Just Back on the Bus

Started brightly. All Town for opening 15 minutes but then totally inexplicable. Players at walking pace-no desire to push up against a defence that was at best unsure. The penalty (I'm sure the video has done the rounds-never touched him) put them on the front foot but instead of intelligently seeing out the half for a half time refocus, we contrived to concede a second straight out of Town's ever expanding catalogue of errors.
The introduction of Conteh for the second half made a difference and we punished them with a scrambled first and capitalised on a big error for the second. Couldn't quite manage a winner which our second half dominance maybe deserved. Still time for a couple of scary defensive issues including one where four players including the keeper watched the ball bounce in the 6 yard box.
My M.O.M Glennon-must have put in 20 decent balls over the 90 minutes.

Quoted from barralad

Started brightly. All Town for opening 15 minutes but then totally inexplicable. Players at walking pace-no desire to push up against a defence that was at best unsure. The penalty (I'm sure the video has done the rounds-never touched him) put them on the front foot but instead of intelligently seeing out the half for a half time refocus, we contrived to concede a second straight out of Town's ever expanding catalogue of errors.
The introduction of Conteh for the second half made a difference and we punished them with a scrambled first and capitalised on a big error for the second. Couldn't quite manage a winner which our second half dominance maybe deserved. Still time for a couple of scary defensive issues including one where four players including the keeper watched the ball bounce in the 6 yard box.
My M.O.M Glennon-must have put in 20 decent balls over the 90 minutes.

Have a safe journey home.

Quoted from barralad

Started brightly. All Town for opening 15 minutes but then totally inexplicable. Players at walking pace-no desire to push up against a defence that was at best unsure. The penalty (I'm sure the video has done the rounds-never touched him) put them on the front foot but instead of intelligently seeing out the half for a half time refocus, we contrived to concede a second straight out of Town's ever expanding catalogue of errors.
The introduction of Conteh for the second half made a difference and we punished them with a scrambled first and capitalised on a big error for the second. Couldn't quite manage a winner which our second half dominance maybe deserved. Still time for a couple of scary defensive issues including one where four players including the keeper watched the ball bounce in the 6 yard box.
My M.O.M Glennon-must have put in 20 decent balls over the 90 minutes.

Good summary mate thought young Cartwright might have nicked motm though 🤔 Safe journey home

Yeah Glennon was superb again but Cartwright just edges it for me today

Very fair review that. I had to sit in home main stand amongst the 10 year old FGR ultras that sounded like chipmunks. But you have pointed out everything me and our kid were saying. Safe journey home all, I have a night in Stroud to contend with now. 🍻🍻

Surprised at a lot of the comments in the match thread. Thought Forest Green had some really good players and the 7 was excellent.

Tough conditions and great resolve to rescue a point. We are scoring lots of goals.

I’m just happy to have somebody on the touch line who’s remotely capable of positively affecting a football match.

Win against Sutton & that’s a good points return from 3 games. Today wasn’t a day to play football & coming back from 2 down is something we wouldn’t have done earlier on in the season.

Both centre backs are letting everyone and themselves down by being consistently incapable of doing basic things correctly. Until we resolve this, we’ll continue to find wins hard to come by. Every game the same! It has got to be addressed.

How much we need a Paul Futcher type of player in the heart of our defence, we were the better team today and started off very brightly in tough conditions and really should have taken the lead. The penalty was a farce but we should have cleared the ball out from the lefthand side before the scramble in the area, and once we went behind you could see the confidence disappear and to concede a 2nd goal after possession was lost in midfield was so flipping frustrating. To get the 2 goals back was brilliant and felt FGR where there for the taking as they then lost confidence but we hit too many high balls out of defence instead of playing the ball to feet. 1 point is better than none but I felt after equalising we should have taken all 3 points. Credit to the management duo for changing things around in the 2nd half but bringing Amos on to replace a midfield player confused me.UTM

Quoted from chaos33

Both centre backs are letting everyone and themselves down by being consistently incapable of doing basic things correctly. Until we resolve this, we’ll continue to find wins hard to come by. Every game the same! It has got to be addressed.

