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Quoted from smokey111

Spot on Hagrid.

Perversely I am glad that the end is nigh. It sounds like PH feels the same. He all but said that he can't wait for the end of the season, when he can start the rebuilding process.

Today is the dawn of a new era. We will be playing conference football next season but with a new regime. PH will make us competitive.

UTFM

He said that when he took the job. Can't wait to get started, I have kept tabs on players blah blah. He had half a season to get a few points to see us safe; we weren't even in the relegation places when he came.

I am sure we will start with him in the Conference, but he is a lucky man to get another crack at it in view of his dismal failure so far.

Quoted from Hagrid

Want any more proof that he’s the right man for the job, go listen to his RH Interview. Thought he was superb

All the proof I can see is that he has taken us to the bottom of the League and so far kept is there.

A few nice words don't make a good manager. I could have said all he said.

just a thought on his cryptic comments. can players still be furloughed? Or might we see some contracts being paid up?

You know full well Arry that PH is not 100% responsible for that

Quoted from Davec

I wonder what he meant by the thinking on a few fronts where he said he needs to be careful what he says.

Probably would like to say to Fenty you should have let me take this club forward when you had the chance.... but you blew it! :(

anyone got the correct link please

Quoted from Hagrid

You know full well Arry that PH is not 100% responsible for that

I don't know you could easily argue the opposite. Its only after Hurst took over we dropped into and have been unable to get out of the bottom 2 despite his almost complete change of the playing squad

One of big surprises for me is Payne have never seemed a PH type player
Lazy
Doesn't put himself about
Not a great team player

Thought Hanson was awful today - he he scored as many goals as fouls he commits we'd have a 30-goal a season striker

We look solid all over the pitch
Played some good stuff at times
But woeful in final third
No quality at all
And that is not just cos we had 10 men
It's been the story of the season

Quoted from devs

One of big surprises for me is Payne have never seemed a PH type player
Lazy
Doesn't put himself about
Not a great team player

Thought Hanson was awful today - he he scored as many goals as fouls he commits we'd have a 30-goal a season striker

We look solid all over the pitch
Played some good stuff at times
But woeful in final third
No quality at all
And that is not just cos we had 10 men
It's been the story of the season

Yet didn't they say that he's Bradford's third highest goalscorer ever

Like a lot of Town's signings, the policy has been to get players in when they're past their sell by date

Maybe with some vision and passion with the new regime, we can attract players at the top of their game and not when they're running out of legs

UTM

I got the impression from Hurst's post match interview that he was having a bit of a dig at JF and how he has run the club down and made it way behind the times off the pitch, could be wrong though.

Quoted from Hagrid

Want any more proof that he’s the right man for the job, go listen to his RH Interview. Thought he was superb

Yep agree. "We are behind the curve in so many areas at the club" was the most telling although not surprising. Think he should be given the chance to rebuild the club along side the new owners.

Quoted from promotion plaice

I got the impression from Hurst's post match interview that he was having a bit of a dig at JF and how he has run the club down and made it way behind the times off the pitch, could be wrong though.

Great minds think alike.... that was the vibe I had too

Water off a ducks back though..... Honest John is going on his merry way with his big bag of swag

Quoted from promotion plaice

I got the impression from Hurst's post match interview that he was having a bit of a dig at JF and how he has run the club down and made it way behind the times off the pitch, could be wrong though.

Thats exactly how I read into it

Quoted from Hagrid

You know full well Arry that PH is not 100% responsible for that

You cannot escape the facts that he added 11 additional players and we are now in a far worse position than before he arrived.

For me Hurst has done nothing but shores up the defence Payne was his guy who was rubbish.
I would like a fresh start next season across the board.

I'm 100 percent behind Hurst. I know a few people say he added alot of players in January and we should of done better. However with covid, no non league below the conference I think he was very limited to who he could attract here and normally when you sign 11 players you have a pre season with them. MWe where in a relagation fight and on a downward spiral. When the summer comes and he has a proper shot at rebuilding for next year it will be alot different. I'm sure most of the players out of contract will be shown the door including most of his signings.

Quoted from Yoda

For me Hurst has done nothing but shores up the defence Payne was his guy who was rubbish.
I would like a fresh start next season across the board.

Very disapointed with the attacking side of our game, Hanson, The shop and Payne are not up to National League standard let alone the league. Defence is acceptable just

Don't care who the manager is, you cannot throw a team together in the January transfer window and expect it to tell from the first game. I will point to Bolton this season, they only a few places above us until they got it together and went on a run, and that is with better players than we can ever get.

100% behind Hurst to rebuild next year should the worse happen, which looks inevitable.

Took his post match comments as being aimed at Fenty and the board.

They never capitalised on getting back in to the EFL and have allowed us to get left behind and tread water ever since he left. After he had got us back in the league and around the playoffs.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09c4dm9

Interview starts about 18 minutes in, some sound observations from Gary croft before then.

I’m not sure what the Paul Hurst sycophants get out of the deal but I genuinely thought it was dire when we were stuck playing cautiously and celebrating draws in non-league, for years.

Who knew it could get any worse?

Two wins.

Two wins from nineteen matches and we are supposed to have no doubt who is best to manage our club.

It is laughable how blind some people are to the definitions of success.

Quoted from Hagrid

Want any more proof that he’s the right man for the job, go listen to his RH Interview. Thought he was superb

Sorry, nothing was 'superb'. His waffling about wanting to get on with changes as the season closes deflected away from his selections and game plan. Was Wiliams injured or was it a change of shape issue? Why no Lamy to replace Williams as both Hanson and LJL need pace to balance their lack of mobility? What's up with Ira Jackson?
Seems that Hurst is too preoccupied with the off pitch distractions. As a post match interview it was poor. JT too concerned whether the ref had gone to the dressing room or not FFS. Spent too long second half talking about the sending off instead of commentary. Wish I could turn him off and just listen to Crofty.
We don't need to know yet what Hurst wants to change for next season. Only points matter. Players listening to him say he has some big decisions to make could make them feel he has already accepted relegation.
No comment would have been better than throwing Morais under the bus. Hurst may inspire you Hagrid and loyalty is a valuable trait but surely you are disappointed in our performances since January?

Quoted from Hagrid

You know full well Arry that PH is not 100% responsible for that

I am afraid to say he is reaponsible as the manager who had a transfer window and over half a season and has taken us firmly to the bottom of the league.

Quoted from Yoda

For me Hurst has done nothing but shores up the defence Payne was his guy who was rubbish.
I would like a fresh start next season across the board.

Well I agree with you for once.

can't score goals , got no pace to run in behind got no creativity other than that look ok

Of course we’re going to win more than (extrapolating Hurst’s formidable record out for a full season) *five* games a season in non-league...

Before we have to start reading it in September, that won’t make his tenure a success.

Neither will the fact we can’t name a natural successor.

Neither will the fact we’ve not conceded for a while.

Neither will the fact we got a “good point” at the the club third bottom of the Conference.

They could have been left to their own devices and arguably won more matches than they have since Hurst arrived for our new year.

