Southend at home Friday night

No pressure then as struggling Southend lost 0-2 at home to Woking today.

Can see our home attendance taking a bit of a hit Friday night after today's performance and it's on BT Sport.

No problem! I can us …

No I think I will hit top town instead!

Sad to miss this one. Will be at the 100 club watching gaye bykers on acid. If town win, it will be... Everythangs groovy baby

Just got my ticket. Looking forward to a good Friday night. A convincing home win, then running straight for the bus to the docks academy, getting me there just in time for the start of the stereo mc's set.

Quoted from NorthLondonMariner

Just got my ticket. Looking forward to a good Friday night. A convincing home win, then running straight for the bus to the docks academy, getting me there just in time for the start of the stereo mc's set.

Will you be.... to the left or to the right of stage ?

Quoted from moosey_club

Will you be.... to the left or to the right of stage ?

?????stereo m.c's ? Is this a wind up?

Just bought my tickets for this one and there's not many left in the Upper Youngs. I still think we'll get an attendance of about 5500 and this is the a test for the fans as well. Need to try and stop our old ways of becoming negative early creeping in. Remain supportive and back the lads.

Quoted from mariner91

Just bought my tickets for this one and there's not many left in the Upper Youngs. I still think we'll get an attendance of about 5500 and this is the a test for the fans as well. Need to try and stop our old ways of becoming negative early creeping in. Remain supportive and back the lads.

Who red crossed this wants f.cking shooting idiots.

Quoted from Phil the cod

Who red crossed this wants f.cking shooting idiots.

It’s the fishy fella some very strange people on here

Quoted from Phil the cod

Who red crossed this wants f.cking shooting idiots.

It never ceases to amaze me how vexed some people become over the red crosses! Chill, worse things happen at sea you know!

Quoted from NorthLondonMariner

Just got my ticket. Looking forward to a good Friday night. A convincing home win, then running straight for the bus to the docks academy, getting me there just in time for the start of the stereo mc's set.

Saw them at Roundhey park in Leeds in 1994 as they were the backing group for U2.
Sure you'll enjoy them...

Quoted from NorthLondonMariner

Just got my ticket. Looking forward to a good Friday night. A convincing home win, then running straight for the bus to the docks academy, getting me there just in time for the start of the stereo mc's set.

Let’s hope the writings not on the wall and we do t stumble or fall!

Controversial this from me but I'd drop Waterfall for Pearson on Friday.
The one thing about Pearson is he organises better than Waterfall and offers Towler a steadier pair of hands next to him.
I'm not slating waterfall because what's we've seen this season compared to last is like night and day but I also believe Pearson is a better passer of the ball, certainly playing long diagonals
Also, I'd like to see Crocombe given a chance, he's slightly taller than Macca and it appears most of our recent opposition have just loaded balls into the box almost in the knowledge that Macca doesn't come and attack/catch these balls in ..
And please, please I do not want to see Revan and Khouri on that left side together ever, ever again.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Controversial this from me but I'd drop Waterfall for Pearson on Friday.
The one thing about Pearson is he organises better than Waterfall and offers Towler a steadier pair of hands next to him.
I'm not slating waterfall because what's we've seen this season compared to last is like night and day but I also believe Pearson is a better passer of the ball, certainly playing long diagonals
Also, I'd like to see Crocombe given a chance, he's slightly taller than Macca and it appears most of our recent opposition have just loaded balls into the box almost in the knowledge that Macca doesn't come and attack/catch these balls in ..
And please, please I do not want to see Revan and Khouri on that left side together ever, ever again.

Why DID he go with that left hand side?? Revan maybe if Crookes wasn't 100% but why in Gods name would you play Khouri in a position he is not familiar with?

Worse than that, how come Hurst Doig and Davies come to the conclusion at half time  we would persist with it in the second half?

If John Tondeur had asked these sorts of questions we might have more of a scooby do.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Why DID he go with that left hand side?? Revan maybe if Crookes wasn't 100% but why in Gods name would you play Khouri in a position he is not familiar with?

