Overwhelming feeling of anger

I have just listened to the players and the manager on the radio both before and after the playoff final and what upsets and angers me the most is that every single player backed the manager and thought some fans were totally out of order post first leg and rightly so, PH has said the victory was for those fans that stood by the team and not for those that turned their back on him and the players.

You only have to listen to Dis, Pearson, Podge, Monkhouse talk so highly of PH saying he's so passionate about football and winning even if he doesn't show it, the players have the utmost respect for him, Us fans do not see behind the scenes, and we all know the dressing room is far more important than fan's perception sometimes. And year in year out PH has built a team that prides itself on togetherness, something we seemed to have forgotten from last year which let's be honest kick started the love towards out players knowing that there was true unity for once.

I would be gutted if those that wanted him sacked on the first leg have done irreparable damage to his feelings and the player's feelings about the club.

The racists at Halifax, the Hurst Out brigade it's all a bit sour and I think anyone who doubted the team should be ashamed of themselves.

I would definately advise anyone to listen to the match again post Sunday to realise how wrong many were

To be fair there are some who have already apologised and admitted they were wrong but there are still quite a few posters who kept banging on about how "We'll never get promoted with this clown in charge" who have been deafening with their silence since Sunday!

It is odd how we went from a season penned as a failure to ultimately our greatest season in almost 20 years in the space of 90 minutes.

We were in the playoffs all season which given the record of teams finishing so poorly after a playoff final defeat (Wrexham, Gateshead, Kidderminster) to not back everyone until our fete was decided at 5:50 on Sunday was pretty poor IMO

Quoted from excusebeef

I have just listened to the players and the manager on the radio both before and after the playoff final and what upsets and angers me the most is that every single player backed the manager and thought some fans were totally out of order post first leg and rightly so, PH has said the victory was for those fans that stood by the team and not for those that turned their back on him and the players.

You only have to listen to Dis, Pearson, Podge, Monkhouse talk so highly of PH saying he's so passionate about football and winning even if he doesn't show it, the players have the utmost respect for him, Us fans do not see behind the scenes, and we all know the dressing room is far more important than fan's perception sometimes. And year in year out PH has built a team that prides itself on togetherness, something we seemed to have forgotten from last year which let's be honest kick started the love towards out players knowing that there was true unity for once.

I would be gutted if those that wanted him sacked on the first leg have done irreparable damage to his feelings and the player's feelings about the club.

The racists at Halifax, the Hurst Out brigade it's all a bit sour and I think anyone who doubted the team should be ashamed of themselves.

I would definately advise anyone to listen to the match again post Sunday to realise how wrong many were

For balance......i would argue that there was no knee jerk reaction to the first leg defeat...the calls at that point by and large (and i concede that there are some that just want him out whatever) where as a result of the clear dip in performances and what where, to all on lookers, some odd team selections over the previous 10/11 games....we appeared to be sliding aimlessly down the top 5 and badly limping into the play off's...play off's heighten the emotions and the current form at that time, our previous record and inability to score against Braintree only pointed one way.
That to me prompted some of the OTT reactions after the Braintree defeat...i thought we were doomed....i had no or little faith that we would turn it around, i am not ashamed of that, it was an opinion formed out of what was showing in front of me.
I was at least pleased he changed the line up for the second leg, AT LAST, i thought, something different....and then again the right subs at the right time ( for probably only the second or third time across the season) to change again and swing the tie completely.

Hursts radio personality does come across as a bit dour or in his own words "boring", but if you watch the video interviews of him and alot of the times he has a little wry smile on his face, he has a dry sense of humour IMO which doesnt necessarily work on the radio. He has also kept his emotions in check for the most part, motionless on the sidelines, arms folded... until Braintree and then again on Sunday and his post Sunday interviews have shown his passion and his hurt.

Its easy to say in hindsight we should have kept faith, shouldnt have doubted it etc but i think there was enough evidence to doubt it prior to the second leg.

All history now and hopefully we all can wipe the slate clean, the guy has delivered on operation promotion, we are football league fans now !! Chapter 1 ; GTFC The non league years complete....Chapter 2 ..???

UTM

Relax, haven't you heard? We've been promoted!

Quoted from moosey_club

For balance......i would argue that there was no knee jerk reaction to the first leg defeat...the calls at that point by and large (and i concede that there are some that just want him out whatever) where as a result of the clear dip in performances and what where, to all on lookers, some odd team selections over the previous 10/11 games....we appeared to be sliding aimlessly down the top 5 and badly limping into the play off's...play off's heighten the emotions and the current form at that time, our previous record and inability to score against Braintree only pointed one way.
That to me prompted some of the OTT reactions after the Braintree defeat...i thought we were doomed....i had no or little faith that we would turn it around, i am not ashamed of that, it was an opinion formed out of what was showing in front of me.
I was at least pleased he changed the line up for the second leg, AT LAST, i thought, something different....and then again the right subs at the right time ( for probably only the second or third time across the season) to change again and swing the tie completely.

Hursts radio personality does come across as a bit dour or in his own words "boring", but if you watch the video interviews of him and alot of the times he has a little wry smile on his face, he has a dry sense of humour IMO which doesnt necessarily work on the radio. He has also kept his emotions in check for the most part, motionless on the sidelines, arms folded... until Braintree and then again on Sunday and his post Sunday interviews have shown his passion and his hurt.

Its easy to say in hindsight we should have kept faith, shouldnt have doubted it etc but i think there was enough evidence to doubt it prior to the second leg.

All history now and hopefully we all can wipe the slate clean, the guy has delivered on operation promotion, we are football league fans now !! Chapter 1 ; GTFC The non league years complete....Chapter 2 ..???

UTM

I admit that my opinion was wrong but I'm not apologising for having an opinion on a public forum. As moosey says, PH does come across as a dour, maybe boring, character but Matt Dean's superb interview opens up a whole new Paul Hurst to me - he's shown more emotion in the last 9 days than he has in 5 years and made himself more admirers by doing so (albeit it's easier when you've won something!)

Why does this have to be brought up again and again? People doubted Paul would get us promoted but he did, from what I can see posters who did doubt Paul would get us promoted have openly come on here and admitted they got it wrong and praised him for the win so surely we should now all concentrate on Sunday and for next season.FFS

We were going into our sixth season of non league with this being the straight fourth under him in the playoffs and we had failed every single time under him..

The negativity of a poor run going into the playoffs this year along with remarks from him after halifax nightmare meant there would naturally be doubters.

Abuse and the banners were totally out of order but if going over and over about the players did it this year because of the negativity of the fans is all well and good but lets remember these fans were used to failure and always failing so it would be natural for the feel to be one of intrepedation.

And if the manager now will keep digging away at fans at every interview about how the minority of fans doubted him is all well and good but how about a shout out for the ones who followed him to barrow or dover season on season.

