Paul Hurst

Quoted from headingly_mariner

It's not as if we've relied or benefitted from providing our own youngsters in our recent past.
The club didn't move to make the improvements off the field after promotion and lost a manager when we shouldn't have.

You don't have to be a mega bucks established league club to make good decisions to keep a successful manager.
The problem is nothing to do with our History, it is the failings of the current administration to run the club properly. Losing a successful manager to another unfashionable lower division club is just one of many issues.

We are back in a position were crowds are dropping, people feel no connection with most of the playing/coaching staff and any forward momentum we had is lost. The club has been in a rut for years, PH lifted that. The club has a negative aura again and that is down to the board.

When Hurst left we were a matter of a few months back into League football. I know you keep saying that the Shrews are an unfashionable club etc. but from a managers point of view they were:- established in the league above, had all of the things that people think Hurst wanted for GTFC already in place, and from his personal point of view big plusses on his C.V. if he managed to keep Shrewsbury up. I think that people in the football world in general probably look at Hurst's achievements with us in a far more positive manner (than maybe we as fans who lived through those six years do) which would have made him more of a target anyway. None of us are privvy to what Town's long term plan may (or may not) be. I just believe that it is unfair on the club to claim some lack of effective overall management for the fact that they hadn't by October 2016 managed to get all of those things in place for the reasons in my original post. I'd go so far as to say that given the financial considerations of being non-league and the difficulties of getting out of the hell hole that is the National League clubs that can afford to plan for life back in the League before they've got there are few and far between. The only clubs which could realistically be expected for it not to have a major effect on are those that spent the minimum time there of which Brizzle are the most obvious (only?) example.

Speaking to a Brentford fan the other day and he tells me that they don't have any sort of youth set up any longer. They did have the whole shebang at one point but then one of the young players they'd had for a decade and who was predicted to have a bright future was poached by one of the big London clubs for a pittance because of the EPPP racket so they shut it all down.

Instead of a youth set up, they now operate a 'B' Team which plays (to quote the Brentford fan), 'prestigious friendlies' against young teams from around Europe. Most of the B team are young foreign players, aged 20 or under, and the plan is to try and develop one or two of these into decent players before cashing in and selling them on.

When even a relatively big club such as Brentford has given up on youth football thanks to the EPPP, you can see how we could be on a hiding to nothing ourselves, even if operating youth teams is entirely the correct thing to do morally. What happens when we get a promising youngster who then nicks off to a big club for 10 grand? It's just not likely to ever pay for itself, unfortunately.

Quoted from barralad

When Hurst left we were a matter of a few months back into League football. I know you keep saying that the Shrews are an unfashionable club etc. but from a managers point of view they were:- established in the league above, had all of the things that people think Hurst wanted for GTFC already in place, and from his personal point of view big plusses on his C.V. if he managed to keep Shrewsbury up. I think that people in the football world in general probably look at Hurst's achievements with us in a far more positive manner (than maybe we as fans who lived through those six years do) which would have made him more of a target anyway. None of us are privvy to what Town's long term plan may (or may not) be. I just believe that it is unfair on the club to claim some lack of effective overall management for the fact that they hadn't by October 2016 managed to get all of those things in place for the reasons in my original post. I'd go so far as to say that given the financial considerations of being non-league and the difficulties of getting out of the hell hole that is the National League clubs that can afford to plan for life back in the League before they've got there are few and far between. The only clubs which could realistically be expected for it not to have a major effect on are those that spent the minimum time there of which Brizzle are the most obvious (only?) example.

They were deep in trouble and are regular strugglers in that division. I'm not saying they are unfashionable as if we are Barcelona. We are just as unfashionable, but we were on an upward curve and not miles away from his family home.

It's absolutely innefective management to have not prepared for the football league. It's ridiculous that a manager feels he has to hint about a S&C coach in interviews to try and get one.

Do you trust the current administration to take the club forward? Do you even trust them to keep us in the league?

Quoted from headingly_mariner

They were deep in trouble and are regular strugglers in that division. I'm not saying they are unfashionable as if we are Barcelona. We are just as unfashionable, but we were on an upward curve and not miles away from his family home.