Yes, Holloway was a disaster. But frankly the fact that Hurst has delivered just 14 points in 19 games is what is sending us down. Even a point a game would have given us a fighting chance.

The team performs better now, we don't concede as many as we used to. But results are worse. We managed 20 points from the 21 games before he took over.

I can understand the concept of 2 steps back to go 3 forward. But given how long it has taken to sure up the defence, it has in reality been 5 steps back to go 3 forward and now time is almost up.

6 games left. It looks like 4 wins is an absolute minimum if we are to stay up. That would give us 46 points. That might be enough, but it would be a damn close run thing.

Quoted from psgmariner

4 wins! ;D

I know. Not looking likely is it.

Quoted from Croxton

What's up with Ira Jackson?

Did you watch his last appearance away at Mansfield? After suddenly announcing he was a winger and not a striker, he was given his chance and lost possession every single time the ball went to him.

I don’t rate Payne, but when your alternatives are Green or Ira, then surely it was better to select Payne - especially given he set up a goal for us in the last match.

Quoted from psgmariner

4 wins! ;D

Hurst could manage it in the League Two equivalent of an entire Premier League season...you never know

I think anyone bleating about Paul Hurst being manager next season needs to get their head around the fact that he’ll still be here whether you like it or not. He’s clearly got the trust of the new owners and is planning with their backing.

We have certainly improved in the last month or so and he’s got my backing to make the changes needed.

If you thought Hurst was going to be able to get players that was to the standard he wanted, you got it badly wrong.

He had an almost impossible job to get players to join a ship sinking at a ridiculous pace... no player wants that on his CV

Hurst is 100% the man to get us back, and push on further.

With the right backing, he is a good manager...

We won't get a better manager for this club, we're going down but this man needs to be here.

Let's see if he can get us up first time, get rid if the furniture that have been here too long which includes macca unfortunately.

New blood new owners new start but Paul is one of us.

Quoted from promotion plaice

I got the impression from Hurst's post match interview that he was having a bit of a dig at JF and how he has run the club down and made it way behind the times off the pitch, could be wrong though.

Yep, me too!!

If Fenty is having his loans paid back over three years, expect his ego around the boardroom (in some capacity) for a little longer I would suggest. Maybe that’s what PH is doing his thinking about on a few fronts. Also, maybe the funds/plans are a hell of a lot lighter without Tom Schutes.

He IS the right man for this Club and we need his work ethic, attitude and desire to take us forward. I honestly think he’ll do a huge clear out (players we perhaps wouldn’t have thought) and I certainly wouldn’t be expecting a return for a couple of seasons.

I am sure that the rebuild will be exciting but also we will need to be patient too. I don’t think it’s going to be at the first attempt.

Cant be @rsed to listen even if he is slagging the board off.

Payne incident aside leaving us short for the second half ...we yet again, despite a change of shape/ approach, failed to register more than 1 decent effort on goal in the entire game....and that came around 20 mins into to the second half from Clifton.
Chances were made or fell to us but Hanson, Spokes,Coke, Hendrie, Payne , failed to do anything with them. We just dont have the quality.

I have defended Hanson plenty this season but today i cant defend, his touch was shocking and gave away so many fouls....i also think he had a couple of good chances to head home but didnt take them. I have blamed lack of supply in his defence but realistically, as we dont have anyone who can deliver a decent ball in from wide, from a corner or from a free kick regularly then what is the point in having him in anymore.
I really would like to see something completely different up top using players into feet.

Another excellent day for the “told you so” brigade. I am delighted for you.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I think anyone bleating about Paul Hurst being manager next season needs to get their head around the fact that he’ll still be here whether you like it or not. He’s clearly got the trust of the new owners and is planning with their backing.

We have certainly improved in the last month or so and he’s got my backing to make the changes needed.

I think what you say is correct they 1878 Partners believe in him. Interesting the view that "he had a transfer window" so that should have made things o.k. Think about the scenario if you're a half decent player who's playing regularly at an EFL club you're not going to sign for a team at the bottom of the table, why would you? If you're a half decent player in the top 6 of The National League the same is probably true.

I think whoever came in to replace Holloway would have needed 2 windows if not a 3rd to finally churn over this fanny dancers and duffers he signed.

We're going down I'm sure of that but Hurst did the first thing all managers do when they come into relegation threatened sides and that is make us harder to beat and up until today's stupidity of 1 individual build strong team spirit. Personally for whatever reason I don't think he has the tools to do the job and make us an attacking threat.

Quoted from Azimuth

I am afraid to say he is reaponsible as the manager who had a transfer window and over half a season and has taken us firmly to the bottom of the league.

Who was available in the transfer shop window that would of made us a better team ? I’m afraid only broken biscuits left.

Quoted from Yoda

For me Hurst has done nothing but shores up the defence Payne was his guy who was rubbish.
I would like a fresh start next season across the board.

Maybe Yoda isn’t a bot. The plot thickens 🤔

Quoted from Roast Em Bobby

Did you watch his last appearance away at Mansfield? After suddenly announcing he was a winger and not a striker, he was given his chance and lost possession every single time the ball went to him.

I don’t rate Payne, but when your alternatives are Green or Ira, then surely it was better to select Payne - especially given he set up a goal for us in the last match.

Didn't say he should have started, only surprised that Ira fails to make the squad today and Green yet again picks up some extra cash. Hurst likes one or more heavies up top but took both Morais and Williams off thus limiting creativity. Jackson may be raw but Green and Payne won't seem to play with commitment. Credit for the sharp turn in the box last match but what else did he do?

Is Paul Hurst the best we can get? If the answer is yes then keep him. If he isn't then don't. Easy.

The fact is that under Holloway the team were completely lost and he was picking a different side every week. Yes we weren’t in the relegation zone but only because we picked up some lucky wins early on. We were getting regularly thrashed. Even a small amount more luck under Hurst and we’d have 4-6 more points and be looking safe.

Quoted from Croxton

Didn't say he should have started, only surprised that Ira fails to make the squad today and Green yet again picks up some extra cash. Hurst likes one or more heavies up top but took both Morais and Williams off thus limiting creativity. Jackson may be raw but Green and Payne won't seem to play with commitment. Credit for the sharp turn in the box last match but what else did he do?

In terms of influencing games and making a difference very little and very similar to Jackson in reality. Whilst I completely get your reference to attitude Jackson isn’t the answer.

I suspect Hurst’s hands where tied a bit today as Green is clearly not a starter (or finisher!!) and looking at him when he came on I don’t think LJL was 100% fit, but I’ll guess we’ll never know.

What makes Hurst’s arrival in late December any more difficult a task than any manager arriving to a club in a relegation battle?

We weren’t even in the relegation zone when he arrived, let alone adrift at the bottom.

Managers come into these situations every year. Some turn things around, some stay out of relegation places, some fall into them. Those in the latter group tend not to be popular, they tend not survive attaining fewer points than their predecessor and they tend not to be championed as the right man for the job when they win two matches in almost half a flipping season.

