Who has surprised you so far?

So we’re a third of the season, or thereabouts and been thinking today about which players have surprised me, either in a positive way or not.

For me, I’ve been most surprised, and impressed with Gav Holohan. I’ve always thought he kind of signed by Hursty to help mount a promotion campaign from the National League this season, similar with JMD IMO ( not sure any of us, including Hursty thought we had a serious chance of going up given the form we were in.

Obviously we’re did the unthinkable and thought he might struggle to stand out and shine against the better league players, also considering the feedback from Hartlepool fans about him struggling when they went up. However, I think he’s been great this season. He seems more combative now, has a decent pass, works very hard and helps the team at both ends of the pitch. He seems a natural leader too and he always talking and directing during the game. He’s now starting to add some goals to his game too.

Anyone surprised you?

Totally the same MM in terms of why we signed Gav...

In terms of surprise I would just have to say that although I expected Crocombe to be good he really is surprisingly good.


On the other hand although I expected efette to be bad (I thought he was mediocre at best at NL level) he has possibly surprised even me at just how bad he has been... - let's be honest he's been absolutely flipping utterly dreadful.

Totally the same MM in terms of why we signed Gav...

In terms of surprise I would just have to say that although I expected Crocombe to be good he really is surprisingly good.


On the other hand although I expected efette to be bad (I thought he was mediocre at best at NL level) he has possibly surprised even me at just how bad he has been... - let's be honest he's been absolutely flipping utterly dreadful.

Crowcombe has been superb.
I always liked efete but so far I've been surprised how he's struggled.

Efete has struggled yet defensively we’re pretty solid and yesterday, the goal came down our left hand side.

Crocombe has been excellent, never doubted he was good but he seems a much more modern keeper and can do more than ‘shot stop’. A couple of times yesterday his reading of the game enabled him to come and take control and get the ball, alleviating pressure and he gathered two massive crosses.

Green has been excellent for me, we looked infinitely better with him and it Morris in the middle.

We were actually in decent form when Holohan signed, but aye, I was half expecting him to play second fiddle before being sold to a NL promotion chaser in the new year. Instead, he's a mainstay - he looks fitter, and I hope to see him in all his glory celebrating a 3rd promotion in 3 years!

Harry Clifton. Not only has he stepped up a level he's starting to look like a good league one prospect. Someone will come in with a lot of money in Jan . There aren't many players around like him anymore .he's been simply magnificent

The form of Max Crocombe. I was a bit doubtful about him for the first few games he played but he's been excellent for us so far this season, and long may it continue.

Efete is getting a bit of stick of late but I actually think Glennon has been worse. They barely got in at all down our right hand side yesterday and all their chances came down our left. It's something that I thinks been happening a bit too often of late and I suspect teams have worked out the Smith-Glennon combo is our weak point.

Efete was fine yesterday

Luke Waterfall has been a colossus



.

They’ve all surprised me, yesterday we beat the NL champions and are above them in the league whilst they’re finding it a challenge and looking below them we have ambitions to aim higher than our current position, most thought it would be the opposite way around.

What I’m not surprised about is the manner in which we’re doing it, Hurst’s values and culture runs through the playing side of this club from top to bottom.

Quoted from It Bites

Harry Clifton. Not only has he stepped up a level he's starting to look like a good league one prospect. Someone will come in with a lot of money in Jan . There aren't many players around like him anymore .he's been simply magnificent

Clifton for me too, he's clearly confident and our biggest threat in the box with his late arrival. Not got the quality of Disley, but got the best engine I've ever seen. He won't command a big fee, because he's too limited elsewhere, but certainly a solid L2 midfielder and would probably do ok in L1.

Quoted from Mariner93er

Efete is getting a bit of stick of late but I actually think Glennon has been worse. They barely got in at all down our right hand side yesterday and all their chances came down our left. It's something that I thinks been happening a bit too often of late and I suspect teams have worked out the Smith-Glennon combo is our weak point.

At this level there will be crunch moments when a team creates an overload by good movement and passing. Both Efete and Glennon needed back up at times. Waterfall is alert, decisive and vocal. Smith's strength is his pace but needs to communicate better perhaps. Efete needs telling when he has allowed his winger to ghost behind him and Glennon had to be helped out by Khan a few times.

