Just back...Thank f..ck its over

Thats it, that's all I've got left

Thank god for that!

Right then, how many season tickets have we sold? When’s the new shirt out? And I can’t believe we haven’t signed anyone yet, sort it Artells!

Today was the perfect example of our season wasn't it. All puff no huff. Failed to take our chances while on top then gift two easy goals and lose the game.

Thank god the seasons over. Bring on the clearout and lets see what we can do going forward.

I can’t remember a season when we have missed more sitters. We could have had at least half a dozen more points if we could hit the target from two yards out.

Well thats a lot of hours of my life I won't get back. Now to find the money for another season ticket.

Don't think I've ever looked forward so much to a released list before. Season 23/24 goes down as a one of our worst vintages ever.

Crawley got what they wanted where as we got
What we wanted last Saturday..Relieved at that.
UTM.

It's a good job we'd already stayed up. Pleased to see Gardner get a start, he will be having nightmares about that miss, but I thought he grew into it, some clear movement and nice touches.

Vernam and Hume did well first half.

We are lacking quality.

A word for the Goalie who actually looks a decent player.

Actually looked alright for a while and how we missed those chances I'll never know, they were shockers even for us this season. Shambolic defending for the goals and after that it was pathetic. Lots of work to do.

Also does anyone know what this Tommy Robinson fanboy thing is with a small section of our fans? They were singing about him today and have a strange flag that says something like "we only kneel for Tommy Robinson"

It makes me feel a bit sick.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Also does anyone know what this Tommy Robinson fanboy thing is with a small section of our fans? They were singing about him today and have a strange flag that says something like "we only kneel for Tommy Robinson"

It makes me feel a bit sick.

My generation sang out loud how we loved Harry Robert’s for killing two coppers. Don’t think many teenagers give too much thought to how cringeworthy a number of the songs are but a hell of a lot of us went through that stage in our lives. Most will grow up and like our era shake our heads at how stupid we were!

So Rob was right, 43 points was enough to stay up. I really thought we would need at least 46.

And so there were three teams worse than us after all.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Also does anyone know what this Tommy Robinson fanboy thing is with a small section of our fans? They were singing about him today and have a strange flag that says something like "we only kneel for Tommy Robinson"

It makes me feel a bit sick.

While i'm not remotely a fan of the bloke it's great to see a group of out and proud town fans confidently exhibiting their sexuality 🌈

Quoted from RonMariner

So Rob was right, 43 points was enough to stay up. I really thought we would need at least 46.

And so there were three teams worse than us after all.

My brother said weeks ago that 43 points would be enough and he was correct. He went to Crewe and said after the game that we were safe whatever happened in our last two games.

FGR and Sutton back to their natural level.

Quoted from ginnywings

My brother said weeks ago that 43 points would be enough and he was correct. He went to Crewe and said after the game that we were safe whatever happened in our last two games.

FGR and Sutton back to their natural level.

Yeah agree, good to get rid of two teams who have brought nothing to the EFL and we will not miss their transit van full of 12 fans visiting us next year.

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Yeah agree, good to get rid of two teams who have brought nothing to the EFL and we will not miss their transit van full of 12 fans visiting us next year.

We’re losing Wrexham, Stockport, Mansfield & possibly Donny so standby for some terrible away numbers visiting BP next season

Quoted from pontoonlew

We’re losing Wrexham, Stockport, Mansfield & possibly Donny so standby for some terrible away numbers visiting BP next season

More room for Town fans then, if we can just stop being so utterly shít as a league club.

Realistically, only really Bradford and Notts County likely to need the larger section of the Osmond of those definitely in League Two. Personally, I have a feeling Donny will fall short in the play-offs. Hope so, anyway, always has great away day potential with that big away end of theirs.

To be fair to Sutton, they were in the league because they earned it, not because they spent loads more money than most of the other Conference teams. They were always going to struggle to stay in the League for very long, but didn't rely on sugar-daddies to get them promoted in the first place.

Quoted from pontoonlew

We’re losing Wrexham, Stockport, Mansfield & possibly Donny so standby for some terrible away numbers visiting BP next season

Chesterfield should sell out the Pontoon and Carlisle and Port Vale normally bring decent numbers away so it might not be that bad comparatively, especially if we get rid of MK Dons or Crawley through the playoffs.

Quoted from Poojah

More room for Town fans then, if we can just stop being so utterly shít as a league club.

Realistically, only really Bradford and Notts County likely to need the larger section of the Osmond of those definitely in League Two. Personally, I have a feeling Donny will fall short in the play-offs. Hope so, anyway, always has great away day potential with that big away end of theirs.

And Chesterfield. But yes overall away numbers will be down.  We need to fill the Osmond ourselves.