I really think he has done a fantastic job now and i held my hands up by saying i got it wrong by thinking he couldnt do it but i am not going to sit back while he or the players keep slagging off as its the fans negativity as to why we got promotion this year not the fact we put money together as a whole to help him again this season or the near 2,000 that followed him to halifax.

99% of our fans are excellent so its time he and the players started saying they are the reason we got promoted not keep digging away at the fans or players putting message screenshots up on twitter as a reason we did it this year.

Yes paul you finally got the promotion but how about we start building a stronger relationship rather than chipping away at the not very strong one you already have with the fans.

Sick of all this 'we were right all along' brigade coming out in true force trying to take away any enjoyment from the people who posted criticism over the years. From what I saw on here and at games almost never contained 'abuse' it was frustration born out of expectation. That doesn't mean you come out the woodwork now the objective has been achieved and claim people who did air their views are somehow less entitled to celebrate than others. It's flipping boring, enjoy it ffs.

Also, racism at Halifax? Either find some evidence or delete it, it's one thing parading round about how right you were but it's all together another damaging the reputation of our fans based on unfounded speculation.

Actually lew a good point, were is this racist stuff at halifax we talk about ?


Evidence please or lets stop going on about it as its time that was put right to bed now.

The problem here is the section of 'fans' that the Club are criticising. It's a very vague finger-point in the area of the fans in general, while just referring to a small minority.
Perhaps something more untoward has gone on, something a bit too close to Hurst and his family, but we're left guessing in the main.
As I said earlier, get Matt Dean & Paul Hurst; Part 2 done, let's hear more and see if the genuine fans can help out.
Otherwise that wedge that is sometimes driven between management and fans might be driven in a little too far.

To be honest, this was our 4th season in the play offs and was bound to achive success in the playoffs at some point over the course of 3 matches. Paul Hurst, with the apparently 4/5th biggest buget, has been achiving par for the course for season after season, seeing above buget crowds which wasn't being achived before his time in conference before, with extra money coming in from trophy finals and created last year positivity for the crowdfunding project. Which has kept the boardroom happy.

I've been critical about Mr Hurst in the past. He's achived the promised land. I supposed I shouldn't be negative at this point in time and I won't be. (hopefully I haven't in this post!) He's a decent manager. Stubborn, yes. Defensive(negative?) style of play. Yes. which isn't my fave style. And is he a special manager who can achive above average final standings in the league table at end of season? I would say no. He's a decent manager who'll achive results that on balance par for what the buget allows. Will he ever do more than whats expected from the buget?!?!?! I'm on the fence. I'm willing to find out and back him even thou I don't really like the guy.

Quoted from excusebeef

We were in the playoffs all season which given the record of teams finishing so poorly after a playoff final defeat (Wrexham, Gateshead, Kidderminster) to not back everyone until our fete was decided at 5:50 on Sunday was pretty poor IMO

No we weren't.

If you want to come on here excrement stirring get your facts right.

And where's this fete, I'd like to go.

Quoted from excusebeef

I have just listened to the players and the manager on the radio both before and after the playoff final and what upsets and angers me the most is that every single player backed the manager and thought some fans were totally out of order post first leg and rightly so, PH has said the victory was for those fans that stood by the team and not for those that turned their back on him and the players.

You only have to listen to Dis, Pearson, Podge, Monkhouse talk so highly of PH saying he's so passionate about football and winning even if he doesn't show it, the players have the utmost respect for him, Us fans do not see behind the scenes, and we all know the dressing room is far more important than fan's perception sometimes. And year in year out PH has built a team that prides itself on togetherness, something we seemed to have forgotten from last year which let's be honest kick started the love towards out players knowing that there was true unity for once.

I would be gutted if those that wanted him sacked on the first leg have done irreparable damage to his feelings and the player's feelings about the club.

The racists at Halifax, the Hurst Out brigade it's all a bit sour and I think anyone who doubted the team should be ashamed of themselves.

I would definately advise anyone to listen to the match again post Sunday to realise how wrong many were

Get a grip FFS over reaction of the week!

The silence from the biggest naysayers is as embarrassing as many of their outburst have been.

People make mistakes, players have made mistakes, the manager has, they all know that but for those of us who stuck with it, along with the belief the players/manager had its turned out well in the end.

Will those that claim Hurst is tactically inept or has no plan 'B' that they all obsess over apologise? The 2 games it genuinely mattered he had both.

Do I care about the naysayers? Couldn't care less, I lost my interest in many fans after their embarrassing behaviour at Halifax. I just hope for those miserable whiny girl privates that were moaning at half time at Kiddy are enjoying the humble pie...I suspect many won't admit it thoUgh and would rather cut their noses off to spite their faces...

Quoted from aldi_01

The silence from the biggest naysayers is as embarrassing as many of their outburst have been.

People make mistakes, players have made mistakes, the manager has, they all know that but for those of us who stuck with it, along with the belief the players/manager had its turned out well in the end.

Will those that claim Hurst is tactically inept or has no plan 'B' that they all obsess over apologise? The 2 games it genuinely mattered he had both.

Do I care about the naysayers? Couldn't care less, I lost my interest in many fans after their embarrassing behaviour at Halifax. I just hope for those miserable whiny girl privates that were moaning at half time at Kiddy are enjoying the humble pie...I suspect many won't admit it thoUgh and would rather cut their noses off to spite their faces...

Wouldn't it be an idea to knock this on the head right here and right now.

ALL GRIMSBY TOWN FANS WANTED THE SAME OUTCOME - THANK F**K WE GOT IT.

Some fans OPINIONS were right, some fans OPINIONS were wrong - I defy any fan to say that at 9pm on the evening of Thursday May 5th that they were confident that we would a) beat Braintree and b) beat FGR.

Somehow and in some way, we found the way to get the job done. Wouldn't now be a good time to realise that we are all entitled to have an opinion and stop this 'I was right, you were wrong' shite.

Quoted from aldi_01

The silence from the biggest naysayers is as embarrassing as many of their outburst have been.

People make mistakes, players have made mistakes, the manager has, they all know that but for those of us who stuck with it, along with the belief the players/manager had its turned out well in the end.

Will those that claim Hurst is tactically inept or has no plan 'B' that they all obsess over apologise? The 2 games it genuinely mattered he had both.

Do I care about the naysayers? Couldn't care less, I lost my interest in many fans after their embarrassing behaviour at Halifax. I just hope for those miserable whiny girl privates that were moaning at half time at Kiddy are enjoying the humble pie...I suspect many won't admit it thoUgh and would rather cut their noses off to spite their faces...

I think it's a bit embarrassing to ask people to 'apologise' for airing views in a decent manner. The people who put up a banner should apologise, the people who wrote personal abuse towards Hurst should apologise. But they should've apologised right then because it was wrong from the start. People having an OPINION based on a game they've just seen and having to apologise for said opinion 3 years later is ridiculous.