Everyone who takes on a managerial role after an unsuccessful start to a season faces a the same/similar/worse situations with regards player acquisition (some arriving after January window don’t even get that chance...and still make a success of it), player morale, player quality. Clubs change their managers precisely *because* relegation is not pre-ordained and because vast improvements are possible within half a season.

To argue that an individual taking over a club in our position around the turn of the year can essentially take us to bottom, win twice and be 100% the right man to remain in charge is superb.

We’ve won twice, ffs, and because we don’t get hammered each and every week we’re supposed to merely accept that relegation was a given when he arrived into such an abject position as *not* even being in the relegation places is simply bizarre.

As I said originally, earlier, I found it amazing that so many accepted our plight when we toiled our way under Hurst Mark I...to think he would come back (after two swift sackings elsewhere, not inconsequentially), oversee our fairly conclusive fall to adrift-at-the-bottom and sound on interview as though he has given up on this year but can’t wait to build in the non-league and people would STILL be lauding his abilities. Bravo, you guys :X

Where can I find this interview? All I’m getting from that link is rugby commentary.

Quoted from PPMariner

What makes Hurst’s arrival in late December any more difficult a task than any manager arriving to a club in a relegation battle?

1. We are a complete basket case of a club

2. Geographically unattractive

3. At least one hour’s drive from the closest major city that isn’t on the River Hull

4. Players not wanting to move mid-pandemic making 2 and 3 particularly pertinent at the time and with short contracts offered

5. Rubbish training facilities

6. The (negative) reputation of the majority shareholder within the football industry

7. Average (at best) wages when the other points are factored in

8. Off pitch instability

9. Relegation threatened

10. Covid contracts

11. NE Lincs is not very cosmopolitan

12. Cold easterly winds

Hadn’t considered the wind before now. Changed my mind.

Look at the table when he arrived, look at all the players he signed, look at the table now. Simple as that.

The blind faith in him is really weird.

Quoted from Knut Anders Fosters Voles

1. We are a complete basket case of a club

2. Geographically unattractive

3. At least one hour’s drive from the closest major city that isn’t on the River Hull

4. Players not wanting to move mid-pandemic making 2 and 3 particularly pertinent at the time and with short contracts offered

5. Rubbish training facilities

6. The (negative) reputation of the majority shareholder within the football industry

7. Average (at best) wages when the other points are factored in

8. Off pitch instability

9. Relegation threatened

10. Covid contracts

11. NE Lincs is not very cosmopolitan

12. Cold easterly winds

Bloody hell. Do you work in PR?

Quoted from LondonMariner43

The fact is that under Holloway the team were completely lost and he was picking a different side every week. Yes we weren’t in the relegation zone but only because we picked up some lucky wins early on. We were getting regularly thrashed. Even a small amount more luck under Hurst and we’d have 4-6 more points and be looking safe.

In terms of points per game Paul Hurst is still behind Holloway, you would have hoped after 17 games he would have shown an improvement on those statistics.

Holloway, slade, bignot, jolley had all these things against them but none were as bad as this excrement show.

13. Huge squad nowhere near good enough without even a settled style of play

14. Too many loans

15. Poor budget

16. Missing out on a striker target

17. Injuries to experienced players

18. Experienced players with confidence destroyed

19. Fitness nowhere near where it should be after shambolic pre season

20. Small section of snowflakes with attachment issues after PH made them look silly last time

Quoted from Knut Anders Fosters Voles

1. We are a complete basket case of a club

2. Geographically unattractive

3. At least one hour’s drive from the closest major city that isn’t on the River Hull

4. Players not wanting to move mid-pandemic making 2 and 3 particularly pertinent at the time and with short contracts offered

5. Rubbish training facilities

6. The (negative) reputation of the majority shareholder within the football industry

7. Average (at best) wages when the other points are factored in

8. Off pitch instability

9. Relegation threatened

10. Covid contracts

11. NE Lincs is not very cosmopolitan

12. Cold easterly winds

Most of those could apply to a poorly supported Barrow but they seem to be doing better than us?

Quoted from arryarryarry

Most of those could apply to a poorly supported Barrow but they seem to be doing better than us?

Well the big difference is that they have a cold, wet westerly wind.

Quoted from smokey111

Bloody hell. Do you work in PR?

Yeah but I do it on the pitch 😉

He came in at the end of December to a dreadful squad where the only genuine talent was immediately recalled from loan. Recruiting in January is generally considered to be difficult but then the entire country went into national lockdown on January 7th which was a pretty unique challenge to throw into the mix. We also had dreadful weather which meant we had weeks where our dreadful training facilities were out of action.

Genuine question for those who claim PH has made it worse - do you think he would have allowed the groundsman to be furlouged, Vernam to leave, one friendly to be played, the season to start with that squad?

[url=https://mobile.twitter.com/HumbersideSport/status/1380949958870892548?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet]https://mobile.twitter.com/HumbersideSport/status/1380949958870892548?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet[/url]

Quoted from arryarryarry

Most of those could apply to a poorly supported Barrow but they seem to be doing better than us?

Barrow train in Knutsford so their players can live in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffs etc and easily commute without uprooting family.

Love how its called blind loyalty

Only manager to get us promoted since 1998. The fact that sacking managers does not flipping work. And realising that we arent a big club anymore. Due to off field decisions

Quoted from Hagrid

Love how its called blind loyalty

Only manager to get us promoted since 1998. The fact that sacking managers does not flipping work. And realising that we arent a big club anymore. Due to off field decisions

Erm.......Port Vale, Barrow?

Quoted from arryarryarry

Well the big difference is that they have a cold, wet westerly wind.

No wind in Knutsford. Just the stench of nouveau riche.

The club needs a total rebuild from top to bottom.

The good news is that it will happen. We have forward looking new owners with plenty of cash. It's not like we are a phoenix club having to start from absolutely nothing.

I suspect Hurst will have a major clear out and then we will see a complete modernisation of the club training and fitness regimes, together with recruitment of decent pro's. Not the inadequate shower we have had to endure for years now.

We will be back in the EFL withing two years I recon. And with a team capable to challenging for promotion. There are so many absolutely crap sides in L2 that it wont be difficult to put together a competitive side in this league.

That's my opinion. And I haven't even had a drink yet.

Those that don’t want Hurst as manager are welcome to stay away next season if they feel so strongly about it

Quoted from LondonMariner43

Those that don’t want Hurst as manager are welcome to stay away next season if they feel so strongly about it

Will do. Cheers

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

He came in at the end of December to a dreadful squad where the only genuine talent was immediately recalled from loan. Recruiting in January is generally considered to be difficult but then the entire country went into national lockdown on January 7th which was a pretty unique challenge to throw into the mix. We also had dreadful weather which meant we had weeks where our dreadful training facilities were out of action.

Genuine question for those who claim PH has made it worse - do you think he would have allowed the groundsman to be furlouged, Vernam to leave, one friendly to be played, the season to start with that squad?

If people listened to his interview tonight he not for the first time talked about how the club has gone backwards since he was here last.

I know he was out of work when he came back and things haven’t gone well mainly down to the inability to attract talent, but unlike his predecessor he’s got the stones to take this on and try and keep us up and if need be bring us back. Despite your views he should be respected for that and given a chance.

