by Michael Jolley in the Grimsby Evening Telegraph today.  Quote " The one positive from Saturday is perhaps it might dampen people's expectations "  Did he really say that !!!!  What part of trying to promote ticket sales, feel good factor and positivity is that all about.  We were 100% shite on Saturday, a complete shambles of a team, put together on a shoestring budget.  Job done Mr Jolley, our expectations are now damper than an Otters pocket !!  I have heard some BS from previous managers and crazy statements but that ranks up there with the best of them.  Maybe if we get thumped at Macc on Saturday the club can take another positive from the game and stock less meat pies in the ground because there will be nobody there.  Why the f**k don't these managers think before they give an interview.  Well let me tell you Mr Jolley just look at how the crowds will dip to see peoples expectation levels, never mind stupid statements.  

This club gets worse every season under the current guardianship..................

UTM

Guess we've found the source of the abuse from the mainstand on Saturday then..

Perhaps he was missquoted? Which i know is unlikely by the Telegraph. :)

It's a bit early for exclamation marks isn't it? Must be tiring.

Where's 'realist' when you need him!

Nothing like an early morning rant on the internet to confirm to the general public that you're a bit of a loon.

Trolls are insatiable. This one needs a strict diet.

We finished 18th last year and despite some good signings some fans believe we are up for automatic promotion this season (ive seen the pre season poles btw). Then we lose one game and small sections of the crowd in the main stand are shouting abuse toward the management and players one bad game into the new season.
I think its the above that Jolleys referring too. Rome wasnt built in a day, we are not gonna win the league with 100 points and the team is new and barely played together.
We need to be patient not lose our rag with the management and players and we will come good. Progression starts on Saturday vs The Macc and this post was completely unnecessary and negative.
Utm

Translating that quote it means I have crap players no budget so do not expect much this season.!

I cannot wait to get back to waste another 21 pounds.

Not exactly the greatest sales pitch when the next home game is a Cup tie when everyone has to pay.

Here we go again, hyper-analysing every single word uttered by the manager. Certain posters did this with Hurst didn't they? It got boring in the end. Respect anyone's right to an opinion but obvious trolls like this Codfather or Yoda (probably the same person) who post nothing but negativity just to wind people up should get suspended from this site.

I am here. I take these quotes and hysterical reactions with a pinch of salt nowadays, although it was a bit like Carney talking down the pound last week.
I applaud MJs honesty

Is it just possible that the remarks have been isolated then reproduced on here entirely devoid of a context??

What's that saying about empty vessels....?

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Not exactly the greatest sales pitch when the next home game is a Cup tie when everyone has to pay.

Apart from those who dont go. :)

If MJ had said anything more upbeat he would have been accused of polishing waste material. Anyone witnessing preseason would have been able to manage their own expectations down to 'cautiously optimistic'.
After the Whitehouse and and Cardwell injuries and failure to get Koiki in a point would have been brilliant in my view.
Not defending his selections but would people stop hanging on football managers' every word.

Jolley was just being honest yes some of us were expecting a play off place at least,

He also said in his post match interview that this century we have finish 4th once in the LEAGUE and the highest figure after that was 14th.

Very sad statistics so he was right in telling us not to expect too much this season.

I do not think the gates will be effected by what he says they will be effected on how the team plays,

Lets hope they play better than he is expecting and as good as some of us are expecting.

If we do not get that extra striker in 14th will be the best we can hope for unless Hooper or one of the other lads can start scoring on a regular basis.

Quoted from Yoda

Translating that quote it means I have crap players no budget so do not expect much this season.!

I cannot wait to get back to waste another 21 pounds.

And as if by magic the other one pipes up. It's almost telepathic..

it's all Hurst fault

Quoted from barralad

And as if by magic the other one pipes up. It's almost telepathic..

Perhaps someone should enlighten the fans about what the clubs expectations are this year then we might not get too disappointed when we are humiliated by FGR.

The expectations going in to the season were way too high. Bloke who sits next to me was saying before the kick off that we will get automatic promotion and then at the end of the game he’s saying we are going down.