Asking people to apologise claiming we don't have a plan B? Quite frankly a stupid comment, mainly given that we didn't demonstrate one until Monkhouse got injured and forced our hand to find one.

It all worked out fantastically and I'm absolutely delighted for Hurst & every single player. And us the fans, the fans who have invested years and thousands of pounds into our passion and something we ALL want.

We've just won promotion for felicitations sake, our team are out there now on an open top bus tour round the town celebrating and this board has turned into a playground. LOOK AT ME EVERYBODY I WAS RIGHT.

What about last year? What about when the doubters were proved right what happened? We all came together and raised 100k for a promotion.

Yet 3 days after promotion to the football league this board is full of pillocks asking for an apology from fans who ever dared to question wether it was going to happen.

Quoted from aldi_01

The silence from the biggest naysayers is as embarrassing as many of their outburst have been.

People make mistakes, players have made mistakes, the manager has, they all know that but for those of us who stuck with it, along with the belief the players/manager had its turned out well in the end.

Will those that claim Hurst is tactically inept or has no plan 'B' that they all obsess over apologise? The 2 games it genuinely mattered he had both.

Do I care about the naysayers? Couldn't care less, I lost my interest in many fans after their embarrassing behaviour at Halifax. I just hope for those miserable whiny girl privates that were moaning at half time at Kiddy are enjoying the humble pie...I suspect many won't admit it thoUgh and would rather cut their noses off to spite their faces...

Has Paul Hurst apologised yet for his childish we have been spoilt outburst?

Quoted from pontoonlew

I think it's a bit embarrassing to ask people to 'apologise' for airing views in a decent manner. The people who put up a banner should apologise, the people who wrote personal abuse towards Hurst should apologise. But they should've apologised right then because it was wrong from the start. People having an OPINION based on a game they've just seen and having to apologise for said opinion 3 years later is ridiculous.

Asking people to apologise claiming we don't have a plan B? Quite frankly a stupid comment, mainly given that we didn't demonstrate one until Monkhouse got injured and forced our hand to find one.

It all worked out fantastically and I'm absolutely delighted for Hurst & every single player. And us the fans, the fans who have invested years and thousands of pounds into our passion and something we ALL want.

We've just won promotion for felicitations sake, our team are out there now on an open top bus tour round the town celebrating and this board has turned into a playground. LOOK AT ME EVERYBODY I WAS RIGHT.

What about last year? What about when the doubters were proved right what happened? We all came together and raised 100k for a promotion.

Yet 3 days after promotion to the football league this board is full of pillocks asking for an apology from fans who ever dared to question wether it was going to happen.

For what it's worth I don't expect anybody to apologise and I hope everybody has and is enjoying it. I just felt compelled to pick you up when instead of acknowledging you were wrong or just ignoring it, started justifying your desire to have him sacked, talking about his mistakes, your preparedness to forgive him and his need to 'up his game' going forward. The day after he'd got us promoted back to the Football League!  

You have the right to criticise him and he has the right to not eulogise about what a wonderful supporter you are, which ultimately is what's annoying you.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Has Paul Hurst apologised yet for his childish we have been spoilt outburst?

FFS.

Quoted from aldi_01

The silence from the biggest naysayers is as embarrassing as many of their outburst have been.

People make mistakes, players have made mistakes, the manager has, they all know that but for those of us who stuck with it, along with the belief the players/manager had its turned out well in the end.

Will those that claim Hurst is tactically inept or has no plan 'B' that they all obsess over apologise? The 2 games it genuinely mattered he had both.

Do I care about the naysayers? Couldn't care less, I lost my interest in many fans after their embarrassing behaviour at Halifax. I just hope for those miserable whiny girl privates that were moaning at half time at Kiddy are enjoying the humble pie...I suspect many won't admit it thoUgh and would rather cut their noses off to spite their faces...

Oh dear. You have clearly demonstrated how much you care less about naysayers by writing a diatribe about them that really should be in chalk on the playground wall.

Just cast your mind back to the morning of the semi-final second leg. How many fans were confident of even getting a draw in normal time in that game when we had failed to score against Braintree and didn't look like scoring in the first leg? Cast your mind back to those games this season where the only tactic seemed to be the long ball to Monkhouse's head and how we looked clueless when that was sussed by any half intelligent opposition.

Now put the two together. Monkhouse was injured. The side had to be changed and had to play in a different way. Result? A result. Plan B by default. Team selection for Wembley? Again no Monkhouse. No long hopeful punt up the left wing. Result? A result.

If anyone has the right to say "I told you so" it is the critics, your naysayers, who had been asking for that very change in selection and tactics for weeks/months, but the change came not by choice but by chance.

I am delighted for the manager. He has been under pressure all season. I think OP put him under even more pressure than normal and it has shown in his body language and his interviews. He works hard. He's signed some good players as well as some poor ones. He's played the percentages and this year he has had the play off luck that he maybe didn't get in previous seasons and who's to say he doesn't deserve it?

But people are entitled to say what they think about what they observe as long as it isn't personal abuse. I hope the Fishy will continue to be an outlet for constructive criticism and that the manager would take it as such.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

For what it's worth I don't expect anybody to apologise and I hope everybody has and is enjoying it. I just felt compelled to pick you up when instead of acknowledging you were wrong or just ignoring it, started justifying your desire to have him sacked, talking about his mistakes, your preparedness to forgive him and his need to 'up his game' going forward. The day after he'd got us promoted back to the Football League!  

You have the right to criticise him and he has the right to not eulogise about what a wonderful supporter you are, which ultimately is what's annoying you.

Of course most people would like us to up our game. We finished 21 points off the top so we'll obviously need to improve in the league above, it's not exactly an earth shattering suggestion.

You're right it would be nice to have some more praise for the fans, I felt the people who abused him at games and put banners up got more air time on Sunday. Whilst Hurst has every right to stick two fingers up (I would've). The 13k+ fans deserved more praise. Operation promotion wasn't mentioned once, the support all season (and for the last 6 years) wasn't mentioned. There was a quick thankyou which came after the pop at the so called minority.

Just find the atmosphere after such a superb day a bit odd.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Has Paul Hurst apologised yet for his childish we have been spoilt outburst?

Nope, not yet. But those comments where "misinterpreted" by those who didn't think 3 times before they posted on here.

I feel bridges have been burnt. I'm pleased he's got us where we are and for him to take us forward next season. But I feel there's plenty of disrespect coming from both sides from not only the fans but from Mr Hurst himself.

A thread like this was inevitable. There has been months of absolutely relentless negative comments. People repeating over and over the exact same Hurst out posts at every possible opportunity. Anyone who didn't join in was part of the "rose-tinted specs brigade" or were blamed for our continued non-league status because they were "accepting failure" rather than demanding we kick out the manager. Taking that excrement for so long isn't forgotten overnight.