People talk about where we were under Holloway let’s not forget with the takeover imminent for whatever reason he jumped ship and if Hurst hadn’t driven some form of change we’d have been gone by now.

Some of the “once great club” brigade need to understand that so many things where and still are sh1t about Grimsby Town, I’m sorry I know it’s hard to take but it’s true that’s why we attract the players we do and have done since we came back into the EFL. One person is mainly to blame and all being well he’ll be gone by the end of May.

Park the ear cupping over sensitivity if I said to you in January that Holloway’s replacement has on his CV 3 promotions (agreed in non league), 6 Wembley finals (agreed only winning 1) but saved one of his clubs from relegation & took them to the play offs the following year would that have been of interest?

Yes the manager in question may have struggled when he went up the leagues too quick to another club living on its rich history and like many before him fell victim to pistol Pete down the road but he’s had experience of getting a club out of the NL many of you who are now anti Hurst would have said that the owner of this CV at least deserves an interview.

Since Hurst left we’ve had,

- Bignott football man for sure but no management skills.

- Slade, other than being associated with JF I’ll never understand why.

- Jolley, exposed by his lack of experience and at times expertise especially when we started to struggle.

- Holloway, can sell sand to the Arabs but clearly his days of being able to organise a p1ss up in a brewery are long gone. He’s good to sort a game of darts out though.

Maybe it’s not just playing talent that we find difficult to attract. Our “once great club” hasn’t been great or arguably “good” for a long time but like it or not though it may not have worked how we all wanted it to since January we do have a manager who cares, knows what’s missing and in my belief will work hard to bring us back.

As long as the 1878 guys are true to their word which I’m sure they will be Hurst won’t be going anywhere for a long while yet.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

If people listened to his interview tonight he not for the first time talked about how the club has gone backwards since he was here last.

I know he was out of work when he came back and things haven’t gone well mainly down to the inability to attract talent, but unlike his predecessor he’s got the stones to take this on and try and keep us up and if need be bring us back. Despite your views he should be respected for that and given a chance.

People talk about where we were under Holloway let’s not forget with the takeover imminent for whatever reason he jumped ship and if Hurst hadn’t driven some form of change we’d have been gone by now.

Some of the “once great club” brigade need to understand that so many things where and still are sh1t about Grimsby Town, I’m sorry I know it’s hard to take but it’s true that’s why we attract the players we do and have done since we came back into the EFL. One person is mainly to blame and all being well he’ll be gone by the end of May.

Park the ear cupping over sensitivity if I said to you in January that Holloway’s replacement has on his CV 3 promotions (agreed in non league), 6 Wembley finals (agreed only winning 1) but saved one of his clubs from relegation & took them to the play offs the following year would that have been of interest?

Yes the manager in question may have struggled when he went up the leagues too quick to another club living on its rich history and like many before him fell victim to pistol Pete down the road but he’s had experience of getting a club out of the NL many of you who are now anti Hurst would have said that the owner of this CV at least deserves an interview.

Since Hurst left we’ve had,

- Bignott football man for sure but no management skills.

- Slade, other than being associated with JF I’ll never understand why.

- Jolley, exposed by his lack of experience and at times expertise especially when we started to struggle.

- Holloway, can sell sand to the Arabs but clearly his days of being able to organise a p1ss up in a brewery are long gone. He’s good to sort a game of darts out though.

Maybe it’s not just playing talent that we find difficult to attract. Our “once great club” hasn’t been great or arguably “good” for a long time but like it or not though it may not have worked how we all wanted it to since January we do have a manager who cares, knows what’s missing and in my belief will work hard to bring us back.

As long as the 1878 guys are true to their word which I’m sure they will be Hurst won’t be going anywhere for a long while yet.

Also worth remembering that Scunny were still (and were due to continue) paying Hurst when he took the Town role.

With the right backing, he could do for us what the Cowleys did for Lincoln. He bested them in the play off semi's in our promotion season too.

Quoted from Mariner_501

Will do. Cheers

Your loss

Quoted from ginnywings

With the right backing, he could do for us what the Cowleys did for Lincoln. He bested them in the play off semi's in our promotion season too.

You’d hope so! Braintree ffs

Quoted from HertsGTFC

If people listened to his interview tonight he not for the first time talked about how the club has gone backwards since he was here last.

I know he was out of work when he came back and things haven’t gone well mainly down to the inability to attract talent, but unlike his predecessor he’s got the stones to take this on and try and keep us up and if need be bring us back. Despite your views he should be respected for that and given a chance.

People talk about where we were under Holloway let’s not forget with the takeover imminent for whatever reason he jumped ship and if Hurst hadn’t driven some form of change we’d have been gone by now.

Some of the “once great club” brigade need to understand that so many things where and still are sh1t about Grimsby Town, I’m sorry I know it’s hard to take but it’s true that’s why we attract the players we do and have done since we came back into the EFL. One person is mainly to blame and all being well he’ll be gone by the end of May.

Park the ear cupping over sensitivity if I said to you in January that Holloway’s replacement has on his CV 3 promotions (agreed in non league), 6 Wembley finals (agreed only winning 1) but saved one of his clubs from relegation & took them to the play offs the following year would that have been of interest?

Yes the manager in question may have struggled when he went up the leagues too quick to another club living on its rich history and like many before him fell victim to pistol Pete down the road but he’s had experience of getting a club out of the NL many of you who are now anti Hurst would have said that the owner of this CV at least deserves an interview.

Since Hurst left we’ve had,

- Bignott football man for sure but no management skills.

- Slade, other than being associated with JF I’ll never understand why.

- Jolley, exposed by his lack of experience and at times expertise especially when we started to struggle.

- Holloway, can sell sand to the Arabs but clearly his days of being able to organise a p1ss up in a brewery are long gone. He’s good to sort a game of darts out though.

Maybe it’s not just playing talent that we find difficult to attract. Our “once great club” hasn’t been great or arguably “good” for a long time but like it or not though it may not have worked how we all wanted it to since January we do have a manager who cares, knows what’s missing and in my belief will work hard to bring us back.

As long as the 1878 guys are true to their word which I’m sure they will be Hurst won’t be going anywhere for a long while yet.

I wasn't a fan of those managers and blame Fenty for the overall state of the club but I don't think any of those managers took us to the bottom of League 2.

Quoted from arryarryarry

I wasn't a fan of those managers and blame Fenty for the overall state of the club but I don't think any of those managers took us to the bottom of League 2.

No but Holloway knew he was going to and bottled it which is far worse.

Whatever we think of his record this season it's clear Hurst is going to be our manager next season.

We have to hope he succeeds. But I think one season in the NL is enough to judge him on. If we are not challenging for promotion then we should take action accordingly.

Quoted from RonMariner

The club needs a total rebuild from top to bottom.

The good news is that it will happen. We have forward looking new owners with plenty of cash. It's not like we are a phoenix club having to start from absolutely nothing.

I suspect Hurst will have a major clear out and then we will see a complete modernisation of the club training and fitness regimes, together with recruitment of decent pro's. Not the inadequate shower we have had to endure for years now.