It's absolutely innefective management to have not prepared for the football league. It's ridiculous that a manager feels he has to hint about a S&C coach in interviews to try and get one.

Do you trust the current administration to take the club forward? Do you even trust them to keep us in the league?

By not having a S&C coach it does not mean that you haven't prepared for league football and it's not the magic formula to success, some suggest if you have one you win if you don't you lose. We have one now and to be fair the players don't look much fitter or stronger than they did last year. Oddly enough on Saturday I think Lincoln looked fresher in the last 10 minutes.

I think we where on an upward curve but don't lose sight of how one Marcus Bignot dropped us off our ladder and down the snake.  

Quoted from HertsGTFC

By not having a S&C coach it does not mean that you haven't prepared for league football and it's not the magic formula to success, some suggest if you have one you win if you don't you lose. We have one now and to be fair the players don't look much fitter or stronger than they did last year. Oddly enough on Saturday I think Lincoln looked fresher in the last 10 minutes.

I think we where on an upward curve but don't lose sight of how one Marcus Bignot dropped us off our ladder and down the snake.  

Of course it does, investing in sports science and the conditioning of the players can have a huge benefit on the team. Is it the most important thing in a pro football club? No. Is it an important part of modern pro football? Absolutely.

Bignot was allowed a free reign for 5 months of madness, he had far more backing than Hurst ever had and he bought magic beans. We've had loads of shite managers it's keeping hold of the good ones that is important.

There have been a few short-sighted comments on here over the last few seasons about Hurst's personality, but it cannot be denied that he built a fantastic team spirit while at GTFC and the players seemed to adore him - I'm sure it hasn't been lost on people that the brilliant prodigy Henderson for example has gone to work for him again.

There's little doubt in my mind that history will look back at October 2016 as the moment when the great momentum we had from being promoted, was allowed to slip agonizingly through our fingers.

Firstly he was succeeded by a happy smiling incompetent clown, and now we have a manager who has achieved sod all, while Hurst is well on his way to capturing the fourth promotion of his short career so far.

Oh sh!t...may god help us all.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

They were deep in trouble and are regular strugglers in that division. I'm not saying they are unfashionable as if we are Barcelona. We are just as unfashionable, but we were on an upward curve and not miles away from his family home.

It's absolutely innefective management to have not prepared for the football league. It's ridiculous that a manager feels he has to hint about a S&C coach in interviews to try and get one.

Do you trust the current administration to take the club forward? Do you even trust them to keep us in the league?

I can't say anymore about the claim of ineffective management so I suppose we will have to agree to disagree.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

They were deep in trouble and are regular strugglers in that division. I'm not saying they are unfashionable as if we are Barcelona. We are just as unfashionable, but we were on an upward curve and not miles away from his family home.

It's absolutely innefective management to have not prepared for the football league. It's ridiculous that a manager feels he has to hint about a S&C coach in interviews to try and get one.

Do you trust the current administration to take the club forward? Do you even trust them to keep us in the league?

I really think that some on here must have a photo of PH on top of the screen and every so often look at it put their hands in their pants and pleasure themselves.

He left on his own accord to go to a higher league club on more than likely higher wages, a club that has far better facilities than BP.

I think JF said after the Burton game that we would likely lose £500,000 per season being out of the Football League so the priority must have been to spend cash on the players in the hope that we would return. Considering it took 6 years any cash on preparing for our actual return would have been a waste of cash.


No not really and PH probably didn't either.

Quoted from barralad

I can't say anymore about the claim of ineffective management so I suppose we will have to agree to disagree.

Is that because you are involved with the trust or just because you don't have an opinion on it?

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Is that because you are involved with the trust or just because you don't have an opinion on it?

No it's because I've gone into great length in two long posts as to why I don't agree with your assertion that it is a display of ineffective management not to have prepared for the return back to the football league in the way you think they should've done. It's not very often I agree with Harry x 3 but the bit in blue in his last post nails it for me.