Many people on both sides may want to simply forget all that now we're up. But perhaps it's worth dwelling on at least a little. Surely there's something to learn? At the very least we've now know that fan abuse does reach and affect the manager and players. Either way I think this will die down pretty soon.

Quoted from MeanwoodMariner

A thread like this was inevitable. There has been months of absolutely relentless negative comments. People repeating over and over the exact same Hurst out posts at every possible opportunity. Anyone who didn't join in was part of the "rose-tinted specs brigade" or were blamed for our continued non-league status because they were "accepting failure" rather than demanding we kick out the manager.

Many people on both sides may want to simply forget all that now we're up. But perhaps it's worth dwelling on at least a little. Surely there's something to learn.

Going up matters, though you are only as good as your last game. We don't want to be relegation strugglers like Newport or worse still, York. So in that sense it is worth looking back to learn lessons. But looking forward, in L2 we will meet better players and also better managers than we have faced this season. Clearly Mr Hurst has earned the right to give it a go if he wants to. Personally I have some doubts about his team selection and tactics having sufficient flexibility. A lot will depend on his initial player recruitment and how quickly he adapts to L2, it could be a steep learning curve.

If we are to progress then sentiment cannot be any sort of priority. I don't expect to see us tearing up trees in L2 for starters but we do not have unlimited time for big decisions. We have seen what happens if a manager is given too long through misguided loyalty to get things right. The non-chairman has a lot on his plate here to judge what is needed and when. His track record isn't exactly brilliant in this respect. Let's hope his football acumen does not need to be put to the test again.

Perhaps this is over-pessimistic especially at a time when we should all be celebrating, but hey, when in Rome ............

Quoted from Les Brechin

To be fair there are some who have already apologised and admitted they were wrong but there are still quite a few posters who kept banging on about how "We'll never get promoted with this clown in charge" who have been deafening with their silence since Sunday!

Didn't really want to post on this thread, but not sure whether you meant me Les, as I have called Paul Hurst a clown in a post and also a chump. The worst I've posted out of pure frustration. Anyone can read my posts going back to February. I think on the whole I've backed up my frustration with reasoned argument and not what anyone could call abuse. In fact I've defended him at times if anyone wants to read through my posts. I have also posted a couple of times on other threads congratulating him and praising Nathan Arnold since the Final.

I think I'm going to be honest and actually say what I think.

I am over the moon that we've gone up, I really am. Sunday for me was a release of a lot of pent up frustration. I've been on cloud nine since.

I don't get the love in with Paul Hurst though. I get that he is the manager that has got us promoted. I get that he's a decent man, I've posted that too on many occasions. But he hasn't been too complimentary to us the fans over the years, well before the latter part of this season.

I actually think he got very lucky this year. I think we can all accept that whenever Monkhouse has been fit, Hurst has played him. So, Aldershot away 2-0 down at half-time, Monkhouse and Hoban are injured so he was forced to make changes and bring Bogle on and we went on to win, If we hadn't have won there we would have been going to Tranmere on the last day of the season needing a result to even qualify for the play-offs. The same with Braintree away. Monkhouse fit for the first leg, he plays and we were sh1te. Forced to make changes for the second leg due to an injury, we're a different team. Gave Hurst massive respect for the substitutions in that game but we got to that point out of circumstance not planning.

My first post on this site was on 20th of February calling for a midfield three and I've been frustrated that Hurst hasn't seen this for months. Circumstances got him to that point over the past week nothing else. I am not apologising for my opinions nor should anyone else. Abuse is another matter.

Do I think Hurst deserves to manage us next season? On balance, because he got us up, yes. Do I think he's a good manager? Probably not. Do I think he's the new messiah all of a sudden? Certainly not! To be honest I don't think I got it that wrong with most of my posts if anyone wants to take the time to read them again. All of them written out of the love and passion I have for GTFC and wanting the club to achieve great things.

Promotion this year is a massive step, but there's a long way to go yet and no Mariners fan should settle for mediocrity.

Edit.
New season, clean slate..

And so the summer of love begins ...

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Wouldn't it be an idea to knock this on the head right here and right now.

ALL GRIMSBY TOWN FANS WANTED THE SAME OUTCOME - THANK F**K WE GOT IT.

Some fans OPINIONS were right, some fans OPINIONS were wrong - I defy any fan to say that at 9pm on the evening of Thursday May 5th that they were confident that we would a) beat Braintree and b) beat FGR.

Somehow and in some way, we found the way to get the job done. Wouldn't now be a good time to realise that we are all entitled to have an opinion and stop this 'I was right, you were wrong' shite.

The problem is, once we lose a couple of games next season the same old comments will be posted once again

Quoted from Harry Haddock

The problem is, once we lose a couple of games next season the same old comments will be posted once again

Maybe, maybe not - but at least we could give it a rest till then.

There was a clear dip in form over the last 8 to 10 games - that's a fact. I thought Town were brilliant on Sunday - that's a fact.
He and the team pulled it out of the bag and they deserve all the plaudits we can throw at them. Doesn't mean that they didn't deserve some of the criticism they got.

I have been an unswerving PH fan but that doesn't mean I think no one should state how they feel about him as a manager and as our manager. Maybe I've missed something, but I don't recall anything too offensive or hate-fuelled having been said. At many other clubs there would have been 'Hurst - out!' protests from the section of the fans that wanted him gone, at numerous home games. I think he's got a great future and I hope he will learn to love the fans of this club as we hold him in ever greater respect but I also think he needs a slightly thicker skin. He's the manager of a football club where fans speak their mind.

By the way, I'm all up for some Paul Hurst 'love in' over the summer but he needs to join in. I have an overwhelming feeling of joy!

Quoted from Bigdog

Not sure whether you mean me Les, but I have called Paul Hurst a clown in a post and also a chump. The worst I've posted out of pure frustration. Anyone can read my posts going back to February. I think on the whole I've backed up my frustration with reasoned argument and not what anyone could call abuse. In fact I've defended him at times if anyone wants to read through my posts. I have also posted a couple of times on other threads congratulating him and praising Nathan Arnold since the Final.

I think I'm going to be honest and actually say what I think.

I am over the moon that we've gone up, I really am. Sunday for me was a release of a lot of pent up frustration. I've been on cloud nine since.

I don't get the love in with Paul Hurst though. I get that he is the manager that has got us promoted. I get that he's a decent man, I've posted that too on many occasions. But he hasn't been too complimentary to us the fans over the years, well before the latter part of this season.

