There was plenty of effort from the Town players and we weren’t too bad in the first half hour.
It’s hugely disappointing to not see us test the keeper. We just look like we are missing 4 or 5 players and in the end 2-0 probably flattered us as they were wasteful. We just didn’t look very good in both boxes.

The crowd was horrendous and £21 is joke.

I don't know if it was the lack of crowd/atmosphere but the game had the feel of a pre-season friendly. Both teams played it around...a lot... but Rochdale had the edge in their use of the final ball. Both goals were examples of decent finishing.
Town played some good stuff throughout but lacked any real incisiveness. Midfield worked hard but in truth we have no-one playing at the moment there who looks capable of playing the fabled "killer ball".
I thought Vernam and Hessenthaler were excellent. Macca couldn"t have done anything about either goal and apart from a couple of saves with his feet didn't have a lot else to do.
Great to see Wright and Akeem Rose get some minutes.
We will have to do even more on Saturday I'm afraid.

Our squad, in terms of numbers, is possibly 10 less than last year, possibly has more quality in certain areas but we know where last season ended. Another major injury will seriously put us behind - at present, it's not good enough or strong enough.

Quoted from headingly_mariner

There was plenty of effort from the Town players and we weren’t too bad in the first half hour.
It’s hugely disappointing to not see us test the keeper. We just look like we are missing 4 or 5 players and in the end 2-0 probably flattered us as they were wasteful. We just didn’t look very good in both boxes.

The crowd was horrendous and £21 is joke.

I feel more confident about this season now   ??)  

We were well beaten by a Rochdale team who looked a full division ahead of us in the pyramid.

Football has come on so much in recent years it means that teams like Rochdale can move the ball effortlessly from front to back very quickly with the ball on the floor. We are trying to do a similar thing, but I guess it will take time.

Our problem is obviously going to be creating and scoring goals; Hooper is too casual, Cook tries hard but has an impossible task up there without a big target man, and in any event chances created are at a premium.

Its very early days, and the quality of the opposition in the two home games have surprised me I have to say, as you would not associate FGR and Rochdale with teams that played as well as they did.

We will just have to be patient I guess and hope that Jolley can get the striker and midfielder we need on loans.

One thing that was very apparent though is we need serious investment in every area of the club. If John Fenty would cut his ties to the club and let it breathe we might yet find a solution to the investment situation, as Mr. Fenty himself seems to have no idea how to generate it or provide it.  

First game I have seen since Notts County at home last season. We defo held our own and played some nice football at times, But we lack any killer instinct in the last 3rd, also far to many unnecessary dodgy passes. We have the backbone of a good team, just need the icing on the cake.

Massively disappointed by the turn out, granted its a Tuesday night and we have a big game on Saturday, but that was embarrassing, I swear we have had bigger gates at pre season friendly's.

Anyway, onward and upwards. Bring on the gimps!!

UTM

I've not posted in a couple of yrs or so now. ...Dale were well worth the win tonight for sure.
Plus points for me we're Welsh and Hess I like alot, Cook and Charles will be good players for us and was good to see the two young lads get a few mins both showed pace which at any level kills defenders hopefully they can eventually push for league starts .

The not so good parts
The players seem to be finding the shape side of the formation hard MJ was having to constantly talk the players through were he wanted them to be etc!!!!
Hooper disappoints me everytime I see him he is rather lazy or not a clever player at all I've never seen him anticipate what might happen or try to dominate his marker he is a big strong lad with no power or hunger at all !!
Jolley will need time and a couple more transfer Windows to get us were he wants us !!!!
UTFM

Rochdale were just too good for us in most areas, the way they moved with pace, found space and closed us down when we did have the ball was very impressive. The fact they are a division higher really showed, and they would almost certainly be a promotion chasing side in our division, which just goes to show how far off we are from being the real deal. Welsh needs energetic players around him and Woolford just couldn't cope with Rochdale's midfield, with their no 27 being instrumental in creating attack after attack, and being my MOM. Hessenthaler and Vernam were the only players that could match them, and were our only threat, but whilst Hess created a couple of decent opportunities, as we are well aware we lacked that Fox in the box. I thought Collins got caught out a couple of times tonight, which ultimately cost us the second goal, and is starting to show his age, whilst Davis is no right back. It's going to be a tough season without a natural goalscorer, and Lincoln will certainly provide a stern test, but you never know...UTM

Quoted from headingly_mariner

The crowd was horrendous and £21 is joke.

