Underwhelming

I'm all for giving new players the chance to impress and all that but, so close to the start of pre-season, I have to say that with what's left of last season's squad and what's been added, I don't quite get how we're planning to improve on last year. Are we going to sneak a couple of extra players on at kick-off and hope the ref doesn't notice?

"I'm bored, I have no life beyond The Fishy and going to Grimsby Town games, why aren't we signing players so I can have something to do? When are we signing new players? The players we have are crap we need to sign a whole new team so I have something to talk about".

I think that covers the translation of the above.

The fact Slades hasn't bothered to sign anyone is for me typical Fenty cheap option.

Wasting your time too many happy clappers who won't hear a word said against Slade.

Or maybe most people have the foresight to see that the season is over a month away, and signing the first bloke that comes available isn't the best option.

Quoted from Mariner93er

Or maybe most people have the foresight to see that the season is over a month away, and signing the first bloke that comes available isn't the best option.

Neither as we have perpetually done for successive years starting the season with at least two key personnel short and saying we can make the points up later.Winners hit the ground running.

Lets see where we are at the end of the season and where Mansfield are,

Then we will know who was either right in waiting and getting the right men, ( hopefully )

OR

Signing the first 12 that came along so the boss could go away on a long holiday.

I can tell already it's going to be a excrement season, prepare for the worst. nothing positive from the club, no decent signings, I wouldn't bother renewing season tickets.

Quoted from Kris2

"I'm bored, I have no life beyond The Fishy and going to Grimsby Town games, why aren't we signing players so I can have something to do? When are we signing new players? The players we have are crap we need to sign a whole new team so I have something to talk about".

I think that covers the translation of the above.

Well Said!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is quite apparent Slade's primary targets have knocked him back.

Contracts are not up until end of June so expect movement son otherwise players will be without an income.

I know you are sick of reading comments re Lincoln but they have plenty of cash to spend and to date have made no signings whatsoever this summer and many other clubs have made the odd signing.

I think we will see some movement in the next 10 days and that gives plenty of time to bed in before we go to Chesterfield.

In the meantime Pointless may be worth watching as it seems appropriate given all these threads re lack of transfer activity and Kris hits the "nail on the head"!!

Oh dear, we're already going to have a excrement season and the manager is already getting stick, despite NOBODY having a clue what our first 11 will even look like on the opening day, which is ages away.

Feel like I've said this before, but has the fishy sunk to a new low?

I agree with both sides of the argument. Whilst we have not signed many players and have a full squad complete you can look at it two ways. Slade isn't signing just any Tom, male private and Harry to make the numbers up there for the start of pre-season and has been knocked back by some players who have had better offers financially or the reverse side of the coin, you wait too long for the right players where there is excrement left and you have to pick the best of a bad bunch. I have faith in Slade and trust him to get the right squad sorted and playing to his style. Lots of work ethic, cause the opponents to choke with the ball and us getting goals from mistakes.

Quoted from Abdul19

The fact Slades hasn't bothered to sign anyone is for me typical Fenty cheap option.

He should sign Graham Rodgers and Peter Handysides.

Sweet Jesus and Mary Chain, this thread is a crock of sh1te. Get a life. Get a hobby. Get a grip.

Danny Collins was virtually last in the door last year wasn't he? And he hasn't turned out too bad... No panic at all at the moment.

Quoted from Kris2

"I'm bored, I have no life beyond The Fishy and going to Grimsby Town games, why aren't we signing players so I can have something to do? When are we signing new players? The players we have are crap we need to sign a whole new team so I have something to talk about".

I think that covers the translation of the above.

Far from bored, enjoying the summer but also aware that we start pre-season games in a fortnight. I'm aware we're not the biggest budget club in League 2 but would have expected some bodies in the building by now.

FFS, the only thing that could make these kind of posts any more entertaining would be for those folk who only deal in death and gloom to hire BP for the day, get Leonard Cohen blasting out of the speakers, and commit mass hara kiri on the centre spot.

Same year in, year out whoever the manager is
And the common denominator is....

Same year in, year out whoever the manager is
And the common denominator is....

I think this is a great time for Slade to engage the fans, he doesn't have to say who he is after but he could give a few signs of what he is looking for and what league his targets are currently playing in etc. The club knows the fans will turn up in numbers and do very little to spark interest.

