Hurst interview in the metro

As you might expect, a little dig at the GTFC finances.

Perhaps he should be grateful he got 6 years at gtfc most managers in the conference never got anywhere near as long

Love him or hate him.....I personally will always be grateful to him for getting us out of the hellhole that is the tinpot.....plenty of ex league clubs are still trying with only two places up for grabs.

He is like a broken record

Livvo left feeling not too happy. But he still has good things to say about his time here as well as pointing out his discontent at not getting a testimonial.

Paul Hurst surely must recognise how much of a part the fans played in getting us back in the league. But hasn’t said a good word since he left so suddenly.  Just as suddenly as he dumped Shrewsbury for Ipswich (was that the fans fault as well ? !!). I don’t blame anyone for going to an improved job, but the way he goes about it leaves a lot to be desired.

Didn’t Fenty claim once that Hurst left because the fans were twits to him? Seems that Hurst’s side of the story doesn’t quite match with that...

He’s a good manager with a fairly good record. He did get us promoted (eventually) but it just wasn’t a great fit with us fans. Wasn’t sorry when he left, and wouldn’t take him over MJ. The optimism I currently have was never there when Hurst was in charge.

Classless little excrement.

I don't think what he said was that harsh. I think we've all felt the same. Nothing changed when we got promoted.

In 2016 the club were happy to sit back and enjoy a 10% increase in season ticket sales, when a bit of foresight and engagement could have seen that grow to 20%. Same old lazy thinking. So I'm not surprised he said nothing changed behind the scenes.

I still think Hurst is an ungracious little excrement though. He came in that way and left Wembley that way.

not a great read is it?

Fück him.

Will always be grateful to the bloke for getting us out of that excrement hole Fenty put us in but he must have been very deluded to think Fenty would change thing when we got back in the league.

Little excrement though.

Just says what we all knew.

Few fans of any of the clubs he has managed seem to have a good word to say about  him. Boston, us, Shrewsbury, Ipswich. He's not going to win popularity contests with any of them.

Maybe that should tell something about the way he conducts himself.

Never liked him as a manager and was glad when he went. He was never going to excite 'us fans' in the way that some managers can. Too dour for me, and that is reflected in his teams. There are managers that win games, and there are managers that win games with a bit of style. He was all about the percentages, and managed to make a depressing time in non league, a little bit more interminable. It was ace watching us try, and fail, to break down Guiseley and the likes.

However, when we did get back into the league, i put all of that to one side and thought he'd earned the right to see what he could do with a bigger budget and better players. Our great board had other ideas though, and lost a decent manager to fecking Shrewsbury, because they wouldn't give him what he wanted, which was just to be on a par with other clubs our size. Never been as high in the table since, and it probably cost more in lower attendances, and the cost to terminate the contracts of 2 failed managers, than it would have done to just give PH a bit more backing. It's the GTFC way.

Never his biggest fan but I'm still here supporting the Mariners, we are still a Football League Club and what's he doing, oh yes looking after his garden.

We where spoilt though when he was in charge, especially the season we got promoted. Lol.

Gave us a team to be proud of and that we connected with for the first time in many years. His players loved him. With a bit of commitment from the board we might have gone straight through league 2. We backed the wrong horses and spent the money after he’d left.

He’s a good manager and I’m sure he’ll be back in the game soon. Young bloke who I expect to manage in the prem eventually.

He is a nice bloke and a very good manager . He always had us challenging at the business end of the conference . Which given our leadership was nothing short of brilliance . He gave us a team to be proud of . Most players had songs dedicated to them . He gave us some great moments in a poor league . Had he been backed when we ee entered the FL he would of given us more great moments . Instead our board let 2managers urine away money and nearly get us relegated again ......... Alan Buckley wasn't loved by a section of our support which makes it no supprise that that same section didn't like PH .  He brought success and a winning mentality back to the team . If the same supporters carry on beating up on Jolley he to will have his head turned and we will end up with another merry go round ..... All Imo of course

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Gave us a team to be proud of and that we connected with for the first time in many years. His players loved him. With a bit of commitment from the board we might have gone straight through league 2. We backed the wrong horses and spent the money after he’d left.