A discount would have been nice, but you have to take in to account that in the League and FA cups both the home and away teams get 45% of the gate receipts each and 10% goes in to the prize fund.  The away team would have to agree to tickets being sold at discount. For all we know town might have asked Rochdale if they could charge £15 and been told no.

Quoted from NorthLondonMariner

A discount would have been nice, but you have to take in to account that in the League and FA cups both the home and away teams get 45% of the gate receipts each and 10% goes in to the prize fund.  The away team would have to agree to tickets being sold at discount. For all we know town might have asked Rochdale if they could charge £15 and been told no.

Would a 25or 50% reduction in price made much difference to the attendance?

I doubt it to be honest.

The win on Saturday was welcome, at present we may be better suited to playing away, but I think we lack real quality ( even for 4th Division standards) the primarily reason for that is budget..

No, I don't know what our budget is exactly, but talking to some within the club they know we are well behind so many clubs in spending power and I don't mean being outside the top 7 in budget levels.

Budget isn't everything, MJ has to work with the players he has to get as much out of them as possible but a promotion challenge was always pie in the sky IMO

Quoted from billybigbollox

I've not posted in a couple of yrs or so now. ...Dale were well worth the win tonight for sure.
Plus points for me we're Welsh and Hess I like alot, Cook and Charles will be good players for us and was good to see the two young lads get a few mins both showed pace which at any level kills defenders hopefully they can eventually push for league starts .

The not so good parts
The players seem to be finding the shape side of the formation hard MJ was having to constantly talk the players through were he wanted them to be etc!!!!
Hooper disappoints me everytime I see him he is rather lazy or not a clever player at all I've never seen him anticipate what might happen or try to dominate his marker he is a big strong lad with no power or hunger at all !!
Jolley will need time and a couple more transfer Windows to get us were he wants us !!!!
UTFM

Yep to be fair Jolley has already made reference this previously this is still very much a new team and a WORK IN PROGRESS.

With Cook and Vernam up front, I think we missed out on signing Akinde,would of been an ideal signing to feed our 2 strikers, and with us now being short in midfield, I reckon we could of given Diz a game or two when injuries arise, lets hope MJ gets a couple of loanees in this week. Its not a crisis yet,early days, but we do need cover, and a hefty striker number one on the list.

Regarding Hooper, I don't think he's lazy and he does a lot of running but has a bit of a languid running style. One thing which is clear is that he's not great at putting himself about against the big central defenders as it's not his game. No coincidence that his best spell last year came playing out wide with Cardwell doing a lot of running and putting pressure on the central defenders in the middle. This is what we've been lacking this season from what I've seen.

The only excuse for charging those prices in the run up to the Lincoln game is if Rochdale insisted on it. Even if a discount would have only had a marginal effect it would have been a nod to the 850 who supported the team so well at Macc. We are a developing squad dependent on young players and a new coaching staff.
I accept that a cup run is pie in the sky and that a midtable finish would be relative success with this board and 4-5000 crowds.
FG would have struggled at times last night and Macc would have lost heavily.    

The next two weeks are absolutely crucial because the current squad looks a couple of key injuries away from a relegation scrap.  Equally so it looks a couple of key additions away from a very good side.

One obvious issue is the lack of a centre forward, an old fashioned No 9.  Simply put someone who can make the ball stick.I don't think we necessarily need a 20 goal a season striker, we just need someone who can hold it up and work the line to bring others into play.  Cook is never an out-and-out striker, it's just not his game and you're not going to get the best out of him in that role.  

Midfield is fine in terms of individuals but it looks to lack any real system other than Welsh, who was excellent, sitting in front of the defence and then a mis-mash of individuals in front of him.  

The defence looks far too slow for my liking. I thought Davis did a respectable job at right-back, but it looked obvious to not be his strongest position.  Whitmore I like, he's strong and commanding, I think he'll get better too.  Collins didn't have the best of games, there's already a little bit of murmuring asking if his legs have gone but I think it's more a case that the whole left hand side is exposed.  Last night the left hand side of our side consisted of Collins, Dixon, Woolford and Hooper.  That's practically pedestrian, we're asking to be attacked down that side with anything that remotely resembles pace.  It was no surprise that their soft opener came down that side.