If.. and it's a big if, PH had the opportunity to sign Ryan Bennett, it must go down as a big mistake. HR looks like he's a confidence player, Mullarkey isn't trusted to play there, one season too far for LW and Maher is running out of reliable partners and is now shooting himself in the foot..

Quoted from Bigdog

If.. and it's a big if, PH had the opportunity to sign Ryan Bennett, it must go down as a big mistake. HR looks like he's a confidence player, Mullarkey isn't trusted to play there, one season too far for LW and Maher is running out of reliable partners and is now shooting himself in the foot..

He definitely had the opportunity.....whether he had the budget to secure the deal and leave some in the kitty is another thing.


Just watched highlights.....very soft penalty but I think Maher putting his hands up quicker than a captured p.o.w helped make the ref think there was contact.
Second goal...dawdling, diving in, that black hole in the centre of defense again...woeful.
By the look of the goals I think Wilson will be claiming both of them.

Young Bramwell looks a realy good player, maybe he might be worth putting on the bench with a view to giving him some minutes and getting him " match fit". From what I have seen of him he looks a real prospect

Quoted from Bigdog

If.. and it's a big if, PH had the opportunity to sign Ryan Bennett, it must go down as a big mistake. HR looks like he's a confidence player, Mullarkey isn't trusted to play there, one season too far for LW and Maher is running out of reliable partners and is now shooting himself in the foot..

I know he’s popular with the fan base but I’m not sure Maher has been all that TBH, but I guess with a reliable partner it might look different.

I actually think our whole defence needs surgery but I hope the new manager doesn’t completely carve it up as you need a pre season and loads of time on the training ground where defensive mistakes don’t cost points while you’re trying to gel.

Thought we pressed them high first twenty minutes and it looked like only one team was going to win it. They came into it as we dropped off a little and conceded two sloppy goals. After that I couldn't really make out what we were trying to do or what our playing identity was. The game ended up a bit of a mess. Thanks to a strong backwind, Glennon's excellent ball deliveries and Wilson's predatory instincts we grabbed a point. If it wasn't for Cartwright we'd be going home empty handed.

I felt sorry for Green. Holohan and Andrews just disappeared halfway through the first half. He tried to do too much on his own and got caught doing so. I think he's much more effective if he's playing with partners that take that pressure off him so he can stick to what he's best at, and that's being a physical presence and breaking up play. He's not as sharp and mobile as Conteh and he can't pass like Hunt, but those two could be a good blend for him in there to work with..

I thought FGR were a poor team and there for the taking. Disappointed that we haven't won three points today, but mightliy relieved that we've come back with one..

Not enough high pressing for me. More energy needed without the ball, and a galactic uptick in defensive positioning, discipline, anticipation and concentration. At the moment, we could replace our centre backs with a wardrobe and a grandfather clock, and do better defensively.

Cartwright continued his good form , i was really impressed - the slide tackle was quick thinking ,keepers handball those a lot in a panic .

Glennon may be one many of us got wrong - he somehow looks a very mobile player once more after looking like he was running in treacle at the start of the season , that mobility is getting him into great areas to whip crosses in (looks our main attacking threat?)

Conteh did nicely when he came on .

Not many more positives than that .

I didn't think they were that bad , some decent technical players , but like us had a fragility about them .

Another big couple of weeks ahead .

Can't fault the changes S&B made but it only goes to emphasise that were still a club looking for a team. I have no idea really what our best team is and neither does whoever is in charge. Far too many changes throughout the season so far. There is a team in there somewhere but who it is I am still none the wiser.

Best thing about today was Billy Joel - We didn't start the fire at half time

I thought we played alright and were the better team for the larger parts and If not for a dodgy pen, and a mistake from Green, we should have easily won.

Not too much to be disheartened by, a point away is a good result after being 2-0 down at halftime.