He’s a good manager and I’m sure he’ll be back in the game soon. Young bloke who I expect to manage in the prem eventually.

Managing in the prem ... after watching Ipswich I doubt that very much

Quoted from fleabag1970

He is a nice bloke and a very good manager . He always had us challenging at the business end of the conference . Which given our leadership was nothing short of brilliance . He gave us a team to be proud of . Most players had songs dedicated to them . He gave us some great moments in a poor league . Had he been backed when we ee entered the FL he would of given us more great moments . Instead our board let 2managers urine away money and nearly get us relegated again ......... Alan Buckley wasn't loved by a section of our support which makes it no supprise that that same section didn't like PH .  He brought success and a winning mentality back to the team . If the same supporters carry on beating up on Jolley he to will have his head turned and we will end up with another merry go round ..... All Imo of course

Skewed thinking there. I didn't like PH because his brand of football was, and probably still is, very dull. I loved Buckley because not only did he win stuff, his team did it with some incredibly exciting football. Buckley was dour himself, but his team was poetry in motion, so it didn't really matter. Hurst was dour off the pitch, and his team were the same on it. All our group of regulars loved the Buckley era, and none of them loved the Hurst era, so as far as i'm concerned it's not the "same section". Neither is it just about winning stuff either, because even if Jolley fails, at least he is trying to do it the right way on the pitch. Football should be fun to watch, and it very rarely was under Hurst. That's my gripe with him and any other manager who sets up a team the same way.

For me,under Hurst every team we played he spoke of them as though they were world beaters and we would be lucky to get any kind of result against them. So we had to play a nervous defensive game, regardless of who they were.

Also he made the fans feel, I think, like we were some kind of nuisance, instead of the people paying his salary.

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

For me,under Hurst every team we played he spoke of them as though they were world beaters and we would be lucky to get any kind of result against them. So we had to play a nervous defensive game, regardless of who they were.

Also he made the fans feel, I think, like we were some kind of nuisance, instead of the people paying his salary.

Probably why he fitted in at our club and got a long tenure. "Us" against the fans, the pesky feckers.

Pretty much sums my feelings up as well the man was as dull as dishwater and I am sure he viewed Operation Promotion as putting unnecessary extra pressure on himself and the players rather than an incentive.

Never endeared himself with the fans the "Spoilt" rant really came back and bit him on the backside during and after the Halifax fiasco plus the ear cupping at Wembley confirmed what he thought of us.

Probably true what he said about nothing changing when we got promoted though to be fair.

If we had backed Hurst and given him the back room team that he wanted, I still believe he would have gone that season.

Bristol Rovers kept most of their promotion team whilst the following year, we dismantled ours. Players that fans could identify with were gone in an instant, replaced by seasoned professionals picking up their last contract (Vernon).

I doubt he will manage in the Premier League, unless he takes a club there himself.

He got lucky with his favourite Monkhouse being sidelined and forcing changes otherwise Braintree would of had us in that playoff(plus the luck of their playing giving us that peno) That’s how I saw it, otherwise we’d still be in the conference. Stubborn describes him so well.

He has zero chance of managing in the premiership.
Took league 2 players to the championship and only won one game.
For me i was glad when he left.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Gave us a team to be proud of and that we connected with for the first time in many years. His players loved him. With a bit of commitment from the board we might have gone straight through league 2. We backed the wrong horses and spent the money after he’d left.

He’s a good manager and I’m sure he’ll be back in the game soon. Young bloke who I expect to manage in the prem eventually.

I hope you are being ironic. He builds teams that don’t lose many but struggle to win a lot. His risk free strategy quite likely cost Shrewsbury automatic promotion because he would not push on when they were top of the league, just like he nearly cost Town promotion by settling for playoffs too soon and with his devotion to the Monkhouse Plan. He is a good judge of a player but only at the lower level. I would bet that everyone in football now knows all that and it is not what prem clubs (or championship) want from their manager and why he is still waiting for the call. His best bet could be to go abroad (Lancashire?) before his name is completely forgotten or the only jobs will be L2/Conference relegation candidates, back where he started.

I am grateful to Hurst as he got us up and though we didn't walk the league that year I though we where a half decent side even if at times we lumped it long.

