Hurst, Stay or Go??

Let's have a poll  

Go
Normally I'm happy to stick with a manager and give them time. I was also happy with PH's appointment at felt at the time, and even after relegation that he would put together a winning team once he had moved on the players he inherited.

But after three revolving door transfer windows, we're going nowhere.

Changing the manager now won't make a shred of difference to this season so I'd say give Hurst until the end of the season and if he hasn't turned it around then we need to move on without him. As nutty as Holloway was, I wanted him to stay to try to clean up his own mess but he took himself out of the equation. I don't think constantly changing a manager mid season has done us any good so Hurst should be given until the summer to show he can turn things around.

He won't get sacked. Not in the board's DNA. He should be shown the door though. Starting to hate JS coming out with the "long term project line". Hurst is very much part of it. Cynic in me thinks that this long term project phrase always get rolled out by any organisation that wants to buy time and make out the solution is harder than it really is because they don't know how to fix it quickly (promotion) or they haven't got the required cash to fund it. Shite as it was under Fenty, the club was self-sustainable had a "competitive budget", and I haven't heard anything to the contrary from JS. The aim still self-sustainable and we've still got a "competitive budget". We've had the nice new half-time food and the grass is a lot better at Cheapside and BP, but everything else seems the same. Six years from now of Hurstball in the National League before promotion at a relatively unchanged decrepit BP? This feels the same as when he arrived from Boston. Not what I was hoping for a year ago tbh.

Hurst with his abject record should go, he just doesn't seem to have that winning mentality anymore, and our board should be looking at ways to accelerate their long term project into a short or medium term one. We've suffered enough these past two decades, we can't afford the best part of another one before we see really significant change..

I could accept the poor results if we where let's say, a club no one's heard of with home gates of 1200 and an away support of under 100 fans.
There were nearly 6000 fans there Saturday, that is league one levels of support. I'm not saying we are too big to be down here, but ffsake we shouldn't be outbattled and outwitted by the likes of Bromley, wealdstone,borehamwood etc etc.
For me Saturday was the lowest point of 30+ years of support.
I feel sorry for the younger supporters as they've never known a good town side,to them this crap is normal.

Quoted from Bigdog

He won't get sacked. Not in the board's DNA. He should be shown the door though. Starting to hate JS coming out with the "long term project line". Hurst is very much part of it. Cynic in me thinks that this long term project phrase always get rolled out by any organisation that wants to buy time and make out the solution is harder than it really is because they don't know how to fix it quickly (promotion) or they haven't got the required cash to fund it. Shite as it was under Fenty, the club was self-sustainable had a "competitive budget", and I haven't heard anything to the contrary from JS. The aim still self-sustainable and we've still got a "competitive budget". We've had the nice new half-time food and the grass is a lot better at Cheapside and BP, but everything else seems the same. Six years from now of Hurstball in the National League before promotion at a relatively unchanged decrepit BP? This feels the same as when he arrived from Boston. Not what I was hoping for a year ago tbh.

Hurst with his abject record should go, he just doesn't seem to have that winning mentality anymore, and our board should be looking at ways to accelerate their long term project into a short or medium term one. We've suffered enough these past two decades, we can't afford the best part of another one before we see really significant change..

We were all saying that in the club after the game.
I know we need to look to the future but will we have one if we stick with Hurst??

If the long term project involves large numbers renewing season tickets then they need to grow a pair and get rid. We’re far too ‘nice’ and nothing like ruthless enough.

Quoted from Phil the cod

I could accept the poor results if we where let's say, a club no one's heard of with home gates of 1200 and an away support of under 100 fans.
There were nearly 6000 fans there Saturday, that is league one levels of support. I'm not saying we are too big to be down here, but ffsake we shouldn't be outbattled and outwitted by the likes of Bromley, wealdstone,borehamwood etc etc.
For me Saturday was the lowest point of 30+ years of support.
I feel sorry for the younger supporters as they've never known a good town side,to them this crap is normal.

This is why you can't take red crosses seriously........... someone posts the truth and the Fenty physcophants can't handle it

Quoted from Bigdog

He won't get sacked. Not in the board's DNA. He should be shown the door though. Starting to hate JS coming out with the "long term project line". Hurst is very much part of it. Cynic in me thinks that this long term project phrase always get rolled out by any organisation that wants to buy time and make out the solution is harder than it really is because they don't know how to fix it quickly (promotion) or they haven't got the required cash to fund it. Shite as it was under Fenty, the club was self-sustainable had a "competitive budget", and I haven't heard anything to the contrary from JS. The aim still self-sustainable and we've still got a "competitive budget". We've had the nice new half-time food and the grass is a lot better at Cheapside and BP, but everything else seems the same. Six years from now of Hurstball in the National League before promotion at a relatively unchanged decrepit BP? This feels the same as when he arrived from Boston. Not what I was hoping for a year ago tbh.

Hurst with his abject record should go, he just doesn't seem to have that winning mentality anymore, and our board should be looking at ways to accelerate their long term project into a short or medium term one. We've suffered enough these past two decades, we can't afford the best part of another one before we see really significant change..

There may be a longer-term project off the field, but there won't be one on it. Tier 5 football does not lend itself to a long term playing project - the good players are anxious to play in the EFL, managers and players come and go like on a merry go round and fans will not wait patiently till a long term playing project reaps dividends and in any event our players are all on short term contracts, even the good ones.

Hurst has a lot of advantages as laid out by another poster, but the board must realise if you won't pay for the best players then you are likely to be amongst the also-rans.