Worse than that, how come Hurst Doig and Davies come to the conclusion at half time  we would persist with it in the second half?

If John Tondeur had asked these sorts of questions we might have more of a scooby do.

khouri played left mid for his last season didnt he?

i agree though, should never have started and amazing how one if not both were not replaced at HT

Quoted from thefish

It never ceases to amaze me how vexed some people become over the red crosses! Chill, worse things happen at sea you know!

Well thefish I used to say that - having spent 40 years at sea.
However I can now say that having recently moved house & as a consequence suffered stress levels way beyond anything I ever experienced at sea, that old adage doesn't always hold water - so to speak.

Wouldn't be suprised to lose over a thousand off the home gate, maybe even 1500.

Think this should have been the game where you bring a friend for a fiver. I presume these are already budgeted in given the vouchers ST holders were issued. Even on a decent run, we were always going to lose a few for this game once it was moved to a Friday and put on tele.

Anyone know if we get a fee from BT Sport?

Quoted from thefish

It never ceases to amaze me how vexed some people become over the red crosses! Chill, worse things happen at sea you know!

They're not kisses??

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Controversial this from me but I'd drop Waterfall for Pearson on Friday.
The one thing about Pearson is he organises better than Waterfall and offers Towler a steadier pair of hands next to him.
I'm not slating waterfall because what's we've seen this season compared to last is like night and day but I also believe Pearson is a better passer of the ball, certainly playing long diagonals
Also, I'd like to see Crocombe given a chance, he's slightly taller than Macca and it appears most of our recent opposition have just loaded balls into the box almost in the knowledge that Macca doesn't come and attack/catch these balls in ..
And please, please I do not want to see Revan and Khouri on that left side together ever, ever again.

That just seems a bit harsh to me. Both young players who are learning - they have a tough game as part of that  process and that’s it?! They’re done?! I think we can show more support and patience than that.

Quoted from chaos33

That just seems a bit harsh to me. Both young players who are learning - they have a tough game as part of that  process and that’s it?! They’re done?! I think we can show more support and patience than that.

Not when it was apparent they were so far out their depth it was awful, that could have crucified their confidence.
If Hurst wants to experiment and give the young lads a chance to stake a claim then he needs to  organise friendlies, reserves games ect, you certainly don't do it in games that matter.

So having invested a certain amount of faith in them as pro’s, how do they then learn to ‘do it in games that matter’ without getting to play in them? Revan is from a premier league club. Not much point in him playing a friendly against Boston United is there…not from anyone’s point of view. Young players have to learn, and they learn by playing and making mistakes. Sure, you could make the case for them being substituted and that’s fair enough, but Hurst’s judgement was that they should play as he obviously thinks they’re worthy, and I think it’s up to us to encourage and back them. Anyone can indulge in the victories and great performances, but we need to show consistent backing for a squad that look absolutely committed and together IMO.

Quoted from chaos33

So having invested a certain amount of faith in them as pro’s, how do they then learn to ‘do it in games that matter’ without getting to play in them? Revan is from a premier league club. Not much point in him playing a friendly against Boston United is there…not from anyone’s point of view. Young players have to learn, and they learn by playing and making mistakes. Sure, you could make the case for them being substituted and that’s fair enough, but Hurst’s judgement was that they should play as he obviously thinks they’re worthy, and I think it’s up to us to encourage and back them. Anyone can indulge in the victories and great performances, but we need to show consistent backing for a squad that look absolutely committed and together IMO.

Fair points but you have to be focused on the game in front of you. There are many ways to avoid a player becoming upset or losing confidence if they have to be subbed during a game.

A wasted opportunity for 3 very important points and really the manager and the coaches should come under scrutiny for that.

I am almost beginning to wonder if Hurst was making a point about lack of depth in the squad.

A few weeks ago I thought we could more or less field 2 sides who would do well in this league but perhaps not.

Quoted from Jaws

Wouldn't be suprised to lose over a thousand off the home gate, maybe even 1500.