It’s been a terrible season. After the highs of last year that we thought we’d build on it’s just been so depressing. Saturday nights have been about self medication to get through the despair. It’s never boring being a town fan I suppose is the positive way of looking at it and escaping relegation does feel good knowing how if feels twice before.
There’s always the hope that the players coming in will change our fortunes next season. That’s the hope that keeps us coming back for more. And that’s why we keep coming back for more and we’d never swap it . Up the Mariners!!

What an amazing time it would be to get into League One. Lincoln, Barnsley, Rotherham, Huddersfield, Mansfield and potentially Donny would make for a great set of local(ish) games. We've only really got Bradford and Notts left in League Two.

The game really summed up our season. Started brightly, fashioned two or three guilt-edged chances that we somehow found a way to miss, before conceding two avoidable goals which killed us off mentally. Had all the ball second half but had no idea what to do with it because we don't have a game plan for when we go behind.

Hoping for at least a less stressful season next time around. Have a great summer all.

Quoted from Poojah

More room for Town fans then, if we can just stop being so utterly shít as a league club.

Realistically, only really Bradford and Notts County likely to need the larger section of the Osmond of those definitely in League Two. Personally, I have a feeling Donny will fall short in the play-offs. Hope so, anyway, always has great away day potential with that big away end of theirs.

Chesterfield normally bring a good following..

Certainly missed the urgency of something to play for. No season in League Two is a bad season we know there are plenty worse places we could be.

Quoted from GrimRob

Certainly missed the urgency of something to play for. No season in League Two is a bad season we know there are plenty worse places we could be.

That's really defeatist. Bradford are absolute dogshiite but were in with a chance of the play offs to the last game. Our form, post Donny, would bring us to Bradford's level. So long as Artell learns from his mistakes, improves upon this year's stock (shouldn't be too difficult) , added to a weaker league, we could be contenders

Quoted from forza ivano

That's really defeatist. Bradford are absolute dogshiite but were in with a chance of the play offs to the last game. Our form, post Donny, would bring us to Bradford's level. So long as Artell learns from his mistakes, improves upon this year's stock (shouldn't be too difficult) , added to a weaker league, we could be contenders

Sure we can do better if absolutely everything clicks we might make the playoffs but it's probably about a 1 in 5 chance. There's a huge gap between where we ended, even last season which was a 20 test high point and making the playoffs. I'd be happy just to be in the chasing pack in February with an outside chance of sneaking in. But the bottom line is to avoid relegation it's far more likely than promotion.

Quoted from GrimRob

Sure we can do better if absolutely everything clicks we might make the playoffs but it's probably about a 1 in 5 chance. There's a huge gap between where we ended, even last season which was a 20 test high point and making the playoffs. I'd be happy just to be in the chasing pack in February with an outside chance of sneaking in. But the bottom line is to avoid relegation it's far more likely than promotion.

I respectfully disagree. We have a dogshite squad, but Artell/Joe's January dealings strengthened us immensely. Post Donny we would be on course, with this awful squad, accumulate 68 odd points. Add another 3-4 players of the January calibre ( & don't go back to fannying around at the back ) and we are serious play off contenders (and I'm not a huge pro Artell man)

Quoted from forza ivano

I respectfully disagree. We have a dogshite squad, but Artell/Joe's January dealings strengthened us immensely. Post Donny we would be on course, with this awful squad, accumulate 68 odd points. Add another 3-4 players of the January calibre ( & don't go back to fannying around at the back ) and we are serious play off contenders (and I'm not a huge pro Artell man)

They 3-4 needs to be 6-7.

Just imagine how many points we'd have won (in spite of being crap) if we hadn't missed so many easy chances in the 6 yard box? I don't remember a season where we've missed anywhere nearly as many sitters as this. Our opponents seem to have generally managed to knock most of them in, the odd exception aside.

Hopefully, next season, regardless of who is playing for us, we'll be able to shin/knee/bottom/chin a few of them into the goal. And also score some goals from attractive, positive play as well, of course.

The team that started our first game back in the league 22/23 :
Crocombe,Glennon,Smith,Waterfall,Efete,Green,Morris,Holhanan,Mcatee,Kiernan,Clifton .
Team that started  the final  game 23/24 season
Eastwood ,Smith , Mullarkey, Rodgers ,Hume , Thompson , Green , Khouri, Vernam , Wilson , Gardner

We have had a massive turnover of player with only 1 potentially remaining (Green) from our first fixture at Leyton Orient back in 2022 . It's maybe more an example of how quick player turnover is , especially lower down .

I ask the question though  whether our team that finished this season is even as good as the one which we started with almost 2 years ago ?

I'm not sure it has been 'continuous development ' in the 4 windows we have had since returning to the league , but it's pivotal this summer is 'a big one ' or we are in danger of regression once more .

Thank fu*k it's over you are right .