If the long term playing project is to give Hurst as many windows as possible to eventually come up with the correct cheapish formula that is pure Fentyism.

What is the plan exactly? A plan would have been to build on the great start, the massively increased income from the gates and got better players in while we were flying. I would imagine it is a lot easier to get good players when you are top of the league than when you have won 2 in 14 games.  

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

There may be a longer-term project off the field, but there won't be one on it. Tier 5 football does not lend itself to a long term playing project - the good players are anxious to play in the EFL, managers and players come and go like on a merry go round and fans will not wait patiently till a long term playing project reaps dividends and in any event our players are all on short term contracts, even the good ones.

Hurst has a lot of advantages as laid out by another poster, but the board must realise if you won't pay for the best players then you are likely to be amongst the also-rans.

If the long term playing project is to give Hurst as many windows as possible to eventually come up with the correct cheapish formula that is pure Fentyism.

What is the plan exactly? A plan would have been to build on the great start, the massively increased income from the gates and got better players in while we were flying. I would imagine it is a lot easier to get good players when you are top of the league than when you have won 2 in 14 games.  

Completely agree with you. The National League is, save for one or two rare exceptions, for buying your way into the EFL. Anyone who doesn't think that's the percentage play successful formula is in denial..

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

There may be a longer-term project off the field, but there won't be one on it. Tier 5 football does not lend itself to a long term playing project - the good players are anxious to play in the EFL, managers and players come and go like on a merry go round and fans will not wait patiently till a long term playing project reaps dividends and in any event our players are all on short term contracts, even the good ones.

Hurst has a lot of advantages as laid out by another poster, but the board must realise if you won't pay for the best players then you are likely to be amongst the also-rans.

If the long term playing project is to give Hurst as many windows as possible to eventually come up with the correct cheapish formula that is pure Fentyism.

What is the plan exactly? A plan would have been to build on the great start, the massively increased income from the gates and got better players in while we were flying. I would imagine it is a lot easier to get good players when you are top of the league than when you have won 2 in 14 games.  

Incoming red crosses for talking sense.

I voted go but I know he wont.

Quoted from Bigdog

He won't get sacked. Not in the board's DNA. He should be shown the door though. Starting to hate JS coming out with the "long term project line". Hurst is very much part of it. Cynic in me thinks that this long term project phrase always get rolled out by any organisation that wants to buy time and make out the solution is harder than it really is because they don't know how to fix it quickly (promotion) or they haven't got the required cash to fund it. Shite as it was under Fenty, the club was self-sustainable had a "competitive budget", and I haven't heard anything to the contrary from JS. The aim still self-sustainable and we've still got a "competitive budget". We've had the nice new half-time food and the grass is a lot better at Cheapside and BP, but everything else seems the same. Six years from now of Hurstball in the National League before promotion at a relatively unchanged decrepit BP? This feels the same as when he arrived from Boston. Not what I was hoping for a year ago tbh.

Hurst with his abject record should go, he just doesn't seem to have that winning mentality anymore, and our board should be looking at ways to accelerate their long term project into a short or medium term one. We've suffered enough these past two decades, we can't afford the best part of another one before we see really significant change..

Wow. Such a short memory and unbelievable lack of gratitude for people spending millions of their own money to improve not just the football club but the whole town. Sod it let’s just get Alex May in to steal money from grannies and splash it on overpriced journeymen in the hope that with a stroke of luck we get some good ones. Don’t develop anything for the future because it’s sh1t or bust and even if we get back in the league we’ll eventually drop out because the infrastructure is knackered.

For me, this is a more nuanced question than can be answered with a binary ‘stay or go’. We’re yet to properly see the cut of the new board’s jib when it comes to aggression and ambition in terms of the procurement of key personnel, and ultimately any succession plan is equally as important as the decision to sack the current manager.

We were evidently caught short by Michael Jolley’s resignation in 2019, didn’t appoint a manager for weeks and then bumbled our way into Fenty’s master plan to bring Ian Holloway to the club.

Without sounding defeatist, I don’t think the current environment is an easy one. We know that few managers get promoted from this division without at least a few years’ non-league experience under their belts. I think only Graham Alexander bucks that trend in recent times, and he was very well backed financially by Salford.

Realistically then, you’d want to appoint someone who’s either got recent, previous experience of promotion from the National League on their CV or someone who’s been consistently doing a sound job in this division on a smaller budget than they would be afforded at Town.

In terms of the former, having done a casual check I can’t think of anyone who is currently out of work, so short of an oversight on my part the easy options aren’t really there.

If we’re going down the second route, then Pete Wild at Halifax and Luke Garrard at Boreham Wood are about your best bets. You could possibly add Dagenham’s Daryl McMahon to that list at a push. All young, aspiring managers with good non-league pedigree, but the question has to be ‘can we attract them’?

On the surface, you can argue that a club like GTFC should have no problem poaching managers from the likes of Halifax and Boreham Wood, but the reality is that we are where and what we are; below them in the football pyramid and a graveyard for managerial careers. History and fan base means little at this time, underlined by the fact that we’d have no chance at all in attracting managers from the likes of Harrogate and Sutton as we stand today.

Ultimately, the only answer to that is to throw money at it. That’s what Stockport did to attract Dave Challinor to their club, presumably both in terms of salary and tools to do the job, and they’ve subsequently climbed the league in absolutely no time at all and now find themselves in touching distance of top spot.

Do we have the cojones to do something like that? I’m yet to be convinced that we do if I’m absolutely brutally honest.