Think this should have been the game where you bring a friend for a fiver. I presume these are already budgeted in given the vouchers ST holders were issued. Even on a decent run, we were always going to lose a few for this game once it was moved to a Friday and put on tele.

Anyone know if we get a fee from BT Sport?

25p  

Quoted from Jaws

Wouldn't be suprised to lose over a thousand off the home gate, maybe even 1500.

Think this should have been the game where you bring a friend for a fiver. I presume these are already budgeted in given the vouchers ST holders were issued. Even on a decent run, we were always going to lose a few for this game once it was moved to a Friday and put on tele.

Anyone know if we get a fee from BT Sport?

Well up-to now we’ve sold just under 5400

Quoted from chaos33

So having invested a certain amount of faith in them as pro’s, how do they then learn to ‘do it in games that matter’ without getting to play in them? Revan is from a premier league club. Not much point in him playing a friendly against Boston United is there…not from anyone’s point of view. Young players have to learn, and they learn by playing and making mistakes. Sure, you could make the case for them being substituted and that’s fair enough, but Hurst’s judgement was that they should play as he obviously thinks they’re worthy, and I think it’s up to us to encourage and back them. Anyone can indulge in the victories and great performances, but we need to show consistent backing for a squad that look absolutely committed and together IMO.

You're right and I often wonder why Essel is just a bench warmer.  What's the point if you ain't gonna chuck him on in a game where we don't have a cat in hell's chance of scoring.  A lot of people say he's not ready yet. Then why have him as a sub?   Maybe his pace and vigour would invite a foul in a dangerous area.

Quoted from Mayaman

You're right and I often wonder why Essel is just a bench warmer.  What's the point if you ain't gonna chuck him on in a game where we don't have a cat in hell's chance of scoring.  A lot of people say he's not ready yet. Then why have him as a sub?   Maybe his pace and vigour would invite a foul in a dangerous area.

he's only 16 isnt he? thats a lot of pressure to put on a young kid

Quoted from Mayaman

You're right and I often wonder why Essel is just a bench warmer.  What's the point if you ain't gonna chuck him on in a game where we don't have a cat in hell's chance of scoring.  A lot of people say he's not ready yet. Then why have him as a sub?   Maybe his pace and vigour would invite a foul in a dangerous area.

Have you considered the fact he’s a YT and probably nowhere near ready yet?

Quoted from pontoonlew

Have you considered the fact he’s a YT and probably nowhere near ready yet?

You literally quoted him addressing that opinion...

Quoted from pontoonlew

Have you considered the fact he’s a YT and probably nowhere near ready yet?

Not to start .  Why stick him on the bench?  Wait until he's forced on?  it will never happen.  If all our strikers got injured , PH would play to stop the opposition.  There are players who walked out for England at 17.  Would a year make them any more ready to take part in an international.  I do believe our youngest goalscorer in the first team was 15.

Harsh on Revan to say he’s out of his depth IMO. I think we sometimes over analyse things. It’s a game of football. As an 18 year old do you think you’d feel out of your depth playing against men in their 20s? And don’t forget this guy has more ability/potential than 90% of those he’s coming up against so he should be confident.

Things haven’t clicked for him here yet though have they but maybe we need to look inwardly rather than just say he’s rubbish and out of his depth. He’s played both sides of defence, wing back and as a winger now so far and been second fiddle to Crookes, rightly so. He’s hardly been able to get up to speed tbf but you could argue that you need to seize your opportunity when it’s presented and he hasn’t.

Well I think this is a big game for Town and a lot of pressure on us to boot.

3 straight league defeats (4 overall) including to strugglers like Wealdstone and Aldershot. A 4 pt lead at the top has evaporated and we sit 3rd. Town need a win and quick. That bright start to the season will be soon forgotten if not. The flowing football of a few weeks ago has disappeared for the time being. Need to dig in and an ugly win will do fine.