The penalty decision was the most farcical ever. He wasn't even tackled - he just flung himself to the ground - should have been booked.

I was level with the 18 yard line, n it looked like a clear cut pen  so can see why the ref gave it. Thought glennon did ok, but amazed nobody's mentioned Cartwright incredible instinctive 1 handed save from a header that looked a certain goal. And to make it even more vital it was only a couple of minutes after we equalised.
For me he was motm .
Wilson didnt do anything except score 2 goals! Pyke n rose were a threat. Didnt think anyone played badly, but neither did anyone stand out.
At least a new manager would see we are not a hopeless cause  ,there's enough there to work with. And they deserve praise for rescuing a vital point. Good , although v quiet , following from town

When there player went down and got a pen I was looking for a sniper in the crowd.

Because non of our players touched him.

Quoted from forza ivano

Wilson didnt do anything except score 2 goals! Pyke n rose were a threat. Didnt think anyone played badly, but neither did anyone stand out.

This is a bit of a conundrum. Pyke seemingly played decent, some good runs and was our biggest threat. Donovan seems a natural goal scorer but never seems to contribute much else, whereas Pyke seems to be a decent enough goal scorer and a better all round player.

Rose is seemingly first name on the sheet.

Is there a way we can play all 3?? Probably not!

Quoted from sam gy

This is a bit of a conundrum. Pyke seemingly played decent, some good runs and was our biggest threat. Donovan seems a natural goal scorer but never seems to contribute much else, whereas Pyke seems to be a decent enough goal scorer and a better all round player.

Rose is seemingly first name on the sheet.

Is there a way we can play all 3?? Probably not!

I think praise needs to go to Pearson/Davies on Pyke yesterday, very brave decision to take him off during a decent performance but the sub worked perfectly.

Contehs impact was also huge, although I’m personally of the opinion he should be playing every week.

Quoted from Bristol Mariner

Best thing about today was Billy Joel - We didn't start the fire at half time

Blimey...I can remember when he was playing the likes of Wembley and the Hollywood Bowl

Quoted from pontoonlew

I think praise needs to go to Pearson/Davies on Pyke yesterday, very brave decision to take him off during a decent performance but the sub worked perfectly.

Contehs impact was also huge, although I’m personally of the opinion he should be playing every week.

The funny thing is, after 18 games we’re actually a point behind Holloway’s monstrosity of a side 3 years ago, but it’s clear we have some decent players. Rose, Pyke, Wilson, Khan and Gnahoua have all done positive things of late, while Eisa was probably the star of our early season.

In midfield, Holohan (though shaky at times yesterday) Green and Andrews have all looked good in the past couple of weeks too, and we know that Conteh is capable of being a star at this level if we can find a way to get the best out of him and the team as a whole at the same time. Clifton is undoubtably the one who has underwhelmed this season, but again we know he can be a very good player for us. Hopefully the rest he’s getting at the moment will do him some good - he’s run a lot of yards these last few years. That’s without even mentioning the likes of Hunt and Ainley, both of whom have been limited to brief cameos.  

That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement there, and we have no real way of replacing Rose should he be unavailable at some point, but there’s definitely plenty to work with for a new manager. We have a lot more quality than we did a few years ago.

Evidently, 30 goals conceded in 18 games is the bigger concern. Even then, though, I’m more inclined to believe our players are lacking in confidence as opposed to being awful. Maher and Rodgers seem to be the biggest culprits in recent weeks and were at the heart of yesterday’s goals conceded again, though that’s perhaps a tad harsh on Maher given the FGR player’s theatrics for the pen, but the former was solid most of last season and the latter looked a level above when he first came in.

I don’t think we’re completely out of danger by any means, but we’re steadily clocking up points again and the one thing Pearson and Davies have done is restored faith that we do actually have some capable players. This season doesn’t have to be a relegation battle, and I would hope that so long as whoever comes in doesn’t make a complete hash of things (or change more personnel than is necessary, see also January 2021), I remain fairly confident that it won’t be.