So yeah, that’s it for me. To answer the question, I’d want to know how big we’d be prepared to go on a replacement. If we’re going to be fishing from the pond of unemployed has-beens and never-have-beens then I wonder if it’s a case of ‘better the devil you know’. If we’re going to be meaningfully more ambitious than that, I’d like to know why we haven’t shown that ambition in our transfer business to date (no number 9 for six months, not extending Hunt’s loan deal etc).

A lot of questions to be asked, but few have straightforward, binary answers, in my opinion.

Quoted from Vance Warner

Wow. Such a short memory and unbelievable lack of gratitude for people spending millions of their own money to improve not just the football club but the whole town. Sod it let’s just get Alex May in to steal money from grannies and splash it on overpriced journeymen in the hope that with a stroke of luck we get some good ones. Don’t develop anything for the future because it’s sh1t or bust and even if we get back in the league we’ll eventually drop out because the infrastructure is knackered.

I don't live in Grimsby anymore moving away due to work so I must have missed it but what millions of their own money have they spent on improving the whole Town?

Also what infrastructure is knackered as the new owners have said that moving to a new ground is no longer a priority?

Quoted from Poojah

For me, this is a more nuanced question than can be answered with a binary ‘stay or go’. We’re yet to properly see the cut of the new board’s jib when it comes to aggression and ambition in terms of the procurement of key personnel, and ultimately any succession plan is equally as important as the decision to sack the current manager.

We were evidently caught short by Michael Jolley’s resignation in 2019, didn’t appoint a manager for weeks and then bumbled our way into Fenty’s master plan to bring Ian Holloway to the club.

Without sounding defeatist, I don’t think the current environment is an easy one. We know that few managers get promoted from this division without at least a few years’ non-league experience under their belts. I think only Graham Alexander bucks that trend in recent times, and he was very well backed financially by Salford.

Realistically then, you’d want to appoint someone who’s either got recent, previous experience of promotion from the National League on their CV or someone who’s been consistently doing a sound job in this division on a smaller budget than they would be afforded at Town.

In terms of the former, having done a casual check I can’t think of anyone who is currently out of work, so short of an oversight on my part the easy options aren’t really there.

If we’re going down the second route, then Pete Wild at Halifax and Luke Garrard at Boreham Wood are about your best bets. You could possibly add Dagenham’s Daryl McMahon to that list at a push. All young, aspiring managers with good non-league pedigree, but the question has to be ‘can we attract them’?

On the surface, you can argue that a club like GTFC should have no problem poaching managers from the likes of Halifax and Boreham Wood, but the reality is that we are where and what we are; below them in the football pyramid and a graveyard for managerial careers. History and fan base means little at this time, underlined by the fact that we’d have no chance at all in attracting managers from the likes of Harrogate and Sutton as we stand today.

Ultimately, the only answer to that is to throw money at it. That’s what Stockport did to attract Dave Challinor to their club, presumably both in terms of salary and tools to do the job, and they’ve subsequently climbed the league in absolutely no time at all and now find themselves in touching distance of top spot.

Do we have the cojones to do something like that? I’m yet to be convinced that we do if I’m absolutely brutally honest.

So yeah, that’s it for me. To answer the question, I’d want to know how big we’d be prepared to go on a replacement. If we’re going to be fishing from the pond of unemployed has-beens and never-have-beens then I wonder if it’s a case of ‘better the devil you know’. If we’re going to be meaningfully more ambitious than that, I’d like to know why we haven’t shown that ambition in our transfer business to date (no number 9 for six months, not extending Hunt’s loan deal etc).

A lot of questions to be asked, but few have straightforward, binary answers, in my opinion.

All I want is a binary answer ffs

Quoted from Poojah

For me, this is a more nuanced question than can be answered with a binary ‘stay or go’. We’re yet to properly see the cut of the new board’s jib when it comes to aggression and ambition in terms of the procurement of key personnel, and ultimately any succession plan is equally as important as the decision to sack the current manager.

We were evidently caught short by Michael Jolley’s resignation in 2019, didn’t appoint a manager for weeks and then bumbled our way into Fenty’s master plan to bring Ian Holloway to the club.

Without sounding defeatist, I don’t think the current environment is an easy one. We know that few managers get promoted from this division without at least a few years’ non-league experience under their belts. I think only Graham Alexander bucks that trend in recent times, and he was very well backed financially by Salford.

Realistically then, you’d want to appoint someone who’s either got recent, previous experience of promotion from the National League on their CV or someone who’s been consistently doing a sound job in this division on a smaller budget than they would be afforded at Town.

In terms of the former, having done a casual check I can’t think of anyone who is currently out of work, so short of an oversight on my part the easy options aren’t really there.

If we’re going down the second route, then Pete Wild at Halifax and Luke Garrard at Boreham Wood are about your best bets. You could possibly add Dagenham’s Daryl McMahon to that list at a push. All young, aspiring managers with good non-league pedigree, but the question has to be ‘can we attract them’?

On the surface, you can argue that a club like GTFC should have no problem poaching managers from the likes of Halifax and Boreham Wood, but the reality is that we are where and what we are; below them in the football pyramid and a graveyard for managerial careers. History and fan base means little at this time, underlined by the fact that we’d have no chance at all in attracting managers from the likes of Harrogate and Sutton as we stand today.

Ultimately, the only answer to that is to throw money at it. That’s what Stockport did to attract Dave Challinor to their club, presumably both in terms of salary and tools to do the job, and they’ve subsequently climbed the league in absolutely no time at all and now find themselves in touching distance of top spot.

Do we have the cojones to do something like that? I’m yet to be convinced that we do if I’m absolutely brutally honest.