I like the fact that we have a fluid system when we go three at the back and push wing backs further on. We certainly get better out of Glennon who has the nous of a winger when needed whereas Michee makes the mistake of thinking too hard and should be more positive and instinctive with the final ball. I had doubts over Michee's ability to adjust but his heading strength was again useful yesterday.

Work in progress all over the pitch. Biggest surprise for me was how commanding Green was at matching Stockport's physicality and his level of fitness after looking a bit laboured as a sub at Salford.

I’ve been surprised at the standard of the League in general, I think there’s 10/12 decent sides, most of whom look to get the ball down and play generally albeit Stockport were incredibly direct yesterday.

Players wise for us - I wasn’t enamoured with Holohan last season but he’s been outstanding for me this year.  Clifton, Waterfall, Smith all brilliant aswell.

I’ve been slightly critical of Green a few times on here this season, mainly because we’d all seen how  good he was against us for the Shaymen and he hasn’t looked anything remotely like that player.. until yesterday. Playing in his proper position he was colossal, proper warrior and I hope he can kick on and be a huge player for us for the next few years.

The thought of a fully fit McAtee and Scannell coming back into this squad really is exciting.

UTFM

Waterfall has been one of our best players again this season. Not only did he bounce back from a relegation season where most would have been happy to see him move on with a player of the season performance in a NL promotion but he's been an important player for us this season too. Regularly wins headers, defensively solid and a leader at the back. Crocombe has provided some much needed confidence between the sticks and gives us something we have struggled with for a while in the ability and confidence to claim crosses and cut out attacks along with pulling off some great reaction saves. Corners and crosses are no longer a panic moment where we expect a clanger.

Just because nobody mentioned him I'll throw Khan in there as a really good signing. Has some really good anticipation of the game and great with the ball at his feet. Been involved in many of our goals since coming into the side after an unfortunate pre season injury. Great to have a player who always looks like he wants the ball and will beat his man.

Crocombe & Khan for me. Waterfall, clifton Smith n Morris have been the most impressive

Holohan, Crocombe and Clifton have all upped their game this season.  They all look like very solid EFL players and I think they could all hold their own in L1. As could Waterfall, Glennon, Smith, Green and Morris to name but a few. When MacAtee returns we will have a side well capable of challenging for a play-off place.

And as we know, anything can happen in the play offs.  

Green has been excellent for me, we looked infinitely better with him and it Morris in the middle. [/quote]

When was this??
IMO Morris has looked no better than Gav, Harry or Hunt and will struggle to get back in the side as yesterday showed.

Quoted from GhostDan

I’ve been surprised at the standard of the League in general, I think there’s 10/12 decent sides, most of whom look to get the ball down and play generally albeit Stockport were incredibly direct yesterday.

Players wise for us - I wasn’t enamoured with Holohan last season but he’s been outstanding for me this year.  Clifton, Waterfall, Smith all brilliant aswell.

I’ve been slightly critical of Green a few times on here this season, mainly because we’d all seen how  good he was against us for the Shaymen and he hasn’t looked anything remotely like that player.. until yesterday. Playing in his proper position he was colossal, proper warrior and I hope he can kick on and be a huge player for us for the next few years.

The thought of a fully fit McAtee and Scannell coming back into this squad really is exciting.

UTFM

Khan, McAtee & Scanz in a front 3 would be interesting.

Truss - she's worse than I thought

Quoted from Bristol Mariner

Truss - she's worse than I thought

Really? You must have set quite a high low bar for her potential then!

Paul Hurst...even better than I expected at game management with the squad resources we have had available. We are missing our best forward and our most creative wide player, some of our key signings have been injured for pre-season and early season, we probably failed to land our key striker target in the transfer window, yet we've had a better-than-solid start. Our defence had been mostly excellent, especially away from home and when things haven't been working in midfield, he's changed things early and made a difference. As a result, our midfield has had a stranglehold on long periods of most games and delivered the goals to make up for our meagre resources up-top.

If we had had this start with McAtee fully available we would have still been delighted.

Clifton keeps getting better when you think that he can’t do it.  Keeps scoring away as well. Forest  Green wanted him for Div 1 in the close season.  They must have done their research.

