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Now the dust has settled..reflecting on 16/17

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moosey_club
May 11, 2017, 9:32pm
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Well now thats all over i just wanted to reflect on the last seasons worth of ups and downs as i saw it....

Pre season blues....the post Wembley euphoria soon died down, Podge, Toto , Nolan , Arnold  all key players announcing they were off elsewhere, some of the more regular players not deemed good enough, Tait, Robertson, Clay, JPP, Monkhouse ,& Marshall leaving us with just a bare bones of a squad.
Target 3000 the season ticket push, came too late and failed to deliver on the hype...delivering instead increased prices as a "thanks" for standing by the club in the darkest years of our modern history...OP a faded memory.

Recruitment started in June... McAllister, Andrew, Mills looking like solid and promising signings..Boyce probably the most questionable of the early signings defensively..Dan Jones a bit of an unknown quantity but unsurprisingly a Hurst raft of defensive signings.....however adding Browne, Vose, Bolarinwa  looked exciting prospects to dovetail with Bogle.....and then probably the two most devisive signings..Summerfield and Berrett relegated Yorks dynamic duo, on paper hardly the long awaited answer to our centre midfield woes and the return of Ashley Chambers a former loanee who never really set the world alight during his first stint.  Overall a mixed bag but looking slightly unbalanced for a Hurst 4-4-2.
July brought the much gossiped signing of Ben Davies, raised spirits as did the signing and first glimpses of Jackson.

Friendly games saw a change of approach from Hurst which made more sense of the recruitment drive, 4-5-1 , 4-3-3 ...definately not 4-4-2.
I can remember a sense of optimism as the pre season started, Hurst was a changed man, a little more relaxed and a little more open, seemingly promotion had opened him up a bit and he was trying something different.
Browne, Vose, Bolarinwa, Jackson, Chambers & Bogle looked like an awesome mix of pace and power but it didnt really produce the goals, Bogle was looking like an isolated striker and the others more like defensive wide men or just unsure where they should be.  
Summerfield showed early promise, very positive on the ball, looking to drive forward and scoring some neat goals..however arguably the stand out performers were the clubs own youngsters, Wright, Clifton and Venney, Wright in particular bagging goals and assists.

As pre season drew to a close it was clear that the formula, that looked on paper a winner, was struggling to produce, Bogle isolated, Jackson not strong enough when played as the striker, Vose looked lethargic, Bolarinwa quick and positive but lacking finesse and Browne hardly used, while behind them Berrett whilst tidy on the ball wasnt going to be a force in midfield.

Hurst abandoned the plan he had followed for the summer, reverted to 4-4-2 and brought in Scott Vernon after a promising 45 minutes trial at Gainsboro....on the eve of the season the squad now looked out of balance for a 4-4-2.  

Despite the above a cracking opener saw us blast 2 past Morecombe, the sun was shining, Jackson and Vernon linked fantastically with Jackson looking unplayable.....good times...however 5 defeats in the next 6 games and the landscape had changed...Tuton was brought in on loan to bolster the attack...he looked extremely useful for 90 mins and then nothing, a typical Hurst striker, worked hard,produced nothing  so kept getting picked.

Fans became impatient with Hursts lack of attacking wingers or centre midfielders on the wing, the 70 minute like for like sub,  general lack of flair and consistency, by now we were a one man team, if Omar didnt score we didnt score....Browne, Mcallister already out of the side, Vose out of position, Chambers on a leash, Tombola hardly used , Berrett on the wing, Jackson non existent, Tuton unproductive and Bogle becoming self obsessed. Danny Collins was added to add something to the back line which had been faultering....Summerfield making glaring mistakes.  
Typically Hursts defensive new boys looked solid, Davies and Andrew both delivering crosses, free kicks and when Mills stepped up in place of Davies he looked equally as comfortable if not more so.

But all was not well, Bogle was trying too hard, every free kick, dropping so deep, eventually dropped by Hurst before Hurst himself bvggred off, lack of resources, unhappy we werent more grateful to him....or just the chance to manage higher, only he knows?? Left us in a decent position, far better than the one he found us in so thanks for that but his dour Yorkshire persona had worn thin on most in all honesty. A change would be welcome.

Bignot recruited with a fanfare, the man who made Solihull, the man responsible for the rise of Omar....affable, open, jocular, soundbyte friendly...relaxed press conference followed by an aired meet the players meeting....what now looking back was cringey....but the club had obvioualy realised that Hurst had alienated support.  MB promised open attacking football, getting the crowd off their feet....a project to take the club forward, he re ignited Bogle who relished the belief in him but still we were inconsistent..still reliant on Omar who was stealing the headlines.....MB cried out for technical ability and implored us to "listen" to his word.