So yeah, that’s it for me. To answer the question, I’d want to know how big we’d be prepared to go on a replacement. If we’re going to be fishing from the pond of unemployed has-beens and never-have-beens then I wonder if it’s a case of ‘better the devil you know’. If we’re going to be meaningfully more ambitious than that, I’d like to know why we haven’t shown that ambition in our transfer business to date (no number 9 for six months, not extending Hunt’s loan deal etc).

A lot of questions to be asked, but few have straightforward, binary answers, in my opinion.

You also forgot to mention that any new manager will have to be vetted and deemed suitably aligned to the values of the owners.

Quoted from Poojah

For me, this is a more nuanced question than can be answered with a binary ‘stay or go’. We’re yet to properly see the cut of the new board’s jib when it comes to aggression and ambition in terms of the procurement of key personnel, and ultimately any succession plan is equally as important as the decision to sack the current manager.

We were evidently caught short by Michael Jolley’s resignation in 2019, didn’t appoint a manager for weeks and then bumbled our way into Fenty’s master plan to bring Ian Holloway to the club.

Without sounding defeatist, I don’t think the current environment is an easy one. We know that few managers get promoted from this division without at least a few years’ non-league experience under their belts. I think only Graham Alexander bucks that trend in recent times, and he was very well backed financially by Salford.

Realistically then, you’d want to appoint someone who’s either got recent, previous experience of promotion from the National League on their CV or someone who’s been consistently doing a sound job in this division on a smaller budget than they would be afforded at Town.

In terms of the former, having done a casual check I can’t think of anyone who is currently out of work, so short of an oversight on my part the easy options aren’t really there.

If we’re going down the second route, then Pete Wild at Halifax and Luke Garrard at Boreham Wood are about your best bets. You could possibly add Dagenham’s Daryl McMahon to that list at a push. All young, aspiring managers with good non-league pedigree, but the question has to be ‘can we attract them’?

On the surface, you can argue that a club like GTFC should have no problem poaching managers from the likes of Halifax and Boreham Wood, but the reality is that we are where and what we are; below them in the football pyramid and a graveyard for managerial careers. History and fan base means little at this time, underlined by the fact that we’d have no chance at all in attracting managers from the likes of Harrogate and Sutton as we stand today.

Ultimately, the only answer to that is to throw money at it. That’s what Stockport did to attract Dave Challinor to their club, presumably both in terms of salary and tools to do the job, and they’ve subsequently climbed the league in absolutely no time at all and now find themselves in touching distance of top spot.

Do we have the cojones to do something like that? I’m yet to be convinced that we do if I’m absolutely brutally honest.

So yeah, that’s it for me. To answer the question, I’d want to know how big we’d be prepared to go on a replacement. If we’re going to be fishing from the pond of unemployed has-beens and never-have-beens then I wonder if it’s a case of ‘better the devil you know’. If we’re going to be meaningfully more ambitious than that, I’d like to know why we haven’t shown that ambition in our transfer business to date (no number 9 for six months, not extending Hunt’s loan deal etc).

A lot of questions to be asked, but few have straightforward, binary answers, in my opinion.

He also had location on his side.

We have recently let two players go who let it be known they were not settled here and I imagine it also precludes us from quite a few signings in the first place.

The antidote to that is to throw money at them, but we would be paying a premium for players, whereas other managers around bigger cities can get the same standard of player cheaper, or better standard for the same amount as we would be paying, if that makes sense.

There are a lot of unfashionable teams in this league that most supporters think we should be beating because we have more fans and have been in the upper echelons at certain points in our history, but these clubs are in favourable catchment areas, with vastly more players to choose from.

Part time clubs can give a player a good living if they play football at weekends and work in the city. They care not one jot for our history and crowd numbers when they come to BP. In fact they want to beat us even more than they do other sides.

I think it takes more time to assemble a good squad here than it does in the catchment area of a big city, especially if you are trying to attract younger, up and coming players. Older players with families like Pearson are not so bothered about this and are looking for different things. It's good around here for families with the Wolds, the beaches, the cheaper house prices etc, and we have a good few of those type players now and in the past, like Disley.

It's the younger, more dynamic players that teams need, who are harder to attract. We got McAtee purely because of Hurst, who has taken him to three clubs, but other players of his ability are going to have more exciting options in places where there is more life for a younger player.

I think given a bit more time, PH will put together a squad that can compete in this league. In fact, I think he is very close to it now. I said it in an earlier thread that I haven't yet seen a team demonstrably better than we are yet this season and that hasn't changed. Nobody is outplaying us and we are creating enough chances to win games.

It wouldn't take much for the pendulum to swing the other way.

Is it any wonder we are having a Hurst out poll?
FFS his record his abysmal and would not be tolerated at any other club.
The majority of fans couldn't stand his football and demeanour first time around. What's changed?
He acts as if his future is not on the line, probably because it isn't.
We have the players to achieve a play off spot, I'm sure of it. But NOT with Hurst at the helm. Hurst out!

Quoted from ginnywings

He also had location on his side.

We have recently let two players go who let it be known they were not settled here and I imagine it also precludes us from quite a few signings in the first place.

The antidote to that is to throw money at them, but we would be paying a premium for players, whereas other managers around bigger cities can get the same standard of player cheaper, or better standard for the same amount as we would be paying, if that makes sense.

There are a lot of unfashionable teams in this league that most supporters think we should be beating because we have more fans and have been in the upper echelons at certain points in our history, but these clubs are in favourable catchment areas, with vastly more players to choose from.