We have certainly adapted better than Southend to relegation so far. All teams hit  a sticky patch at some point. Hopefully this has been ours. But if we have serious ambitions about challenging at the end of the season we need to get back to winning ways now. A run of 6 or 7 games like we have had could leave us well off the pace.

And a few fancied sides who got off to sluggish starts like Stockport & Wrexham are starting to get their act together and coming up behind us. Wrexham a couple of weeks ago were something like 12/13 pts behind us now only 6.

https://mobile.twitter.com/officialgtfc/status/1460588608239415303


Absolutely unreal. Can remember having a chat with 1mickylyons a while back and he was absolutely adamant that there was massive, untapped potential for town fans in the area - absolutely spot on.

The fans are doing their bit. Might be a touch under with ST holders not making it on a Friday night, but 6k but Tuesday is some going after the last few weeks.

Club tweeted over 6,000 tickets issued but tweeted an hour ago (and since deleted) that over 6,500 had been sold, with the word sold in bold.

Not sure what to make of that.

Happy to now be wrong about us losing 1,000-1,500 from the home gate!

Quoted from quebec38

Harsh on Revan to say he’s out of his depth IMO. I think we sometimes over analyse things. It’s a game of football. As an 18 year old do you think you’d feel out of your depth playing against men in their 20s? And don’t forget this guy has more ability/potential than 90% of those he’s coming up against so he should be confident.

Things haven’t clicked for him here yet though have they but maybe we need to look inwardly rather than just say he’s rubbish and out of his depth. He’s played both sides of defence, wing back and as a winger now so far and been second fiddle to Crookes, rightly so. He’s hardly been able to get up to speed tbf but you could argue that you need to seize your opportunity when it’s presented and he hasn’t.

I'm not sure we can say he has more potential than 90% of those he plays against just by virtue of the fact he happens to play for Villa. I'm not sure there's room for sentiment anyway, he may well go on and have a great career but the cold hard fact is that he doesn't look very good right at this moment. Conor Townsend arrived here as an 18 year old and looked head and shoulders above anybody else in the division.

He may end up growing into mens football and I really hope he does, but that doesn't help us right now does it? He was given a start very early on at Stockport and quite frankly he looked poor, Crookes has been very solid in that position and it's bemusing how he didn't make it into the side ahead of him on Saturday.

All very fair points pontoonlew 👍🏻

The more I look at the squad without McAtee the more frustrated I am. Obviously he is irreplaceable because of his ability but there is nobody that can even play a similar role.

Good job I’m not the manager but if I was I would be going long ball on Friday chucking everything in to a narrow front 3 and feeding off the scraps. Width to come from the full-backs overlapping and getting in crosses then with 3 in the box there should be no excuses for not getting on the end of stuff.

Sousa hasn’t done anything wrong but he would miss out to try and make it work.

I’m not anti-Macca by any stretch and he hasn’t been the problem, but I feel like we could do with a change there tbh. I don’t think the quality of shots faced so far necessitate a super shot stopper but we need to sure up on balls in from crosses and corners where he is definitely vulnerable.

Hoofball I’m sure won’t go down too well at all but could be effective?

                Crocombe

Efete Waterfall Towler Crookes

           Hunt  Fox  Clifton

          Taylor Lenny Grant

Quoted from quebec38

All very fair points pontoonlew 👍🏻

The more I look at the squad without McAtee the more frustrated I am. Obviously he is irreplaceable because of his ability but there is nobody that can even play a similar role.

Good job I’m not the manager but if I was I would be going long ball on Friday chucking everything in to a narrow front 3 and feeding off the scraps. Width to come from the full-backs overlapping and getting in crosses then with 3 in the box there should be no excuses for not getting on the end of stuff.

Sousa hasn’t done anything wrong but he would miss out to try and make it work.

I’m not anti-Macca by any stretch and he hasn’t been the problem, but I feel like we could do with a change there tbh. I don’t think the quality of shots faced so far necessitate a super shot stopper but we need to sure up on balls in from crosses and corners where he is definitely vulnerable.

Hoofball I’m sure won’t go down too well at all but could be effective?