Beating Sutton next Saturday really is a must, though.

Quoted from Poojah

The funny thing is, after 18 games we’re actually a point behind Holloway’s monstrosity of a side 3 years ago, but it’s clear we have some decent players. Rose, Pyke, Wilson, Khan and Gnahoua have all done positive things of late, while Eisa was probably the star of our early season.

In midfield, Holohan (though shaky at times yesterday) Green and Andrews have all looked good in the past couple of weeks too, and we know that Conteh is capable of being a star at this level if we can find a way to get the best out of him and the team as a whole at the same time. Clifton is undoubtably the one who has underwhelmed this season, but again we know he can be a very good player for us. Hopefully the rest he’s getting at the moment will do him some good - he’s run a lot of yards these last few years. That’s without even mentioning the likes of Hunt and Ainley, both of whom have been limited to brief cameos.  

That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement there, and we have no real way of replacing Rose should he be unavailable at some point, but there’s definitely plenty to work with for a new manager. We have a lot more quality than we did a few years ago.

Evidently, 30 goals conceded in 18 games is the bigger concern. Even then, though, I’m more inclined to believe our players are lacking in confidence as opposed to being awful. Maher and Rodgers seem to be the biggest culprits in recent weeks and were at the heart of yesterday’s goals conceded again, though that’s perhaps a tad harsh on Maher given the FGR player’s theatrics for the pen, but the former was solid most of last season and the latter looked a level above when he first came in.

I don’t think we’re completely out of danger by any means, but we’re steadily clocking up points again and the one thing Pearson and Davies have done is restored faith that we do actually have some capable players. This season doesn’t have to be a relegation battle, and I would hope that so long as whoever comes in doesn’t make a complete hash of things (or change more personnel than is necessary, see also January 2021), I remain fairly confident that it won’t be.

Beating Sutton next Saturday really is a must, though.

Isn’t harsh on Maher because he drunk about with it in the first place and put us under pressure


Sutton are land of the giants, I wonder if we will see Waterfall in from the start

Quoted from Hagrid

Isn’t harsh on Maher because he drunk about with it in the first place and put us under pressure


Sutton are land of the giants, I wonder if we will see Waterfall in from the start

Probably, I would suggest. 6ft 5” Harry Smith is a particular concern as we don’t seem to deal well with freakishly large players (ever since Ben Chapman beat Peter Crouch in the air).

Quoted from Hagrid

Isn’t harsh on Maher because he drunk about with it in the first place and put us under pressure


Sutton are land of the giants, I wonder if we will see Waterfall in from the start

Maher was looking to slip it to Andrews who turned his back on him and moved out of the space. He then should've just twatted it. Never a pen though.

Quoted from Poojah

The funny thing is, after 18 games we’re actually a point behind Holloway’s monstrosity of a side 3 years ago, but it’s clear we have some decent players. Rose, Pyke, Wilson, Khan and Gnahoua have all done positive things of late, while Eisa was probably the star of our early season.

In midfield, Holohan (though shaky at times yesterday) Green and Andrews have all looked good in the past couple of weeks too, and we know that Conteh is capable of being a star at this level if we can find a way to get the best out of him and the team as a whole at the same time. Clifton is undoubtably the one who has underwhelmed this season, but again we know he can be a very good player for us. Hopefully the rest he’s getting at the moment will do him some good - he’s run a lot of yards these last few years. That’s without even mentioning the likes of Hunt and Ainley, both of whom have been limited to brief cameos.  

That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement there, and we have no real way of replacing Rose should he be unavailable at some point, but there’s definitely plenty to work with for a new manager. We have a lot more quality than we did a few years ago.

Evidently, 30 goals conceded in 18 games is the bigger concern. Even then, though, I’m more inclined to believe our players are lacking in confidence as opposed to being awful. Maher and Rodgers seem to be the biggest culprits in recent weeks and were at the heart of yesterday’s goals conceded again, though that’s perhaps a tad harsh on Maher given the FGR player’s theatrics for the pen, but the former was solid most of last season and the latter looked a level above when he first came in.

