Town for the title

We've got to go for this now, I know there is a fair bit of exciment at the minute with the new signings Jolley, Robertson and hopefully Palmer extended but I was all doom and gloom thinking are we even goner make the play offs seeing whats ready to leap from below. But since the Barnet game and us actually looking like a team I now have belief that we can win this league, take the points off the big teams and crack the habit of taking them from the lower teams and this is ours.

Lets drop all the negativity and everyone get behind them and hursty.

Were all grimsby!

Signings now in the bag, potential of another prior to the end of January, hopefully it will be Ollie Palmer to stay longer, and a huge statement of intent from the manager and directors to go for promotion this season. £50,000 uptake of company shares as well by a local benefactor !

Time for the fans to get behind this team, encourage, shout, wave the flags, welcome the new guys, scare the opposition etc etc.

HOW?? You've got to be there to do this - 4,000 on Saturday should be the first target - bring a friend, drag someone along you don't like, tell all of your Facebook & Twitter contacts, sod the shopping, no DIY, get down to the Park on Saturday and be that 12th man behind the Mariners !!

All remaining games are mini cup finals - everyone potentially winnable and 3 points every game being the optimum target - 48 points to go for !!

No cup hindrances, no excuses, it's all Conference action !!

No need to rush injured players back - it's a squad game from now on.

We seem to be in the best prepared fashion, with a squad that other teams will envy if they click together, and I appreciate that nothing is a given !

Let's hope Mr Jolley is the new talisman with his promotion runs in 2011 and 2013 - our turn ???

Can't see it, but we are in a much better position than before these signings. We could do it, but I'd say odd are about 10-1. However we are now in as good a position to do well in the play-off as we have been in this league. Tonight is a massively tough game against a form team and it will really post our intent if we get a win. If we don't, it doesn't mean we are not going up, it just makes my 10-1 odds a little greater. All that said, if Billy Hills are offering 10-1, I might have a tickle.

You can still get longer than 10-1, I think about 14-1 is available on us.

I'm pleased with the signings but Robertson is merely a replacement for Thomas and Jolley didn't do the business with Forest Green so I'm not convinced that we've improved enough to make a title charge. But I do think we are in good shape to make the playoffs where our problems beating the part-time strugglers will not be a factor.

Bet365 still have us at 14/1 for the title. Shortest odds are with Bet Victor who are only offering 7/1 at the minute.

I took us at 12's with SkyBet in November.

Not sure what prompted it, probably a moment of complete madness.  

I think Barnet are well within catching range.  Would like to think a lot of managers will have seen how they failed miserably to handle a high-tempo game the other week here and try to replicate that.  

It's Bristol Rovers I think we'll struggle to catch.  Fingers crossed I'm wrong.

Quoted from diehardmariner

I took us at 12's with SkyBet in November.

Not sure what prompted it, probably a moment of complete madness.  

I think Barnet are well within catching range.  Would like to think a lot of managers will have seen how they failed miserably to handle a high-tempo game the other week here and try to replicate that.  

It's Bristol Rovers I think we'll struggle to catch.  Fingers crossed I'm wrong.

My thoughts exactly. I can see us catching Barnet but I think Bristol Rovers will become the first team in over 10 years to bounce back up at the first attempt.

Makes the Valentine's Day game a bit massive

Less than two weeks ago we were going to struggle to make the playoffs, now we are going to be champions!

Well IF Gregor Robertson can take a decent corner, our chances have improved significantly IMO!

Pearson, Toto and Ollie(maybe) could be match-winners....provided we hang onto Ollie (and PH teaches him how to head a ball   ).

Tonight will tell us a lot....

Quoted from BIGChris

Less than two weeks ago we were going to struggle to make the playoffs, now we are going to be champions!

The fickle world that is The Fishy Chris.  

I kind of predicted this kind of thread.

2 defeats, no signings... sack Hurst

2 wins, 2 signings... We are going to win the league.  

That said it is certainly possible, we look as if we can be a force and be the team to beat as we were all hoping at the start of the season.  Plus it can often happen that a team have a great run of form in the second half of the season and challenge for the title.   I really hope this can happen.

But I think that we need to show more consistency first before we get excited, we have had hope before and talked about challenging for the title, already this season and last only for a defeat to turn it all doom and gloom.  While we came through Nuneaton the first half higlighted my personal doubts about this team and Hurst's ability to get us up.  While we responded excellently in the second half I atill have my doubts so will try not to get too excited just yet.  But I cannot lie it is quite exciting at the moment so I shall enjoy it!

Quoted from 137

Well IF Gregor Robertson can take a decent corner, our chances have improved significantly IMO!

There was a great video on the BBC site by Pat Nevin that gave his opinion why so many corners seem to be poor

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29634200

Quoted from Southwark Mariner

There was a great video on the BBC site by Pat Nevin that gave his opinion why so many corners seem to be poor

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29634200

That's a fascinating item, but so far as I am aware we don't have synthetic turf around the edge of the Blundell Park pitch?  I stand to be corrected.