                Crocombe

Efete Waterfall Towler Crookes

           Hunt  Fox  Clifton

          Taylor Lenny Grant

Good job indeed.

Ha ha whereas your comment does wonders for discussion which is what I was aiming for. I was hoping for red crosses aplenty, but then maybe people also offering what they thought would be a better alternative.

6,000 tickets sold already.

Anyway.. Id like to see Hunt play in behind Taylor. Give Hunt some more freedom, he's our best passer and he can feed the front 3.

Quoted from lukeo

6,000 tickets sold already.

Anyway.. Id like to see Hunt play in behind Taylor. Give Hunt some more freedom, he's our best passer and he can feed the front 3.

i dont think thats the best position for him at all

McAtee was back running last week so I would not rule him out yet, unless I have missed an update.

He is obviously a very fit lad so if his injury has cleared I would imagine he would go straight back in. Hope so as he is the one player we cannot really do without.

Hunt is 100% not a 10. He wants to drop deep, pick the ball up from the defence and try to dictate play. We need McAtee back or Bapaga and Sousa both need to play. With just Sousa on the pitch any opposition who've watched us will double up on him and most of our threat is negated. If McAtee isn't fit I'd play Bapaga, Sousa and Clifton as a three behind Taylor with Hunt and Fox behind them. Would leave centre backs alone and have Crookes and Sears at full back.

Quoted from quebec38

Ha ha whereas your comment does wonders for discussion which is what I was aiming for. I was hoping for red crosses aplenty, but then maybe people also offering what they thought would be a better alternative.

Well I wouldn’t look to change the formation around too much and I certainly wouldn’t start hoofing it forward which is exactly what most of the defenders in this league want you to do. I would either attempt Sousa in behind Taylor in a more central role given license to roam. I’d drop Revan for Crookes in order to be more solid. Put Clifton back out on the left for his energy and Bapaga on the right but Sousa and Bapaga could be interchangeable. Encourage Efete to push on. Ideally McAtee will be back in which case back to what was working to start with.

The issue in the last few games has been the nice football being a bit too slow and far from goal, so encourage players forward early and taking a few more risks in the right areas. Teams at this level do not like the ball being played around/behind them at speed on the ground but we’ve stopped doing that.

Quoted from Hagrid

i dont think thats the best position for him at all

Absolutely, Hunt is small and not physical, the idea of him competing for a ball upfront, often in the air, with his back to defence - won't suit him at all.

He needs to be receiving the ball deep and having the opposition in front of him and using his quick feet and brain to raise the tempo.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

Hunt is 100% not a 10. He wants to drop deep, pick the ball up from the defence and try to dictate play. We need McAtee back or Bapaga and Sousa both need to play. With just Sousa on the pitch any opposition who've watched us will double up on him and most of our threat is negated. If McAtee isn't fit I'd play Bapaga, Sousa and Clifton as a three behind Taylor with Hunt and Fox behind them. Would leave centre backs alone and have Crookes and Sears at full back.

Agree absolutely

Couldn't get 2 seats together in the Upper for me and my brother, unless it was at either far end of the stand.

We decided to give the Osmond stand a go for a change as neither of us have watched a game from there in years, probably decades. Been doing some more fan zone stuff this week, so I went and sat in a few spots to get a feel of it. Think I prefer it to the Pontoon to be honest. It felt like being at a different ground in a weird way.

Looking forward to it.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

McAtee was back running last week so I would not rule him out yet, unless I have missed an update.

He is obviously a very fit lad so if his injury has cleared I would imagine he would go straight back in. Hope so as he is the one player we cannot really do without.

I'd be surprised to see him. Just running on a recovering knee is not the same as putting all the torsion through the joint that a game would bring. Grant has had two more weeks since coming off the bench at Kidderminster - surely it's time to give him a full go behind Taylor.

I thought Revan did OK when he came on against Notts County. Didn't look as comfortable as Sears before his injury, but he was facing their nippy winger who came on for the second half. Their winning goal came down our left side, of course.