However comments like "When we got into the Football League I expected some things to change but very little did" portrays him as a bit stupid IMHO.

In all reality what did he expect we got up in May and he left in October after all that time in non league in reality the club wasn't going to pull millions out of it's backside was it. Maybe if Hurst had been a bit more loyal and stayed to make it work things would have been different.  

We're fortunate with MJ he understands football and finance many managers struggle with at least one of those.  

Skewed thinking ?  You have a short memory . Next time you bump into Alan ask him about it ..... I was there through it all and a section of support were pleased when he was sacked . That is a fact ....

Quoted from fleabag1970

Skewed thinking ?  You have a short memory . Next time you bump into Alan ask him about it ..... I was there through it all and a section of support were pleased when he was sacked . That is a fact ....

I've no doubt you are right. There were fans that disliked Buckley, and i'm sure there are some fans who dislike everything and just go for a moan, but where i disagree with you is that you implied the same fans who disliked Buckley also disliked Hurst, and that's not the case. I know plenty who loved Buckley but couldn't stand Hurst. I don't have a short memory, and that is also a fact.  

I never quite understood Hurst good judge of a player thought he did well here getting us back up out of the conference. It may have took 6 years but still no easy task other teams have fared worse.

The fact that he never really tried to get the fans onside  and then to finish with the ear cupping at Wembley was ridiculous.

Had success at a few clubs and not really liked at any says a lot, I guess

Quoted from MuddyWaters

As you might expect, a little dig at the GTFC finances.

but also the truth....every recent manager has said exactly the same, the infrastructure is way behind, the sports science, facilities, fitness, dietician etc
Our spell in non league may be used as an excuse for that so Hurst may feel that by getting us out of there and the additional income generated should have allowed him to improve that.  But not a chance with the tight ship finances we have.

We all know what happened at the end of that season and the failings of the club to profit out of the feel good factor from turning over the Veggie Green Rovers.

Sorry Ginny . By section I meant the same supporters who would moan if pep or poch were in charge ... there is alot of them now as there were 20 years ago . 😊

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Bristol Rovers kept most of their promotion team whilst the following year, we dismantled ours.

Their team was much better than ours (they came a point off top spot, not 21).

Quoted from fleabag1970

Alan Buckley wasn't loved by a section of our support which makes it no supprise that that same section didn't like PH .  He brought success and a winning mentality back to the team . If the same supporters carry on beating up on Jolley he to will have his head turned and we will end up with another merry go round ..... All Imo of course

Hurst must've split the support 50-50. Surely the Jolley ratio is nearer 99-1?

Quoted from Abdul19

Hurst must've split the support 50-50. Surely the Jolley ratio is nearer 99-1?

And we all know who the one is......😊

Quoted from Posh Harry

And we all know who the one is......😊

Yes - the one who prattles on about us releasing a proven goalscorer and then moans when we signed one the other week.

Quoted from fleabag1970

Sorry Ginny . By section I meant the same supporters who would moan if pep or poch were in charge ... there is alot of them now as there were 20 years ago . 😊

Fair enough, no apology needed.  

I think Hurst hit the nail on the head with what he said about finances - wanted a strength and conditioning coach like others in the league didn't he? Was supposedly promised it would change if we went up. Then when we went up there was no money for it. When he went one of the first things the new manager wanted was a s&c coach and we had to cough up for one anyway didn't we? Would far rather have had Hurst spending the bogle cash than big not. It's the toughest league to get out of and he got us there, eventually, with a great connection between fans and players and good team spirit in the camp - albeit with a big dose of monkhouse injury luck.
Agree with what people have said about dour personality, cautious teams and bigging up opposition tho.

Hurst simply didn’t get Grimsby and the fans. Jolley simply does. I suspect Buckers does too. He used the little old Grimsby perfectly.

My one thought was that the promotion squad was successful and therefore confident, but for whatever reason it was dismantled and players came in from clubs that had just been relegated.

I always liked Hurst even though I'd agree he was too cautious and inexplicably willing to "take on" his own fans. I think his biggest mistake was panicking to build a squad for league 2. He needlessly ripped the heart out the promotion side. He allowed hugely popular players like Amond and Arnold to leave, and played Berrett and Summerfield ahead of  Disley.

