So after signing 8 additional forwards Holloway now cites losing Hanson as the clear reason we are not winning and shipping goals for fun over last 3 games. You can't deny on his day he his quality at what he does but surely he would have brought in at least one of his octet that does a similar role.

There is something very 'Emperor's New Clothes' about Holloway and his transfer policy this season, at best questionable and at worst reckless.

He has been moaning about the 5 subs so lets so if this improves our fortunes.

We all want him to succeed and the buzz his arrival brought to the town was immense, yes Wuhan Flu ruined everything we had planned, probably biggest season ticket influx in years etc. etc. but it happened to every other league club too and some of them are sitting top of their respective leagues right now.

Just hope Holloway is not too pig headed to change things he thinks are right but obviously are not working and becomes as success as oppose to another big name manager on a downward trajectory to oblivion.(Dave Jones, Phil Brown etc.)

I think the only thing that might be built bearing Hansons name would be a new treatment room designed solely for his use

He's past it and we'll be lucky to get 10 games out of him and they probaly wont be full 90 minutes

Hansons a very good player. No doubt. But to aim to build a team around him is at best Naive and at worst woefully incompetent. His body cant do it any more and surely Ollie knows that?  

It's the loss of Billy Clarke that we've not addressed for me.

Hanson had already developed niggles before Holloway arrived and we saw limitations in his play.  Probably not his fault but when he's on the pitch, everyone else reverts to type and hits it long.  By this time last season we already saw teams tighten up on him with one in front and one behind, referee's ignoring it or giving free-kicks against us.

Clarke gave us someone in attack who had mobility, creativity but also that ability to hold up the play too.  

Quoted from Hagrid

Hansons a very good player. No doubt. But to aim to build a team around him is at best Naive and at worst woefully incompetent. His body cant do it any more and surely Ollie knows that?  

Couldn't agree more.

I'm not one of the Ollie out brigade but if results don't start improving over the next few games I can see things starting to turn ugly I'm afraid.

Three points for us at Tranmere even a draw would certainly be a big lift, here's hoping.

Billy Clarke was indeed the key to Hanson’s best play. He is a player with a football brain and that’s what’s lacking. Not searing pace or even masterful ball control, just the ability to read the game and know what to do BEFORE the ball comes, not be searching for a free team mate and faffing about in circles and backward passing after it comes.

Quoted from Hagrid

Hansons a very good player. No doubt. But to aim to build a team around him is at best Naive and at worst woefully incompetent. His body cant do it any more and surely Ollie knows that?  

“Woefully incompetent” Who is? Hanson? Or Holloway? I think that’s a ridiculous thing to say and some people need to get a grip of reality.

I suspect Holloway wanted to bring in another striker just didn't get anyone of the quality required willing to come here. You can have a go at the board saying they should have pushed the boat out but they were probably just thinking get through this season with a club reasonably still intact.

We've been average this season but not awful. We are not Slade mark 2 or Newall. I'm doubtful we'll end up in trouble. I say give Holloway time. If were still in the same position this time next year then maybe we can carp but I think we've had a couple of bad results, one in a pointless comp. Let's not get too carried away.

Quoted from jimgtfc

“Woefully incompetent” Who is? Hanson? Or Holloway? I think that’s a ridiculous thing to say and some people need to get a grip of reality.

Erm..............I think the words "aim to build a team around him" give the game a away.

Holloway hasn't built a team around Hanson. Hanson was already at the club, and we can't realistically afford another player of Hanson's quality and skill-set (but fitter) while Hanson and his no doubt substantial wage are still on the books.

Think some people are over-reacting to this comment anyway. I don't think he's said/meant that we're not winning because we miss Hanson. I think he just means we miss him, which we clearly do.

Regarding the comments about Billy Clarke, I agree, and think the closest we have to that now is George Williams.

Build a team without Hanson. He has missed more game than he has played this season.  If he is fit and playing then this can be plan B.

Remember when the vast majority of Fishy users didn’t think we needed a striker because we’d signed loads from Non League and still had Matt Green.

Fond memories

Quoted from Tommy

Holloway hasn't built a team around Hanson. Hanson was already at the club, and we can't realistically afford another player of Hanson's quality and skill-set (but fitter) while Hanson and his no doubt substantial wage are still on the books.

Think some people are over-reacting to this comment anyway. I don't think he's said/meant that we're not winning because we miss Hanson. I think he just means we miss him, which we clearly do.

Regarding the comments about Billy Clarke, I agree, and think the closest we have to that now is George Williams.