I see him as a backup player so putting him on when Crookes isn't quite fit would make sense, but playing him behind another very inexperienced young player in Khouri was a big gamble which didn't work out. Strange they didn't change it at half-time, I agree.

Quoted from Limerick Mariner

I'd be surprised to see him. Just running on a recovering knee is not the same as putting all the torsion through the joint that a game would bring. Grant has had two more weeks since coming off the bench at Kidderminster - surely it's time to give him a full go behind Taylor.

Looks like you could be right in your assessment. According to Hurst he has done a lot of gym work and more running but has yet to test the knee in football related movements. That is a shame, as is the news that we have picked up yet another injury to a first-team player who will miss Friday and maybe more than that.

Max Wright felt his injury again and is out once more.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Looks like you could be right in your assessment. According to Hurst he has done a lot of gym work and more running but has yet to test the knee in football related movements. That is a shame, as is the news that we have picked up yet another injury to a first-team player who will miss Friday and maybe more than that.

Max Wright felt his injury again and is out once more.

for intercourse sake

Quoted from Hagrid

for intercourse sake

Its a hamstring apparently to the unnamed player. Grant and Scannell continue to train but it doesn't sound as if he thinks their ready.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Its a hamstring apparently to the unnamed player. Grant and Scannell continue to train but it doesn't sound as if he thinks their ready.

just watched on youtube, couldnt see Crookes doing the warm up

Quoted from Hagrid

just watched on youtube, couldnt see Crookes doing the warm up

Did you see Taylor 😉

Today, there was a crew removing the old scoreboard posts from behind the Osmond stand goal. A few more seats come off the restricted view list.

There was another crew down there putting up scaffolding for the camera gantries at each end of the lower. When they were up, it was pointed out to them that they were obscuring the view of those at the extreme ends, who wouldn't be able to see the goalmouths clearly. They are moving them tomorrow.  

You'd think they would know what to do if it's their regular gig. Perhaps they think the ground won't be full and everyone will be sat in the middle of the stands.

BT Sport being inconsiderate of the fans? Surely not!

Quoted from gytone

Did you see Taylor 😉

Oh God no. Are you sure?

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Oh God no. Are you sure?

He was the one I couldn’t spot.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

He was the one I couldn’t spot.

Towards the very end of the video he’s doing some ball work on the far side.

Reckon it might be McKeown.

Quoted from ska face

Towards the very end of the video he’s doing some ball work on the far side.

Reckon it might be McKeown.

I’ll take your word for it 😉

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I’ll take your word for it 😉

Taylor was definitely out there on the video, Crookes was missing as far as I could make out

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I’ll take your word for it 😉

Good chance my mind manifested an image of him out of sheer desperation.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Taylor was definitely out there on the video, Crookes was missing as far as I could make out

Nah Crookes is there as well:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/80XZTN2.jpg[/img]

Quoted from Chrisblor

Nah Crookes is there as well:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/80XZTN2.jpg[/img]

Eagle eyes!

Maybe is macca then

I look at the vids a few times but didn't see Clifton training, that's not saying he wasn't there but I didn't see him. Has anybody seen him?

Wont be long before folk stop going and paying to see half a team on a bad streak . Not quite showing yet but that will happen if it continues

Steady on Nostradamus

We are almost at the end of November and have 3 wingers who have barely kicked a ball. Max Wright is the only one of the 3 to play in a league game.

My patience is wearing thin here, we can't afford to carry 3 wide players who are very good on their day that have played virtually no football by the end of November.

What are you proposing to do about it though as they all have a contract?

Quoted from ginnywings

Today, there was a crew removing the old scoreboard posts from behind the Osmond stand goal. A few more seats come off the restricted view list.

It’s funny that, as it only occurred to me during the County game that they didn’t appear to offer and structural value. Seems odd that they weren’t removed when they took the old scoreboard down, but it makes the Osmond quite decent now in terms of the view.

Quoted from ginnywings

Today, there was a crew removing the old scoreboard posts from behind the Osmond stand goal.

