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Quoted from pizzzza

My tongue is firmly in my cheek when posting this, pure guesswork. It doesn't hurt to get back in the swing of things does it? ;)

                        McKeown
Hall-Johnson Davis Whitmore Fox
    Hessenthaler Welsh Whitehouse
Cook                                          Hooper
                        Robles

And a completely different XI in he 2nd half....

Will someone start the predictions thread :)

Cleethorpes  1    Grimsby  8

Macca og               Macca 3 pens
                               Rose  A
                               Rose  M
                               Davis  147
                               Hooper
                               Trialist A

Could well see as trialist or 2. Probably Fortune and Todorov

Is there any kind of coverage of this match? Like text based updates, audio commentary, anything like that?

Quoted from 123614

Is there any kind of coverage of this match? Like text based updates, audio commentary, anything like that?

I’m expecting The Fishy to be the best source

Yep, you could well be right!

Surely the team will be a more of a mixed bag of possibles and probables with most getting no more than 45mins?

I wouldn't read much into the team or performance

Fitness exercise with everyone getting 45 mins i suspect. Mix of 1st team, youth and trialists. Anyone at the ground now for the warm up notice any unfamiliar faces?

Our left winger/wing back looks decent. No number so must be a trialist or youthee. Anyone any ideas who he is?

M Rose pen puts GTFC in front

TOWN XI: McKeown, Jamieson, Collins, Dixon, Hall-Johnson, Clifton, Rose, Hessenthaler, Koiki (trialist), Hooper, Cook.

Hooper puts Town 2 up.

Nice to see youth player Tom Jameison getting a run out with first team players.

Who's wearing number 17 in yellow boots just scored - it's not cardwell

Quoted from 139847

Who's wearing number 17 in yellow boots just scored - it's not cardwell

Waring apparently.

Losing 4-3 5 mins left

Full-time: @CleeTownFC 4-3 #GTFC

Sack MJ & the Board. ;D

Didn't go but I believe Waring's goal was an up and under :)

Quoted from Stadium

Full-time: @CleeTownFC 4-3 #GTFC

Sack MJ & the Board. ;D

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Quoted from Stadium

Full-time: @CleeTownFC 4-3 #GTFC

Sack MJ & the Board. ;D

Where's Ipswin when you want him 8)

Quoted from Father Christmas

What does that mean?

You are going to get Mighty Mariner mad

We actually lost 4-3??

What was the 2nd half team? How did we look, surely somebody went to give us an early insight.

Just back -

first half looked decent ,
the lad on the left who i thought was probably the new Luton loanee but now looks like he was the Burnley triallist looked quick and decent left foot.
Cook and Hooper looked lively, some nice one touch interchanges which on one occassion got the Hooper the chance to calmly finish.

Hessentaler (?) looked very slight and didnt contribute a great deal.

Rose was cropping up all over and scored his penalty.

Dixon was on set piece delivery.

Second half looked awful.....
wholesale changes and none looked any good in all honesty. Who i presume where Davis and Whitmore at the back looked shaky and poor on the ball, back line all over the place. Welsh looked slow and was getting caught in possesion, Fox out of touch, Robles did nothing, Whitehouse was probably the busiest but nothing outstanding... zero shape in the middle. Totally out fought and dominated by the Clee lads.

Agree with the above, cook and hooper linked up well and caused a couple of problems, Mitch rose Was brilliant, always wanting the ball and kept things ticking over, the Burnley lad showed glimpses of quality and caused them a few problems with his pace and trickery. Overall in the first half I thought we played well and never looked troubled until the own goal.

Second half was awful, Fox wasn’t good at all, center half’s looked shaky, welsh lost the ball a hell of a lot which resulted in a clee goal, Robles looked slow and didn’t offer much and Woolford also lost the ball a lot and didn’t do a great deal. Whitehouse was the best of a poor second half team, he looked busy and tidy.

It’s al about the fitness and I’m sure they all got a good run out however from what I saw I still think we need a couple more quality signings.