I felt the squad was light before Saturday and it still looks light. We had a big squad lacking in quality last season and Jolley got a tune out of them. Hopefully he can get some key additions in today and tomorrow so we can compete. It’s always going to be an uphill struggle when you factor in how the club has been run, but my hope is Jolley is a good coach and will be able to build a team on the budget. I think we will probably end up mid table.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Perhaps someone should enlighten the fans about what the clubs expectations are this year then we might not get too disappointed when we are humiliated by FGR.

Didn't Phil Day say League 1, then the Championship at some point last season?

I was offering a bet that we finish higher than FGR even after Sat. Amazing I got no takers.

Quoted from ginnywings

Didn't Phil Day say League 1, then the Championship at some point last season?

Correct- more guff from the boardroom that appears to have been swept away on the tide of football fortune

Anybody with half a brain cell ( which excludes most on here ) could see that this quote was purely a way of the manager telling the fans that we are crap, we have no budget, so expect nothing, yet the red cross brigade are out in full force again.  I will not be posting again, with the exception of a few, this forum is full of muppets that are not REAL fans of the football club, merely cyber tosspots that spout rubbish.  All very boring, will leave the muppets to their daily drivel, far better things to do.  When I talk to GTFC fans , I will merely talk to those that actually attend games and have an IQ above 4.

UTM

The club’s big marketing pitch was the Jolley Revolution. I’m sorry, but that surely promises more than finishing four or five places higher than last season?

How dare Grimsby Town fans have hopes and expectations at the start of a football season. We should certainly know our place by now.

I would say from gauging comments, fans on here were expecting an average finishing position of around 10th with a sneaky chance of a play off place.

I’m not writing anything off after one game, but please can we go into a season without the powers in be setting targets of mediocrity or dampening down hopes and expectations. Not going to put floating fan bums on seats is it?

Quoted from oldun

I was offering a bet that we finish higher than FGR even after Sat. Amazing I got no takers.

Whats the bet?

Quoted from TheCodfather1966

I will merely talk to those that actually attend games and have an IQ above 4.

That should limit things quite a lot, in fact you may not have anyone to talk to at all

Quoted from TheCodfather1966

Anybody with half a brain cell ( which excludes most on here ) could see that this quote was purely a way of the manager telling the fans that we are crap, we have no budget, so expect nothing, yet the red cross brigade are out in full force again.  I will not be posting again, with the exception of a few, this forum is full of muppets that are not REAL fans of the football club, merely cyber tosspots that spout rubbish.  All very boring, will leave the muppets to their daily drivel, far better things to do.  When I talk to GTFC fans , I will merely talk to those that actually attend games and have an IQ above 4.

UTM

Off you trot to your MENSA meeting then.  ;)

Quoted from TheCodfather1966

by Michael Jolley. Quote " The one positive from Saturday is perhaps it might dampen people's expectations "  

UTM

It doesn't affect me unless of course he's hinting we might finish 24th

Trying not to get involved as my post will be negative (far too early in the season), but I can't help it.

Once again, within a short space of time, a manger starts to get defensive. It's almost as if they have the positivity knocked out of them early doors.  It may partly be the fans on his back, but I've got a horrible feeling it's embroiled in the club.
And let's be honest, who here doesn't think that JF might well be saying negative stuff to MJ regarding the fans.

I do agree a lot of fans seemed to be expecting far too much with talk of automatic promotion or even winning the league.  But no-one I know even remotely expected the display we saw on Saturday.  It wasn't just a bad day at the office was it.  It was the whole bloody thing.

As for looking at the past history.  That tells me (very worryingly) that MJ is already preparing his defence. We all know he is very intelligent so why would he feel the need to do that?  

Unless something happens on the transfer front very very shortly, I fear it will be a long four months till the Jan transfer window. I guess the teamwork (as in working as a unit) and fitness will improve, so it's not as if we were rearing to go and still got hammered. I just think the pre-season work up was not as good as it should have been.

I certainly haven't given up on MJ and expect things will improve.  But as has been said many times, wholesale change at the club is required for us to progress.    UTM

Quoted from Ipswin

That should limit things quite a lot, in fact you may not have anyone to talk to at all

I suspect he would still be talking to you Swin.  Anybody that can clearly be trolling and still  getting the bites that you do, can't be stupid now can they ?  ;D

The big thing these days is that every club is ultra professional and well run, get players in that makes them competitive and it always seems to catch us by surprise that FGR and many others are better than us.