It's happening folks, they've started to demolish Blundell Park. The new ground could be closer than we thought  

Injury talk aside, as long as we win it by 6 or more goals we'll go back top

Always look on the bright side of life

UTM

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

What are you proposing to do about it though as they all have a contract?

Well we need to get some fit replacements in the building. Facts are that we've got 2 fit wingers plus Revan who is either a winger or left back.

They’ve managed to shift another 450-odd tickets since 6k was announced on Tuesday. Some going for a Friday night match on TV after a bad run.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Well we need to get some fit replacements in the building. Facts are that we've got 2 fit wingers plus Revan who is either a winger or left back.

It seems slightly odd that we appear to have struggled so much to have brought in necessary reinforcements outside of the transfer window, Towler excepted.

I get that clubs in the EFL might be reluctant to let players out if they’re unable to replace them, but I don’t recall us having such problems in previous seasons down here. Off the top of my head, we signed the likes of Ross Hannah, Scott Neilson, Marcus Marshall, Tom Naylor, Harry Pell and Conor Townsend from league clubs outside transfer windows, most of whom did pretty well for us (some very well).

You’d have imagined, particularly when top of the league with big, positive crowds behind us that we’d have been a more attractive position than we were previously, and you’d have imagined there’d be budget in the kitty to fund it.

It’s a head scratcher. That said, I have a funny feeling we might hear some better news on that front today. Let’s wait and see…

Quoted from Poojah

It seems slightly odd that we appear to have struggled so much to have brought in necessary reinforcements outside of the transfer window, Towler excepted.

I get that clubs in the EFL might be reluctant to let players out if they’re unable to replace them, but I don’t recall us having such problems in previous seasons down here. Off the top of my head, we signed the likes of Ross Hannah, Scott Neilson, Marcus Marshall, Tom Naylor, Harry Pell and Conor Townsend from league clubs outside transfer windows, most of whom did pretty well for us (some very well).

You’d have imagined, particularly when top of the league with big, positive crowds behind us that we’d have been a more attractive position than we were previously, and you’d have imagined there’d be budget in the kitty to fund it.

It’s a head scratcher. That said, I have a funny feeling we might hear some better news on that front today. Let’s wait and see…

Is Hurst setting his stall too high? He's built his core squad and anybody additional to that must not only be the right character but also improve the squad?

No arguments that Towler certainly improved the squad. But he also came in at a time when we had 3 first team centre backs, one of which had just been injured and another had a wife about to give birth.

Quoted from ska face

They’ve managed to shift another 450-odd tickets since 6k was announced on Tuesday. Some going for a Friday night match on TV after a bad run.

superb support from everyone involved

Anyone heard how many we shifted for Tuesday @ Solihull?

Quoted from denni266

Wont be long before folk stop going and paying to see half a team on a bad streak . Not quite showing yet but that will happen if it continues

Jesus, you’re some dismal pessimist you are.

Quoted from ska face

They’ve managed to shift another 450-odd tickets since 6k was announced on Tuesday. Some going for a Friday night match on TV after a bad run.

Gate of 5.5k then 😉

Quoted from gytone

Gate of 5.5k then 😉

Funny ain't it, you laugh at the fact it probably will be 5500 rather than the 6500 yet it's still f@cking inedible we're getting 5500 fans in on a Friday night against Southend..how times have changed eh?

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Funny ain't it, you laugh at the fact it probably will be 5500 rather than the 6500 yet it's still f@cking inedible we're getting 5500 fans in on a Friday night against Southend..how times have changed eh?

On telly, after four straight defeats. Pretty remarkable really.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Funny ain't it, you laugh at the fact it probably will be 5500 rather than the 6500 yet it's still f@cking inedible we're getting 5500 fans in on a Friday night against Southend..how times have changed eh?

Yeah it is incredible, it's quite a few more than I anticipated to be honest, perhaps it's to do with the experience as a whole, plus owners that genuinely seem to care about the fans.

