What is Hurst smoking?

Don't agree with sacking Hurst now if I am honest, think we have to stick with him and back till the end of the season and hope he proves us doubters wrong, if he was to go needed to be before now in my opinion.

But seeing he said that really pissess me off.  For over a year we have been saying on here lets go and show we are the team to be afraid of, to be the positive team that makes others fear us.  Instead a home defeat to a rival club he can see as a bloody positive?  Credit to Rovers, they seem likely to be straight out of this place while we languish on for another few years, i cannot see that changing with Hurst in charge who thinks a home defeat can ever be a bloody positive.  Just for once Paul admit that we are not good enough!

The reality of Hurst is this is his character. If he is like this round the players no wonder we tend to look uninspired. I'm tired of watching football like we watched today and that man saying their were more positives than negatives. He even thought we controlled most of the game. Arnold has no first touch or vision. Mackreth can't beat a man, Clay was either not fit or not bothered. I could go on. Not for the first time we looked like PH sounds. And that's getting to where its not worth the £36 I paid for 2 tickets

With Palmer missing, there was a serious lack of hold up or splitting their two centre halves - they kept close to Lenny and just waited for Macreth and Arnold to run to each bye line then not finish off with centres properly.

Physical enough to do all of the crafty nudges just as balls arrived to put players off balance without giving away fouls.

We lost the midfield game of head tennis all day - they were after every second ball while we were content to hoof ball again. When will Brown be fit again?

Magnay must have been frustrated yet again, played his heart out, but the midfield seemed back to a weak set up, losing many balls in 2nd best challenges.

Bristol set out to frustrate us and succeeded, and had the best diver in their bearded forward - think his number was 10, looked to foul or be fouled at every opportunity and the ref lapped it all up. Their right winger gave Gregor a bit of a pasting as well.

I think of you look at it carefully there is something fundamentally conservative about the way he sets his teams out. Like we always throw the ball down the line, play a sideways pass or long ball rather than  switch of the play, aim near post on corners as to avoid getting counter attacked. I think he is a very goo manager in one situation. Away games to our rivals, you'll all say "we lost last week" but you can't blame him for Hannah missing a sitter and Toto and Diz playing them in twice. He is tactically clueless, no plan B. We fall behind nothing change. We go in front we don't press home our advantage, its nil nil in the 93rd minute at home to Nuneaton, we play sideways or long, no slick, incisive passing. If we do go up fair enough but if not je has to go. Also, Ross Hannah, what is the point. Scores but is offside (as always) and has now missed two sitters in a week. Get rid of him first

Quoted from SamTheMariner

I think of you look at it carefully there is something fundamentally conservative about the way he sets his teams out. Like we always throw the ball down the line, play a sideways pass or long ball rather than  switch of the play, aim near post on corners as to avoid getting counter attacked. I think he is a very goo manager in one situation. Away games to our rivals, you'll all say "we lost last week" but you can't blame him for Hannah missing a sitter and Toto and Diz playing them in twice. He is tactically clueless, no plan B. We fall behind nothing change. We go in front we don't press home our advantage, its nil nil in the 93rd minute at home to Nuneaton, we play sideways or long, no slick, incisive passing. If we do go up fair enough but if not je has to go. Also, Ross Hannah, what is the point. Scores but is offside (as always) and has now missed two sitters in a week. Get rid of him first

Bang on Sam. Hard to argue with any of your points.

The thing that frustrates me most is that Hurst can assemble a good team. He can get them playing attacking football.

There have been times when we've given teams a right stuffing (admittedly when Scott was part of the management team). We've put 7 past Stockport and Alfreton, 6 past Gateshead and 5 past the likes of Barrow and Alfreton (again, twice).

When Scott and Hurst managed Boston they recorded some massive wins. When they were appointed Town managers I was genuinely excited at the prospect of us at least going for it. If we conceded a few along the way, so be it.

At times Hurst looks like he could get the team playing fluid, attacking football. We conceded more chances than the 6-1 scoreline at Gateshead suggested, but we had a go. And then we really took it to Alfreton in the next game. We showed no mercy that day. Proper ruthless performance.

But as the season progresses it all gets just too cautious, too cagey. Attacking players are rotated, no partnerships are allowed to develop and it becomes a big mess. We scrape our way through the last dozen or so games and go into the play-offs with no form and no threat up front.

That can't be his plan, surely. I think he's so scared of losing that he can't let his flair players off the leash. He couldn't control Neilson when he demanded a disciplined performance. Instead of seeing him as an asset, he saw him as a liability.

The trouble we have now is that if he did want to grow a pair and really take a game to someone, we can't do it. John-Lewis isn't a flair player. Mackreth is one dimensional (although hard working). Not sure about Jolley yet. Arnold looks like he has some creativity in him, but he looks too scared to try anything half the time.

In some  ways I'm  glad I'm  ill and missed the game . Seeing as I had to listen to the match on the radio I can't  really pass comment , unlike the fans who did. What I do think though is if we don't get a result against Barnet and drop out of the play off spot serious decisions  must be made . If Hurst is still manager next season fans will be not renewing  season tickets . Two of my friend have already said this , I won't  be seeing them till later this week to get an honest match review , but going to watch us at home is now getting to be a chore.

[quote=3172]With Palmer missing, there was a serious lack of hold up or splitting their two centre halves - they kept close to Lenny and just waited for Macreth and Arnold to run to each bye line then not finish off with centres properly.

Physical enough to do all of the crafty nudges just as balls arrived to put players off balance without giving away fouls.

We lost the midfield game of head tennis all day - they were after every second ball while we were content to hoof ball again. When will Brown be fit again?

Magnay must have been frustrated yet again, played his heart out, but the midfield seemed back to a weak set up, losing many balls in 2nd best challenges.

Bristol set out to frustrate us and succeeded, and had the best diver in their bearded forward - think his number was 10, looked to foul or be fouled at every opportunity and the ref lapped it all up. Their right winger gave Gregor a bit of a pasting as well.rke
[/quotle]

Agree about Magnay our MOTM by a  country mile he made one last ditch block in the box that he had no right to get it had goal written all over it. His booking was deserved but you could see it was out of frustration by the lack of movement up front. The times he had the ball but nobody moved or made themselves available, so his only option was to try and hit Lewis who had a double man on every time it was so easy for them.

Same old same old.

4/5 games without defeat, not playing well but carry on regardless because we're picking up points.

Soon followed by key defeats and calls for Hurst to be sacked.

We'll get in the play offs but won't progress.  We're not good enough and are largely stifled by negative tactics.

Get rid now. Maybe new manager will fluke us through the play offs, Hurst certainly won't. Don't care who takes over, just someone remotely more dynamic than Hurst.  A tree perhaps.

Note to Hurst:

Jolly is not a holding up forward man like Palmer.  He is a player that needs the ball PLAYED IN FRONT OF HIM NOT TO FEET OR IN THE AIR How frustrating was it watching him getting beaten time and time again in the air it is clearly not is type of game. Play to his strengths FFS Get him out wider running at the derence and use someone bigger in height and bulk to win the ball up front. No wonder our defence was the busier it kept fecking coming back they had no rest. Everybody else could see this FFS.