I don’t think we’re completely out of danger by any means, but we’re steadily clocking up points again and the one thing Pearson and Davies have done is restored faith that we do actually have some capable players. This season doesn’t have to be a relegation battle, and I would hope that so long as whoever comes in doesn’t make a complete hash of things (or change more personnel than is necessary, see also January 2021), I remain fairly confident that it won’t be.

Beating Sutton next Saturday really is a must, though.

We had some good players in the Holloway squad and some shite ones. Remember his wasn't sacked he just dropped us in it on the Eve of the window when he realised whatever dodgy deal he'd done wasn't coming in. I fancy with the window he'd have kept us up, as much as I despise Fenty and Holloway, i think without Covid we wouldn't have had a change in ownership as we were just starting to look a good side as Covid hit.

This squad has some really good players, we haven't managed to hit our full potential due to fitness and form.  You're spot on regarding Clifton, he has been vital last few seasons and a loss of form has seen him less so. Maher also in for a bit of stick yesterday but I think he's been generally excellent since he signed, but been in and out with injury.
Pyke now fully fit looks a real threat, fast, strong, clever and technically good, I'd like to see him be a bit more aggressive.
I'm amazed by Wilson, he's been lethal, his record before us shows nothing of a prolific scorer but he looks a 20 goal a season player at this level. Still don't think he's fully fit and hope it's just not one of those weird scoring streaks players go on.

Rose has been consistently good and will comfortably get into double figures.

I think there is a short sighted habit to say players are excrement rather than out of form, people also expect players to be bang at it after injury. It's important to have a good squad.

I'm also pleased to see Hunt get some minutes but higher up the pitch, scored on Tuesday and had a moment yesterday that saw him skip past a couple of players, we don't have anyone like him, if we can get him the ball higher up the pitch and allow him to play he could be excellent.

Of our relegation threatened sides, this is the one I'm least worried about. We have several regular goal scorers, good options in midfield and an uncharacteristically shaky defence. Sort that out and we will be flying up the table. Seen enough in Rodgers to think he's out of form instead of being excrement.

This team misses a star loanee, someone clearly above the level who you get for 6 months. Be great to get someone like that in January.  

Quoted from headingly_mariner

We had some good players in the Holloway squad and some shite ones. Remember his wasn't sacked he just dropped us in it on the Eve of the window when he realised whatever dodgy deal he'd done wasn't coming in. I fancy with the window he'd have kept us up, as much as I despise Fenty and Holloway, i think without Covid we wouldn't have had a change in ownership as we were just starting to look a good side as Covid hit.

That’s true, and it’s easy to forget that some of that side would take part in our play-off heroics less than 18 months later, but the balance of players in that squad that were negligently sub-par was, in itself, negligent.

Danny Preston, Bilel Moshni, James Morton, Danny Rose, George Williams, Luke Spokes, Filipe Morais, Kyle Bennett, Montel Gibson, Ira Jackson Jr, Owen Windsor, Alhagi Touray Sisay, Virgil Gomis. That’s 13 players right there, plus Terry Taylor who was poor in his time for us but has since gone on to disprove his critics. Enough to put out a team plus a partial subs bench, if you’re not fussed about playing a goalkeeper or many defenders.

Our worst player today is still better than the best of the above lot. We are night and day; hence why it’s so perplexing that we’ve manage to accrue fewer points than they did after 18 games.

There’s no doubting that the quality of League Two is much stronger than it was 3 years ago, but that’s far from the whole story. What I see, and it’s even clearer now Pearson and Davies have had a few games to re-instil some fight and belief, is that we’ve had a decent squad of players devoid of the right systematic guidance and, subsequently, bereft of confidence. Regrettably, that’s on Hurst and Doig.

More so than I was three weeks ago, I am confident that a competent manager comes in, corrects the basics, grows belief and confidence and brings about incremental improvements at both ends of the field over time. If that happens, and we hit the ground running, I don’t think we have to consider this season a complete right-off just yet, and I certainly don’t think we should have too much to worry about as the next few weeks play out.