I'm hopeful Jolley can bring in some quality additions in the next two weeks but if not he has to pick a system that suits what he's got.  I appreciate the 4-3-3 variation worked on Saturday but it most definitely didn't work last night, we looked lost.  Rochdale were good, but we made them look excellent by gifting them far too much time.

After his brief resurgence under Jolley last season I was expecting Hooper to kick on but based on last night he looks to have regressed again.  He's got a slightly languid style anyway but he looked half-arsed last night, even by his standards.  Akheem Rose and Max Wright provided more energy in 10 minutes than Hooper and Cook did all game.  That's both a compliment to the young lads but also a slight on the players they replaced.  For the record I thought both the young lads looked excellent, they had exactly what we lacked all game - pace and energy.

This whole thing is a work in progress.  It's not on the same levels but just think how out of sorts Man City looked in the first few months under Pep.  They looked alien to the way he was trying to get them to play, but eventually it started to click and we have to believe it will do under Jolley.  But Pep was working with established players who knew each other, with the exception of a few additions he made.  Jolley is working with a totally new team, it won't happen overnight.

Expectations were heightened after the way we ended the season and the club themselves fueled that fire by sending out messages about the Jolley Revolution.  Jolley himself played it all down after the end of the season by talking of evolution rather than revolution, however of the side that finished last season I counted three who started last night (McKeown, Collins and Hooper).  Yes Mitch Rose was suspended but it still gives you an indication of what has happened over the summer in terms of turnover.  

Didnt think Cook lacked energy, the opposite in fact. Thought he worked very hard. He is lightweight and ineffective as the main striker but to say he lacked energy is far from the truth IMO.

Also thought Collins did well, as did Whitmore.

Didnt think we looked lost, just up against a far quicker, well drilled side with better players. The better players bit may become a regular observation this season

Jolley knows were we sit in this league budget wise, shame it isnt made public so the fans know to lower expectations and to then try and outperform those with more money.

Aye, perhaps a bit harsh on Cook.  On reflection he tried, first half he looked busy.  Second half I can't remember him doing much at all.  Any attacking intent came through Vernam running with the ball.

In Cook's defence, he's playing with his back to goal when he doesn't look comfortable doing it.  

I would be very interested to see what Jolley has had budget wise.  When you think our striking option off the bench is a guy who was knocking about in the Spanish lower leagues, you have to be concerned that it's real penny-pincher of a budget.  But then the likes of Welsh, Vernam, Hessenthaler etc. wouldn't have come cheaply.  Has Jolley gone all in on a few signings and is then hoping he can fill the squad around them on shoestring?

Quoted from Cloudy

Didnt think Cook lacked energy, the opposite in fact. Thought he worked very hard. He is lightweight and ineffective as the main striker but to say he lacked energy is far from the truth IMO.

Also thought Collins did well, as did Whitmore.

Didnt think we looked lost, just up against a far quicker, well drilled side with better players. The better players bit may become a regular observation this season

Jolley knows were we sit in this league budget wise, shame it isnt made public so the fans know to lower expectations and to then try and outperform those with more money.

Sorry cloudy but the budget statement is flawed, take a look at Accringtons playing budget last season...They got promoted by putting the right type of players in the right places in a small squad who all worked hard for each other...it wasn't an overnight success story for them, in they went through an evolution not a revolution over nearly 4 years, stuck with the manager and eventually had the success they deserved....so maybe we need to know where we are in terms of budget and be real about our chances of any success in the future..

Quoted from diehardmariner

Aye, perhaps a bit harsh on Cook.  On reflection he tried, first half he looked busy.  Second half I can't remember him doing much at all.  Any attacking intent came through Vernam running with the ball.

In Cook's defence, he's playing with his back to goal when he doesn't look comfortable doing it.  

I would be very interested to see what Jolley has had budget wise.  When you think our striking option off the bench is a guy who was knocking about in the Spanish lower leagues, you have to be concerned that it's real penny-pincher of a budget.  But then the likes of Welsh, Vernam, Hessenthaler etc. wouldn't have come cheaply.  Has Jolley gone all in on a few signings and is then hoping he can fill the squad around them on shoestring?

