that you could argue have cost us points - how many more do we drop before we look at an alternative? Are we saying that he's such a good keeper that he's undroppable?

Couldn't agree more about a second keeper - a 40 year old who's played one (meaningless) senior game in 3 years is not serious back up.

Not been posting for a while. i thought it best to start with a clean sheet. as most know i am not a mr hurst fan , New league . new players and all that take time to adjust too, But to start the season again without a main striker with experiance , and basically a relegated midfield. and a stand out center back is asking to go back down again., We wont get away with it in the league. Keep this in mind, we are never too good to go down and pretty football dont win matches,, goals do

Quoted from Davec

I'm not getting worried yet, far far too early for that but I think if one person said that they don't have any slight concerns I would say you're lying. So I'm not writing the team off yet I'm just airing the slight concerns I have.

And these are contracts (looking beyond this season)

Mckeown is on a 2 year contract which in theory,  I agree on, but I would be very disappointed if he doesn't have a serious number 2 challenging him like he used to, remember when we had Greg Fleming pushing him, Mckeown was absolutely outstanding that season, but last season and this season he has proved he really does need a number 2 to push him for his place, to stop him getting complacent, he doesn't get complacent on purpose, it's just a natural mindset and it's very hard to get out of it once in it, Warrington is a more than capable stand in keeper yes, but is he a serious number 2? No he isn't. So I would like at some point him to have a proper number 2 pushing him but Paul Hurst told me at the open day that we can't afford one.

Andrew Boyce Luke Summerfield and James Berrett are all competent enough players in my opinion but that's all they are, remember Summerfield and Berrett came from relegated York! and Boyce wasn't exactly well fancied by Hartlepool or Notts County fans, so my question is, are these 3 worth 2 year contracts? I'm dubious on that one.

Scott Vernon I'll single him out because his circumstances are different, he joined us extremely late in pre season, and he offers us something different to Jackson and Bogle which I'm appreciative of but let's remember he's he's in his 30s so as such is he worth a 2 year deal? There is certainly a risk there, surely he's better on a one year deal with maybe a clause or a another years option?

So as I said not mass panic, just a few small concerns.

It's crazy to think but what ever the circumstances Hurst should of been a bit more professional dropped his stubbornness and offered Amond a 2 year contract, instead we got a panick buy low scoring journeyman on a 2 year contract.

Need another goalkeeper before the window closes, can`t believe Hurst saying we can`t afford one, (extra revenue through the gate) doing things on the cheap (Neil Woods as manager) means we are not ambitious enough in our thinking to sustain League football, in my opinion anyway

Quoted from Garth

Need another goalkeeper before the window closes, can`t believe Hurst saying we can`t afford one, (extra revenue through the gate) doing things on the cheap (Neil Woods as manager) means we are not ambitious enough in our thinking to sustain League football, in my opinion anyway

No way did we do things on the cheap under Woods. Wasted huge sums? Yes, not spending? Certainly wasn't the case

It's natural to have slight concerns when you lose 3 games out of 4, but it's a skewed situation because at this stage of the season, with so few games played, it seems very significant.

I can remember the last time we were in League 2 and struggling. Some games we barely created a chance or had a shot in anger and i'm not seeing that at the moment. We comfortably outplayed the league leaders and did the same to Orient yesterday with vastly differing outcomes. I think dropping into non league was a chastening experience and it's made us fans very wary, but to be questioning our league status after 4 games is just taking worries to the extreme. Hurst knows we need more quality and has said so himself. The problem being that wanting it doesn't mean that you can just go out and get it.

Last time we were in the league, we kept bringing in players constantly and we never actually progressed at all. One dead beat replaced another and the cycle continued. I expect that this week will see a concerted effort to redress the problems on the pitch and bring in some experience to the front and back lines.

I think Hurst has earned  the right to be given some leeway and lots of posters said that's what they would do this season, but already the rumblings are starting. Being a 1000 fans down already is a sign of that.

Give it time.

Quoted from Cloudy

No way did we do things on the cheap under Woods. Wasted huge sums? Yes, not spending? Certainly wasn't the case

I was referring to NW himself, its easy to be wise after the event, but an experienced manager at that time would probably have staved off relegation, would have cost more though Hmm!