We will be back in the EFL withing two years I recon. And with a team capable to challenging for promotion. There are so many absolutely crap sides in L2 that it wont be difficult to put together a competitive side in this league.

That's my opinion. And I haven't even had a drink yet.

Looking at those under contract till 2022 & 2023 I can only see Macca, based on his rejuvenated form, being any good and LJL as a squad player. As for the rest dump them.

From today's out of contract players Hewitt, Clifton, Matete, Menayense look solid( if they want to stay) Habs, Lamy, and Coke as squad players. That means up to another 15 needed with 2/3 strikers a major priority. Firepower upfront has been sadly missing all season.

Early days but now the takeover is full steam ahead Hurst is making plans, and as someone posted a while ago why not put some youth in to see if they'll be any good. I know Hurst is not known for bringing on the youth, but they can't be any worse than Payne, Gibson, etc.

Hurst might not be everyone taste

I would rather have him in charge than some waffling friggin toe rag that keeps spouting what great club we are the chairman is the dogs balks and we are the best fans in the world the toilets are premier league etc look where's its got us more pain

WE all think we have the answer, building this club back up needs a trustworthy honest man

Good luck Paul UTM

Hurst returning inevitably carried risk with it, given that he was not liked by a significant section of the fanbase. That risk grows with the impending prospect of us returning to non-league football. I can understand the argument that worse results under Hurst justify a change of manager, but I do think that overlooks the extent of the mess created under his predecessor. And does anyone really think we'd be in a better position now if his predecessor hadn't looked for an escape route?

Given the timing of Hurst's return, I think we have to accept the assumption that he was brought back primarily as the new owners' man. On that basis, the only way I see him not being in charge for the start of next season is if he chooses not to be. But, even if the takeover does go through next month, I don't think we should be expecting a quick return.

Quoted from DB

Looking at those under contract till 2022 & 2023 I can only see Macca, based on his rejuvenated form, being any good and LJL as a squad player. As for the rest dump them.

From today's out of contract players Hewitt, Clifton, Matete, Menayense look solid( if they want to stay) Habs, Lamy, and Coke as squad players. That means up to another 15 needed with 2/3 strikers a major priority. Firepower upfront has been sadly missing all season.

Early days but now the takeover is full steam ahead Hurst is making plans, and as someone posted a while ago why not put some youth in to see if they'll be any good. I know Hurst is not known for bringing on the youth, but they can't be any worse than Payne, Gibson, etc.

What Youth? Who would you think would benefit in their development by being in deck playing the piano when the ship sinks under the surface?

I’d be more inclined to give Spokes, Williams, Jackson and Gibson a run for the rest of the season as though I’m not convinced by any of them I think there deals run into next season, I may be wrong about their terms though.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

What Youth? Who would you think would benefit in their development by being in deck playing the piano when the ship sinks under the surface?

I’d be more inclined to give Spokes, Williams, Jackson and Gibson a run for the rest of the season as though I’m not convinced by any of them I think there deals run into next season, I may be wrong about their terms though.

They've had chances and proved to be one trick ponies. Spokes scored a brilliant goal and then missed others. Williams and Jackson have been in and out, fringe at the best with no consistency. As for party boy, well there's no wonder Hurst shipped him out.

Quoted from DB

They've had chances and proved to be one trick ponies. Spokes scored a brilliant goal and then missed others. Williams and Jackson have been in and out, fringe at the best with no consistency. As for party boy, well there's no wonder Hurst shipped him out.

Ok fair view, none have has a decent run in the side though.

You’ve not answered the question about the Youth. I know Holloway got a few involved but will they get us points in the last few games?

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Ok fair view, none have has a decent run in the side though.

You’ve not answered the question about the Youth. I know Holloway got a few involved but will they get us points in the last few games?

TBH I'm hoping with my heart for survival as the maths say it could happen. My brain says not a cat in hell's chance, so throw some youth in for game time and see if they have any future, fresh shoots, a glimmer of hope of a future a new Drinkell, Wright, etc. If they don't hack it then sub them.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

He came in at the end of December to a dreadful squad where the only genuine talent was immediately recalled from loan. Recruiting in January is generally considered to be difficult but then the entire country went into national lockdown on January 7th which was a pretty unique challenge to throw into the mix. We also had dreadful weather which meant we had weeks where our dreadful training facilities were out of action.

Genuine question for those who claim PH has made it worse - do you think he would have allowed the groundsman to be furlouged, Vernam to leave, one friendly to be played, the season to start with that squad?

He allowed amond, Danny Andrew, shaun Pearson and bogle to leave so how would he have stopped vernam

Quoted from Norseman

He allowed amond, Danny Andrew, shaun Pearson and bogle to leave so how would he have stopped vernam

Didn’t Amond say PH wanted him to stay but Fenty wouldn’t pay the extra £50pw or whatever it was?

Quoted from Norseman

He allowed amond, Danny Andrew, shaun Pearson and bogle to leave so how would he have stopped vernam

Amond was shafted by JF, Pearson had become a squad player, Bogle went for decent money....can't remember what happened with Danny Andrew.

Quoted from Knut Anders Fosters Voles

Didn’t Amond say PH wanted him to stay but Fenty wouldn’t pay the extra £50pw or whatever it was?

Im sure he did. But my point was he couldn't stop them leaving so wouldn't have been able to stop vernam leaving. Perhaps allowed is the wrong word. Couldn't might be better

Quoted from smokey111

can't remember what happened with Danny Andrew.

I seem to remember we took a chance with Danny Andrew after him coming back from a long term knee ligament injury, and well we all know he had a good season with us. Doncaster, swooped in having just being promoted from our league at the end of season with Town only giving him a one-year contract, which probally made sense at the time, with the injury he had come back from. I see he's spent the last two seasons back at Fleetwood.

Quoted from Nelly GTFC

I seem to remember we took a chance with Danny Andrew after him coming back from a long term knee ligament injury, and well we all know he had a good season with us. Doncaster swooped at the end of season with Town only giving him a one-year contract, which probally made sense at the time, with the injury he had come back from. I see he's spent the last two seasons back at Fleetwood.

Hurst wasnt even at the club when andrew moved on....... 😂😂😂

Quoted from Norseman

He allowed amond, Danny Andrew, shaun Pearson and bogle to leave so how would he have stopped vernam

Amond, Fenty. Andrew- no he didnt he wasnt at the club. Pearson who has been in the NL ever since and Bogle we got a million for again with PH not at the club

But anything to beat PH with eh

Quoted from Hagrid

Hurst wasnt even at the club when andrew moved on....... 😂😂😂

Indeed. I doubt it would have made any difference if he was or wasn't, I'm sure he would have still gone to Donny, out of contract, higher league, better wages.

Ok, we need to put this whole “Hurst has turned us into a relegation team” nonsense to bed. Transfermarkt has a neat form table page (great for nerds like me). It lets you put in a range of match days and produces the table from that span of games. Hurst was hired on December 30th – after Matchday 21. If Holloway’s tenure was a 21-game season, after all teams had played 21 matches, we would have been 23rd, with a -17 GD (try it yourself - [url]https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/league-two/formtabelle/wettbewerb/GB4?saison_id=2020&min=1&max=21[/url]).