We could have any manager in the world as boss, but purely judging on Saturday FGR have better players so to a certain extent the managers hands are tied.

I am sure he will get the players better drilled than we saw on Saturday, but I wonder what he agreed about player targets with Fenty? Did he have the confidence in himself that although he could not bid for the best players, he would coach what he had to be competitive?

It will continue to be so until we find some money from somewhere to get the better players. We couldn't even afford the best players in non league, so this business about our budget being "competitive" is a load of tosh, unless your definition of competitive is very wide.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

The big thing these days is that every club is ultra professional and well run, get players in that makes them competitive and it always seems to catch us by surprise that FGR and many others are better than us.

We could have any manager in the world as boss, but purely judging on Saturday FGR have better players so to a certain extent the managers hands are tied.

I am sure he will get the players better drilled than we saw on Saturday, but I wonder what he agreed about player targets with Fenty? Did he have the confidence in himself that although he could not bid for the best players, he would coach what he had to be competitive?

It will continue to be so until we find some money from somewhere to get the better players. We couldn't even afford the best players in non league, so this business about our budget being "competitive" is a load of tosh, unless your definition of competitive is very wide.

Always wonder what the basis for the budget is. Is it attendance based or is it based on the previous season? We were 8th highest average attendance last season but I would suspect we haven't got the 8th highest budget - which begs the question 'How are we going to be in the Championship in 5 years time?'

In April, it will be the 10th anniversary of our infamous celebration at Bournemouth - not much has changed has it?

Does anyone know how big Stanley's budget was last year? Without burgers mind.

Quoted from Croxton

Does anyone know how big Stanley's budget was last year? Without burgers mind.

You occasionally get a one off season like Accrington but that is the footballing fortune Fenty bangs on about - ie a miracle worker who manages to get a group of players to gel, against all the odds. It is a policy of sorts I suppose, but like everything with our club we have absolutely no idea what is needed to get from point A to point B - illustrated perfectly by the directors remark about the Championship within 5 years.

How? Who is going to make it happen? What strategy are they going to use? Do we want the stadium (!) first and build from that, or do we want success on the field first? What attempts are being made to improve BP for the next 5, or probably 50 years? What is the point of having a board who have zero ambition and zero ability to get anywhere at all in 16-17 years?? Answers on a postcard to anyone who might know.

Quoted from TheCodfather1966

Anybody with half a brain cell ( which excludes most on here ) could see that this quote was purely a way of the manager telling the fans that we are crap, we have no budget, so expect nothing, yet the red cross brigade are out in full force again.  I will not be posting again, with the exception of a few, this forum is full of muppets that are not REAL fans of the football club, merely cyber tosspots that spout rubbish.  All very boring, will leave the muppets to their daily drivel, far better things to do.  When I talk to GTFC fans , I will merely talk to those that actually attend games and have an IQ above 4.

UTM

You mean anyone with an IQ greater than yours !

I see what Jolley meant about expectations. I think some people were getting carried away, which mean their disappointment was that more pronounced and it led to anger. I didn't go on Saturday so i don't know how bad it was, but going by the comments of the more level headed posters, it was shite. There's no getting way from that, and I guess Jolley wouldn't deny that. But he is rightly calling for a bit of balance.

Given we had the 8th highest attendance last season, and assuming a reasonable correlation between attendance and income, our budget ought to be around that level. Maybe a bit lower because of FGR 'outspending their attendance'. So upper-mid table ought to be about par. I have a sneaking suspicion that Jolley will do better with a given level of resources, but it'll be through developing a longer-term, sustainable strategy, not a quick fix. He'll do well if given time.

I'd love the leadership at the club to be more upbeat and positive, but quite frankly, I wouldn't place any weight on positive sounds coming out of the board anyway. Not with the people concerned calling the shots. Anyone who drew comfort from that director's comment about being in the Championship in 5  years time, clearly hasn't been paying attention to what's been going on for the last decade and a half. There is no evidence of any plans to deliver that.

What we have had are pie in the sky dreams about having a new stadium (the sums have never added up*) and instead it's been a big distraction of management effort to the detriment of the short term needs and wishes of people (i.e. BP has been left to rack and ruin). The proof of the pudding has been the complete and utter absence of any news on agreeing anything with any developer.

