the Big Match thread

It happens in football. We thought we were getting good players but they have been disappointing its as simple as that. It could be the system, it could be the individuals not gelling it could be a whole host of things.

The thing is what are we going to do about it? Hurst must be able to get more out of these players, even if they are not as good as he and we hoped. That's his job and if he can't do it he will have to go. If we keep him, in January there will be another influx of players hoping he hits on a winning formula.

Those banging the drum for patience and supporting PH for what he's done .Fine
However he has been Town Manager for best part of 10 years at consistently our lowest level .The games changed for sure but surely fans like myself who want to see us battling for at least league 1 status who have backed PH with back to back record ST sales deserve some hope of seeing that?

Losing last night is kind of irrelevant, it's the bigger picture that's the real problem. I couldn't be bothered to tune into the commentary, mainly because of the tournament and two reserve teams playing. However, its heading towards drudgery and the 2500 "new" fans will soon start to find better things to do if we're not careful.
The excitement of the play offs and FA cup run need to be built on with some entertainment, particularly at home. The joy of winning must always outweigh the fear of losing

Quoted from aldi_01

As many as it takes. Those managers people claim to be good yet never name are all out of work for a reason.

Perhaps players are taking longer to gel, perhaps injuries in key areas has done us but if there’s one thing fans and the club should’ve learned, or need to, is that swapping managers willynilly like previously has only ever hurt us. No coincidence that our most settled/successful period of the last 20 odd years has come when we’ve had a consistent manager.

Still, people want rid because he cupped his ear and apparently doesn’t make subs at the right time…

Not quite sure of your logic re out of work managers as that also applied to Hurst when he came back and just because a Manager fails at one club doesn’t mean he can’t be a success elsewhere. Interesting listening to PH’s You Tube interview as opposed to his RH one and he sounds much more concerned on the former and seems very frustrated that the players brought in don’t appear to have that “will to win” all managers want in their players and he appears to question there abilities to take on board instructions from the coaching team.

I would reiterate I am not advocating Hurst go at the present time but should these turgid displays continue up to and around the Christmas period I’m pretty sure I too will want change.

Quoted from aldi_01

As many as it takes. Those managers people claim to be good yet never name are all out of work for a reason.

Perhaps players are taking longer to gel, perhaps injuries in key areas has done us but if there’s one thing fans and the club should’ve learned, or need to, is that swapping managers willynilly like previously has only ever hurt us. No coincidence that our most settled/successful period of the last 20 odd years has come when we’ve had a consistent manager.

Still, people want rid because he cupped his ear and apparently doesn’t make subs at the right time…

I think that's a really daft and dangerous position to hold. Sacking the manager isn't always the answer and very often managers are given nowhere near enough time. But we're a quarter of the way through the season and we seem to be worse now than we were at the start of September. Hurst himself has alluded to feeling let down by players etc and whilst I think the players are getting a bit of a free ride for some lacklustre performances and very basic errors, ultimately the buck stops with the manager. He is to blame for building a squad that has some glaring deficiencies (e.g a competent left back and anything like some pace or athleticism) and he's had plenty of time since signing most of them to work out an approach that suits the strengths of the squad and to get them playing this way. He is currently failing miserably on that front.

The idea that there is nobody out there, either in work or out of work, that could do better than Hurst is a nonsense. Hurst is a generally competent manager who historically has managed to put teams together that are greater than the sum of it's parts, albeit more often in a workman-like manner rather than in an entertaining fashion. But he isn't perfect, far from it. And if he's lost the ability to get the players to play for him and in the way that he tells them to then that's concerning.

I'm not advocating sacking Hurst at the minute. He should be given at least the rest of this month and probably into November to see if he can turn things around. But if we're still putting in performances like recently and we're languishing in 18th place or lower then serious questions need to be asked. The owners aren't stupid like our last non-chairman. They'll have an idea of who's available and will have plans in place for a number of contingencies. I'd trust them to find a decent replacement whereas we all know what happened with Fenty and his scattergun approach to managerial appointments. They'll also know that if we're struggling into November that any new manager would likely want at least a few weeks before the transfer window to see who he wants, who he doesn't and where he needs to get new players in.

Just carte-blanche giving Hurst "as long as it takes" is not the answer. Our own experience shows us he doesn't always get it right in time.

Quoted from aldi_01

As many as it takes. Those managers people claim to be good yet never name are all out of work for a reason.

Perhaps players are taking longer to gel, perhaps injuries in key areas has done us but if there’s one thing fans and the club should’ve learned, or need to, is that swapping managers willynilly like previously has only ever hurt us. No coincidence that our most settled/successful period of the last 20 odd years has come when we’ve had a consistent manager.

Still, people want rid because he cupped his ear and apparently doesn’t make subs at the right time…

That's a minority of people that hold a grudge. But it looks like it's closer to 50/50 for keeping/sacking on here now based on the ticks and crosses each post gets. I don't think it's time to make the move yet, but it must be getting close. Last time they showed patience it paid off and we got promoted. It was complete luck and won't happen again in our lifetime, but Hurst gets the credit just as much as he does the responsibility for us underperforming now.

The biggest problem is that we have record ticket sales, an FA cup quarter final money and McAtee money yet we aren't much better than we've been with a fraction of that income. There's a lot more expectation because we should have a budget that allows us to be competitive. The start was difficult, but they're the teams we want to compete with, so we should still expect to be in an ok position and have more points than we do.

Highlights.

https://www.google.co.uk/searc.....iflsig=AO6bgOgAAAAAZ

Quoted from pen penfras

That's a minority of people that hold a grudge. But it looks like it's closer to 50/50 for keeping/sacking on here now based on the ticks and crosses each post gets. I don't think it's time to make the move yet, but it must be getting close. Last time they showed patience it paid off and we got promoted. It was complete luck and won't happen again in our lifetime, but Hurst gets the credit just as much as he does the responsibility for us underperforming now.

The biggest problem is that we have record ticket sales, an FA cup quarter final money and McAtee money yet we aren't much better than we've been with a fraction of that income. There's a lot more expectation because we should have a budget that allows us to be competitive. The start was difficult, but they're the teams we want to compete with, so we should still expect to be in an ok position and have more points than we do.

I think your point that we look no better on a bigger budget is a good one . It’s boring boring football and that is my problem. Under fenty the football was pretty much the same . It grinds you down tbh

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Interesting listening to PH’s You Tube interview as opposed to his RH one and he sounds much more concerned on the former and seems very frustrated that the players brought in don’t appear to have that “will to win” all managers want in their players and he appears to question there abilities to take on board instructions from the coaching team.

“That’s how people go on to have good careers – they might not have quite as much ability but they’ve got all the other attributes [i.e. mental attributes – decision-making, etc.] that managers are looking for.”

In the club interview especially, Hurst made a load of references to the way in which our players think about the game on the pitch. He says that while the technical quality has increased, it is the overall package that needs to improve. In other words, we might have a better, more talented group of players but we do not yet have a better team. I totally agree with this.

Apart from a couple of obvious ones, our promotion-winning side, for example, was a far less talented group of players but they were a much better team. There was a clear system and every player knew their and their teammates’ roles and usually seemed to make the correct decisions in-game. That doesn't seem to be the case at the moment.  

Nobody gave Fenty more grief than I did but he had got in a cross section of managers from big names ex managers and tge young ambitious types.They came from far and wide so thus perception you can't attract people to GTFC is clearly a load of bollox.