Part time clubs can give a player a good living if they play football at weekends and work in the city. They care not one jot for our history and crowd numbers when they come to BP. In fact they want to beat us even more than they do other sides.

I think it takes more time to assemble a good squad here than it does in the catchment area of a big city, especially if you are trying to attract younger, up and coming players. Older players with families like Pearson are not so bothered about this and are looking for different things. It's good around here for families with the Wolds, the beaches, the cheaper house prices etc, and we have a good few of those type players now and in the past, like Disley.

It's the younger, more dynamic players that teams need, who are harder to attract. We got McAtee purely because of Hurst, who has taken him to three clubs, but other players of his ability are going to have more exciting options in places where there is more life for a younger player.

I think given a bit more time, PH will put together a squad that can compete in this league. In fact, I think he is very close to it now. I said it in an earlier thread that I haven't yet seen a team demonstrably better than we are yet this season and that hasn't changed. Nobody is outplaying us and we are creating enough chances to win games.

It wouldn't take much for the pendulum to swing the other way.

For all that we’re supposed to be building for the future, we currently only have 5, maybe 6, under contract for next season.

Quoted from heppy88

You also forgot to mention that any new manager will have to be vetted and deemed suitably aligned to the values of the owners.

Indeed, and it’s for that reason I didn’t mention Steve Evans, who ticks the boxes in terms of non-league pedigree and employment status, but is also an absolute shítehouse.

Not withstanding the fact that it rarely ends well when Town’s pantomime villains end up representing the club (see messrs Beagrie and Brodie), I don’t think the owners would want him near the club. I’m not sure the fans would easier, but I’m sure that’s a debate that will be had should there be a managerial vacancy at GTFC in the near future.

Many of you on here are saying 'Hurst Out' well it should never have been 'Hurst In', the owners made a horrific mistake in giving him the job, they probably realise that now, in my business i have to research the hell out of a business before we invest millions, Hurst was easy to research, failures running back years, on his passed performance not only would we not have invested in him being a future success as the manager of Grimsby Town, we would have based on our research invested millions on him being a failure, in other words we would have shorted him being a failure, i wish we had been allowed to, we would have made a fortune.
Out of interest !  the highest position of the football club since he became manager was on the day he took charge of his first game, at the end of his first game & since, we have fallen to our lowest position since he took charge, it's been one way, down, down and down.

Quoted from ginnywings

He also had location on his side.

We have recently let two players go who let it be known they were not settled here and I imagine it also precludes us from quite a few signings in the first place.

The antidote to that is to throw money at them, but we would be paying a premium for players, whereas other managers around bigger cities can get the same standard of player cheaper, or better standard for the same amount as we would be paying, if that makes sense.

There are a lot of unfashionable teams in this league that most supporters think we should be beating because we have more fans and have been in the upper echelons at certain points in our history, but these clubs are in favourable catchment areas, with vastly more players to choose from.

Part time clubs can give a player a good living if they play football at weekends and work in the city. They care not one jot for our history and crowd numbers when they come to BP. In fact they want to beat us even more than they do other sides.

I think it takes more time to assemble a good squad here than it does in the catchment area of a big city, especially if you are trying to attract younger, up and coming players. Older players with families like Pearson are not so bothered about this and are looking for different things. It's good around here for families with the Wolds, the beaches, the cheaper house prices etc, and we have a good few of those type players now and in the past, like Disley.

It's the younger, more dynamic players that teams need, who are harder to attract. We got McAtee purely because of Hurst, who has taken him to three clubs, but other players of his ability are going to have more exciting options in places where there is more life for a younger player.

I think given a bit more time, PH will put together a squad that can compete in this league. In fact, I think he is very close to it now. I said it in an earlier thread that I haven't yet seen a team demonstrably better than we are yet this season and that hasn't changed. Nobody is outplaying us and we are creating enough chances to win games.

It wouldn't take much for the pendulum to swing the other way.

I couldn’t put it in such an erudite way but I agree with this. Like I’ve said before in the games we’ve lost from what I’ve seen our keepers haven’t been that busy.

At this level it feels like the socioeconomic considerations are bigger than what they where 5 years ago especially for the lads who are part time and don’t want to gamble on going full time on a 18 month/2 year deal.

23 games in and 21 to play still, 1 automatic spot one play off spot to get promoted and arguably 10 clubs who’d expect to be in the mix I’m not sure there are many leagues as hard to get out of as this one.

I suspect this season It will be 2 big spenders that go up but for those big spenders that fail their clock will be ticking as their funds will soon dry up to a level that makes things a bit more even.

Starting all over again is not an option for me I’m afraid. Let’s just get Fenty paid off then there might be a few extra quid for whoever the manager is at that time.

Looks like Grant McCann will be available soon 😉😂

Quoted from Vance Warner

Wow. Such a short memory and unbelievable lack of gratitude for people spending millions of their own money to improve not just the football club but the whole town. Sod it let’s just get Alex May in to steal money from grannies and splash it on overpriced journeymen in the hope that with a stroke of luck we get some good ones. Don’t develop anything for the future because it’s sh1t or bust and even if we get back in the league we’ll eventually drop out because the infrastructure is knackered.

First of all they haven't sunk millions into the football club. They bought Fenty's shares and a few others amounting to around £1m. These remain 1878's assets and do not result in any financial gain for the club's coffers. The football club will be paying the JF loan off out of generated income. Grateful as I am to improvements at Cheapside and minor cheap improvements elsewhere, it doesn't amount to much more than 200k or so of personal money I'd estimate, certainly not the millions you have quoted.