I actually think he got very lucky this year. I think we can all accept that whenever Monkhouse has been fit, Hurst has played him. So, Aldershot away 2-0 down at half-time, Monkhouse and Hoban are injured so he was forced to make changes and bring Bogle on and we went on to win, If we hadn't have won there we would have been going to Tranmere on the last day of the season needing a result to even qualify for the play-offs. The same with Braintree away. Monkhouse fit for the first leg, he plays and we were sh1te. Forced to make changes for the second leg due to an injury, we're a different team. Gave Hurst massive respect for the substitutions in that game but we got to that point out of circumstance not planning.

My first post on this site was on 20th of February calling for a midfield three and I've been frustrated that Hurst hasn't seen this for months. Circumstances got him to that point over the past week nothing else. I am not apologising for my opinions nor should anyone else. Abuse is another matter.

Do I think Hurst deserves to manage us next season? On balance, because he got us up, yes. Do I think he's a good manager? Probably not. Do I think he's the new messiah all of a sudden? Certainly not! To be honest I don't think I got it that wrong with most of my posts if anyone wants to take the time to read them again. All of them written out of the love and passion I have for GTFC and wanting the club to achieve great things.

Promotion this year is a massive step, but there's a long way to go yet and no Mariners fan should settle for mediocrity.

And this post, to me, just about sums it up.  Hurst who has been in football all his life, had a successful playing career and a successful managerial career albeit it at a non league level.  He is respected far and wide within the game and, just to make it clear....Bogle came here because Solihull's manager thought he would be the best manager to take him to the next level.  When he came here he was portrayed as the shorty out of shorty and shouty. After Scott left he was subsequently referred to as tactically naive and "not a winner"  by people who know less about the game than he has forgotten.  Some idiots on here try to claim that he had a falling out with Bogle....not true. He was barracked by the brain dead 20 minutes into the first leg against Braintree.  Some cretin put a Hurst Out banner up so the team bus could see it as they travelled to Wembley!!

Yes....he will (and should) get criticism on here in a reasonable and respectful manner but it went much too far.....and now the critics are still trying to claim they knew better....Monkhouse was injured.....he played 433 at Braintree and I was suggesting that all along! Give it a bloody rest! Just give him the credit he deserves.  He did the job and he did it well.

On a final note...if someone had put that banner up and I was in charge I'd have wanted to shove it where the sun doesn't shine.....no wonder he was angry.....no wonder they haven't held their hands up to it. Pond life...that's my first post for ages and no doubt I'll be hammered for it. But I really don't bloody care!

Often in life you wipe the slate clean with what's gone before.

A new league, a new start, let's not look back, we are not going that way.

Onwards and upwards.

Quoted from Marinerz93

Often in life you wipe the slate clean with what's gone before.

A new league, a new start, let's not look back, we are not going that way.

Onwards and upwards.

Water under the bridge now we move on why some people on here want to beat themselves up over comments they did or didn't say is beyond me wouldn't surprise me one bit if the Samaritans Grimsby branch as been overly busy.

I said at the start of the season if Hurst doesn't take us up, maybe it's time to look at other options, if he takes us up then he would deserve the right to progress the club and his own career.

I started to doubt him only when we lost at Braintree at home in the league game, was angry and said on here he's a muppet which I apologise for, but he's proved me wrong and I'm happy he's staying.

Hurst more than anyone has the best chance of keeping the players he brought into this club, and I'm rather excited at the prospect of the players he will bring into the club to push further, I see no doubt whatsoever that we can follow in Bristol Rovers footsteps and jump from League 2 to League 1.

Time to move on.

It was a tough season, emotions ran high on both sides, but it ended well for us.

So now let's all move forward together, fans players, management.  We all came together after last seasons play off defeat, and so let's have the same positive mind set for our assault on L2.

Quoted from excusebeef

I have just listened to the players and the manager on the radio both before and after the playoff final and what upsets and angers me the most is that every single player backed the manager and thought some fans were totally out of order post first leg and rightly so, PH has said the victory was for those fans that stood by the team and not for those that turned their back on him and the players.

You only have to listen to Dis, Pearson, Podge, Monkhouse talk so highly of PH saying he's so passionate about football and winning even if he doesn't show it, the players have the utmost respect for him, Us fans do not see behind the scenes, and we all know the dressing room is far more important than fan's perception sometimes. And year in year out PH has built a team that prides itself on togetherness, something we seemed to have forgotten from last year which let's be honest kick started the love towards out players knowing that there was true unity for once.

I would be gutted if those that wanted him sacked on the first leg have done irreparable damage to his feelings and the player's feelings about the club.

The racists at Halifax, the Hurst Out brigade it's all a bit sour and I think anyone who doubted the team should be ashamed of themselves.

I would definately advise anyone to listen to the match again post Sunday to realise how wrong many were

Have you ever heard of the "Sumo" theory? ..............It's based upon the principle of Shut Up Move On  

Where promoted, managers staying and no more  Lincoln next season!!!

I truly believe that by the weekend this tension will all be over and there will be peace in the GTFC galaxy. I include Hurst in that. I think he possibly allowed the criticism to affect him too much, or perhaps deliberately created the siege mentality in his own head and in the squad to get the best out of them. Give him a fan unity and positivity and I think he'll use that to his advantage even more effectively.

With my non-existent psychological knowledge I would say get any lingering frustration on this topic out of your system in the next day or two, then enjoy the Trophy final and then a summer of hope before we enjoy a new lease of life in the FL! It won't be long before the fixture list comes out and every team we play is a full time club, all of which are based in actual towns and cities. The Osmond end will regularly have fans that you can actually see and hear, and we won't have to patronisingly applaud 12 people for coming to BP to watch their team's effort to play out a turgid 0-0.

Quoted from MeanwoodMariner

I truly believe that by the weekend this tension will all be over and there will be peace in the GTFC galaxy. I include Hurst in that. I think he possibly allowed the criticism to affect him too much, or perhaps deliberately created the siege mentality in his own head and in the squad to get the best out of them. Give him a fan unity and positivity and I think he'll use that to his advantage even more effectively.

With my non-existent psychological knowledge I would say get any lingering frustration on this topic out of your system in the next day or two, then enjoy the Trophy final and then a summer of hope before we enjoy a new lease of life in the FL! It won't be long before the fixture list comes out and every team we play is a full time club, all of which are based in actual towns and cities. The Osmond end will regularly have fans that you can actually see and hear, and we won't have to patronisingly applaud 12 people for coming to BP to watch their team's effort to play out a turgid 0-0.

He did say in an interview that he printed out some of the criticism to spur the players on and prove people wrong, so you are probably not far off the truth.

The way i see it is this:-

A lot of regulars on this site stuck their heads above the parapet. Those in the pro Hurst camp got to keep their lovely features and those like me who were Hurst detractors got their ugly mugs shot off. I can live with that.

To err is human, to forgive divine.

UTFM.

Looking back, way back, I was only little, Buckley I, I thought he got a lot more abuse.
Always getting heckled when things weren't going our way. And that was just from the Main Stand

[quote=3478]Looking back, way back, I was only little, Buckley I, I thought he got a lot more abuse.
Always getting heckled when things weren't going our way. And that was just from the Main Stand

Methinks the original poster doth protest too much.....