Crocombe is extremely consistently good.  Fitness issues though.  At the end of the Promotion Final he had cramp. 😄😄😄😉

Clifton keeps getting better when you think that he can’t do it.  Keeps scoring away as well. Forest  Green wanted him for Div 1 in the close season.  They must have done their research.

Crocombe is extremely consistently good.  Fitness issues though.  At the end of the Promotion Final he had cramp. 😄😄😄😉

Harry Clifton - Always backed Harry and despite me not thinking he was the complete footballer it's always good to see someone who gives everything every game. He's come back this pre-season after committing his loyalty to us and been a different beast. If a big team comes in with a huge bid and he gets a good rise in his salary then he will certainly have my blessing to leave.. Ever so good to see one of your own doing so well.

I've not been hugely surprised by anyone really. Think Holohan has raised his game a bit more than I thought he could and Glennon hasn't been quite at the level I was expecting but have to temper that by recognizing he is still relatively inexperienced with first team football, and I expect he will improve given time. He sometimes loses the pace of the game and has to resort to last ditch tackles.

Waterfall and Smith have carried on where they left off and are making it difficult for Maher to get in the side. Efete is suffering from a lack of belief IMO, but he hasn't been as bad as some are saying.

Clifton and Taylor are under rated by a section of fans and both have rightly been mainstays of the side. Jury is still out on Kiernan. Works his nuts off but his end product is lacking. He does get us up the pitch though and is a good outlet, so that's maybe why PH likes him in the side over other choices.

I think Morris was excellent before he got injured and I expect he will work his way back into the side once fit again. Khan looks to be getting better as he gets match fit and has allowed Clifton to move inside from the left recently. Green is starting to now show why he was PH's main target.

We know what Amos and Cropper bring to the table and are both capable of stepping in should we need them to.

JMD is JMD. Capable of some great moments but can be anonymous for long spells. Wearne and Orsi haven't had enough game time to judge as yet.

Richardson, Pepple and Symmonds are what they are. Three young promising players learning their trade.

Max Crocombe, with his exotic sounding name, has probably been the one that has exceeded all expectations and just keeps getting better. Maybe that is down to his New Zealand background as they generally produce excellent sportsmen who don't lack for confidence. He's been around the game a long time without establishing himself anywhere, so credit again to PH for spotting something there when others perhaps didn't. Wouldn't surprise me if one or two scouts don't start keeping tabs on him if he carries on in the same vein.

Holohan was probably the one who I thought, going into the season, might struggle to make the level. I thought he came in last season at the right time and scored some excellent and absolutely vitally important goals, but the evidence appeared to be that he couldn’t quite make the step up with Hartlepool and the same might happen with us.

He has however firmly put any doubts to bed and he looks every bit a capable League Two midfielder and he’s continuing to score valuable goals. I think that’s a credit to both the player and his manager, who seems to have a knack of getting the most out of players.

He’s one of several really good midfielders we have at our disposal and without doubt the most strength in depth we’ve had in that department since 2006. Last time we came up from the NL our midfield options were Luke Summerfied, James Berrett, Dominic Vose and and ageing Craig Disley. This current crop is a level above.

Come to think of it, the level of depth we have in this squad is nuts, really. If we reach a point whereby all our players are available there’s going to be some very tough decisions to make. I had a go at picking our best 11 in my head and you can still field a pretty competent lineup with the players not in it. For instance:


Not everyone will agree that’s our best 11, but to illustrate the point you could field an entire second team of:


Even then, after selecting 22 players it still leaves a further 5 ‘senior’ players not used; Wearne, Maguire-Drew, Richardson, Pepple and Simmonds. 27 players and, with the potential exception of young Pardington in goal (who I know little about), I wouldn’t be disappointed to see any of them lining up in a Town shirt.

It’s an incredible turnaround from where we were 2 years ago.

Jason for not knowing our ground capacity and maintaining the line that we don’t  need more.

[quote=231]Paul Hurst...even better than I expected at game management with the squad resources we have had available. We are missing our best forward and our most creative wide player, some of our key signings have been injured for pre-season and early season, we probably failed to land our key striker target in the transfer window, yet we've had a better-than-solid start. Our defence had been mostly excellent, especially away from home and when things haven't been working in midfield, he's changed things early and made a difference. As a result, our midfield has had a stranglehold on long periods of most games and delivered the goals to make up for our meagre resources up-top.