It’s very harsh to judge Hurst on what he could do during January’s five matches, given he was dealing with IH’s players. If we take Hurst’s rein proper from Feb onwards, in the form table between then and now we’d be in 22nd place with -5 GD (for those who want to include the five Jan games then across Hurst’s full tenure we’ve been the 23rd-best across that, though with a -11 GD).

The point is that the stats back up the point that Hurst has improved things, albeit marginally. He has certainly not been worse than IH. He has turned a spectacularly poor defence into an average one, though we obviously still can’t score goals(!).

A few times – today included – Hurst has spoken about building a squad that he’s happy to put his name to. He is clearly not enamoured by this squad but he has done the best he could in the circumstances. Rebuilding an entire team in four weeks in Jan whilst simultaneously trying to assess the squad and stop leaking goals is not easy. As has been mentioned, a little luck and we could easily be out of the relegation zone by now (Hurst cannot seriously legislate for Lenny missing the number of absolute sitters he has, or Payne deciding to do his best Zidane impression on a fellow teammate).

He’s got my backing for next year under new, progressive owners.

Quoted from Norseman

He allowed amond, Danny Andrew, shaun Pearson and bogle to leave so how would he have stopped vernam

Hurst has left when Andrew, Pearson and Bogle moved on.

BTW he signed all 4.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Hurst has left when Andrew, Pearson and Bogle moved on.

BTW he signed all 4.

doh!! you and your bloody facts! ruined a perfectly good argument to beat Hurst with

At the end of the day there’s a couple of things that can’t be argued about.

For whatever reason 1878 Partners believe Hurst is the man to take the club forward next season so irrespective of where we finish he will be manager next season.

Unless his remit was to come in and take the club down he has been a dismal failure - worse PPG, worse league position, ultimately relegated to non league.

He’s now trotting out excuses in his interviews - we all know we’ve behind the curve for years but the lack of back room staff / training facilities etc didn’t stop Jolley keeping us up or stop Holloway keeping us well away from relegation last season.

At the end of the day it’s because we don’t have good enough players, the bulk of which that have been playing recently are HIS signings.

His record since he came back is abysmal.

If this was any other manager he’d have been run out of town by now.

Can’t wait for several seasons in non league with Hurst setting us up not to lose and counteract the mighty attacking prowess of Borehamwood and Bromley, and that a point away at Wealdstone is a great result.

I can’t understand why people think he’s the man to take the club forward 🤷‍♂️

Those same people have lauded Fenty for 20yrs

Quoted from Quagmire

At the end of the day there’s a couple of things that can’t be argued about.

For whatever reason 1878 Partners believe Hurst is the man to take the club forward next season so irrespective of where we finish he will be manager next season.

Unless his remit was to come in and take the club down he has been a dismal failure - worse PPG, worse league position, ultimately relegated to non league.

He’s now trotting out excuses in his interviews - we all know we’ve behind the curve for years but the lack of back room staff / training facilities etc didn’t stop Jolley keeping us up or stop Holloway keeping us well away from relegation last season.

At the end of the day it’s because we don’t have good enough players, the bulk of which that have been playing recently are HIS signings.

His record since he came back is abysmal.

If this was any other manager he’d have been run out of town by now.

Can’t wait for several seasons in non league with Hurst setting us up not to lose and counteract the mighty attacking prowess of Borehamwood and Bromley, and that a point away at Wealdstone is a great result.

I can’t understand why people think he’s the man to take the club forward 🤷‍♂️

Maybe because he is the only man since Buckley 2 to take us in a forward direction. He also has 3 promotions in leagues below the EFL, which is where we will most likely be next season.

I honestly can't think of anyone who has better credentials in non league. I also think it's a bit of a myth that we set up not to lose and he signed some pretty good strikers in his last stint.

I'm not his biggest fan but I think he deserves a shot at it, especially if he's going to be backed properly this time. He did pretty good despite working under financial constraints last time, with poor facilities and hardly any backroom staff to speak of.

I fully understand peoples reservations about him, I have plenty myself, but as I say, I think he should get first dibs.

Quoted from Norseman

He allowed amond, Danny Andrew, shaun Pearson and bogle to leave so how would he have stopped vernam

He did not allow Andrew Pearson and Bogle to leave at all, they all left after Hurst had departed...

Also I thought it was common knowledge that the board copulated up with Amond

We’ve been over the Amond fiasco multiple times, it wasn’t Hursts fault.

The argument that Jolley kept us up is thin, some soft penalties and arguably, although didn’t feel it at the time, a better squad helped.

When Hurst joined this time he inherited a team that was Sunday league. The club was/is clearly in a woeful mess. We know that we planned for the season to either not start or certainly not finish and once again, much like with Amond, we allowed arguably our best player to leave to simply save a few pounds.

Some of us had come to terms with being relegated well before Christmas. The writing was on the wall. Going down will be tough (at least we won’t embarrass ourselves at Burton this time) but with new ownership and redevelopment and some forward planning elsewhere at the club it could be a blessing in disguise to some extent.

Some folk are just too precious becauee he cupped his ear and was misquoted...

I didn't want the bloke back and don't want him as manager when we go down BUT
As I have and will to the end of the season support PH he will also get my support next season if he's still here.

I would like someone else in next season but if the new owners see fit to employ him then so be it.
UTM

Quoted from TAGG

I didn't want the bloke back and don't want him as manager when we go down BUT
As I have and will to the end of the season support PH he will also get my support next season if he's still here.

I would like someone else in next season but if the new owners see fit to employ him then so be it.
UTM

I think this is the most important thing. For many reasons he is a divisive character amongst the fanbase, just as Buckley was before him (I'm not comparing the two, obviously Buckley in his prime was better). If we thought a manager was coming in had previously made the play offs in NL four season in a row, had successfully got promoted from the NL and had a stint at a L1 club where he saved them from relegation and then next season took them to two Wembley finals we'd be fairly excited. His time at Ipswich was very poor but they're nearly as big of a basket case as we are and it was a jump too soon for him. Scunny were also in free fall with lots of poor players on big contracts but he'd started to turn it around a bit there before falling out with the notoriously difficult Swann.

He isn't perfect, far from it. But he's also got a track record which suggests that with better support, a better budget and better facilities he will get us challenging at least around the play offs in the NL. We have waited many years to finally be shot of Fenty and it should be a seminal moment in the club's history. It would be typically Town if, after finally freeing ourselves of the shackles of the Fenty regime, fans don't support the new regime and hinder any progress from the off because they don't like their first manager choice. Get behind him if he's here at the start of next season and if it all goes wrong then feel free to say "I told you so".

Hurst had an extremely difficult job when he came in. Let's not forget that although technically Holloway had picked up more points than Hurst there were many, many games where all we did with the ball was knock it aimlessly around our defensive third before inevitably conceding. Our goals against column was pathetic, we were physically inferior to most of the teams we played and we had very little, if any, goal threat.