Yesterday’s point keeps us in touch with the teams above us rather than those below, and I think that’s really important in how it affects we, the fans, the players and prospective managers think about where and what we are.

I don’t believe Shaun and Ben will get the gig, nor do I believe they should, but they deserve immense credit for the way they have conducted themselves and got a tune out of a badly faltering side. Whatever happens from here on in, they can hold their heads up high.

Individual errors aside, we seem to lack any clear direction when the game’s there for the taking. I’ve said it elsewhere, but we seem to be fine when the pressure’s off or nobody’s expecting a performance, like against Morecambe or when we’re a goal or two down. But once we pull level or take the lead, it’s like we’ve got no idea what the plan is.

We’re like a dog that’s finally caught the car he’s been chasing, and doesn’t know what to do next.

It’s a similar kind of phenomena we see when we have a decent opening 20 mins, then run out of ideas. I’d be interested to see how many goals we’ve conceded in the second quarter of games, seems to be most weeks. Not to speak ill of the departed, but that goes back to Hurst for me.

Quoted from ska face

Individual errors aside, we seem to lack any clear direction when the game’s there for the taking. I’ve said it elsewhere, but we seem to be fine when the pressure’s off or nobody’s expecting a performance, like against Morecambe or when we’re a goal or two down. But once we pull level or take the lead, it’s like we’ve got no idea what the plan is.

We’re like a dog that’s finally caught the car he’s been chasing, and doesn’t know what to do next.

It’s a similar kind of phenomena we see when we have a decent opening 20 mins, then run out of ideas. I’d be interested to see how many goals we’ve conceded in the second quarter of games, seems to be most weeks. Not to speak ill of the departed, but that goes back to Hurst for me.

That’s a great analogy, and the sheer number of points dropped from leading positions this season absolutely backs up the theory.

If there’s a difference now though, it’s that we’re gaining points from losing positions. If I’ve done the maths correctly, we dropped 19 points from losing positions under Hurst this season (not double counting the two times we led at Notts County), and gained literally zero from losing positions (and we gave ourselves no shortage of opportunities in this regard.

For a bloke with over 700 games in management under his belt, this is simply appalling game and man management. Hard to believe that this is the same guy who oversaw almost superhuman levels of mental and physical resilience in the play-offs not much less than 18 months ago.

It does all sadly rather point to something having been seriously off behind the scenes. Hurst’s rep will take some time to recover from this one.

I didn't expect  a classic it and it wasn't. But happy, we had enough to battle back and take a point either side could of won it at the end but FG created  clear cut chances but Cartwright made a great save which is not shown on the Sky Highlights strange. Disappointed with the pen given but it happens.I thought it was going to be a tough physical encounter it was Defence still worries me as we seem to show our frailties and lack ability to snuff out any danger. Sutton will be another such encounter

Quoted from Eastendmariner

I didn't expect  a classic it and it wasn't. But happy, we had enough to battle back and take a point either side could of won it at the end but FG created  clear cut chances but Cartwright made a great save which is not shown on the Sky Highlights strange. Disappointed with the pen given but it happens.I thought it was going to be a tough physical encounter it was Defence still worries me as we seem to show our frailties and lack ability to snuff out any danger. Sutton will be another such encounter

Disappointed with the penalty and only just now did I realise that it was our one-time (albeit brief) loanee, Callum Jones, who went down like he'd been shot.

Quoted from ska face

Individual errors aside, we seem to lack any clear direction when the game’s there for the taking. I’ve said it elsewhere, but we seem to be fine when the pressure’s off or nobody’s expecting a performance, like against Morecambe or when we’re a goal or two down. But once we pull level or take the lead, it’s like we’ve got no idea what the plan is.

We’re like a dog that’s finally caught the car he’s been chasing, and doesn’t know what to do next.