When comapared to O'Connor, Akinde, Shackell, Toffolo they would be bargain basement.

If Vernam and Hess represent us going 'all in' then we have less than even I thought

Quoted from Cloudy

When comapared to O'Connor, Akinde, Shackell, Toffolo they would be bargain basement.

If Vernam and Hess represent us going 'all in' then we have less than even I thought

Lincoln have a lot more money than us. Akinde is on 4k a week - I’d rather not break the bank to see us compete with that.

A mid table finish would be a good result for us this season, I’ve always said that. I know people won’t like it, but it’s where we’re at. I’d say it’s quite rare for a team to do as bad as we did last season and then go and storm the league the next. Mid table would not be the end of the world and would give us something to build on.

As people have said - Accy Stanley are proof you don’t need the biggest budget to do well, but they were building for a good few seasons before they eventually went and won it. Patience is required to do this.

It’s a shame Fox and Cardwell have been injured so far...I think they both finished the season brightly and could bring something to this team that others currently aren’t.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Sorry cloudy but the budget statement is flawed, take a look at Accringtons playing budget last season...They got promoted by putting the right type of players in the right places in a small squad who all worked hard for each other...it wasn't an overnight success story for them, in they went through an evolution not a revolution over nearly 4 years, stuck with the manager and eventually had the success they deserved....so maybe we need to know where we are in terms of budget and be real about our chances of any success in the future..

Using a once in every ten years Accrington scenario as the only ray of hope is not a healthy place to be for our fans. Accrington were living on gates of well below 2k FFS. Should we have been despatched so easily out of the cup while playing at home against a side that narrowly escaped relegation to our league last season? And by a club that even with an extra £200k in EFL payments exists on a lower annual turnover than us? The squad churn over the summer at pretty much every League Two club was huge, yet other clubs seem to cope with it better than us. We know the reasons why we can't compete, but no one wants to speak about it or demand change. Yeah lets all ignore it and hunt around for any slivers of vain hope that we can find while fans continue to drift away season by season. 850 away at Macclesfield was a good effort after that 4-1 drubbing, but in years gone by we'd have sold out any allocation for the first away game of the season. Major underlying problems continue and at this stage I'm not sure even MJ can do no more than to make us a solid lower mid table League Two side with the ammunition he's been given. It's not fair to him in his first League job and it's not fair on us the fans.

It's beyond the gumption of our club to offer something like a "two in for a tenner" offer for the game last night. We may have attracted more than 4k and produced a more hostile atmosphere for Rochdale which would increase the chances of extending a cup run or securing a money spinning tie in the next round. Yes, we may have taken less through the gates than a full price 1.7k home gate, but the club haven't a clue about how to speculate to accumulate. And pretty much every tie was discounted last night, so I'd hardly expect Rochdale to be the sole club to object to discounting. This board are very good at balancing the books and living within their means. But it's getting us nowhere and pretty fooking boring and demoralising to be honest. We obviously need investment and new ideas but these added essential ingredients for our club to progress are being roadblocked.

To challenge at the right end of this division, which we should given our home gates, we'll need a quick pacy centre half, wide players left and right, another more mobile midfielder and a striker. We won't get anywhere near that in the loan market I guess. How the hell have we become a "make do, fingers crossed and hope for the best" club in the lower reaches of League Two? It was Rochdale we were playing last night, not a Portsmouth, Sunderland or Charlton. The more I hear these so-called wise sages saying we've got to be realistic, the more I think that I'm one of our few remaining fans holding onto some sort of sanity. League One is full of clubs with turnovers similar to or less than ours, never mind League Two and the sane ones of us left are being told to be realistic. Something's missing at our club and we shouldn't just put up with it like lemmings..

People seem to be mentioning how Rochdale only narrowly avoided relegation last season, without acknowledging that we also only narrowly avoided relegation last season.

Quoted from sam gy

People seem to be mentioning how Rochdale only narrowly avoided relegation last season, without acknowledging that we also only narrowly avoided relegation last season.

I don't need reminding. Three of our last four league 2 seasons have been relegation scraps. One we lost, one we got a reprieve because of points deductions, and one we took perilously close to the edge. We are now at a point where mid table seems acceptable to most, which is sad given our support, and more crucially, our potential support, should someone make us competitive again. I really hope MJ can turn it around, but the early evidence is that it's not going to happen until at least the next transfer window, if at all.