It's like this club touts for punters through word of mouth rather than go out there and use imaginative ways to get people on board.

Quoted from Cod Cheeks

Same year in, year out whoever the manager is
And the common denominator is....

Who

We've actually signed more players than 13 of the other clubs in our division. The average number of signings so far is 3 but that number is skewed massively by Mansfield who have signed loads and for lots of money. Relax, if in three weeks we haven't signed anyone else then maybe we can start to worry.

Plenty of time and better to take care. Possibly one or two set backs but we need about 4 decent signings, a keeper, centre half left back and s striker, long way from the 5th August and so really no panic utm

I think people are bored more than underwhelmed, including the media and people on twitter. Boredom leads to wild rumours by and large. Revell, Clarke, Seaborne, Maynard are names being banded about and have they signed for anyone else? No. Was Chicksen dor example out of our league wages wise? Yes. I suspect one of the targets was Scott Laird who went to FGR but I'm only guessing. Plenty of time for some top signings to arrive yet. Podge Amond signed on July 1st, so if we haven't signed anybody by the end of the second week in July, that's when we need to start worrying but now it's no big deal. Knowing our club we'll have already signed 3 players and haven't told us yet.

wow, all the whiners are out in force today, usual crap being chatted, cheap options,JF to blame, going to be a poor season blah blah blah,some people need to find hobbies and stay out the sun

Quoted from HackneyHaddock

He should sign Graham Rodgers and Peter Handysides.

For me they're a bit old for league 2 level but Slades would do a lot worse than bringing back Paddy Almond and John Lenny-Lewis to get season ticket sales going a bit.

Would take Amond back in a flash
Phenomenal work rate
Unselfish
Team player
Great positional skill
And knew how to put the ball in the goal
And had class with his nine celebrating scoring for Hartlepool in front of the pontoon

Non not nine

I think it's easy to just become disappointed that we've lost two fan favourites in Pearson and Disley, plus our Player of the Year and brought in three guys who may well be great but are far from marquee signings that everyone likes to see.

Looking at the overall picture though it isn't that bad, is it?

Between the sticks we've got a decent goalkeeper, yes we were spoilt with Henderson during his brief spell but I'd say McKeown is an alright League Two goallkeeper.  Didn't see many better than him last year but then didn't see that many that looked much below either, he's what you would expect at this level.

The back four needs some strengthening, there's no doubt about that.  But we've got a lad at right back in Mills who will only get better and stronger having made a huge step up last season.  Collins proved his quality last season and whilst I wouldn't be delighted at starting the season with Davies at right-back (Mills over to the left) and Collins partnering Boyce in the centre, it wouldn't be totally awful.  We need a centre-back and a left-back but we can't be the only club needing two players.

In midfield there's an awful lot to be positive about.  Clements is tidy and keeps the ball ticking over well.  I know he didn't impress a lot of people last season but I think he's just one of those players who you don't notice, he also chipped in with a fair share of goals.  More attacking wise we've got Osbourne who not only made a big step-up in January, he also got better as the season went on and showed what he can offer.  I fully expect him to be even better next season with a full pre-season behind him.  I've not seen Rose but he was part of the Newport team that turned their season around and by all accounts is the energetic player that we've perhaps missed since Clay left.  If we keep McAllister fit we've got a player and a half, hopefully with some actual investment in sports science we'll get more from guys who've struggled with injuries previously.

Out wide, dunno.  We've definitely got enough bodies Dembele sounds exciting, Kelly I've not seen anything of and in Bolarinwa I think we've actually got a decent guy to come off the bench against tired legs - even if his final product left a lot to be desired last season.   In addition there's Harry Clifton who the club have huge hopes for.  

Up front we've got Sam Jones who made a step-up in January managed to score 7 in 16 starts, despite starting some of those games either in midfield or out wide.  That's a return rate of 44%.  To put it into some sort of comparison, Bogle achieved 32% in his first season with us 47% over his total 18 months.  I think we'll see another striker arrive mainly because of the numbers already in the building but in Vernon there's a guy who when played in his right position was very effective and (very much like James Berrett) seemed to have a bit of a new lease of life once Slade arrived.  He's not going to steam past three players at pace but he is savvy on the ball and a decent hold up man for someone like Jones.  I wouldn't have any issues with those two up top, providing we've a bit of pace from the wide areas.  Yussuf I'm not sure what happened with after his initial goal burst and him them falling out of favour.  Asante showed in the brief spells he played what he can do.  Leyton Orient stands out as the powerful and direct frontman he could be.

