Hurst out

Quoted from ginnywings

Depends what you mean by decent season. If you go into it expecting a promotion push, or at least a play off spot, then you are maybe setting yourself up for disappointment.

The league has got stronger and getting established in it may be more of a realistic goal for some. We don't know what the board are expecting, apart from long term plans and living within our means.

I'm as desperate for excitement and swashbuckling football as the next fan, but many years of watching Town have tempered my expectations somewhat. I hope for better, but expecting better leads to disappointment mostly.

Quoted from GrimPol

If a Fairygodmother arrived at Blundell Park and offered Mariner Fans an A or B wish, how would you choose?
A) Guaranteed this season mid-table mediocrity, with all the games puerile but no demotion or anywhere near playoffs. or
B) Leave PH alone and let him fulfil his 30-month contract.
No exceptions, or whatabouts, that's the stark choice. What would you take A or B?

Quoted from Mappers

The fairygodmother offers strange wish options

Quoted from GrimPol

Do they know where Grimsby is?

Quoted from ginnywings

Questions aren't opinions. Have all the opinions you like, but constantly asking "why do fans put up with this" and "when should the manager be sacked" are irrelevant. I just pointed out that article as trying to have an insight as to how the owners might be thinking. They are not my thoughts, and I realise my thoughts don't count anyway.

My opinion is that they won't part ways with him yet and I'm cool with that. We are not in a relegation battle as some like to say, because there is too much time and too many games left.

Hurst is here until he isnt, so either support the team or don't. That's the only decision that is ours to make.

Quoted from ginnywings

Putting the emotion of being a fan to one side, it is simply too hard this far out to say we will be in a relegation battle in 4 months time. Previous history has got everybody twitchy and I understand that. Previous history also suggests that PH can get us out of a slump, but it's natural to concentrate on the negative when it is all we have known for so many years.

The conundrum for me is why we are one of the best first half teams in the league, joint second with Stockport last time I looked, but our second half performances have us second bottom. That's a problem that needs to be addressed. 75% of our goals have come in the first half, but we can't seem to get over the line for some reason.

Let me also say, for the benefit of doubt, that I'm not a massive PH fan as some might imagine, and if the board were to end his time here, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, but I think he has earned the right to be given a bit more time, and I'm trying to not let emotion, and previous bad times cloud my thinking.

I'm also mindful of the clamour we had for his removal at least 4 or 5 times in his two stints as manager, and how he usually comes through in the end. In fact, I can remember people on this board saying they were wrong, and some even apologising for doubting him when he got us promoted.

I genuinely think that we have some better players, but not yet enough to get us where we want to be, and we are sort of falling between 2 stools at the moment. He's trying to transition the team to a more possession based system, but hasn't yet cracked it with the incumbent personnel. People are saying to get in a new manager so he has time to assess and a window, but we could say that PH could also do that job in the next window, already knowing the squad and it's deficiences.

I also think that the fans are jumping on the fact that the owners said they were trying to improve every window, and the early recruitment seemed to go down really well with the fans, who maybe got a bit carried away and thought we would and should be challenging for a play off spot at least. The fact that we haven't so far, with the emphasis on "so far", leads fans to feel that they have been somewhat duped and only a change of manager can get us back on track.

I think the board will be looking to see what happens over the next few games, maybe until the end of November, and if we are still floundering, or god forbid, getting worse, there will be time to appoint a new man and he can have the window.

Yeah, I know, I'm an idiot.  

Quoted from diehardmariner

Whilst that article is old, it does raise an interesting point.

System 1 thinking would definitely suggest sacking Hurst.  At face value.  It's excrement, we're excrement to watch and we look like we're only getting shitter.

System 2 thinking probably saved Hurst two years ago, the data said we were doing ok.  I think looking back at the time it was probably fair to say that was the case, other than the points haul.  We weren't playing awful but we just couldn't buy a win (or a draw!).  But this time, I'm less sure.  I'm not sure what 1878 would be looking at but I can't imagine that, even if using a heavy dosage of confirmation bias, it would be easy to find stats to suggest that things are going well at the minute.  

Really good points made about at what point is too late? Genuinely feels like we're sleepwalking into a relegation scrap, but we're also at real risk of getting cut adrift from everyone else.  The bottom 3 are in terrible form, like us.  But Tranmere are picking up and will be comfortable as hell under Adkins, MK Dons have got the quality in their squad and I expect will improve under Williamson.  Even FGR boosted their confidence with a 5-0 win over Colchester, which in turn is going to bring about a change of management in Essex.