We all know that there's three main goals to get this football club back on its feet: a new stadium, new training facilities and getting back in the EFL and pushing on to possibly League One. New training facilities are seemingly on their way in the near future so that's great news but with JS's statement on a new stadium we seem to be as far away as ever and there's no discernable difference in strategy on the playing side compared to the Fenty years, and getting the same results may I add. And so for me, I'll also have to put to bed seeing GTFC in a new stadium in my lifetime and I'm only in my fifties..

To ensure getting out of this division, generally you'll need an additional fighting fund on top of the playing budget. I think the owners have underestimated this. Getting that extra funding from a new investor is as crucial as getting funding from investors for infrastructure. And it's not an either or. We should be looking to boost playing budget through share acquisition as well as improving infrastructure. This needs to happen sooner rather than later as the longer it goes on the further we'll fall behind the EFL funded clubs season after season like we did before when we were non-league. Don't know about you, but I'm really tired of us being shite on the pitch and I'm really tired of us being one of the biggest clubs left that hasn't got a new stadium.

I thought JS and AP would be more wired into fan sentiment than they are and more geared up to hit the ground running, or maybe the money is just not there, but GTFC cannot be a touchy feely long term project for a great many of us, and we've heard it all before..

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Looks like Grant McCann will be available soon 😉😂

Right about now it seems. Has tenuous Town links too, having played 45 minutes in Town colours while on trial at BP in 2002 (we signed Darren Barnard instead).

Quoted from chelseacity

Many of you on here are saying 'Hurst Out' well it should never have been 'Hurst In', the owners made a horrific mistake in giving him the job, they probably realise that now, in my business i have to research the hell out of a business before we invest millions, Hurst was easy to research, failures running back years, on his passed performance not only would we not have invested in him being a future success as the manager of Grimsby Town, we would have based on our research invested millions on him being a failure, in other words we would have shorted him being a failure, i wish we had been allowed to, we would have made a fortune.
Out of interest !  the highest position of the football club since he became manager was on the day he took charge of his first game, at the end of his first game & since, we have fallen to our lowest position since he took charge, it's been one way, down, down and down.

I will keep you on speedial in case I want to make any SME acquisitions.

Quoted from Bigdog

First of all they haven't sunk millions into the football club. They bought Fenty's shares and a few others amounting to around £1m. These remain 1878's assets and do not result in any financial gain for the club's coffers. The football club will be paying the JF loan off out of generated income. Grateful as I am to improvements at Cheapside and minor cheap improvements elsewhere, it doesn't amount to much more than 200k or so of personal money I'd estimate, certainly not the millions you have quoted.

We all know that there's three main goals to get this football club back on its feet: a new stadium, new training facilities and getting back in the EFL and pushing on to possibly League One. New training facilities are seemingly on their way in the near future so that's great news but with JS's statement on a new stadium we seem to be as far away as ever and there's no disecernable difference in strategy on the playing side compared to the Fenty years, and getting the same results may I add. And so for me, I'll also have to put to bed seeing GTFC in a new stadium in my lifetime and I'm only in my fifties..

To ensure getting out of this division, generally you'll need an additional fighting fund on top of the playing budget. I think the owners have underestimated this. Getting that extra funding from a new investor is as crucial as getting funding from investors for infrastructure. And it's not an either or. We should be looking to boost playing budget through share acquisition as well as improving infrastructure. This needs to happen sooner rather than later as the longer it goes on the further we'll fall behind the EFL funded clubs season after season like we did before when we were non-league. Don't know about you, but I'm really tired of us being shite on the pitch and I'm really tired of us being one of the biggest clubs left that haven't got a new stadium.

I thought JS and AP would be more wired into fan sentiment than they are and more geared up to hit the ground running, or maybe the money is just not there, but GTFC cannot be a long term project for a great many of us, and we've heard it all before..

Other than just a stone to throw I’m not sure dragging up the stadium debate is relevant to our current poor form.

Quoted from Bigdog

First of all they haven't sunk millions into the football club. They bought Fenty's shares and a few others amounting to around £1m. These remain 1878's assets and do not result in any financial gain for the club's coffers. The football club will be paying the JF loan off out of generated income. Grateful as I am to improvements at Cheapside and minor cheap improvements elsewhere, it doesn't amount to much more than 200k or so of personal money I'd estimate, certainly not the millions you have quoted.

We all know that there's three main goals to get this football club back on its feet: a new stadium, new training facilities and getting back in the EFL and pushing on to possibly League One. New training facilities are seemingly on their way in the near future so that's great news but with JS's statement on a new stadium we seem to be as far away as ever and there's no disecernable difference in strategy on the playing side compared to the Fenty years, and getting the same results may I add. And so for me, I'll also have to put to bed seeing GTFC in a new stadium in my lifetime and I'm only in my fifties..

To ensure getting out of this division, generally you'll need an additional fighting fund on top of the playing budget. I think the owners have underestimated this. Getting that extra funding from a new investor is as crucial as getting funding from investors for infrastructure. And it's not an either or. We should be looking to boost playing budget through share acquisition as well as improving infrastructure. This needs to happen sooner rather than later as the longer it goes on the further we'll fall behind the EFL funded clubs season after season like we did before when we were non-league. Don't know about you, but I'm really tired of us being shite on the pitch and I'm really tired of us being one of the biggest clubs left that haven't got a new stadium.

I thought JS and AP would be more wired into fan sentiment than they are and more geared up to hit the ground running, or maybe the money is just not there, but GTFC cannot be a long term project for a great many of us, and we've heard it all before..