Of the five wins we had under Holloway the goal threat and attacking force came almost exclusively from players who haven't been available to Hurst. At Crawley one of the goals was scored by Max Wright and Scannell was our best player that day. Wright has been out injured virtually the whole time and who knows what is going on with Scannell but something isn't right. The win against Barrow we had Wright and Windsor going forward with Wright getting the assist. Orient we looked threatening with Windsor, Edwards and Williams. With Cheltenham it was also Edwards and Windsor's running which made us threatening. The only other win was Scunny where the goal was from Pollock who was our top scorer but he's been injured a lot of Hurst's tenure and there were also massive question marks over him and Waterfall defensively. Our leading assister is STILL Edwards and he hasn't been here for three months. The point is that of all the points Holloway managed to accrue, most of those were off the backs of players who had either left or been injured during Hurst's tenure giving him very, very little to work with going forward. Trying to completely overhaul your attack in the January transfer window with all the limiting factors which have already been discussed in this thread was near enough an impossible job. No manager could have got three or four fully fit, in form and quality attacking players.

What has improved is the defence and we are now difficult to beat and are at least competitive. Most games under Holloway we didn't compete and that includes against the team who were rock bottom of the NL when we played them. We've also not had a lot of luck either. We were somewhat robbed by an incompetent referee against Salford, inexplicably had a goal direct from a corner disallowed against Carlisle and only lost to FGR due to a very questionable penalty decision. That could/should have been an extra five points which would have given us a very real chance of staying up. It is unfair and disingenuous to say that Hurst has been worse than Holloway and completely overlooks the fact that we had a shite defence (which was sorted), were unfit (which meant we weren't competing, we now are) and had a excrement attack (of which most of the reasonably competent ones had left/are now injured).

Given proper backing and a full pre-season Hurst will make us half decent in whichever league we're in.

Well after May the Fishy will (hopefully) lose one of its obsessions when Fenty ships out so I fully expect pages and pages of threads about Hurst every time we don’t win by a margin of 3 goals or more. #tiredarguments

just some stats that may debunk 1 or 2 arguments

Hurst last 6 = won 1, drawn 4, lost 1 = 7 points
Holloway last 6 = won 1, drawn 1, lost 4 = 4 points

Hurst last 10 = won 1, drawn 7 lost 2 = 10 points
Holloway last 10 (including FA Cup at Dagenham) won 2, drawn 1, lost 7 = 7 points

presuming 1878 make good their promises then Hurst will be able to operate without 1 hand tied behind his back. I'm sure he will have seen enough things at Ipshit as to their set up, facilities and back up staff which will make massive improvements

We are where we are due to the clubs response to Covid. We didnt re-sign any of our out of contract players to save money. Other clubs splashed the cash early allowing them to pay wages higher than the wage cap that was coming in without any penalisation and we ended up with 7 loanees to start our season.
None of this is Paul Hursts doing. He did however find some of what we were lacking which during the Jan window is never going to be easy. How many Hearns, Bogles, Amonds are going to be available in January without a big fee?
No other manager had to come in to such an awful squad, we didnt just need a couple of players to help turn it around.
Whichever league we start next season in we will be so much better prepared than this season without a doubt.
Some people choose not to give him a chance but these are probably the people he cupped his ear to after promotion. I wasnt offended as i know fully it wasnt aimed at me. Sadly, those it was aimed at tend to be the loudest. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but those who he cupped his ear at were proved 100% WRONG and refuse to admit it!

Quoted from forza ivano

just some stats that may debunk 1 or 2 arguments

Hurst last 6 = won 1, drawn 4, lost 1 = 7 points
Holloway last 6 = won 1, drawn 1, lost 4 = 4 points

Hurst last 10 = won 1, drawn 7 lost 2 = 10 points
Holloway last 10 (including FA Cup at Dagenham) won 2, drawn 1, lost 7 = 7 points

presuming 1878 make good their promises then Hurst will be able to operate without 1 hand tied behind his back. I'm sure he will have seen enough things at Ipshit as to their set up, facilities and back up staff which will make massive improvements

The other difference is that one talks openly with honesty, integrity and insight the other one talked complete bollox and clearly was at GTFC for very different reasons.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

The other difference is that one talks openly with honesty, integrity and insight the other one talked complete bollox and clearly was at GTFC for very different reasons.

Regarding the final paragraph.

Given the way this club has been dragged through the mud recently, this actually counts a lot for me.

Quoted from LondonMariner43

The fact is that under Holloway the team were completely lost and he was picking a different side every week. Yes we weren’t in the relegation zone but only because we picked up some lucky wins early on. We were getting regularly thrashed. Even a small amount more luck under Hurst and we’d have 4-6 more points and be looking safe.

Flips sake mate, I admire your optimistic outlook but even with six more points we'd still be 2nd bottom and far from looking safe.

No manager can guarantee success but by the actions of the previous so called manager and the board they’ve guaranteed failure. Blame Hurst if you want but the die was cast long before he arrived.

Quoted from forza ivano

just some stats that may debunk 1 or 2 arguments

Hurst last 6 = won 1, drawn 4, lost 1 = 7 points
Holloway last 6 = won 1, drawn 1, lost 4 = 4 points

Hurst last 10 = won 1, drawn 7 lost 2 = 10 points
Holloway last 10 (including FA Cup at Dagenham) won 2, drawn 1, lost 7 = 7 points

presuming 1878 make good their promises then Hurst will be able to operate without 1 hand tied behind his back. I'm sure he will have seen enough things at Ipshit as to their set up, facilities and back up staff which will make massive improvements

Not a very good point to make in support of Paul Hurst as that is just about relegation form.

In the past 18 years since two teams were relegated 23 teams have gone down scoring 40 points or more.

Quoted from forza ivano

just some stats that may debunk 1 or 2 arguments

Hurst last 6 = won 1, drawn 4, lost 1 = 7 points
Holloway last 6 = won 1, drawn 1, lost 4 = 4 points

Hurst last 10 = won 1, drawn 7 lost 2 = 10 points
Holloway last 10 (including FA Cup at Dagenham) won 2, drawn 1, lost 7 = 7 points

presuming 1878 make good their promises then Hurst will be able to operate without 1 hand tied behind his back. I'm sure he will have seen enough things at Ipshit as to their set up, facilities and back up staff which will make massive improvements

If their facilities are so wonderful, how come he turned them into a team at the bottom of the Championship?

Quoted from arryarryarry

Not a very good point to make in support of Paul Hurst as that is just about relegation form.

In the past 18 years since two teams were relegated 23 teams have gone down scoring 40 points or more.

but according to a number of people on here he is doing a far worse job than Holloway . Those stats prove them wrong, and if we'd have continued with Holloway's form we'd be relegated already

as to your facetious comment about Ipshit; they are a basket case, and plenty of others have tried and failed there. They are a club 5 - 10 times bigger than we are ,so it's hardly a damning indictment of him that he didn't do very well there. I'm sure he will have learnt an awful lot of things as a result of the experience

Quoted from forza ivano

but according to a number of people on here he is doing a far worse job than Holloway . Those stats prove them wrong, and if we'd have continued with Holloway's form we'd be relegated already

as to your facetious comment about Ipshit; they are a basket case, and plenty of others have tried and failed there. They are a club 5 - 10 times bigger than we are ,so it's hardly a damning indictment of him that he didn't do very well there. I'm sure he will have learnt an awful lot of things as a result of the experience

I have no doubt Holloway would have taken us down but the simple fact is that currently Hurst is still behind Holloway's points per game total.

