Just a point regarding the management

Carlton Cole is desperate to play. I reckon he could score with his eyes closed at this level.

Get him on a month's trial, then take it from there!

Quoted from grimsby pete

I am sure Hurst got paid when he was  Boston Manager.

As did our management team at their former respective clubs where they coached.

Sacchi, Wenger, Mourinho etc etc etc.

The problem isn't the lack of professional playing experience amongst the management/coaching staff, it's that we're playing crap at the moment and seemingly nobody is able to raise their game to help drag us out of the mire we're getting ourselves into. I'd guess that Jolley has a game or two left before the trigger is pulled but, if that happens, I haven't a clue where we'll go from here. Both experienced and up and coming managers seem to suffer from the same problems so who would we really go for next?

We're (naturally) analysing things at a micro level right now, but for the true state of our current predicament we need to look at things from a macro level.

We've tried in-house appointments (Groves, Rodger, Woods), nostalgic appointments (Buckley, Slade... if you will), we've tried a 'big' name who has a Premier League winners' medal and had two, if not three, promotions as a manager (Newell). We've tried up-and-coming managers (Hurst, Bignot) and someone who has every qualification going (Jolley).

I guess the one type of manager we haven't tried is an old head; someone vastly experienced at this level, but what is abundantly clear is that, with every single managerial appointment, there appears to be absolutely no long-term planning.

If we were Crewe, we'd have a 'type' of manager we're after because the club has a clear identity and philosophy.

Instead, we have Fenty and a board that don't have a clue what they want or need. Each managerial appointment seems to be in direct contrast from the previous failure in the hope that it would somehow reverse our fortunes.

And I really don't think they have the football intelligence to go any deeper than that.

I know we've been hammering this point for so long now but you can't ignore what is obvious. Since Fenty became chairman we have had all types of managers trying to progress this football club and, Hurst apart, none have achieved anything.

We could get Eddie Howe in tomorrow and, given a few months, he'd fail. That's because there's something intrinsically wrong with Grimsby Town Football Club - the evidence stretches back 16 or so years - and until that changes it really doesn't matter whether Jolley stays or goes.

And it doesn't matter who comes in. They're bound to struggle and fail.

I wish it wasn't like this but, honestly, what do you see in this club that makes you think, genuinely think, that we'll enjoy any sort of success while Fenty and the current board are making all the decisions?

I really don't want to drag the word Hurst back into things but, if rumours were to be believed, he wasn't given what he asked for to progress this club. That might have been his own personal demands alongside a S&C coach and many other things but, when you look back over the last two years since he left this club, how much money have we wasted on other players, managers and mutually terminating contracts?

And we've fallen back since then. I have no doubts whatsoever that if we'd have given Hurst what he wanted, we'd not be in our current predicament and we'd (probably) be higher in the league and financially better off.

This club has a rotten core. After having fluked our return to the FL we've been nothing but awful since then. We were awful in the two or three years before we got relegated from it as well.

A struggling fourth division side, with six years in non-league. If Fenty really does think he's our saviour, and if he really does believe he can lead us forward on and off the pitch, then he needs his head testing.

Quoted from RichMariner

We're (naturally) analysing things at a micro level right now, but for the true state of our current predicament we need to look at things from a macro level.

We've tried in-house appointments (Groves, Rodger, Woods), nostalgic appointments (Buckley, Slade... if you will), we've tried a 'big' name who has a Premier League winners' medal and had two, if not three, promotions as a manager (Newell). We've tried up-and-coming managers (Hurst, Bignot) and someone who has every qualification going (Jolley).

I guess the one type of manager we haven't tried is an old head; someone vastly experienced at this level, but what is abundantly clear is that, with every single managerial appointment, there appears to be absolutely no long-term planning.

If we were Crewe, we'd have a 'type' of manager we're after because the club has a clear identity and philosophy.

Instead, we have Fenty and a board that don't have a clue what they want or need. Each managerial appointment seems to be in direct contrast from the previous failure in the hope that it would somehow reverse our fortunes.

And I really don't think they have the football intelligence to go any deeper than that.

I know we've been hammering this point for so long now but you can't ignore what is obvious. Since Fenty became chairman we have had all types of managers trying to progress this football club and, Hurst apart, none have achieved anything.

We could get Eddie Howe in tomorrow and, given a few months, he'd fail. That's because there's something intrinsically wrong with Grimsby Town Football Club - the evidence stretches back 16 or so years - and until that changes it really doesn't matter whether Jolley stays or goes.

And it doesn't matter who comes in. They're bound to struggle and fail.

I wish it wasn't like this but, honestly, what do you see in this club that makes you think, genuinely think, that we'll enjoy any sort of success while Fenty and the current board are making all the decisions?

I really don't want to drag the word Hurst back into things but, if rumours were to be believed, he wasn't given what he asked for to progress this club. That might have been his own personal demands alongside a S&C coach and many other things but, when you look back over the last two years since he left this club, how much money have we wasted on other players, managers and mutually terminating contracts?