I await the inevitable comments about it being "only pre season" and "give him a chance" etc which is true but you just get the feeling that Robles will be a terrible terrible signing probably worse than any of Slades signings, He didn't have a good scoring record in Spain at a level which is probably Sunday league standard and he's failed in the conference south in England, if Slade signed him he would have been crucified for it.

Burnley trialist looked good but the others on trial looked no were near and robles was very poor positives were the weather and the toilets.

Looked good in the 1st half Hooper and the youth player from Burnley played well, whilst Dixon and Rose contributed well and Cook looked Ok, Macca didn't have much to do...2nd half was a completely different story, lightweight and slow at the back, nothing up front, and only Whitehouse contributed, with Clee dominating for most of the half...I know it's only a training/ fitness exercise, but on the 2nd half showing we're a long way off, i'm surprised so few friendlies have been arranged 3/4 more, when we normally play between 8/10...anyway upwards and upwards, and a good turnout of 1800+ supporters...UTM

Quoted from Davec

I await the inevitable comments about it being "only pre season" and "give him a chance" etc which is true but you just get the feeling that Robles will be a terrible terrible signing probably worse than any of Slades signings, He didn't have a good scoring record in Spain at a level which is probably Sunday league standard and he's failed in the conference south in England, if Slade signed him he would have been crucified for it.

There is a long list of players who've been hammered on here on the basis of first impressions headed by of all people Shaun Pearson and Craig Clay. You may be right but let's at least give him a full pre-season...

It would be hilarious if not so ridiculous to hear players being written off as poor signings on the basis of one half of football in an unfamiliar line up on a boiling hot day.

Quoted from Davec

I await the inevitable comments about it being "only pre season" and "give him a chance" etc which is true but you just get the feeling that Robles will be a terrible terrible signing probably worse than any of Slades signings, He didn't have a good scoring record in Spain at a level which is probably Sunday league standard and he's failed in the conference south in England, if Slade signed him he would have been crucified for it.

Jesus H Christ.

Quoted from barralad

There is a long list of players who've been hammered on here on the basis of first impressions headed by of all people Shaun Pearson and Craig Clay. You may be right but let's at least give him a full pre-season...

I also remember watching Carl Magnay's first game for us and thinking he's crap and he didn't turn out to bad.

Quoted from Tommy

Jesus H Christ.

Do you mean Jesus H F*cking Christ !

Quoted from golfer

You are going to get Mighty Mariner mad

👌😂👍

Shouldn't be surprised, but the overreactions by some people are staggering. It's the first time a lot of those players have played together and was an exercise about getting fitness more than anything. Sure, it would have been nice to get a big win and some confidence, but players take time to understand how each other play and with wholesale changes it's hard to get a rhythm in a game.

Don't know what the Clee line up was, but I imagine there were a lot of ex Town players, so for them it was not only a game against a bigger side, but also a game against their former club, both of which usually result in raised performance levels.

Anyone know why antoine fortune, akheem rose and harry cardwell didnt get a run out

Two comedy own goals in there, pitch could do with seeing a watering can too.

[youtube]EnWf5Ww31XQ[/youtube]

Clee’s 2nd looked offside to me.

Quoted from promotion plaice

Didn't go but I believe Waring's goal was an up and under :)

One for us oldies. (thumbup)

Wouldn't be the Fishy otherwise though.

All of Cleethorpes' goals look soft to me.

Just a quick thank you to Humberside police for allowing the game to go ahead, assume the Waltham W.I. flower arranging meeting didn't overstretch them along with the local derby (note to South Yorks police)

Quoted from Davec

I await the inevitable comments about it being "only pre season" and "give him a chance" etc which is true but you just get the feeling that Robles will be a terrible terrible signing probably worse than any of Slades signings, He didn't have a good scoring record in Spain at a level which is probably Sunday league standard and he's failed in the conference south in England, if Slade signed him he would have been crucified for it.

And you've come to this conclusion based on a 45 minute showing in the very first pre-season game in which he played with guys he's never player with before?!?

Wow Aaron... Just wow!!

Can I ask.. Did you also write off Carl Magnay when he started poorly? Shaun Pearson when he looked out of his depth before finding his feet? Liam Hearn who didn't score for the first 10 games of his Town career until he got to know his team mates a little more, or more importantly they got to know him? Or the countless other player that have started poorly but gone on to be very good players for town?