Whatever happens we are going to try and win every game, so I don't see how we can "go" for the title specifically. That said I can see the club reasonably happy with a draw tonight, but that doesn't mean we are going to do a Cambridge and sit back for 90 minutes and defend.

Nothing changes for me. We still look play off bound but with a better chance now that we have recruited fairly well. Hursts failure to bring in sufficient firepower at the start of the season hamstrung us from the start and it's too late now to make up all that lost ground.

Only time will tell whether we have recruited well this window as previous seasons should attest. I fully expect players to be going out soon, so let's see where we are when the dust settles. Tonight is a 6 pointer for me. If we can beat them, it keeps them at arms length. If they beat us, another team is breathing down our necks. I'd take a draw.

Here is the problem - Barnet are running at present at 2 points per game if they continue with that they will end up on 93 points.
we have 16 games left - to overhaul that target we would have to win EVERY game. To draw level with them would only allow us 1 draw.

We are totally reliant on Barnet dipping - it's possible they could combust but I reckon they will still win the title. Having said that we've got a great record against the top half which bodes well for the play offs.

Quoted from ginnywings

Nothing changes for me. We still look play off bound but with a better chance now that we have recruited fairly well. Hursts failure to bring in sufficient firepower at the start of the season hamstrung us from the start and it's too late now to make up all that lost ground.

Only time will tell whether we have recruited well this window as previous seasons should attest. I fully expect players to be going out soon, so let's see where we are when the dust settles. Tonight is a 6 pointer for me. If we can beat them, it keeps them at arms length. If they beat us, another team is breathing down our necks. I'd take a draw.

I agree and the positivity/striker signings should have been made at the START of the season to give us a proper shot at the title.

It makes it all the more frustrating for me when signings like Jolley and Palmer should surely have been on our radar pre season. Not those two specifically but similar.

On the plus side, I said a while back that having cocked up pre season, the club had a duty to try to give us the best chance in the play offs if we make them, so I applaud them for getting in players who should give us a better chance of getting to Wembley.    

Jolley said in his Mariners Player interview that Hurst had been after him for a while, but Jolley decided to stay down south initially which is why he went on loan to Forest Green. I imagine we've had similar problems when trying to recruit other players. Palmer only came here because he wasn't getting in the team at Mansfield - we wouldn't have been able to get him here at the start of the season.

Quoted from horsforthmariner

Here is the problem - Barnet are running at present at 2 points per game if they continue with that they will end up on 93 points.
we have 16 games left - to overhaul that target we would have to win EVERY game. To draw level with them would only allow us 1 draw.

We are totally reliant on Barnet dipping - it's possible they could combust but I reckon they will still win the title. Having said that we've got a great record against the top half which bodes well for the play offs.

No we wouldn't. Winning our remaining 16 games would give us 101 points, so there is some leeway and if we beat Barnet again, that would give us a bit more leeway. Who you beat is often as important as winning.

Not that i think this will happen but..............................

Quoted from ginnywings

No we wouldn't. Winning our remaining 16 games would give us 101 points, so there is some leeway and if we beat Barnet again, that would give us a bit more leeway. Who you beat is often as important as winning.

Not that i think this will happen but..............................

Yeah my maths was a bit dodgy there - still it does mean we can only drop 7 points so 13 wins and a draw to beat Barnet on present form. That's a tough ask

Out of interest, have Barnet been top since the start of the season. If so has any team in this league remained top from beginning to end?

Quoted from oldun

Out of interest, have Barnet been top since the start of the season. If so has any team in this league remained top from beginning to end?

Barnet won their first 2 games but then lost at home to Lincoln and Halifax were top of the table for about 2 weeks. Barnet then got back on top and have been there ever since.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28718580

No chance

Quoted from horsforthmariner

Yeah my maths was a bit dodgy there - still it does mean we can only drop 7 points so 13 wins and a draw to beat Barnet on present form. That's a tough ask

Yep, very tough, which is why i think we are play off bound again, as i have done for most of the season after our slow start, which gave us too much to do to win the league outright.

Quoted from horsforthmariner

Here is the problem - Barnet are running at present at 2 points per game if they continue with that they will end up on 93 points.
we have 16 games left - to overhaul that target we would have to win EVERY game. To draw level with them would only allow us 1 draw.

We are totally reliant on Barnet dipping - it's possible they could combust but I reckon they will still win the title. Having said that we've got a great record against the top half which bodes well for the play offs.

Well they won't win every game because they will lose to at least one team before the end of the season....us

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

I agree and the positivity/striker signings should have been made at the START of the season to give us a proper shot at the title.

It makes it all the more frustrating for me when signings like Jolley and Palmer should surely have been on our radar pre season. Not those two specifically but similar.

On the plus side, I said a while back that having cocked up pre season, the club had a duty to try to give us the best chance in the play offs if we make them, so I applaud them for getting in players who should give us a better chance of getting to Wembley.    

My gut feeling is that Hurst was after these players, or similar, in the summer but couldn't close out the deals - hence the hairs on neck comments.  

Fair play to him for sticking at it.