Quoted from sam gy

People seem to be mentioning how Rochdale only narrowly avoided relegation last season, without acknowledging that we also only narrowly avoided relegation last season.

Yes, you're right. But, Rochdale performed pretty much to expectation last season and we massively under performed as a club. The squad turnover at clubs each summer is huge nowadays, so every season clubs have the opportunity to re-invent themselves. I don't think MJ went far enough and maybe his hands were tied too much to be even more radical. We've got huge gaps in pace and quality within our greatly reduced squad this season. How's that happened? What we seem to get year on year is just more of the same. I'm nowhere near writing the season off, see my prediction for the Lincoln game, but we really need three or four quality additions in the loan market not one or two. That's to have an exciting season not just an acceptable one..

But Sam is too young to remember the days when every cup game against a lower team was a potential banner skin. Players used to grab the occasion and play out of their skins to get a result. Except here where we get knocked out without so much of a whimper...again and again and again.  No passion at all. The floodlit cup games used to have a tremendous atmosphere but there is no hope anymore.

The wage bill will be lower though, so that will greatly please some i imagine.

Quoted from Cloudy

Would a 25or 50% reduction in price made much difference to the attendance?

I doubt it to be honest.

The win on Saturday was welcome, at present we may be better suited to playing away, but I think we lack real quality ( even for 4th Division standards) the primarily reason for that is budget..

No, I don't know what our budget is exactly, but talking to some within the club they know we are well behind so many clubs in spending power and I don't mean being outside the top 7 in budget levels.

Budget isn't everything, MJ has to work with the players he has to get as much out of them as possible but a promotion challenge was always pie in the sky IMO

Way way too early to make that call IMO.

I do understand where you're coming from but, and I've said it before, we only have to look at Accrington to see that budget doesn't alway correlate to finishing positions.

If you can put together a squad of hard-working, honest players who all know the system and their individual roles inside out and they work together as a team, you can achieve anything.

From what I've seen so far, every player has put in 100% and are playing for the shirt and the manager....that will take us far IMO. We've got some quality players too, if we can add a couple more in key positions through the loan system I see no reason why we can't have a very good season!

Quoted from realist

But Sam is too young to remember the days when every cup game against a lower team was a potential banner skin. Players used to grab the occasion and play out of their skins to get a result. Except here where we get knocked out without so much of a whimper...again and again and again.  No passion at all. The floodlit cup games used to have a tremendous atmosphere but there is no hope anymore.

As we have already established a few weeks back, i wasn't there on that fateful day in The Wellington Arms in 1878 like yourself, but in 25 years i've seen enough cup games thanks.

It's a shame we are where we are, and yes, it feels strange that we are even considered underdogs against Rochdale, but it's the reality right now, unfortunately. I'm not going to lose my excrement and throw away all hope for the season, because our new squad, headed up by our new manager have lost to a team that are a league above us.

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

I do understand where you're coming from but, and I've said it before, we only have to look at Accrington to see that budget doesn't alway correlate to finishing positions.

Budget helps but it certainly adds pressure. Salford, Fleetwood and North Ferriby have proven in recent years that it does correlate but you could say Accrington and Mansfield for example have proven it doesn't. Mansfield spent a fortune last year and still finished mid-table.

Leicester won the Premier League with a budget light years behind the usual challengers. Chesterfield had a budget of £3m last season and finished bottom.

People seem obsessed with the budget and it certainly helps but you still have to spend it effectively. It takes time to build a new squad. Coleman has been at Accrington for years. The key is keeping the best players each season and bringing in better than those you release. Revolutions rarely prove successful.

Quoted from sam gy

As we have already established a few weeks back, i wasn't there on that fateful day in The Wellington Arms in 1878 like yourself, but in 25 years i've seen enough cup games thanks.

It's a shame we are where we are, and yes, it feels strange that we are even considered underdogs against Rochdale, but it's the reality right now, unfortunately. I'm not going to lose my excrement and throw away all hope for the season, because our new squad, headed up by our new manager have lost to a team that are a league above us.

And this is the heart of the problem with your snowflake generation. Accept meritocracy and continually make excuses and have low expectations ultimately causes you to end up with what we have.  