Let's just be f***ing realistic. Once we recognise and accept the realities, we can build our dreams based on what is achievable.

* £22m less £1m in receipts for BP (optimistic) = £22m to find. We've had airy claims that this will be covered by 'enabling development' and 'new income streams' but no indication of how much let alone exactly how.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

I see what Jolley meant about expectations. I think some people were getting carried away, which mean their disappointment was that more pronounced and it led to anger. I didn't go on Saturday so i don't know how bad it was, but going by the comments of the more level headed posters, it was shite. There's no getting way from that, and I guess Jolley wouldn't deny that. But he is rightly calling for a bit of balance.

Given we had the 8th highest attendance last season, and assuming a reasonable correlation between attendance and income, our budget ought to be around that level. Maybe a bit lower because of FGR 'outspending their attendance'. So upper-mid table ought to be about par. I have a sneaking suspicion that Jolley will do better with a given level of resources, but it'll be through developing a longer-term, sustainable strategy, not a quick fix. He'll do well if given time.

I'd love the leadership at the club to be more upbeat and positive, but quite frankly, I wouldn't place any weight on positive sounds coming out of the board anyway. Not with the people concerned calling the shots. Anyone who drew comfort from that director's comment about being in the Championship in 5  years time, clearly hasn't been paying attention to what's been going on for the last decade and a half. There is no evidence of any plans to deliver that.

What we have had are pie in the sky dreams about having a new stadium (the sums have never added up*) and instead it's been a big distraction of management effort to the detriment of the short term needs and wishes of people (i.e. BP has been left to rack and ruin). The proof of the pudding has been the complete and utter absence of any news on agreeing anything with any developer.

Let's just be f***ing realistic. Once we recognise and accept the realities, we can build our dreams based on what is achievable.

* £22m less £1m in receipts for BP (optimistic) = £22m to find. We've had airy claims that this will be covered by 'enabling development' and 'new income streams' but no indication of how much let alone exactly how.

I think you have mentioned a salient point there. This new stadium has been the bane of the Fenty tenure. Obviously he thought he could do basically nothing, till the dream of the new stadium took us to the promised land.

Like you say it is about time we got on with the here and now; we would have heard positive news about the stadium by now if it was ever going to be built. What are the boards plans for on and off the field if the stadium plan is dead in the water?

In MJ I trust and will remain the same as I fully believe that he’ll turn the club around on and off the field. He’ll not be an overnight fix but will grow in time for a more stable club.

The off field will be sorted in a matter of time once the on field is stable.

It really does hurt me when I read such negativity only after game one 😢

Would be nice and we generally would be stronger if we all pulled in the same direction and support our manager.

Constructive comments are fine but when it goes over the line then it’s not on.

Is our end goal to divide another wedge and force him away, then what? Or to give it what we’ve got a chance to develop into something potentially something special.

Please everyone this is going to take time so let’s get together and give the lads our full backing.

Quoted from H19P1

In MJ I trust and will remain the same as I fully believe that he’ll turn the club around on and off the field. He’ll not be an overnight fix but will grow in time for a more stable club.

The off field will be sorted in a matter of time once the on field is stable.

It really does hurt me when I read such negativity only after game one 😢

Would be nice and we generally would be stronger if we all pulled in the same direction and support our manager.

Constructive comments are fine but when it goes over the line then it’s not on.

Is our end goal to divide another wedge and force him away, then what? Or to give it what we’ve got a chance to develop into something potentially something special.

Please everyone this is going to take time so let’s get together and give the lads our full backing.

You do realise that football clubs forums up and down the land are discussing their clubs fortunes in the weekend just gone? We lost heavily at home, with ludicrous own goals and comedy defending so the forum will mirror that disappointment.

Forums do not have any effect on what happens next, they are just supporters meeting up to discuss things. Just as in the pub there are loud ones, thoughtful ones, daft ones, hyperbolic ones and ones that will be led by the majority view.

You and I are just talking about the Mariners nothing more. We win, everybody, or nearly everybody is happy. We lose, not many are happy. Lose badly and the world caves in. That is the way it is. Come Saturday we start with a clean sheet, and the opening posts on here will all be supportive and hoping the lads can do their stuff. A win on Saturday will mean the hyperbolic ones will be suggesting a top 3 finish!