I know we all want instant success etc etc but give the guy a chance for goodness sake!!! What will that do for Robles' confidence if he goes on the Fishy tonight and reads your scathing remarks?!?

All Town aren't we?!?

Looking at trialists and new signings in possibly unfair conditions, e.g.poor pitch and ref.

Koiki - Very promising
Waring - Links play well but no better than what we have.
Whitmore - Good headers and communication
Davis - Right back/central cover? not a starter
Fox - very rusty and poor recovery speed
Welsh - as above
Woolford - slow and little interaction with rest of midfield
Whitehouse - fit and hardworking
Hessenthaler - neat, lightweight?
Cook - steady,
Robles - links well, no goal threat
Wright - selfless energy, needs a trick or two.

Just for the record, in my opinion Magnay started off well for us but I know others don't agree, I don't think Pearson was too bad for us in his first season, Hearn showed good glimpses despite not scoring, Clay impressed me in pre season so I didn't quite understand the negative comments when he signed.

Also all of those came here having already played well in the conference for other clubs or excelled in the league below, Robles doesn't look like that with only 6 goals in 33 games in a very very very poor league in Spain.

Obviously I would love to be proved wrong and I will be sure to eat humble pie if he does prove me wrong.

Quoted from Davec

Just for the record, in my opinion Magnay started off well for us but I know others don't agree, I don't think Pearson was too bad for us in his first season, Hearn showed good glimpses despite not scoring, Clay impressed me in pre season so I didn't quite understand the negative comments when he signed.

Also all of those came here having already played well in the conference for other clubs or excelled in the league below, Robles doesn't look like that with only 6 goals in 33 games in a very very very poor league in Spain.

Obviously I would love to be proved wrong and I will be sure to eat humble pie if he does prove me wrong.

What makes you such an expert on lower league Spanish football Aaron?

I'd be interested to know how many full games you watched in the league Robles has just left over the past couple of years that leads you to label it 'very very very poor'?!?

Quoted from 122237[b

]Just for the record, in my opinion Magnay started off well for us but I know others don't agree[/b], I don't think Pearson was too bad for us in his first season, Hearn showed good glimpses despite not scoring, Clay impressed me in pre season so I didn't quite understand the negative comments when he signed.

Also all of those came here having already played well in the conference for other clubs or excelled in the league below, Robles doesn't look like that with only 6 goals in 33 games in a very very very poor league in Spain.

Obviously I would love to be proved wrong and I will be sure to eat humble pie if he does prove me wrong.

You obviously never saw Magnay and Clay in their first pre-season game for us, I think it was at Brigg but can't remember, It's an age thing ;).Everyone was commenting after the game how bad they both were.

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

What makes you such an expert on lower league Spanish football Aaron?

I'd be interested to know how many full games you watched in the league Robles has just left over the past couple of years that leads you to label it 'very very very poor'?!?

I'm the last one to stick up for Aaron, but on this he has a very valid point. Do a couple of trips a year to malaga and quite often watch c.d. el palo. Also seen Oviedo in segunda division b. If Robles can't score in tercera division he's not got a snowball chance in hell of being a goalscorer in div 2. It is very definitely conference south or southern prem standard

Has everybody forgotten how hard the players will have been worked this week? Of course they looked jaded - where was Cardwell by the way?

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Has everybody forgotten how hard the players will have been worked this week? Of course they looked jaded - where was Cardwell by the way?

I can only guess he has a knock or strain from a weeks hard training? The loanee from Luton didnt appear or Akheem Rose either?

Quoted from forza ivano

I'm the last one to stick up for Aaron, but on this he has a very valid point. Do a couple of trips a year to malaga and quite often watch c.d. el palo. Also seen Oviedo in segunda division b. If Robles can't score in tercera division he's not got a snowball chance in hell of being a goalscorer in div 2. It is very definitely conference south or southern prem standard

I respect your opinion Forza, your viewpoint is clearly coming from somebody who's watched that level of football in Spain live on a semi-regular basis.