See the accounts are still not available. If Fenty is to be believed, he left the club with £800k in the bank and no other debt than to himself. So have they actually put any money in the club. ??? Why are they holding the accounts back. ???

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Other than just a stone to throw I’m not sure dragging up the stadium debate is relevant to our current poor form.

Isn’t it relevant to our future revenue streams?

Quoted from GibMariner

See the accounts are still not available. If Fenty is to be believed, he left the club with £800k in the bank and no other debt than to himself. So have they actually put any money in the club. ??? Why are they holding the accounts back. ???

In terms of a cash balance £800k isn’t that much. It sounds good but it would be working capital to support the day to day running of the club and not for throwing at a run of poor form.

Quoted from GibMariner

See the accounts are still not available. If Fenty is to be believed, he left the club with £800k in the bank and no other debt than to himself. So have they actually put any money in the club. ??? Why are they holding the accounts back. ???

I'd take them at their word that they've thrown "a few quid in" (their words) on infrastructure improvements like the pitch, Cheapside and the new glass barriers in the Findus etc..

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Isn’t it relevant to our future revenue streams?

It will be but it won’t get us out of Division 5.

Quoted from Bigdog

First of all they haven't sunk millions into the football club. They bought Fenty's shares and a few others amounting to around £1m. These remain 1878's assets and do not result in any financial gain for the club's coffers. The football club will be paying the JF loan off out of generated income. Grateful as I am to improvements at Cheapside and minor cheap improvements elsewhere, it doesn't amount to much more than 200k or so of personal money I'd estimate, certainly not the millions you have quoted.

We all know that there's three main goals to get this football club back on its feet: a new stadium, new training facilities and getting back in the EFL and pushing on to possibly League One. New training facilities are seemingly on their way in the near future so that's great news but with JS's statement on a new stadium we seem to be as far away as ever and there's no disecernable difference in strategy on the playing side compared to the Fenty years, and getting the same results may I add. And so for me, I'll also have to put to bed seeing GTFC in a new stadium in my lifetime and I'm only in my fifties..

To ensure getting out of this division, generally you'll need an additional fighting fund on top of the playing budget. I think the owners have underestimated this. Getting that extra funding from a new investor is as crucial as getting funding from investors for infrastructure. And it's not an either or. We should be looking to boost playing budget through share acquisition as well as improving infrastructure. This needs to happen sooner rather than later as the longer it goes on the further we'll fall behind the EFL funded clubs season after season like we did before when we were non-league. Don't know about you, but I'm really tired of us being shite on the pitch and I'm really tired of us being one of the biggest clubs left that hasn't got a new stadium.

I thought JS and AP would be more wired into fan sentiment than they are and more geared up to hit the ground running, or maybe the money is just not there, but GTFC cannot be a touchy feely long term project for a great many of us, and we've heard it all before..

I have heard JS say more than once he has had offers of investment from his contacts but doesn't need it yet.

What is that all about? We need it now and urgently don't we?

I thought the new owners were going to be a force to be reckoned with and really give us a new horizon to aim for but it is very underwhelming thus far.

Quoted from GibMariner

See the accounts are still not available. If Fenty is to be believed, he left the club with £800k in the bank and no other debt than to himself. So have they actually put any money in the club. ??? Why are they holding the accounts back. ???

I suppose it's not prudent to show your accounts during a transfer window and Companies House says they are due 28th February...

Quoted from HertsGTFC

In terms of a cash balance £800k isn’t that much. It sounds good but it would be working capital to support the day to day running of the club and not for throwing at a run of poor form.

It would have been boosted by several over budget attendances though.

Quoted from Bigdog

First of all they haven't sunk millions into the football club. They bought Fenty's shares and a few others amounting to around £1m. These remain 1878's assets and do not result in any financial gain for the club's coffers. The football club will be paying the JF loan off out of generated income. Grateful as I am to improvements at Cheapside and minor cheap improvements elsewhere, it doesn't amount to much more than 200k or so of personal money I'd estimate, certainly not the millions you have quoted.

We all know that there's three main goals to get this football club back on its feet: a new stadium, new training facilities and getting back in the EFL and pushing on to possibly League One. New training facilities are seemingly on their way in the near future so that's great news but with JS's statement on a new stadium we seem to be as far away as ever and there's no disecernable difference in strategy on the playing side compared to the Fenty years, and getting the same results may I add. And so for me, I'll also have to put to bed seeing GTFC in a new stadium in my lifetime and I'm only in my fifties..

To ensure getting out of this division, generally you'll need an additional fighting fund on top of the playing budget. I think the owners have underestimated this. Getting that extra funding from a new investor is as crucial as getting funding from investors for infrastructure. And it's not an either or. We should be looking to boost playing budget through share acquisition as well as improving infrastructure. This needs to happen sooner rather than later as the longer it goes on the further we'll fall behind the EFL funded clubs season after season like we did before when we were non-league. Don't know about you, but I'm really tired of us being shite on the pitch and I'm really tired of us being one of the biggest clubs left that hasn't got a new stadium.

I thought JS and AP would be more wired into fan sentiment than they are and more geared up to hit the ground running, or maybe the money is just not there, but GTFC cannot be a touchy feely long term project for a great many of us, and we've heard it all before..

So you’d prefer someone with no ties to the town to throw silly money at it for a few years and then clear off when they got bored? It’s clear fans have contrasting views so what you want is the owners to be wired into your sentiment and no one else’s? I’m also sick of us being sh1te by the way.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

It would have been boosted by several over budget attendances though.

Quite possibly and when this year’s accounts land next year we’ll see. The new owners must have put a bit in though as £800k wouldn’t fund too much capex.