Quoted from moosey_club

but also the truth....every recent manager has said exactly the same, the infrastructure is way behind, the sports science, facilities, fitness, dietician etc
Our spell in non league may be used as an excuse for that so Hurst may feel that by getting us out of there and the additional income generated should have allowed him to improve that.  But not a chance with the tight ship finances we have.

We all know what happened at the end of that season and the failings of the club to profit out of the feel good factor from turning over the Veggie Green Rovers.

Couldn’t agree more. Having had a chat with PH since he left, I’ve no doubt that he expected to be able to bring in support staff in line with other League 2 clubs.

Quoted from MeanwoodMariner

I always liked Hurst even though I'd agree he was too cautious and inexplicably willing to "take on" his own fans. I think his biggest mistake was panicking to build a squad for league 2. He needlessly ripped the heart out the promotion side. He allowed hugely popular players like Amond and Arnold to leave, and played Berrett and Summerfield ahead of  Disley.

Agree with a lot of this. Thought Summerfield was ok though. Berrett was a flaccid penïs.

Quoted from marinerdazza

Agree with a lot of this. Thought Summerfield was ok though. Berrett was a flaccid penïs.

Berrett was tosh and summers was better but in truth not much better , ran around a lot but never really achieved much. The lads we have in midfield nowadays are much better

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

Hurst simply didn’t get Grimsby and the fans. Jolley simply does. I suspect Buckers does too. He used the little old Grimsby perfectly.

Actually Buckley made several disparaging comments about Town fans if they had been vocal about a poor performance.

Quoted from MeanwoodMariner

I always liked Hurst even though I'd agree he was too cautious and inexplicably willing to "take on" his own fans. I think his biggest mistake was panicking to build a squad for league 2. He needlessly ripped the heart out the promotion side. He allowed hugely popular players like Amond and Arnold to leave, and played Berrett and Summerfield ahead of  Disley.

If you read some recent comments from Amond it suggests Hurst wanted him to stay but wasn’t given the funds.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

If you read some recent comments from Amond it suggests Hurst wanted him to stay but wasn’t given the funds.

If you have a proven goalscorer and he wants to

Quoted from HertsGTFC

If you read some recent comments from Amond it suggests Hurst wanted him to stay but wasn’t given the funds.

If you have a proven goalscorer and he wants to

Quoted from HertsGTFC

If you read some recent comments from Amond it suggests Hurst wanted him to stay but wasn’t given the funds.

If you have a proven goalscorer and he wants to

Quoted from HertsGTFC

If you read some recent comments from Amond it suggests Hurst wanted him to stay but wasn’t given the funds.

If you have a proven goalscorer and he wants to stay and you can afford him you resign him, That is the most critical position to fill of all and a lack of one can see you relegated. If i knew for sure we would have Dennis or Wes next sewwason i would be confident of 2019 buty until weve signed at least one of them im not putting my money on them at the bookies for next season,

Quoted from fleabag1970

Skewed thinking ?  You have a short memory . Next time you bump into Alan ask him about it ..... I was there through it all and a section of support were pleased when he was sacked . That is a fact ....

AB said at his last speakers evening that the supporters treat him better now then when he was in charge.

I remember one supporter tearing up and chucking at him there season ticket before the 97/98 season at a fans forum because they were so disgusted he was back..

Quoted from Youngy

I remember one supporter tearing up and chucking at him there season ticket before the 97/98 season at a fans forum because they were so disgusted he was back..

Tearing up a season ticket before the season seems a bit of a waste no matter who the manager is, you'd have thought they would at least see a game first...

Quoted from HertsGTFC

If you read some recent comments from Amond it suggests Hurst wanted him to stay but wasn’t given the funds.

Wow. It would be good to get to the bottom of that so that we know who the real culprit is.

I had assumed it was Hurst to blame. If is was JF then it changes things considerably in my view. If true, it's no wonder he left us.

I was told by an ex player that Hurst didn't rate Amond as highly as the supporters did when he was here. I also recall an Amond quote where he told supporters 'he didn't want me'. I think we can be fairly confident that Podge's departure was down to a wrong call from Hurst.