However, I'm not convinced Aaron's opinion is bourne out of first-hand experienceand, I suspect it's based on guesswork alone!

Has he watched any of the Tecera division live or in full over the past 2 years? I suspect not but happy to be proved wrong!

Pre match training did seem intense in midday heat on a concrete pitch. Effectively three own goals!

Quoted from Croxton

Pre match training did seem intense in midday heat on a concrete pitch. Effectively three own goals!

And if it had been half arsed and sloppy everyone would have moaned like fuk , ill trust MJ on this sort of thing all day long

I hope none of the players got blisters. Easy to do on hard pitches like that and it's a sodomist to cope with them while trying to get properly fit.

Anyone that things they can identify if a player will be decent this coming season by seeing them in one half of the first pre season friendly after an intense week away at a training camp needs to go give there head a wobble. pre season is for fitness and for gelling a team together. We won every game last pre season and look how that one nearly ended up. I will judge players in the proper season not after one half in pre season. Give them chance lads.

If nothing else maybe this will dampen expectations a little bit and make us all remember we supporr a club that hasn’t finished higher than something like 80th in the football league in last 12 years.

Plus we had a load of youth team players in there too. There’s a bigger picture and the final score against Cleethorpes Town after an intense week is not part of it.

Can`t beat Cleethorpes! we`re doomed I tell yer dooooommed! ;)

I don’t do friendlies as a rule and definitely don’t use the results as a yard stick.
They are a glorified training session for both teams involved.

I was speaking to someone yesterday evening though who went to Clee.
Normally fairly straight forward and tells it as it is. His concern is the forwards.
Surely no one should be panicking at this stage. But looking at the signings so far it is a mild cause for concern.

90 minutes of just getting the lads a bit of fitness etc and your all off on one. Geez,it was just a kick about and giving minutes to the lads. If u got nothing good to say, then don't bother saying it. The players look on here and I would be peed off as much as they would be. We got 4 weeks yet to kick off, these are just games to get the minutes on pitch, other things will click into place gradually. Your entitled to your own opinions, but take it out on the wife and not on here. She may not talk to you for a couple of days, but maybe well worth it :)

Quoted from dicko995

90 minutes of just getting the lads a bit of fitness etc and your all off on one. Geez,it was just a kick about and giving minutes to the lads. If u got nothing good to say, then don't bother saying it. The players look on here and I would be peed off as much as they would be. We got 4 weeks yet to kick off, these are just games to get the minutes on pitch, other things will click into place gradually. Your entitled to your own opinions, but take it out on the wife and not on here. She may not talk to you for a couple of days, but maybe well worth it :)

Talk about an over- reaction.   Most are not OFF ON ONE at all.
I personally didn’t realise that this is a site for ‘positive’ comments only.  I thought it was a chance for debate.
There will always be extreme views from both sides.
Those she can never see any good. And those who would stifle debate by never accepting anything negative.  But generally, this site has reasonable posters from both camps.

Exactly - 4 weeks until KO, that’s a very long time. In the 4 weeks leading up to yesterday, we signed Harry Davies, Elliot Whitehouse, Jordan Cook, Danny Collins, Jon Welsh, Jake Hessenthaler, Akin Famewo, got Marc Antoine Fortune, Nikolay Todorov, George Waring and Ali Koiki in on trial as well as getting Anthony Limbrick and Adam Forrest in on the coaching staff. We’ve also lost Sam Kelly, Luke Summerfield and pocketed at least £100,000 for Siriki Dembele.

The picture today is almost unrecognisable from that 4 weeks ago, and a lot will change in the next 4 weeks, whether that’s in terms of personnel or how the team play together.

It’s also worth looking at all those names and changes and recognising just how much came completely out of the blue. If you think you’ve spotted something that Jolley hasn’t, chances are you’re very wrong and I’d imagine he’s a good few steps ahead of you right now.

Still, good to hear from the “I hope I’m wrong, but...” brigade so early on in preseason. I see they’ve already picked Robles out as 18/19’s scapegoat which should be a relief to the rest of the squad.