Quoted from forza ivano

I respectfully disagree. We have a dogshite squad, but Artell/Joe's January dealings strengthened us immensely. Post Donny we would be on course, with this awful squad, accumulate 68 odd points. Add another 3-4 players of the January calibre ( & don't go back to fannying around at the back ) and we are serious play off contenders (and I'm not a huge pro Artell man)

Problem is almost every team is 3/4 players short of promotion. You sign the best players you can and there are all sorts of factors whether it works out, some of which you can't control. Also quite a few teams will fancy their chances next year and up their budgets. The new format may or may not benefit us. We're in with a shout for sure. I just don't think it's a failure if we don't succeed, we just get another chance for the following year. Eventually we'll get the winning forumula.

It’s been a very poor season and i think it shocked JS how close we came to going down again.
I think this summer he will be more ruthless he was taken for a ride by hurst and doug last summer.

Quoted from GrimRob

Problem is almost every team is 3/4 players short of promotion. You sign the best players you can and there are all sorts of factors whether it works out, some of which you can't control. Also quite a few teams will fancy their chances next year and up their budgets. The new format may or may not benefit us. We're in with a shout for sure. I just don't think it's a failure if we don't succeed, we just get another chance for the following year. Eventually we'll get the winning forumula.

Sorry rob what do you mean by new format next season?

Impossible to tell how well or badly we will do next season until the new squad is assembled.

The first clue will be the retained list. If we don’t release all of the poor performers it will not bode well. We did ok at the back end of the season, well enough to secure our status by a seven point margin, but were no where close to being good enough to pose a realistic challenge for promotion next season. Too many inconsistent performers and too many players making basic errors. A real lack of quality in evidence.

So we need at least half a dozen new players of a decent standard to come in to complement the handful of good players we have.

Quoted from toontown

Sorry rob what do you mean by new format next season?

The new TV deal. Lots of fixtures kick off at lunchtimes. Likely to see lots less away fans. Ok the rules will be the same but it's likely to have a different "feel".

Compared to this, next season on paper looks weaker, especially when you see whose in the national league play offs. We are losing the big hitters Wrexham and Stockport and replacing Mansfield with Chesterfield.

Sorry for stating the obvious but explaining our comfortable 19th place position next season  

Quoted from Chrisblor

While i'm not remotely a fan of the bloke it's great to see a group of out and proud town fans confidently exhibiting their sexuality 🌈

Top post but probably too subtle for it’s targets.

Quoted from Stew0_0

Compared to this, next season on paper looks weaker, especially when you see whose in the national league play offs. We are losing the big hitters Wrexham and Stockport and replacing Mansfield with Chesterfield.

Sorry for stating the obvious but explaining our comfortable 19th place position next season  

Morecambe will be in a right mess , Swindon the same .

Lot's of teams with far lower budgets than our's for sure  , yes there are anomalies like Crawley this season and mistakes have been made but we need a season punching at our weight minimum next time out imo, otherwise people really will think it's just the same book with a different more aesthetic cover than our previous chapter.

Fleetwood are on their bottom wouldn’t be surprised if they went into administration.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Also does anyone know what this Tommy Robinson fanboy thing is with a small section of our fans? They were singing about him today and have a strange flag that says something like "we only kneel for Tommy Robinson"

It makes me feel a bit sick.

Sick and embarrassed.

Time to reflect
My criticism of Gardiner was totally unjustified but a reflection of how I feel about this season . I just never expected it too happen again so soon and it caught me out mentally . It just drunk me off to the point I got bored with it all and any player seemed fair game for criticism.
I know where the club is at financially and I know any top half finish  in LG2 is about as good as it will get . All I want is a team who can pass, trap the ball and give 100% for our incredible fans

Quoted from GrimRob

The new TV deal. Lots of fixtures kick off at lunchtimes. Likely to see lots less away fans. Ok the rules will be the same but it's likely to have a different "feel".

I don’t think this “new format” will be quite as disruptive as many people seem to think. There will be 248 League Two games broadcast in total next season, accounting for 44.5% of all games played, which does sound a lot on the surface. However, the lion’s share of these will be games already planned to be played outside the 3pm blackout; e.g. Tuesday evenings and bank holidays. These games won’t need to be moved, and in most instances will be a kind of iFollow-plus service via the Sky Red button (minimum 2 camera angles, neutral Sky commentary, but not the punditry and other bóllocks you get with traditional Sky broadcasts).

Each weekend, there will be an average of 2.5 League Two games allotted a full broadcast selection, which equates to about 21% of each weekend’s round of fixtures. You would expect to find a Town game moved something like every 5th weekend, so presumably that equates to around 6 games across the season no longer being at 3pm on a Saturday. Exactly when those games will be I’m not certain, presumably any time from Friday night to Sunday lunchtime (there’s little point in Sky pitting League Two games against its “Super Sunday” product), but I don’t see it as being the end of the world. It’s not unusual for our games to be moved by the police anyway.

Personally, I think the improvements to the quality of coverage, the additional games broadcast (e.g. every League Cup game) and of course the money that comes with it are worth the disruption to fixtures, which is relatively minor imo.