Quoted from realist

And this is the heart of the problem with your snowflake generation. Accept meritocracy and continually make excuses and have low expectations ultimately causes you to end up with what we have.  

Thought your tag was "realist"?....about tine you lived up to it rather than jumping down this lads throat!!...the f@cking club is where it is, simple as that....so get real, christ , trench warfare died out in the 1900s...

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Thought your tag was "realist"?....about tine you lived up to it rather than jumping down this lads throat!!...the f@cking club is where it is, simple as that....so get real, christ , trench warfare died out in the 1900s...

???? you have lost me there and apologies for the spellchecker, I meant to say mediocracy

Quoted from realist

And this is the heart of the problem with your snowflake generation. Accept meritocracy and continually make excuses and have low expectations ultimately causes you to end up with what we have.  

Soz grandad, didn’t realise I was in charge of the club. I hold my hands up, it’s all my fault.

And you will continue to be miserable and frustrated, typing away furiously, trolling people in their 30s for being too young, using cheap slogans like ‘snowflake’ to give yourself a sense of self satisfication. If this is how you get your kicks, then fine, but maybe you ought to look in the mirror.

Anyway, as chairman, I am eternally grateful for your positive contribution to the club and will be sure to instil this mindset into the club from top to bottom. I thank you in advance for our meteoritic rise up the leagues.

Well done son, good to see you know your place.

I never realised having a different opinion to someone was trolling them. I will see if I can get a "beware of the Troll" sticker for my zimmer frame

I can only assume you're trolling...a lot of your posts seem to be based around the assumption that if you're not  50, 60 years old, then your opinion means nothing. Which is completely bonkers.

No it means you dont have the depth of experience. Nothing personal when you reach my age (55) you might understand.  Have you never heard of a wind up though, you bite so easily? It is definitely not trolling though

PS I look a bit more negatively at the younger generation on here when they started blaming us for ruining their future over the Brexit vote. Consider yourself collateral damage

PPS I only want the best for this football club. I remember when I could hold my head high when I support The Mariners. I would sooner admit to being a Man U fan now.

Quoted from realist

???? you have lost me there and apologies for the spellchecker, I meant to say mediocracy

In short, there is no need to throw insults (snowflake) where some will see that as a bullying mentality....samgy comes from a different era, sees things in a way you don't, be constructive in your argument but don't insult a generation that are so very different to your own....

Snow flake an insult? Get real. Sod of back to Hull. Had if you had seen earlier posts I accused him of still being in nappies. Talk about a fun sponge

Quoted from realist

No it means you dont have the depth of experience. Nothing personal when you reach my age (55) you might understand.  Have you never heard of a wind up though, you bite so easily? It is definitely not trolling though

PS I look a bit more negatively at the younger generation on here when they started blaming us for ruining their future over the Brexit vote. Consider yourself collateral damage

PPS I only want the best for this football club. I remember when I could hold my head high when I support The Mariners. I would sooner admit to being a Man U fan now.

again each to their own, but its an opinion, it wont affect you oldies as much as us

Please dont start another Brexit debate, I only used it as an example. But it is good to see that you will benefit the most from  the positive effect of brexit

Quoted from realist

No it means you dont have the depth of experience. Nothing personal when you reach my age (55) you might understand.  Have you never heard of a wind up though, you bite so easily? It is definitely not trolling though

PS I look a bit more negatively at the younger generation on here when they started blaming us for ruining their future over the Brexit vote. Consider yourself collateral damage

PPS I only want the best for this football club. I remember when I could hold my head high when I support The Mariners. I would sooner admit to being a Man U fan now.

Ok, cool. I'm 32 now, so i'm a while off being able to understand properly, but I assure you i'll be logging onto The Fishy in 23 years time when i'm allowed to have a proper opinion.

"Have you never heard of a wind up though, you bite so easily? It is definitely not trolling though"

That's pretty much the definition of trolling....but sure, great bantz m8.

Maybe go and support Man U then if that's how you feel. I enjoy being a GTFC supporter, despite the ups and downs (mostly downs). If i didn't, i wouldn't bother.