All in, we're not that bad. Far from it.  The few signings Slade makes will be crucial and seperate us from a similar season to last to a a very good one.  We've got a lot of lads who made the step-up last season so were always going to either run out of steam or struggle at some point, maybe both in some cases.  

How many teams in our division have signed more players than us in 2017? Mansfield, obviously, but probably not too many more...

Neither a moaner or happy clapper am I,

So I will say nothing  

It's still June ffs

Quoted from friskneymariner

It is quite apparent Slade's primary targets have knocked him back.

It could be that he doesn't have the attraction that we thought he had!

Quoted from friskneymariner

Wasting your time too many happy clappers who won't hear a word said against Slade.

This is probably the most stupid comment i have ever read on the fishy... Regarding "happy clappers" I find it amazing that you actually have made up an insult just for people that dont agree with you... If it wasnt so sad it would be funny!!!!

Quoted from friskneymariner

It is quite apparent Slade's primary targets have knocked him back.

Actually wait, THIS is the most stupid thing... Not only does this guy try and use insults to describe people who dont agree with him, despite lots of facts to the contrary (eg league players contracts not expiring until June 30th, no other teams making signings) He has completely made this up out of thin air and added, "its quite apparent..." to make himself sound convincing... Wow

Quoted from rancido

It could be that he doesn't have the attraction that we thought he had!

But we are a massive club in this league, also a great part of the country and all our players and staff should be happy to move here in the land of opportunity that is Grimsby and Cleethorpes. This is the premier holiday destination for South Yorkshire.  Who wouldn't want to come here and live in the area?

Quoted from Kris2

But we are a massive club in this league, also a great part of the country and all our players and staff should be happy to move here in the land of opportunity that is Grimsby and Cleethorpes. This is the premier holiday destination for South Yorkshire.  Who wouldn't want to come here and live in the area?

FFS

Quoted from Kris2

But we are a massive club in this league, also a great part of the country and all our players and staff should be happy to move here in the land of opportunity that is Grimsby and Cleethorpes. This is the premier holiday destination for South Yorkshire.  Who wouldn't want to come here and live in the area?

You've missed out that we get big crowds and have a wealthy backer behind us.

Quote by Kris2
But we are a massive club in this league, also a great part of the country and all our players and staff should be happy to move here ]in the land of opportunity that is Grimsby and Cleethorpes. This is the premier holiday destination for South Yorkshire.  Who wouldn't want to come here and live in the area?                                                                                                  

I don't have a clue where you live Kris2 but I had a choice where I wanted to move to 10 yrs ago and I'm very pleased I moved to Grimsby. All towns have their faults and this town is no exception but after living in Boston and Peterborough previously I can only say they are shiteholes compared to Grimsby.I personaly can't see any reason a player wouldn't want to spend part of their short playing career in this area.Stop knocking the town, ffs.
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Slade said that he wanted 4 more in through the door and then that will be it on Thursday. So 3 more signings to come. A left back, centre half and a striker, which for me is no way near enough but sadly he has been stuck with players who are not good enough in which Hurst has signed on 2 year deals (Boyce, Vernon, Berrett, Macca, Summerfield).

Quoted from 1739

Slade said that he wanted 4 more in through the door and then that will be it on Thursday. So 3 more signings to come. A left back, centre half and a striker, which for me is no way near enough but sadly he has been stuck with players who are not good enough in which Hurst has signed on 2 year deals (Boyce, Vernon, Berrett, Macca, Summerfield).

Vernon and Berrett were much improved at the end of the season under Slade/Wilko.

I'd be amazed if we don't get a keeper in as well. Especially as you can't make loans outside of the window now?

I would still like to see some players depart, I would like to see Yussuf depart if possible, that would free up space for another striker, I'm sure Slade can find better than Yussuf, also would like to see Summerfield or Berrett depart, that would probably be Summerfield, we already have 1 too many mifielders.

I think when Slade said that 4 more players then we are done, I do think he was lying a bit because we need more than 4 in my opinion
1x goalkeeper
2x left back
1x centre back
1x winger
1x striker, maybe 2 strikers depending if we can offload Yussuf