PAUL HURST

Quoted from paulmblythe

The ones who blame him for our relegation donbt understand momentum. we may have been above the relegation places when he arrived but we where dropping like a stone. It was a while before he  was able to bring players in who needed time to gel/get fit. By the end our form was actually good, but it was too late. if wed started the season with hursts squad i doubt wed have been relegated, the damage was already done

Correct. The Holloway team was absolutely woeful. A load of 20 year olds on loan from Championship clubs in midfield and Montel Gibson up front with George Williams and Virgil Gomis. Our form from Feb onwards once Hurst's side had clicked was midtable. How anyone could have watched most matches that season and conclude that Hurst was more to blame than Holloway is baffling.

Quoted from Simon

We wouldn't have gone down under Ian Holloway, agree we were very poor but at no point did i think we would go down that season until Hurst arrived and we just went into freefall

The season after 21/22 we were equally shite but got lucky in the playoffs, because we got promoted people forget how dire we were from memory we finished sixth on 78ish points, fifteen points or so behind stockport who won the league.

So yeah i watched that season and the one after without the rose tinted glasses

Yeah we where poor either side of Christmas for sure, it's pretty disingenuous to say won the play off's because we were lucky.

You need luck in a play off campaign but the manner in which the team achieved promotion across 3 games all with extra time across 13 days at the end of the season was remarkable. Not sure there was much look in McAtee's goal in the SF and Taylors was pretty neat too.

As much as people don't like it Hurst put that side together and added the likes of Gav (promotion experience) Cropper (long throw) and Manni (super sub) just at the right time to give us something that was missing.

Quoted from Son of Cod

Correct. The Holloway team was absolutely woeful. A load of 20 year olds on loan from Championship clubs in midfield and Montel Gibson up front with George Williams and Virgil Gomis. Our form from Feb onwards once Hurst's side had clicked was midtable. How anyone could have watched most matches that season and conclude that Hurst was more to blame than Holloway is baffling.

The difference being Holloway put together a squad of player who weren't invested in the club or good enough. The following season Hurst did the opposite and it worked.

Regardless of what you think I don’t blame Holloway I blame fenty.

He was the one that told to slash the wage bill thinking Covid was going to end the season.
I still think Holloway would have kept us up, shame he had no money tbh because I don’t think really he could be faulted when it comes to the playing side.
Probably unpopular opinion I know.

Quoted from monkeyboy

Regardless of what you think I don’t blame Holloway I blame fenty.

He was the one that told to slash the wage bill thinking Covid was going to end the season.
I still think Holloway would have kept us up, shame he had no money tbh because I don’t think really he could be faulted when it comes to the playing side.
Probably unpopular opinion I know.

Him and Day took us down with their chancer ideas of the season ending and saving (i won't say pocketing) a few quid ; Holloway was a chancer but he did construct a half decent squad before his meltdown with a decent team which was good to watch tbf .

Quoted from barralad

There won't be many on here who do remember Allenby Chilton but to take a team from re-election to the Division 3 (North) championship in 12 months must give him a shout in the all-time great manager stakes.

I remember him as coming along at a time when you could have your own kick about in the Pontoon there was that much room.  He built from that.
He was a man motivator old school 'centre half'' who led by example, driving out of defence with the ball at his feet and shouting the odds to his team.  Forceful, big built and absolutely positive 'go for goal' in attack and no messin' in defence.
Old style leader.  Don't recall much skill but plenty of excitement!

Quoted from HertsGTFC

I seem to think he was player manager too, good shout.

Though plenty of organisations operated in that way in those days it's hard to believe you had to get elected or re-elected to be part of the Football League, I bet there was some real dark arts going on then with the clubs involved.

I imagine there certainly was a fair amount of " back room horse trading" involving the teams seeking re- election back into the Football League. To be fair we had to seek re- election at the end of the 1968/69 season when we finished 91st in the Football League. Bradford Park Avenue finished at 92nd but they were also re-elected.

Quoted from rancido

I imagine there certainly was a fair amount of " back room horse trading" involving the teams seeking re- election back into the Football League. To be fair we had to seek re- election at the end of the 1968/69 season when we finished 91st in the Football League. Bradford Park Avenue finished at 92nd but they were also re-elected.

Wow, I didn’t know that, typical Town rollercoaster moment I guess

I think the fact that there was always a 'parcel' of fish for the away team directors helped to keep us in the league at re-election time.

Quoted from cannylad65

I think the fact that there was always a 'parcel' of fish for the away team directors helped to keep us in the league at re-election time.

The refs used to get one too apparently