I have given you a green tick for your positive reply. But dont you get frustrated though? A new season, all the excitement of the first game. MJ has had a full close season tho pick and hone his squad. We get hammered. A reasonable away win then out the cup at the first hurdle. All I read is "needs time"  " needs more player" etc. For heavens sake every other team has the same opportunities but start better than us. I am not unreasonable in expecting more?

Quoted from realist

I have given you a green tick for your positive reply. But dont you get frustrated though? A new season, all the excitement of the first game. MJ has had a full close season tho pick and hone his squad. We get hammered. A reasonable away win then out the cup at the first hurdle. All I read is "needs time"  " needs more player" etc. For heavens sake every other team has the same opportunities but start better than us. I am not unreasonable in expecting more?

im 22, and yes i get flipping fed up of it, but its all ive ever known

Quoted from realist

Snow flake an insult? Get real. Sod of back to Hull. Had if you had seen earlier posts I accused him of still being in nappies. Talk about a fun sponge

Get back in your pram, good god you really wanna watch your blood pressure, and to boot, the one thing I do is argue black n white with these amber n blacks,!!..I may live n work over this side but there's few people more proud of my heritage and my football club..
Oh, and I do apologise for the younger generation blaming you oldies for ruining the club....what a load of tripe, the clubs up shite creek because of bad management right through it's core....plus it's coincided with the demise of the town as a whole....and don't even attempt to insult my intelligence...it's not worth the embolism!!!

Quoted from realist

No it means you dont have the depth of experience. Nothing personal when you reach my age (55) you might understand.  Have you never heard of a wind up though, you bite so easily? It is definitely not trolling though

PS I look a bit more negatively at the younger generation on here when they started blaming us for ruining their future over the Brexit vote. Consider yourself collateral damage

PPS I only want the best for this football club. I remember when I could hold my head high when I support The Mariners. I would sooner admit to being a Man U fan now.

At 55 you ought to be more grown up than that.

As for Brexit and collateral damage....collateral damage usually means people near the target, not people on your own side FFS.

Anybody else get searched last night before entering.

I was searched by a female steward and had my ticket checked before entering and then had to show my ticket again at the top of the Findus steps as I went to take up my seat.

Hope this isn't going to be the norm from now on!

Quoted from realist

I have given you a green tick for your positive reply. But dont you get frustrated though? A new season, all the excitement of the first game. MJ has had a full close season tho pick and hone his squad. We get hammered. A reasonable away win then out the cup at the first hurdle. All I read is "needs time"  " needs more player" etc. For heavens sake every other team has the same opportunities but start better than us. I am not unreasonable in expecting more?

But surely you can only hone your squad, systems, tactics etc against proper opposition, in meaningful games! Pre season friendlies simply cannot replicate that!

That is why Year after year, league do not take shape until 10 or 15 games in!

We shouldn't really be overly judging this squad or the management team until Oct/Nov!

Quoted from Hagrid

im 22, and yes i get flipping fed up of it, but its all ive ever known

I'll give you a little ray of hope Hagrid. Fans like me in my early fifties and ones who are older have already seen the club at the best it can be in our lifetimes. You on the other hand have got time on your side, You'll easily outlast the present ownership of GTFC, a pleasure that the majority of us lot who have enjoyed more glorious times as a Town fan probably won't..

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

But surely you can only hone your squad, systems, tactics etc against proper opposition, in meaningful games! Pre season friendlies simply cannot replicate that!

That is why Year after year, league do not take shape until 10 or 15 games in!

We shouldn't really be overly judging this squad or the management team until Oct/Nov!

From that comment, can I ask if you think we have enough in terms of numbers, irrespective of quality?

Second question, what happens if FGR is replicated on several occasions then we haven't got any options to change the team until January? It's feasible that any team could be out of touch by the time the next window opens and we, with a smaller squad, would be very vulnerable.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

From that comment, can I ask if you think we have enough in terms of numbers, irrespective of quality?

Second question, what happens if FGR is replicated on several occasions then we haven't got any options to change the team until January? It's feasible that any team could be out of touch by the time the next window opens and we, with a smaller squad, would be very vulnerable.

To answer your first question, no I don't think we have enough in the squad as things stand. IMO we're 2 or 3 short of where we need to be in terms of depth. We certainly need a mobile, powerful striker, a left wing-back, a winger and possibly another right back.