I'll mention no.names, but I am good friends with an ex Hurst player who has reiterated several times that Hurst was a tosser to work for, and if you weren't in his inner sanctum he spoke to the players like cr@p...the man was completely unapproachable and arrogant bordering on the point of ignorance...so you ask why Amond, Arnold and a few others couldn't wait to get away...look no further than a poisoned dwarf .

Quoted from RonMariner

Wow. It would be good to get to the bottom of that so that we know who the real culprit is.

I had assumed it was Hurst to blame. If is was JF then it changes things considerably in my view. If true, it's no wonder he left us.

JF has never interfered with the build of a squad like that. He has always provided a budget and let the manager get on with it. It's inconceivable that Hurst wanted to offer Podge more but JF stepped in and said "no, you must spend that on another player".

It was telling that although he offered Podge and Arnold contracts, he never heard back from them and that was that. Compare that to the effort Jolley went to to keep Macca last summer.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

I'll mention no.names, but I am good friends with an ex Hurst player who has reiterated several times that Hurst was a tosser to work for, and if you weren't in his inner sanctum he spoke to the players like cr@p...the man was completely unapproachable and arrogant bordering on the point of ignorance...so you ask why Amond, Arnold and a few others couldn't wait to get away...look no further than a poisoned dwarf .

Thats contrary to what a lot of players have said about Hurst.

It’s possible a lot of players from that era (and indeed Rob Scott) don’t have the best things to say about Hurst, but a lot of players from that era and Rob Scott failed us. Those that took us up generally have good things to say about Hurst. At least publicly.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

I'll mention no.names, but I am good friends with an ex Hurst player who has reiterated several times that Hurst was a tosser to work for, and if you weren't in his inner sanctum he spoke to the players like cr@p...the man was completely unapproachable and arrogant bordering on the point of ignorance...so you ask why Amond, Arnold and a few others couldn't wait to get away...look no further than a poisoned dwarf .

I think there's several players who loved working with Hurst and several who didn't - much like most managers at most clubs. I'm not suggesting you do name your friend but not doing so means that there's no real context to your claim.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I think there's several players who loved working with Hurst and several who didn't - much like most managers at most clubs. I'm not suggesting you do name your friend but not doing so means that there's no real context to your claim.

Of which I cannot do, and that's kind of what I've hinted at, the players that "got on" with Hurst will say he was great to work with but you if you didn't agree with him or questioned him you were slammed in the reserves or sent packing ..yet, if you listen to the Woolie interview, MJ appears to listen, talk, understand and give all players the chance to play and show him why they should be in the team...JJ being the obvious to this.

He gave it his best, we spent far too long in that cesspit., he's probably right. I'm so glad he's gone, never liked the bloke. He didn't help himself.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Of which I cannot do, and that's kind of what I've hinted at, the players that "got on" with Hurst will say he was great to work with but you if you didn't agree with him or questioned him you were slammed in the reserves or sent packing ..yet, if you listen to the Woolie interview, MJ appears to listen, talk, understand and give all players the chance to play and show him why they should be in the team...JJ being the obvious to this.

How is Richard Brodie these days?

Podge said in the press recently that he is still close to Hurst & Doig and met up with him in earlier this season after a Newport game close to where Ipswich where playing.

I always had the impression that if a player came in and worked really hard then he'd be o.k. I worked with a relative of Scott Neilson who told me that Scott found Hurst decent to work for despite many thinking they fell out.

I think what you describe Northbank is no doubt correct but would be more credible if you could say where it came from, I get that you can't though. Also what you describe make Hurst no different to many managers in and out of professional sport I'm sure.  

On a different note I spoke to Hurst a few times and tough he came across a bit shy I found him polite and relatively friendly.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

If we had backed Hurst and given him the back room team that he wanted, I still believe he would have gone that season.

Bristol Rovers kept most of their promotion team whilst the following year, we dismantled ours. Players that fans could identify with were gone in an instant, replaced by seasoned professionals picking up their last contract (Vernon).

I doubt he will manage in the Premier League, unless he takes a club there himself.

Completely agree.