I had a dream last night that during the game their was some sort of fire alarm or bomb scare so the upper got evacuated 👀 0-0 at the time and Macca wasn't in goal 🤔

Quoted from chaos33

Jesus, you’re some dismal pessimist you are.

Nope just what will happen .. it works both ways   live in the real world not the modern world

Isn’t the real world the modern world?

It’s Lenny who is injured I think, didn’t see him in the video at all Taylor looked as if he pulled up or took a long stretch after a challenge fox Clifton Sousa crookes and macca seen, also a big crowd again shows how brilliant our fans really are let’s get behind the lads tonight and get the much needed 3 points need a performance on the cameras show the rest we are to be taken seriously come on town UTM

Quoted from Poojah

It seems slightly odd that we appear to have struggled so much to have brought in necessary reinforcements outside of the transfer window, Towler excepted.

I get that clubs in the EFL might be reluctant to let players out if they’re unable to replace them, but I don’t recall us having such problems in previous seasons down here. Off the top of my head, we signed the likes of Ross Hannah, Scott Neilson, Marcus Marshall, Tom Naylor, Harry Pell and Conor Townsend from league clubs outside transfer windows, most of whom did pretty well for us (some very well).

You’d have imagined, particularly when top of the league with big, positive crowds behind us that we’d have been a more attractive position than we were previously, and you’d have imagined there’d be budget in the kitty to fund it.

It’s a head scratcher. That said, I have a funny feeling we might hear some better news on that front today. Let’s wait and see…

Yeah I was thinking about this too. PH seems to have gone from one extreme to another regarding loanees: in his first spell, as well as the ones mentioned, we had loads of completely forgettable ones too! (Luke McCarthy, Cleveland Taylor, Ryan Jennings, Nicky Walker, Dougie Wilson, Jordan Stewart etc etc)

May be Hurst has realised that just bringing in loans isn’t always the answer, rather bringing in better quality. We’ve got injuries like all teams but just filling the squad with bodies can be counter productive.

Another decent sized crowd again, even after a poor run says a lot about the changes at the club. Town fans never cease to amaze though…

Quoted from Abdul19

Yeah I was thinking about this too. PH seems to have gone from one extreme to another regarding loanees: in his first spell, as well as the ones mentioned, we had loads of completely forgettable ones too! (Luke McCarthy, Cleveland Taylor, Ryan Jennings, Nicky Walker, Dougie Wilson, Jordan Stewart etc etc)

You’re not wrong there - I genuinely had to look Nicky Walker up and even having done so I’m still none the wiser.

Last time I remember (sort of) town playing on tv close to Xmas was that brilliant game at home to Kidderminster where Scott Neilson wouldn’t have looked out of place playing for Real Madrid

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

Last time I remember (sort of) town playing on tv close to Xmas was that brilliant game at home to Kidderminster where Scott Neilson wouldn’t have looked out of place playing for Real Madrid

Don't remember a Kidderminster game but I remember one on 22 December 2012 or 13(?) when we beat Wrexham to go top. Nielson had a great game then.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Don't remember a Kidderminster game but I remember one on 22 December 2012 or 13(?) when we beat Wrexham to go top. Nielson had a great game then.

Kiddy game was a year later, one of those weird Thursday night affairs if memory serves. Chesterfield is our last pre-Christmas league game this year; could be a massive game if we can pull our fingers out our arses in the interim.

https://youtu.be/FpUszgE1tWs

Got a feeling Scannell is going to be in the squad tonight.

Quoted from quebec38

Got a feeling Scannell is going to be in the squad tonight.

if he isnt then John Tonduer needs to ask why, he's been back training for 4 bloody weeks

Quoted from quebec38

Got a feeling Scannell is going to be in the squad tonight.

Hopefully Grant as well.

Quoted from Poojah

Kiddy game was a year later, one of those weird Thursday night affairs if memory serves. Chesterfield is our last pre-Christmas league game this year; could be a massive game if we can pull our fingers out our arses in the interim.

https://youtu.be/FpUszgE1tWs

👍