(Since we're getting Shakespearian)

Hurst is understandably reaping the glory, I would be doing the same,but in a way he still feels sorry for himself. He seems a nice family loving bloke not like some higher up the leagues. After his holidays , and his contract has been signed and sealed I hope he sits down and ponders.  Ponders why there was negativity from the majority of fans in the last 3 months. Oh yes, it was from the majority.   When the transfer window opened their was friendly banter about who we were going to sign".Guess whose legs these are on the training field " I think I had 10 guesses , I,m still sure they were Pele,s and not Strakers, The majority of fans felt let down by the quality of signings. At the time we were in the middle of a 9-10 match winning run. Then to me he started to lose the plot. He altered the system.Starting with Gateshead and Halifax our performances went downhill. Almost everybody started playing poorly. This caused lack of confidence in the players, the longer it went on the worst it was getting. The fans were getting worried. We were all looking over our shoulders at the chasing pack. But he still wouldn,t alter the system. The same big boot to Monkey, predictable substitutions,seemingly no plan never mind a plan B.  Except for the odd game we were no longer a team that others feared. It was easy for them. Even I could have managed a team to stop Town winning. FANS  on the Fishy were coming up with their own ideas on what team to pick and what tactics to deploy,  Why wouldn,t he do something. Fans were getting more and more worried. Negativity was justifiably getting worse,abuse from a very small minority.  Hurst,s remarks whether out of context or not were hurting a lot of people. We managed to reach the playoffs.  We lost at home to Braintree using the same tactics, thats it, all hope gone.  Then something happened. Was it something he had to do through injury or did he decide to look at what a section of the fans were pleading with him to do.  " When was the last time the players and the fans showed 100% commitment,---The Wrexham home game "   Nothing to lose , lets try it at Braintree. It worked. It worked again at Wembley.   Ponder Paul----Ponder,

Quoted from tarka

And this post, to me, just about sums it up.  Hurst who has been in football all his life, had a successful playing career and a successful managerial career albeit it at a non league level.  He is respected far and wide within the game and, just to make it clear....Bogle came here because Solihull's manager thought he would be the best manager to take him to the next level.  When he came here he was portrayed as the shorty out of shorty and shouty. After Scott left he was subsequently referred to as tactically naive and "not a winner"  by people who know less about the game than he has forgotten.  Some idiots on here try to claim that he had a falling out with Bogle....not true. He was barracked by the brain dead 20 minutes into the first leg against Braintree.  Some cretin put a Hurst Out banner up so the team bus could see it as they travelled to Wembley!!

Yes....he will (and should) get criticism on here in a reasonable and respectful manner but it went much too far.....and now the critics are still trying to claim they knew better....Monkhouse was injured.....he played 433 at Braintree and I was suggesting that all along! Give it a bloody rest! Just give him the credit he deserves.  He did the job and he did it well.

On a final note...if someone had put that banner up and I was in charge I'd have wanted to shove it where the sun doesn't shine.....no wonder he was angry.....no wonder they haven't held their hands up to it. Pond life...that's my first post for ages and no doubt I'll be hammered for it. But I really don't bloody care!

I remember you and very few others backing AB and his last few weeks in that final spell tarka and bloody good for you.PH much like AB doesn't do himself any favours with the fans in interviews etc but when it comes to winning games of football they seem to win more than they lose.I have been frustrated,bored and bloody angry with PH at times but I backed him last year by buying a season ticket for the first time since AB was disgracefully sacked and I will back him again next season.PH is a good manager but he doesn't do soundbites or good PR that`s just is way safe pair of hands were lucky to have him Mike Newell again anyone?

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

Oh dear. You have clearly demonstrated how much you care less about naysayers by writing a diatribe about them that really should be in chalk on the playground wall.

Just cast your mind back to the morning of the semi-final second leg. How many fans were confident of even getting a draw in normal time in that game when we had failed to score against Braintree and didn't look like scoring in the first leg? Cast your mind back to those games this season where the only tactic seemed to be the long ball to Monkhouse's head and how we looked clueless when that was sussed by any half intelligent opposition.

Now put the two together. Monkhouse was injured. The side had to be changed and had to play in a different way. Result? A result. Plan B by default. Team selection for Wembley? Again no Monkhouse. No long hopeful punt up the left wing. Result? A result.

If anyone has the right to say "I told you so" it is the critics, your naysayers, who had been asking for that very change in selection and tactics for weeks/months, but the change came not by choice but by chance.

I am delighted for the manager. He has been under pressure all season. I think OP put him under even more pressure than normal and it has shown in his body language and his interviews. He works hard. He's signed some good players as well as some poor ones. He's played the percentages and this year he has had the play off luck that he maybe didn't get in previous seasons and who's to say he doesn't deserve it?

But people are entitled to say what they think about what they observe as long as it isn't personal abuse. I hope the Fishy will continue to be an outlet for constructive criticism and that the manager would take it as such.

Hammer, nail, head!  

Quoted from nightrider

[quote=3478]Looking back, way back, I was only little, Buckley I, I thought he got a lot more abuse.
Always getting heckled when things weren't going our way. And that was just from the Main Stand

AB used to have regular spats with some of those behind the dugouts and trust me he more than held his own.The decision to sack him ultimately cost us our football league place and that was largely down to one mistake signing that twit Martin Butler who left AB out to dry.

Quoted from nightrider

Looking back, way back, I was only little, Buckley I, I thought he got a lot more abuse.
Always getting heckled when things weren't going our way. And that was just from the Main Stand

I can remember Buckley offering someone out sat behind the dugout in the Main stand , He was never a PR man but knew what he was doing and made it clear he'd never change his footballing principles.
Fergie had been hated at Man Utd for a couple of years until he got lucky and won the FA cup in 1990 , he then went on to be the best manager that there has ever been.
This sort of thing comes with the territory if you're a football manager , Hurst will learn how to deal with it eventually

Quoted from nightrider

Looking back, way back, I was only little, Buckley I, I thought he got a lot more abuse.
Always getting heckled when things weren't going our way. And that was just from the Main Stand

George Kerr also. Remember him bringing a player on with a few minutes to go when we were chasing a game(can't remember who unfortunately.) " You haven't got a clue Kerr, why are you putting him on?" from some in the main stand.   2 minutes later an incredibly important equalizer from the (un)said player, George turns to the main stand and gesticulating wildly and screams, "THAT'S fu**ing why!" Lol

There must have been hundreds of Town fans at Old Trafford last night as their manager was roundly booed when he tried to speak on the pitch after the game.

Quoted from arryarryarry

There must have been hundreds of Town fans at Old Trafford last night as their manager was roundly booed when he tried to speak on the pitch after the game.