It’s a similar kind of phenomena we see when we have a decent opening 20 mins, then run out of ideas. I’d be interested to see how many goals we’ve conceded in the second quarter of games, seems to be most weeks. Not to speak ill of the departed, but that goes back to Hurst for me.

Absolutely, you could see that yesterday, caused them loads of problems 2nd half, got back to 2-2 and immediately we struggled and nearly conceded. It's that panic of having something to lose, a bit of mental strength is needed. Sometimes that comes from a couple of leaders on the pitch.  

Quoted from Poojah

That’s a great analogy, and the sheer number of points dropped from leading positions this season absolutely backs up the theory.

If there’s a difference now though, it’s that we’re gaining points from losing positions. If I’ve done the maths correctly, we dropped 19 points from losing positions under Hurst this season (not double counting the two times we led at Notts County), and gained literally zero from losing positions (and we gave ourselves no shortage of opportunities in this regard.

For a bloke with over 700 games in management under his belt, this is simply appalling game and man management. Hard to believe that this is the same guy who oversaw almost superhuman levels of mental and physical resilience in the play-offs not much less than 18 months ago.

It does all sadly rather point to something having been seriously off behind the scenes. Hurst’s rep will take some time to recover from this one.

I'm not sure that Hurst's rep will have been unduly damaged. If it was Christmas and we were in the bottom 2, then maybe. The decision was made before many of the fans had turned and was handled with a fair degree of mutual respect. I expect him to rock up at a big NL club soon. Whether he can change his spots.......I am not so sure.

Quoted from smokey111

I'm not sure that Hurst's rep will have been unduly damaged. If it was Christmas and we were in the bottom 2, then maybe. The decision was made before many of the fans had turned and was handled with a fair degree of mutual respect. I expect him to rock up at a big NL club soon. Whether he can change his spots.......I am not so sure.

That’s kind of the thing though. If I’m chairman of Rochdale or Hartlepool and find myself looking for a new gaffer in the next couple of months, I know where my first phone call would be.

But in July, the idea of Hurst’s next job being in non-league would have been unthinkable and any notion of him leaving the club before November would have been on the assumption he’d gone on to something bigger and better.

That’s quite an alarming fall in stock in such a short space of time.

Quoted from Poojah

That’s quite an alarming fall in stock in such a short space of time.

I haven’t seen a fall in stock that alarming since that recurring fantasy where Bellingham (*) spills piping hot oxo over my kimono.

*Linda, not Jude or Jobe

Quoted from Knut Anders Fosters Voles

I haven’t seen a fall in stock that alarming since that recurring fantasy where Bellingham (*) spills piping hot oxo over my kimono.

*Linda, not Jude or Jobe

Not to take us any further down an already surreal tangent, but I once spilt the entire contents of a boiling hot cup of tea onto my crotch, whilst both in a church and surrounded by a group of polite, devout Christian old ladies. I’m not a religious man, as you might have guessed, but this was a compulsory meeting my then fiancée and I had to attend a few weeks before our wedding.

Not being adept at balancing a teacup on a saucer, the accident and semi-serious burns to my fella that ensued were simply waiting to happen, as if from a mid-90s episode of Casualty. Rarely in life have I felt a conflict such as the desire to turn the air blue with profanity and to spare the innocence of those kind old ladies.

Fortunately, this unfortunate incident did not prevent me from consummating my marriage on the day of my wedding day. No, the fact that I was absolutely shítfaced saw to that…

Quoted from smokey111

I'm not sure that Hurst's rep will have been unduly damaged. If it was Christmas and we were in the bottom 2, then maybe. The decision was made before many of the fans had turned and was handled with a fair degree of mutual respect. I expect him to rock up at a big NL club soon. Whether he can change his spots.......I am not so sure.

Not unless GTFC settle as he will be on garden leave and paid as usual for as long as the contract, or until he takes up alternative employment. As a very minimum he will be better off financially in failure, and we out of pocket.

Think PH blowing smoke up his assistance proverbial in that Swan, Song speaks volumes that something was considered wrong and that it was put to PH at some stage before D-Day. Maybe an act of misguided loyalty going on.