January came and so did the signings.....1,2,3,4,5,..they kept coming players in and out.....better technicians, players with ability we were promised...before we realised it we had umpteen central midfielders, one winger, one less star striker and a personality centre back.

All hope of consistency gone, one week solid, drilled and efficient the next chaotic... either we and the players werent "listening" or the message wasnt very clear. Tinkering, oddball selections and a home drubbing to the overgrown pit village at the end of the M180 was enough...MB gone out of the blue, RS installed almost so quickly you might think he had already been lined up...

Slade brought an instant recognisable shape to the home games, people knew their roles, positions, a reinstated Disley brought structure and smiles ....results still inconsistent...still lopsided but Slade had what he had so couldnt be helped.

In summary...finally     ... shouldnt be a suprise how inconsistent we were really...Hurst built and practised a squad based on 4-3-3/ 4-5-1....then swapped it on the eve of the season.....some of the eyecatching performers in pre season Wright, Venney, Clifton didnt get a look in beyond the Tinpot trophy....we "stole" the centre midfield of the team that got relegated from the league....
MB came in....tried his own system...then made wholesale changes.....then obviously RS came in with his system......add to that overall 30 + players used.....7 loan players.....only one ever present.....only 10 players played more than half of the games.
The one consistent has been....the long throw has not worked !! Abandon please or work out how to make it effective in pre season.

A season of change then from day one of pre-season to sad Disley announcement on Tuesday.  

Looking ahead....RS has some Hurst dung to shovel, some MB dung to shovel but also some talent, Sam Jones, Mcallister, Osbourne, Asante, Mills not too shabby...Clements , Bolarinwa, Browne , Chambers , Clifton may have a fresh opportunity to establish themselves under a structured but counter attacking manager.  Very refreshing that RS is already openly on record as starting negotiations, has already had trial games all before the season has finished.  
I am naturally pessimistic about Town, however with RS in charge i am feeling slightly less pessimistic than normal

Let the pre season merry go round begin ... UTM




2023/24 DLWDDWDLLLWDLLLLWDDDWDLLWLDLLDWDDWL
2022/23LDWDWWDWLLDWWDLLLDLWLLWLWLLWDDLDWWDDDLLWDWLWLW
2021/22 WDWWWWDLWWWWLLLWLLDLWLLWWDWWWLWDLWWDWWWDLWD play offs WWW Promoted 🥳
2020/21  LLDWWLDLDWLWLLLDLWLLDLLDLLLWLLLDDDDWDDDLWLWLWL .. hello darkness my old friend
2019/20  WDLDWWLDLWWLLLDLDLDLDDWWDLLWDDWWL WLLW - ended
2018/19  LWDDLLLLLLWWDWLLLWDWLWWWWLLLLWWWWDLLLDDLLDLWLW Hello Scunny  
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SteffiMariner
May 11, 2017, 9:39pm
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TL: DR
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promotion plaice
May 11, 2017, 9:42pm

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Quoted from SteffiMariner
TL: DR


?



When Leeds trainer Les Cocker was once told Norman Hunter had broken a leg, he asked: “Whose is it?”
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LH
May 11, 2017, 9:44pm

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In short: inconsistent and transitional but with something to build on.
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SteffiMariner
May 11, 2017, 10:01pm
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Quoted from promotion plaice


?



Too long, didn't read
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ginnywings
May 11, 2017, 10:26pm

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Quoted from LH
In short: inconsistent and transitional but with something to build on.


Perfect summary. Should have just read your post.  
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Stew0_0
May 11, 2017, 11:38pm
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Good summary.
With all the upheaval... 3 managers.... various players used, signed, loaned out or sold and with various players being asked to plug gaps or play out of position its no wonder why we have been inconsistent all season.  However if anyone said that with 2/3 games to go we'd still be mathematically possible to make playoffs i think 90% of fans would have taken that at beginning of season.

Looking forward weve got the experiments and mistakes out of the way so lets build a squad that the fans can love and bond with again and have a real go in 17/18.  I dont even think theres a player left that the fans have even got a personal chant for.

Very excited for prospect of new and quality players and a push of promotion next season
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BeijingMariner
May 12, 2017, 1:17am
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It wasn't too long for me, I read it, I thought it was a very well articulated summary, thanks mate
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Mrs Doyle
May 12, 2017, 5:12am
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M.C. That was a great post summed it all up for me looking back it was testament to the players how we finished so high up given the up evils of having three managers so many different faces and  such a unsettled system/ first eleven.

Well put M/C.
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golfer
May 12, 2017, 7:41am
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A long post but pretty accurate- I would have just put "a shite season with disappointment aplenty-only time I've considered tearing my season ticket up 20 times"
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