If we had had this start with McAtee fully available we would have still been delighted.

Stranglehold? Sorry to be picky but we have struggled at home to pass water at times, especially in the first half, even when we have scored first. Clifton's energy and Greens physicality in the centre should ensure we disrupt some of the pretty patterns woven by opposing teams at BP starting Saturday hopefully.

Quoted from Croxton

Stranglehold? Sorry to be picky but we have struggled at home to pass water at times, especially in the first half, even when we have scored first. Clifton's energy and Greens physicality in the centre should ensure we disrupt some of the pretty patterns woven by opposing teams at BP starting Saturday hopefully.

What was evident again yesterday is that we are an incredibly industrious side prepared to run ourselves and the opposition into the ground. Hurst spoke of Stockport’s “energy” in the run up to the game, and yet it was they who couldn’t handle our relentless pressing, conceding two goals as a direct result of that.

If there’s a downside to that it’s that work rate is perhaps prioritised over creativity, and what we’ve lacked at home is the fluency and cuteness required to unlock stubborn away sides. What we must not forget though is that we are currently without our best and most creative player. The remarkable thing about McAtee though is that when he is fit and available once again, he will not only add that much needed flair and vision but also, almost paradoxically, add to our overall work rate.

I honestly believe we are a force to be reckoned with in this division with a fit McAtee. Even if he’s not back until Christmas time (and I think that’s pessimistic), that still leaves half a season for him to have a go at.

We absolutely can make the play-offs this season, in my opinion.

I think we are a better TEAM without McAtee, whilst he is our best individual player, last season we tried to always play through him, so when McAtee had a bad game we failed to perform. This was highlighted when we went on a bad run without him in the team.  This season everyone is contributing and play is not through one person, and I think McAtee coming back into the team will disrupt the team.

Quoted from Poojah

What was evident again yesterday is that we are an incredibly industrious side prepared to run ourselves and the opposition into the ground. Hurst spoke of Stockport’s “energy” in the run up to the game, and yet it was they who couldn’t handle our relentless pressing, conceding two goals as a direct result of that.

If there’s a downside to that it’s that work rate is perhaps prioritised over creativity, and what we’ve lacked at home is the fluency and cuteness required to unlock stubborn away sides. What we must not forget though is that we are currently without our best and most creative player. The remarkable thing about McAtee though is that when he is fit and available once again, he will not only add that much needed flair and vision but also, almost paradoxically, add to our overall work rate.

I honestly believe we are a force to be reckoned with in this division with a fit McAtee. Even if he’s not back until Christmas time (and I think that’s pessimistic), that still leaves half a season for him to have a go at.

We absolutely can make the play-offs this season, in my opinion.

That's what I'm saying - PH has adjusted selection and tactics because we are missing McAtee, Scanz and earlier on Khan. Yes we've traded creativity for industry and by stranglehold I mean not allowing teams to play through us and expose the back 4. It's worked really well. When we've conceded it's mostly been individual errors. Who has outplayed us? Swindon, and Orient for half a game, other than its 20 mins or so here and there. Industrious teams don't struggle at this level, errors are common, Challinor said in his interview, we keep ours below others and we'll do alright and more than that with a fit and firing McAtee.

Quoted from It Bites

Harry Clifton. Not only has he stepped up a level he's starting to look like a good league one prospect. Someone will come in with a lot of money in Jan . There aren't many players around like him anymore .he's been simply magnificent

I think being a homegrown player from the area helps Harry Clifton. Watching all or nothing on Amazon prime on Arsenal similar things were said about Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe. They get the club and embody the fans passion  for the club more than others.

Quoted from Limerick Mariner

That's what I'm saying - PH has adjusted selection and tactics because we are missing McAtee, Scanz and earlier on Khan. Yes we've traded creativity for industry and by stranglehold I mean not allowing teams to play through us and expose the back 4. It's worked really well. When we've conceded it's mostly been individual errors. Who has outplayed us? Swindon, and Orient for half a game, other than its 20 mins or so here and there. Industrious teams don't struggle at this level, errors are common, Challinor said in his interview, we keep ours below others and we'll do alright and more than that with a fit and firing McAtee.

Well if we’re picking up plenty of points with some of our most skilful attacking players still to play a game we should fancy ourselves in the second half of the season