Whatever we or any other team do is ultimately a gamble isn't it? We may sign another 4 playes and still struggle until Jan... Alternatively we may sign 1 or 2 and start putting together some very good results. We can only go on what Michael Jolley thinks is sufficient.

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

To answer your first question, no I don't think we have enough in the squad as things stand. IMO we're 2 or 3 short of where we need to be in terms of depth. We certainly need a mobile, powerful striker, a left wing-back, a winger and possibly another right back.

Whatever we or any other team do is ultimately a gamble isn't it? We may sign another 4 playes and still struggle until Jan... Alternatively we may sign 1 or 2 and start putting together some very good results. We can only go on what Michael Jolley thinks is sufficient.

To re-iterate, I like MJ. But, this is his first full season as a League manager and, whilst I was really impressed with the turnaround at the end of the season, I don't think he necessarily needed the build-up of expectation & the 'Jolley revolution' marketing.

Quoted from Les Brechin

Anybody else get searched last night before entering.

I was searched by a female steward and had my ticket checked before entering and then had to show my ticket again at the top of the Findus steps as I went to take up my seat.

Hope this isn't going to be the norm from now on!

Apparently the club, like all the other clubs holding matches last night , were asked to be more vigilant on security in light of the terror attack.

Quoted from Hagrid

im 22, and yes i get flipping fed up of it, but its all ive ever known

I'm not telling you how old I am but i came home last night 20 years older and none the wiser.

Quoted from Les Brechin

Anybody else get searched last night before entering.

I was searched by a female steward and had my ticket checked before entering and then had to show my ticket again at the top of the Findus steps as I went to take up my seat.

Hope this isn't going to be the norm from now on!

Was she a looker Les ? Intimate body search ? Wouldn't complain too much  ;)

Can I be the first to say we can now concentrate on the League?

Quoted from jock dock tower

Can I be the first to say we can now concentrate on the League?

I heard it said about 15 seats along & 6 rows down in the Main Stand last night - they were the nearest to us!

Quoted from rancido

Apparently the club, like all the other clubs holding matches last night , were asked to be more vigilant on security in light of the terror attack.

Think the checking of tickets in the Upper was nothing to do with terror attacks, more to stop the cheapskates in the Lower trying to sneak up to the premium  more expensive seating ;)

Quoted from golfer

I'm not telling you how old I am but i came home last night 20 years older and none the wiser.

You attended Russel Slades PowerPoint special?

Quoted from rancido

Apparently the club, like all the other clubs holding matches last night , were asked to be more vigilant on security in light of the terror attack.

Well you can never be too careful. The chances of a runaway car driven by a terrorist  in the Upper Smiths must be even money.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Well you can never be too careful. The chances of a runaway car driven by a terrorist  in the Upper Smiths must be even money.

If anyone has got a runaway JCB, they can take out the humps in the penalty boxes.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

To re-iterate, I like MJ. But, this is his first full season as a League manager and, whilst I was really impressed with the turnaround at the end of the season, I don't think he necessarily needed the build-up of expectation & the 'Jolley revolution' marketing.

Wholeheartedly agree with you fella. I didn't or hasn't down anybody any good but I suppose natural given the performances he gleaned from those players. Either way I think we all need to be realistic with expectations this season.

Quoted from jock dock tower

Can I be the first to say we can now concentrate on the League?

No, I mentioned it in the match thread after we went 2-0 down. ;)

Quoted from MuddyWaters

If anyone has got a runaway JCB, they can take out the humps in the penalty boxes.

If they took out the humps we would never score-every shot would go over the bar which would be 3ft lower.

Quoted from realist

No it means you dont have the depth of experience. Nothing personal when you reach my age (55) you might understand.  Have you never heard of a wind up though, you bite so easily? It is definitely not trolling though

PS I look a bit more negatively at the younger generation on here when they started blaming us for ruining their future over the Brexit vote. Consider yourself collateral damage

PPS I only want the best for this football club. I remember when I could hold my head high when I support The Mariners. I would sooner admit to being a Man U fan now.

55 year old conservatives have ruined this country as much as much as they've ruined this football club.

Quoted from Dan

55 year old conservatives have ruined this country as much as much as they've ruined this football club.

Whereas us 55 year old liberal centre-lefties are the well nang. Innit.