Plenty of Van Gaal out banners too. Must be a dear do for Town fans to go to Old Trafford and twice to Wembley in a week.  

How we get there I don't know
How we get there I don't care
All I know is Grimsby's on the way.

The negatives have been used as a motivational tool by  Hurst and appears to have contributed to getting us over the line 'to prove them wrong'.

Would they have snapped out of it if nobody had a go? I'm not trying to justify those that go too far with personal abuse but it looked like the wheels were coming off somewhat and even staunch Pro-Hurster's like myself were struggling to justify keeping blind faith.

He's entitled to his rant if certain people have upset him and his family but I think going forward we should focus on the positives. Whoever at the reigns got to accept there's a Grim Grimbarian eternal pessimist element -that just comes with the territory.

Be it Buckley in the Championship or whatever you'd still have the same old shitlarks heckling towards the dugouts from the Main Stand and whatnot.

Focus on the positives I say; trust me if the majority really wanted him out BP would become a very nasty place with attendances dropping seriously low repeatedly and anti Hurst and Fenty chants ringing around the grounds home and away. Massive booing and abuse towards players would come with all this.

We've not seen any of that, there's been a couple of matches where attendance dropped a bit but then you look at the swollen fanatical away followings,  the extra Season ticket sales, the overall increase in attendance, the positive or at the very least neutral atmosphere. The loud chanting towards the end of playoff final when we could easily have all been sat in silence biting our nails, the great turnout throughout the borough for open top bus parade.

So many positives I really think they should be latched onto instead. It was the weight of expectation but now that job is done and we can, to a man, breath easier.

From my vantage point in the Pontoon and selection of away matches abuse has been very minimal with great  patience shown. You always get the odd one, but even they have in the main bitten their tongue and wittered to their mates instead of spewing vitriol towards the player's.

I get the feeling some on here are just trolls, some don't bother to go anymore and are just full of venom towards Fenty and every incumbent no matter what, some do go but forever unsatisfied right up to the more neutral who just had serious doubts after seeing tactical shortcomings for so long. Even stretching to Pro-Hurster's like myself struggling to defend and agreeing with some of the concerns raised.

I hope we can move on together, I had a bit of ding dong with my mate after Wembley -he was proclaiming how smug he was to be proved right and couldn't wait to rub it in Anti-Hurster's faces.... He sounded so bitter and angry I called him an 'anti-anti Hurster' and just as bad as them -'smug' has such negative connotations I'd prefer to be just plain old clean 'happy'!

Quoted from ginnywings

Plenty of Van Gaal out banners too. Must be a dear do for Town fans to go to Old Trafford and twice to Wembley in a week.  

Or it was a Man U fan that put that banner up on the flyover.

Surely it's time to end this long playing record. Some have apologised, some have gloated, now let's move forward. We have a very good young manager, We have some great players that we want to hold on to, let's get right behind them and convince them that they should stay here next season.

Let's change the record to Ken dodds happiness and buy tickets for this weekend.

The double is still on and I want to be there to enjoy it,  don't you?

Quoted from 1mickylyons

AB used to have regular spats with some of those behind the dugouts and trust me he more than held his own.The decision to sack him ultimately cost us our football league place and that was largely down to one mistake signing that twit Martin Butler who left AB out to dry.

I've said it before but the game after he had gone I think probably the second time there were balloons and streamers up in one of the executive boxes in the Findus Stand celebrating his leaving.

PH could do well to ask AB how he coped with those who didn't agree with him or his tactics. Wherever he manages a football club he has to be thick skinned and he will soon realise it isn't just at Grimsby where his managing will be questioned.

Quoted from arryarryarry

There must have been hundreds of Town fans at Old Trafford last night as their manager was roundly booed when he tried to speak on the pitch after the game.

Perhaps the only difference is one manager failed in his objective this season and one succeeded

Can someone please just release the fixtures/sign some players/someone sign a new contract/someone sign for someone else just so we can stop this embarrassing 'you said this and I said this and then this happened' tripe?

It's flipping pathetic!  We've won promotion.  PROMOTION!!!! Yet there's still point scoring and nit picking going on.  Who cares who said what, who cares who backed the manager most?  

It's no wonder the pool of people posting on this forum appears to dwindling when most threads get turned into this type of crap all the time!  We've all had our say, throughout the season.  MOVE ON!  Enjoy the fact we're back in the Football League!

Hurst did a good job. Winning promotion out of the Conference is incredibly difficult at the best of times, but when you're being outspent by a few teams (and considerably so in some cases), getting over the line takes some doing. Just look at Luton, for example. Took them years, despite their great expenditure.

Oddly enough, I don't think Hurst has done nearly as good a job this season as last when, let's not forget, we would also have been promoted but for a terrible refereeing decision going against us. This year, I feel his signings weren't good enough following the promising start in the close season and the failure to get that 4th striker really cost us any chance of getting near the title.

But please, let's give him (and the players) the credit which has been well-earned and don't start trying to claim we've won promotion due to 'lucky' injuries forcing his hand.

Next season, I hope that the kudos of League status will make it a bit easier for us to sign the sorts of players we were unable to get last year.

Quoted from DickBarton

Surely it's time to end this long playing record. Some have apologised, some have gloated, now let's move forward. We have a very good young manager, We have some great players that we want to hold on to, let's get right behind them and convince them that they should stay here next season.

Let's change the record to Ken dodds happiness and buy tickets for this weekend.

The double is still on and I want to be there to enjoy it,  don't you?

Yes !  As long as he picks the strongest team possible and doesn,t revert back to his sentimental and pigheaded ways just to give certain people a medal.  We are in it so lets win it  Halifax are going to go hell for leather to get something out of their season, lets match them with Grimsby  Grit.  Lets have another 7-0 win.

Quoted from Maringer

Hurst did a good job. Winning promotion out of the Conference is incredibly difficult at the best of times, but when you're being outspent by a few teams (and considerably so in some cases), getting over the line takes some doing. Just look at Luton, for example. Took them years, despite their great expenditure.

Oddly enough, I don't think Hurst has done nearly as good a job this season as last when, let's not forget, we would also have been promoted but for a terrible refereeing decision going against us. This year, I feel his signings weren't good enough following the promising start in the close season and the failure to get that 4th striker really cost us any chance of getting near the title.

But please, let's give him (and the players) the credit which has been well-earned and don't start trying to claim we've won promotion due to 'lucky' injuries forcing his hand.

Next season, I hope that the kudos of League status will make it a bit easier for us to sign the sorts of players we were unable to get last year.

But we did win promotion because injuries forced his hand!    Do you really believe that the side would have played the same way with the same tactics if Monkhouse had been fit? I don't think Monkhouse is (or more correctly was) a bad player but just his presence meant that the "out" ball to the left side was always the preferred option and Braintree dealt with that very easily indeed as would FGR. We won promotion with two very good performances and playing largely through the midfield. If we had carried on with the same side in the same way as we had for several previous games there's no way we would have had the open topped bus.