And we've fallen back since then. I have no doubts whatsoever that if we'd have given Hurst what he wanted, we'd not be in our current predicament and we'd (probably) be higher in the league and financially better off.

This club has a rotten core. After having fluked our return to the FL we've been nothing but awful since then. We were awful in the two or three years before we got relegated from it as well.

A struggling fourth division side, with six years in non-league. If Fenty really does think he's our saviour, and if he really does believe he can lead us forward on and off the pitch, then he needs his head testing.

Best post for a long time - can't disagree with a word of it.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

No experience of professional football between them. And it shows.

Didn't show at the end of last season when he took a group of underachievers and got us out of the mire. I'm not saying he'll get it right but surely he needs time to show he can

Quoted from VinnyGTFC

Didn't show at the end of last season when he took a group of underachievers and got us out of the mire. I'm not saying he'll get it right but surely he needs time to show he can

Said before that I think he deserves another month but what then? Someone at the football club needs to kick behind because that squad of players should not be performing like that - 1 point out of 15 at home is relegation form whichever way you dress it up.

Quoted from VinnyGTFC

Didn't show at the end of last season when he took a group of underachievers and got us out of the mire. I'm not saying he'll get it right but surely he needs time to show he can

But how long? A week, a month two months, a year? Do we really have this time? Almost a quarter of the season gone and we have
accumulated 5 points, three of those against the only club in the FL below us, 1 point achieved at home and two hidings before September is out.
Unfortunately performances are getting progressively worse, players body language after conceding is appalling and can anyone really see this changing any time soon?
MJ has a win record of 5 in 20, not even as good as that clown  Slade and three of those wins were gained by debatable penalties, sorry but as nice a chap  as MJ seems, this cannot be allowed to continue or we will find ourselves in another Woods situation and we all know how that turned out  d'ont we?
We need a manager who the players respect and a manager who ensures that the players do not roll over and give up, which seems to be the case at the moment, some will say well who? I would go with a name others have suggested, Gary Bowyer., who performed miracles at a club even in more turmoil than us and that IS saying something!

Quoted from RichMariner

We've tried in-house appointments (Groves, Rodger, Woods), nostalgic appointments (Buckley, Slade... if you will), we've tried a 'big' name who has a Premier League winners' medal and had two, if not three, promotions as a manager (Newell). We've tried up-and-coming managers (Hurst, Bignot) and someone who has every qualification going (Jolley).

I guess the one type of manager we haven't tried is an old head; someone vastly experienced at this level, but what is abundantly clear is that, with every single managerial appointment, there appears to be absolutely no long-term planning.

I'd say Slade and Buckley were old heads as well as nostalgic appointments. Both had many years experience at this level and above.

Quoted Text

If we were Crewe, we'd have a 'type' of manager we're after because the club has a clear identity and philosophy.

Instead, we have Fenty and a board that don't have a clue what they want or need. Each managerial appointment seems to be in direct contrast from the previous failure in the hope that it would somehow reverse our fortunes.

1 - It isn't working very well for Crewe.
2 - I think we did have a plan. A young up and coming manager that values young players and gives them opportunities that we can hopefully develop and build on or sell for a profit. This is actually very similar to the "Crewe model".
The club have clearly bought into MJ's approach given the number of 2+ year contracts that have been handed out.

Quoted Text

That's because there's something intrinsically wrong with Grimsby Town Football Club - the evidence stretches back 16 or so years - and until that changes it really doesn't matter whether Jolley stays or goes.

And it doesn't matter who comes in. They're bound to struggle and fail.

I wish it wasn't like this but, honestly, what do you see in this club that makes you think, genuinely think, that we'll enjoy any sort of success while Fenty and the current board are making all the decisions?

What decisions is Fenty making that are actually affecting things on the pitch? The club set a budget and the manager chooses how to spend it. The board don't interfere with player selection or recruitment, whenever that happens, the manager is always quick to put it in the press to take blame away from himself and there hasn't been any manager that has ever suggested this. We don't make much money or pay off director loans each year, so the budget can't be that bad. They hired the manager that 1, everybody wanted and 2, kept us in the league last season.

Quoted from pen penfras

I'd say Slade and Buckley were old heads as well as nostalgic appointments. Both had many years experience at this level and above.



1 - It isn't working very well for Crewe.
2 - I think we did have a plan. A young up and coming manager that values young players and gives them opportunities that we can hopefully develop and build on or sell for a profit. This is actually very similar to the "Crewe model".
The club have clearly bought into MJ's approach given the number of 2+ year contracts that have been handed out.



What decisions is Fenty making that are actually affecting things on the pitch? The club set a budget and the manager chooses how to spend it. The board don't interfere with player selection or recruitment, whenever that happens, the manager is always quick to put it in the press to take blame away from himself and there hasn't been any manager that has ever suggested this. We don't make much money or pay off director loans each year, so the budget can't be that bad. They hired the manager that 1, everybody wanted and 2, kept us in the league last season.

Good to hear from the board spokesman - can you tell me why a director told a friend of mine that John Askey was offered the job?