Quoted from Vance Warner

So you’d prefer someone with no ties to the town to throw silly money at it for a few years and then clear off when they got bored? It’s clear fans have contrasting views so what you want is the owners to be wired into your sentiment and no one else’s? I’m also sick of us being sh1te by the way.

That's a gross misrepresentation of what I said mate..

Quoted from Bigdog

That's a gross misrepresentation of what I said mate..

Apologies if that’s the case but just think it’s too soon to judge the owners on their performance. Things don’t change overnight and other than spending unsustainable amounts of money I’m not sure what more they could have done so far. Hopefully a new training ground announcement soon will showcase some of the work they are doing.

Quoted from Vance Warner

Apologies if that’s the case but just think it’s too soon to judge the owners on their performance. Things don’t change overnight and other than spending unsustainable amounts of money I’m not sure what more they could have done so far. Hopefully a new training ground announcement soon will showcase some of the work they are doing.

Some people seem to be expecting miracles over night. Wrexham are a few points ahead of us despite throwing absolutely mental amounts of money at the playing budget this season. Players on 5k a week in the 5th division. The form of the team hasn't been good enough but we're against 4 teams of a similar stature to ourselves whoever been building squads for the last 3 or 4 years. I do think we are going to have to wait a year or 2 while the likes of Chesterfield, Wrexham and Stockport  sodomist off to League 2. We really have ended up in the league at the worst possible time. If we'd come down 2 seasons ago we'd have been against a Wrexham and Chesterfield in disarray struggling to stay up, a Stockport side who had spent 5 years in the 6th tier and be completing with teams like Macclesfield and Barrow for the title not a bankrolled well supported teams.

The one fact we have all forgotten is that Hurst was employed by Fenty under the old regime, with no interview process, a direct employment by Fenty.

Hurst may be astute to agree with long term stability of the club by 1878 but his signings of short term contracts and loans players say other things in a different direction.

Money is always said to be available and has been for over 12 months so why hasn't any been spent on long term contracts, or keeping the likes of Towler and Hunt at the club. We need a manager with ambition as well as stability.

1878 need to have more vision when it comes to the manager and not endorse a Fenty man using Fenty mentality to maintain a team.

Quoted from DB

The one fact we have all forgotten is that Hurst was employed by Fenty under the old regime, with no interview process, a direct employment by Fenty.

Hurst may be astute to agree with long term stability of the club by 1878 but his signings of short term contracts and loans players say other things in a different direction.

Money is always said to be available and has been for over 12 months so why hasn't any been spent on long term contracts, or keeping the likes of Towler and Hunt at the club. We need a manager with ambition as well as stability.

1878 need to have more vision when it comes to the manager and not endorse a Fenty man using Fenty mentality to maintain a team.

Players don’t want to commit, players being recalled by their parent club and going straight in to their squad? May be some of the cash is having to service other areas that need it to meet thresholds etc?

There as plethora of reasons, Hurst has ambition, the club now has a plan. That won’t just change everything over night though…

Quoted from Phil the cod

This is why you can't take red crosses seriously........... someone posts the truth and the Fenty physcophants can't handle it

Are they supposed to be taken seriously??
I only red cross someone who moans about them because it makes me grin    

Bit of fun man, lighten up a bit.

Quoted from TAGG

Are they supposed to be taken seriously??
I only red cross someone who moans about them because it makes me grin    

Bit of fun man, lighten up a bit.

Just red crossed you, only in an ironic way mind 😉

Quoted from Bawmariner

Some people seem to be expecting miracles over night. Wrexham are a few points ahead of us despite throwing absolutely mental amounts of money at the playing budget this season. Players on 5k a week in the 5th division. The form of the team hasn't been good enough but we're against 4 teams of a similar stature to ourselves whoever been building squads for the last 3 or 4 years. I do think we are going to have to wait a year or 2 while the likes of Chesterfield, Wrexham and Stockport  sodomist off to League 2. We really have ended up in the league at the worst possible time. If we'd come down 2 seasons ago we'd have been against a Wrexham and Chesterfield in disarray struggling to stay up, a Stockport side who had spent 5 years in the 6th tier and be completing with teams like Macclesfield and Barrow for the title not a bankrolled well supported teams.

From memory, we were 12 points ahead of Wrexham at one point, we’re now 6 behind. Our squad from that point has departed to all points of the compass and, with the possible exception of JMD, been replaced by players unwanted by anyone else.

Try the poll again after our next win. Just saying  

Not keen on constantly changing manager. Rarely turns out well

However this run over the last 3 months is worrying. It's not a blip.

I'm at a loss at how a team to that did so well over the first 10 games or so can so quickly look so poor.

The damning thing for me is that nothing is changing
Some performances have been decent. I don't buy the idea the players aren't trying. Halifax at home was good. But until we scored the late equaliser looked to be another groundhog Day.

Altrincham the same but for 2 moments of individual brilliance

We aren't creating many chances . Get into some promising situations but don't work the keeper enough.

Wasteful in front of goal

Don't seem to be using players to get the best out of them.

We're doing the same game after game. Hurst doesn't seem to have a plan B. Can't make effective in game changes either when things aren't working

We play a front 3 but the Centre Forward usually Taylor is too isolated. Wide players too wide and no support runs from deep. Taylor is often 20 yards from a teammate with his back to goal.

Same story against Bromley where we were up against 3 big Centre Half's. And our tactic , apart the opening minutes when we did get down the channels, was play high and long. Easy for them but we didn't change

If I felt there was a suitable manager out there I would pull the trigger.