Anyway regardless of that, we made it in the end and as you say, we may be able to persuade some better players to come now we are a league club. The crunch is that we don't need another bunch of bench fillers, we need quality. That means two or three players who would not be out of place in L1 and it means splashing the cash.

I don't believe consolidation the way to go, that can easily end up as a league bottom battle. Go for the top. I'd rather be disappointed with mid-table than heartbroken with relegation.

One thing I have learned from all this, if nothing else, is that Town have a devoted band of VERY passionate supporters! Sometimes passion can be raucous, destructive and even counter-productive. Other times it can be raucous, highly motivating and very, very productive. I have felt all along (and sometimes said) that both success and failure are collective enterprises, sometimes only thinly divisible, and rarely, if ever, attributable to a single individual. As supporters, some days we feel collectively dejected (which I did after the 'semi' defeat home to Braintree, and not least because of the earlier league home defeats to Braintree and Chester), but at other times we're all on cloud nine; it's human nature. At the end of the season, our old friend William Shakespeare (not Craig, Grimsby Pete!) comes to mind: 'All's Well That Ends Well he wrote'. Amen to that! Let's just enjoy the moment now and look forward with optimism to the next campaign.  

Quoted from golfer

Yes !  As long as he picks the strongest team possible and doesn,t revert back to his sentimental and pigheaded ways just to give certain people a medal.  We are in it so lets win it  Halifax are going to go hell for leather to get something out of their season, lets match them with Grimsby  Grit.  Lets have another 7-0 win.

That would be a perfect post if you hadn't reverted back to the name calling. Just leave it out man!

I watched the repeat of the final yesterday, and one of the strong things came from a touch-side interview with Hurst - when asked what he wanted them to do, he gesticulated at the wembley pitch, said look at it, let's pass and use the great quality pitch. That to me suggests that he did in fact want that style of play and was adapting to the situation - but that would imply that he might have known what he was doing and adapted to the ground conditions, and created a gameplan accordingly - much like the story of the conversation with Russell Slade about how he changed playing styles.

Obviously my opinion, but I feel that the injury thing was a smokescreen, and to claim that was solely the change that made the difference is facetious. Perhaps it may have made some difference, but Monkhouse was in that Bristol Rovers team that won, wasn't he (my memory has gone hazy about that match now..)

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

But we did win promotion because injuries forced his hand!    Do you really believe that the side would have played the same way with the same tactics if Monkhouse had been fit? I don't think Monkhouse is (or more correctly was) a bad player but just his presence meant that the "out" ball to the left side was always the preferred option and Braintree dealt with that very easily indeed as would FGR. We won promotion with two very good performances and playing largely through the midfield. If we had carried on with the same side in the same way as we had for several previous games there's no way we would have had the open topped bus.

Thing is, you're actually just guessing that changes wouldn't have been made following the poor performance in the first leg. Would Monkhouse have played in the away leg? Possibly, but it's by no means certain as it was pretty clear a different style might be necessary on the day. Even if the usual formation had been played, the conditions were such that it was obvious they would sit back and play for 0-0 and tiring them out would be the way to beat them. If there was any luck involved in our promotion this season, I'd say it was that the second leg was played on such a hot day which put the ball firmly in our court as Braintree were knackered after 70 minutes of the game and couldn't keep up their usual tempo.

As for the final against FGR, Monkhouse played all 90 minutes in our victory at The New Lawn and was the one who put in the cross for the winning goal so I'm surprised you think their defence would have so easily nullified him!

Unfortunately, it appears that many of those doubting Hurst's ability have taken the, "Yes, but..." approach - the view that anything achieved is by chance and, in any case, he should have done it earlier and better. I've defended Hurst at various times this season against what I thought was unfair criticism (the ridiculous misrepresentation of the 'spoiled' comment being a particular lowpoint) but there is no doubt he made more errors this season than last year. I'm just relieved that the team was able to raise their game right at the death to win promotion this time.

If we hadn't done it this year, I'd have wanted to see a change in the summer as we're a poorer team this year than last in what I reckon was a weaker division. His failure to find the 4th striker or a useful replacement for Mackreth almost cost us. Obviously, now we're up, Hurst deserves the chance to continue in the role and will hopefully make fewer mistakes with his signings next season. We certainly need a bit more versatility in the way in which we can play depending on the situation. Not just a Plan B, but C and D as well.

Quoted from DickBarton

That would be a perfect post if you hadn't reverted back to the name calling. Just leave it out man!

There wasn,t intended to be name calling. In other posts I have said that P. Hurst has eventually changed for the better. He who has supported Hurst must acknowledge that at times he has seemed pigheaded. It was either Hurst or somebody with a Yorkie accent who phoned BIGDOG and myself up thanking us for the input that persuaded him to pick the teams for Braintree and Wembley. He also asked us for all the advice that we could muster. I was only answering his request for the good of the team. I have never received the accolades from the Fishy that my input deserved in helping to gain promotion

Quoted from Maringer

Thing is, you're actually just guessing that changes wouldn't have been made following the poor performance in the first leg. Would Monkhouse have played in the away leg? Possibly, but it's by no means certain as it was pretty clear a different style might be necessary on the day. Even if the usual formation had been played, the conditions were such that it was obvious they would sit back and play for 0-0 and tiring them out would be the way to beat them. If there was any luck involved in our promotion this season, I'd say it was that the second leg was played on such a hot day which put the ball firmly in our court as Braintree were knackered after 70 minutes of the game and couldn't keep up their usual tempo.

As for the final against FGR, Monkhouse played all 90 minutes in our victory at The New Lawn and was the one who put in the cross for the winning goal so I'm surprised you think their defence would have so easily nullified him!

Unfortunately, it appears that many of those doubting Hurst's ability have taken the, "Yes, but..." approach - the view that anything achieved is by chance and, in any case, he should have done it earlier and better. I've defended Hurst at various times this season against what I thought was unfair criticism (the ridiculous misrepresentation of the 'spoiled' comment being a particular lowpoint) but there is no doubt he made more errors this season than last year. I'm just relieved that the team was able to raise their game right at the death to win promotion this time.

If we hadn't done it this year, I'd have wanted to see a change in the summer as we're a poorer team this year than last in what I reckon was a weaker division. His failure to find the 4th striker or a useful replacement for Mackreth almost cost us. Obviously, now we're up, Hurst deserves the chance to continue in the role and will hopefully make fewer mistakes with his signings next season. We certainly need a bit more versatility in the way in which we can play depending on the situation. Not just a Plan B, but C and D as well.

We'll have to agree to differ on the Monkhouse argument but I think we are on much the same wavelength about the playing style and future needs.