Quoted from dicko995

90 minutes of just getting the lads a bit of fitness etc and your all off on one. Geez,it was just a kick about and giving minutes to the lads. If u got nothing good to say, then don't bother saying it. The players look on here and I would be peed off as much as they would be. We got 4 weeks yet to kick off, these are just games to get the minutes on pitch, other things will click into place gradually. Your entitled to your own opinions, but take it out on the wife and not on here. She may not talk to you for a couple of days, but maybe well worth it :)

Nobody is 'off on one', nor is it a Grimsby thing and if the players haven't got anything better to do than read a fans' forum then they ought to get a life. I'm looking at the signings so far and would like to see us get a goal scorer in and it's clearly a priority as most of our triallists this week have been strikers - let's hope we get someone soon and not make panic signings like Vernon and Dixon.

Quoted from dicko995

90 minutes of just getting the lads a bit of fitness etc and your all off on one. Geez,it was just a kick about and giving minutes to the lads. If u got nothing good to say, then don't bother saying it. The players look on here and I would be peed off as much as they would be. We got 4 weeks yet to kick off, these are just games to get the minutes on pitch, other things will click into place gradually. Your entitled to your own opinions, but take it out on the wife and not on here. She may not talk to you for a couple of days, but maybe well worth it :)

???
It's an internet forum, everyone can express any opinions.
Worrying if any player would take notice of anything on here.
Spend less time in the sun I suggest.

Quoted from Maringer

I hope none of the players got blisters. Easy to do on hard pitches like that and it's a sodomist to cope with them while trying to get properly fit.

Although the pitch was dry......hard it was not. 80ton of sand and top soil was put down when laid and a further 40 ton of sand when the grass was sprouting. It has been watered 24/7 for last 3 weeks but the hot weather is dry it out very quickly. So I will be very surprised if any players suffered with blisters.

Friendlies tend not to mean a lot County played Rolls Royce and won 19-0 can't see any point in playing that not even a test of their team.

First off, no denying that it was pretty poor.  Second half especially was bloody awful in fact.  Pre-season or not, Slade or even Hurst would have got hammered for that (rightly or wrongly, argument for another day).

Jolley says that the lads were put through the mill during the week and their heavy legs showed, big time.  With the exception of a couple of players, they all looked shattered.  Guy near me was nearly exploding that the Clee lads looked fitter, despite me telling him about a million times that they probably hadn't had a week of heavy training with the absolute intention of going into a game with heavy legs.

First half we had a little bit more stability and a side that partly resembled last season with a spine to it (McKeown, Collins, Rose, plus the likes of Clifton, Dixon, Hall-Johnson).  No-one really stood out though.  Clifton was industrious, Collins his usual class above.  Can't say I'm convinced with Dixon as a left-sided centre half though.   Hooper and Cook linked up very nicely at times, Hooper's goal especially.  Cook definitely likes to drop into the space between attack and midfield.  Interestingly as the first half side warmed down they were doing shuttle runs between cones.  Danny Collins looked streets ahead of the rest in terms of fitness, he barely broke sweat as the others around him panted for dear life.   The heat was sapping just standing there, so god knows how they felt running in it.

Second half it was simply really disjointed.  Battersby in goal, bless him, looks a long way away from the first team.   Definitely a requirement to get someone more experienced in as cover.  Jamieson who was at centre-back looked far too nervous and got a bit of a baptism of fire really, but he wasn't helped by Fox next to him who had a nightmare at wing-back.  Davis and Whitmore looked like two guys who hadn't played together and they got caught in knots many a time. At times it was a comedy of errors with them.

John Welsh looked really off the pace.  He wasn't alone in that though, the midfield was swamped in the second half.   Up top neither lad did much other than the goal, which was well taken.  Robles looks more like someone who will hassle defenders rather than cause problems directly.  Waring didn't look as good as Cardwell.

If this was the final pre-season game, I would be worried.  It wasn't though.  I firmly believe it was designed to be a test when the players legs are already heavy to test their fatigue levels.    Anyone seriously taking the result as a reflection of the coming season needs to chill out a bit.  It wasn't great, but it doesn't matter.  Plenty to work with and plenty to do.  I'll happily take rubbish pre-season performances if it's part of the greater plan to have everything firing come August 4th.