Quoted from GibMariner

Not unless GTFC settle as he will be on garden leave and paid as usual for as long as the contract, or until he takes up alternative employment. As a very minimum he will be better off financially in failure, and we out of pocket.

Think PH blowing smoke up his assistance proverbial in that Swan, Song speaks volumes that something was considered wrong and that it was put to PH at some stage before D-Day. Maybe an act of misguided loyalty going on.

Depends on the agreement between the two parties.

Gardening leave means you are still employed and have to be available to be called back into work and is sometimes used to try to prevent an employee going to a competitor.

Would be a bit barmy for a football club to stop a sacked manager from getting another job. Even if the manager was able to get a position he would still be entitled to being paid for his contractual notice period. That's not to say the two parties coming to some sort of financial agreement.

Any contractual agreement for payment in lieu of notice would make that payment taxable, so there may be another way of making a non taxable payment to the benefit of both parties.

Agree. Seems doubtful he would be on gardening leave to me.

Think the commonly held view is that a sacked manager would receive a percentage  pay off in lieu of remaining contract or possibly paid as normal until future employment is taken.
No idea how accurate that is , don't know any sacked managers personally so can't ask ...but I think the parting words of the board and Hursts response try to paint a nice picture so that all sides look as creditable as possible for both parties sake.
If you are paying a manager until he gets re-employed you want to make him sound as good as possible.

Why the fųck would any board put themselves in a position where they’re just paying an employee they don’t want until they end of their contract, after getting rid of them for unacceptable performance? Especially in the case of Hurst and Doig where they were supposedly on rolling contracts.

You’d have a position where we’d be paying them until the end of time if they decided not to bother getting another job? Who comes up with this shıte?

That's not how rolling contracts work!

Were they actually on rolling contracts? Or was that a Fenty thing?

I know they were initially, but if I recall they were given new contracts post promotion or fa cup, not sure if the terms of that were ever made public

Quoted from Poojah

That’s a great analogy, and the sheer number of points dropped from leading positions this season absolutely backs up the theory.

If there’s a difference now though, it’s that we’re gaining points from losing positions. If I’ve done the maths correctly, we dropped 19 points from losing positions under Hurst this season (not double counting the two times we led at Notts County), and gained literally zero from losing positions (and we gave ourselves no shortage of opportunities in this regard.

For a bloke with over 700 games in management under his belt, this is simply appalling game and man management. Hard to believe that this is the same guy who oversaw almost superhuman levels of mental and physical resilience in the play-offs not much less than 18 months ago.

It does all sadly rather point to something having been seriously off behind the scenes. Hurst’s rep will take some time to recover from this one.

We were losing at home to Morecambe tbf (after 2 minutes) and took all three points.  Also we came from losing positions to draw against Tranmere and FGR.  That's slim pickings though, obviously.

It's an odd metric though, because you can both gain and lose points from losing or winning positions in the same match.  As happened at Tranmere.

Quoted from Captain Sensible

We were losing at home to Morecambe tbf (after 2 minutes) and took all three points.  Also we came from losing positions to draw against Tranmere and FGR.  That's slim pickings though, obviously.

It's an odd metric though, because you can both gain and lose points from losing or winning positions in the same match.  As happened at Tranmere.

You’re right about Tranmere, so that’s one point. Hurst wasn’t in charge for Morecambe or FGR though, which was the point I was making. Ergo, we gained zero one points from behind all season under Hurst, and then suddenly four in two games under Pearson and Davies.

Quoted from Poojah

You’re right about Tranmere, so that’s one point. Hurst wasn’t in charge for Morecambe or FGR though, which was the point I was making. Ergo, we gained zero one points from behind all season under Hurst, and then suddenly four in two games under Pearson and Davies.

Ah, fair enough.  I hadn't realised you were looking at Hurst games only.

Even slimmer pickings.  

Dont forget that under Hurst we were infront in a lot of games but didn't win