As regards the Ipswich comment I was just pointing out that having wonderful facilities don't make a great team as some on here seem to suggest that as soon as we have a great training ground we are going to sign some great players and shoot up the Leagues.

Hurst cannot have six seasons to take us up again

Quoted from Yoda

Hurst cannot have six seasons to take us up again

It didn't take him six last time.

Quoted from arryarryarry

If their facilities are so wonderful, how come he turned them into a team at the bottom of the Championship?

Your endless negativity must be so draining.

Quoted from Yoda

Hurst cannot have six seasons to take us up again

You are repeating a post from your own thread " How many seasons!" which out of the first 5 replies 2 are yours. I can accept the fact you don't like Hurst but why o why keep repeating yourself. It's as if you're on an ego trip.

Quoted from DB

You are repeating a post from your own thread " How many seasons!" which out of the first 5 replies 2 are yours. I can accept the fact you don't like Hurst but why o why keep repeating yourself. It's as if you're on an ego trip.

Indeed.

And I have already corrected him twice regarding the fact that Hurst did not take 6 seasons to get us promoted!

He was in charge (or joint manager) for four full seasons, each of which we ended up in the play offs.

I've done my fair share of Hurst bashing, particularly in his first few weeks. It was stated and agreed by many that he was on a hiding to nothing, if we stay up he's a hero. If we get related then it's Fenty and Holloway's fault. So we are where we are and in the reasoning of those many comments, it's Fenty and Holloway's fault.

A post mortem will show that, even as I write, the club is still owned by Fenty so he still holds the purse strings until the outcome of 5th May EGM. Day told us when Hurst came money wasn't a problem, but nobody worth their salt wanted to come to the club going in a oneway direction and owned by Fenty and owned by someone who is reputed to have a bad name in the world of football players. There is a big difference in asking somebody to come and we'll give you up to x amount, and how much would you like to be paid to come to us! Vernham didn't want to come back did he, even for Hurst! The training facilities are crap so why would anybody want to come to get a relegation on their CV. Whatever Hurst said to Matete, Menayese, Coke, and Habs. to get them has certainly helped the cause.

On the subject of strikers how many times did I read that a fit Hanson would score loads of goals, it will be only a matter of time. I'm still waiting, 2 tap-ins in how many games. Then 'The Shop', a player from 2 leagues below us, was going to do the business! Yes he can hold the ball up and put himself about, but what about goals; 2 and how many misses? When Hanson became fit and LJL came it was goals we needed from a none existent strike force, remember Pollock was, and I think still is, our top scores with 4 goals. He hasn't played in weeks and he's the top scorer.

Defensively we were a mess when Hurst arrived, Macca from his time with Holloway seemed to have his confidence shot. It is good to see him now at his old best. More holes in defence than a sieve! We are now becoming a hard team to beat, but it's too late.

As I said I wasn't a Hurst fan in his first few weeks but when you look at what he was up against, Board, the attitude of players (listen to Macca on RH), and the reluctance of his first choice transfers not wanting to come then, as put it, the club was a mess.

The future owners must have faith in him because at every interview JF has not been mentioned by Hurst, only the future owners. While we have seen nothing in writing, the future owners must have given Hurst a hell of a lot of reassurances to get him to come, and for Hurst to accept he has to deal with Fenty until the takeover goes through.

The future of the club can only get better. As for referring to Hursts' last tenure, when we were in the NL, we don't know what constraints Fenty put him under. Only bits and pieces are coming out from former players so let's hope for a proper Boardroom to back him to the hilt.

Quoted from arryarryarry

I have no doubt Holloway would have taken us down but the simple fact is that currently Hurst is still behind Holloway's points per game total.

As regards the Ipswich comment I was just pointing out that having wonderful facilities don't make a great team as some on here seem to suggest that as soon as we have a great training ground we are going to sign some great players and shoot up the Leagues.

i don't disagree re the facilities, however i know from athletics that if you have the best equipment, the best track conditions, indoor training facilities, proper weight training equipment and facilities, good medical and psychological back up etc etc you are far ,far more likely to succeed than some Alf Tupper set up with beaten up plimsolls and a cinder track with fish n chips for tea!

Alf Tupper the Tough of the Track 😂

That’s what our football club has become. Without Alf’s success though.

Quoted from ginnywings

Your endless negativity must be so draining.

Not really after 20 years of mostly crap got used to it by now.

Just cannot understand the positivity about Hurst and certain players when we are deep in excrement.

Quoted from RonMariner

Indeed.

And I have already corrected him twice regarding the fact that Hurst did not take 6 seasons to get us promoted!

He was in charge (or joint manager) for four full seasons, each of which we ended up in the play offs.

5 full seasons, we finished 11th in 11/12.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Not really after 20 years of mostly crap got used to it by now.

Just cannot understand the positivity about Hurst and certain players when we are deep in excrement.

I don't think it is positivity toward Hurst: just an understanding that some of us think he is a good option right now given where we are headed.

I'm not a big fan myself, but since he left last time we have been sliding toward this point and it was an almost impossible task he faced. How many managers have we gone through since back in the EFL? PH is the only one who has built a squad worthy of the name since 2004.

We've all seen the last depressing 20 years, you're not exclusive in the regard.

Doesn't matter what we think anyway, as he will most probably be here next season, so may as well get used to it and see what he can do with proper backing. Then we can judge him.

Quoted from Norseman

He allowed amond, Danny Andrew, shaun Pearson and bogle to leave so how would he have stopped vernam

Funny but Shaun Pearson scored our last goal of the 2016-17 season at home to Plymouth...

It was coincidentally also Danny Andrew's last game for Town

Bogle also left in the January 2017 window, so a good three months after Hurst left

Maybe Bignot brought them all back to the club though after he had left for Shrewsbury? ;)

I’m assuming we are now certs for the drop.

Looking back at what happened last time, poor Neil Woods was given the parachute cash but knew nothing about the players in the Conference as was or about how to get out of there. So people like Evans at Crawley rooked him with players like Charles Whatsit and this went on for ages. In fairness to the dynamic duo, when they came in from Boston the budget was good but not as good as Woods had that first year.

If Hurst is here next season I would expect some good signings but I would want him to go against type and collect a team by August that will basically last through to May playing the sort of footie that works in the nether regions. In other words, we hit the ground running and no excuses about waiting for players to make up their tiny minds about coming to GTFC.

A new start = no excuses. We don’t want to hear the manager telling us again that the League isn’t won in August, we know that. But a good August with all those games to gather points would do wonders for morale of the players and fans alike.

We are realists but we do not have infinite patience. The very minimum target if we are in the NFL is play offs. Anything else is no good to us.