Good shout on Williams.  Definitely the one with the most natural craft in his game.  In terms of someone told hold it up, I'd be tempted to use Scannell for that. On a few occasions when I've seen him with his back to goal, he's managed to get in front of the defender whilst making the ball stick and bring others into play.  

You lose Venham and Clarke, and then go shopping in Poundland, what do people expect.

Its not as if Holloway has been around the game for years is it......

Its a Dog's Dinner, and its been served up by a total clown.

I think those being quick to have a pop at the plan of building around Hanson should check back and note that he made over 30 appearances last season, (and also the season before that too)  hardly the stats of an old croc.
Unfortunately it seems the disrupted pattern of football, life in general and the pre-season shambles has left its mark on him and perhaps the injuries will now start to snowball as his body starts to compensate/ over compensate for what would maybe have just been niggles when he was younger.  
He certainly doesnt appear fit and match sharp in the glimpses so far and this latest injury will set him back even more when/if he returns.

The problem I think we have now is I’m not sure plying with Hanson is any help. As already stated, we revert to type and sling it long. Not an issue if you’re defensively relatively good and someone can play off Hanson. We don’t have that though.

We lost good players for varying reasons and have brought in, in some instances lesser quality players to replace them.

Holloway has been with us since January now, whether out of context or not, surely he figured Hanson’s game time would slowly ebb away? My own view is we don’t play much better with Hanson in the side, but I recognise he’s probably the only striker we have that does look like scoring a goal.

I think our issues this season run deeper than an old centre forward who’s often injured. We all know those issues. Some relate to the manager, some are off the pitch issues in some aspects and some are players may be being a a bit short still...

Hanson & Gibson may prove a decent combination if they get a run of games together and have some quality balls played forward and not 50 yard hoofs. I know Ollie’s intentions are to play through the team but it seems the players struggle to deliver this over 90 minutes but confidence is the key to get the system to work and confidence comes through scoring goals using that style.

Catch 22 as don’t score we revert back to longer balls to Hanson, without Hanson ball doesn’t stick up front so gets continually played backwards and sideways in the wrong area of the pitch. Maybe Hanson with Gibson or even Windsor over a 5 game period may lead to the change we all want, a few goals and a few wins.

I cannot see this working, look at his League stats.  From Season 2016/17 to date he has only played 47 league games and only scored 10 goals.

Maybe another Hanson was beyond our present budget, but presumably, the combined wages of some of the squad members would amount to a figure enough to sign such a person? Given that we have far more players than we actually need IMHO then it is arguable that we could have signed a second Hanson.

A second Hanson would have cost a small fortune.

With a Hanson and a Green in the building, it doesn't leave a lot of room for moving about really.  Of those players we've brought in permanently, I can only imagine it's Rose, Williams and Scannell who command a decent wage.  More than likely they've been offset by the departures of Hessenthaler, Vernam and Clarke respectively.  Possibly Moshni is on a decent whack but considering his last club was in the Greek Second Division a year ago, maybe not.  Either way, Harry Davis left and I imagine some of that wage went there.

The other signings are either raw talent (Gibson, Jackson and Sisay coming in for the same wages we were paying for Cardwell and Rose) or loan players, who we're probably pay sod all for.    

Yeah we've got a large squad but it's quite clearly put together on the cheap and goodwill from other clubs in the case of loan signings and having a minimal impact on the overall budget.  I don't think there's any room for bringing a second Hanson in unless we offload one or both of him and Green, which is incredibly unlikely.

I find the Hanson statement a bit misleading
I am 99% certain he wasn't involved v Orient and Cheltenham (only a late sub?) when we played really well and won
So we didn't really miss him then...

Quoted from horsforthmariner

I suspect Holloway wanted to bring in another striker just didn't get anyone of the quality required willing to come here. You can have a go at the board saying they should have pushed the boat out but they were probably just thinking get through this season with a club reasonably still intact.

We've been average this season but not awful. We are not Slade mark 2 or Newall. I'm doubtful we'll end up in trouble. I say give Holloway time. If were still in the same position this time next year then maybe we can carp but I think we've had a couple of bad results, one in a pointless comp. Let's not get too carried away.

If we've been average, we'd be 12th. We are not 12th by some margin. And we'd have won 2 or 3 of our cup games, not 0/6. We are 86th of 92.

If you have a big chap like Hanson you need wingers who can centre the ball. When Hanson plays all we do is hit long balls to him in no mans land. If you look back to the great headers of the ball ( Rafferty, Tees, etc.) we have always had good wingers who could get to the bye line.  This  in my opinion is what we need instead of fartarsing about in the middle of the pitch.