Should we go down, what players, assuming De Bruyne is unavailable, do we need to get in to ensure we win the league. I think it’s a one season shot at it or we could be marooned down there for ages.
Most important of all we would need one of those savvy meathead midfield enforcers that all the teams that have done well down there seemed to have.

No way he would drop down to the Conference and he's still under contract but I'd love to see Omar back.

He's not exactly pulled up any trees at Doncaster and they have been shocking since he joined in the January window.

They are on the worst run of form in League 1.

Could we get Watt and Kempson back together?

Old Padraig isn’t getting a game at the moment ....l

Serge Makofo (born 3 September 1986) is a Congolese professional footballer, who last played as a midfielder and a striker for Caledonian Braves.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_Makofo

8)

In true Fishy style (whether tounge in cheek or not) we have 4 replies and 5 ex-players suggested. Why not just go the whole hog and get Disley, Pearson, Arnold, Nolan, etc., etc. back?

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

Should we go down, what players, assuming De Bruyne is unavailable, do we need to get in to ensure we win the league. I think it’s a one season shot at it or we could be marooned down there for ages.
Most important of all we would need one of those savvy meathead midfield enforcers that all the teams that have done well down there seemed to have.

If we signed him Hurst would have him on the bench so we could “keep us shape”. ;)

We need a 20 goal a season striker. We also need a couple of strong midfielders who can chip in with the odd goal or too.

Spine!

Strong, mobile centre halves (6 feet plus). Tough tackling midfielder who can pass. At least one striker who knows where the goal is and a partner who works with him.

We need to be able to pay football but look after ourselves when it gets physical.

Matete would be an ideal player in the NL.

Players with a winning mentality who give their all. Players looking to improve and better themselves, not the Scannell types who waste their talent and trade on past reputations.

Quoted from RonMariner

We need a 20 goal a season striker. We also need a couple of strong midfielders who can chip in with the odd goal or too.

Both of these are very difficult to find but certainly a Groves, Disley or Bolland would make a huge difference in terms of character and crucial goals from midfield.

Quoted from pizzzza

In true Fishy style (whether tounge in cheek or not) we have 4 replies and 5 ex-players suggested. Why not just go the whole hog and get Disley, Pearson, Arnold, Nolan, etc., etc. back?

Anyone suggesting these should also make a comment about 'the band being back together', as though they're the first person to do so.

One thing I did like about Hursts recruitment last time around is that he targeted several players who had been promoted from the conference previously.

These types of signings had effectively become conditioned to winning games rather than our now usual type of signings who are conditioned to losing games.

Tashimanga from boreham wood on fire this year could do it in league 2as Well when were promoted

How about Michael Cheek? 18 goals goals this season for Bromley, always scored goals in the national League with 93 in 226 national League games.

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

One thing I did like about Hursts recruitment last time around is that he targeted several players who had been promoted from the conference previously.

These types of signings had effectively become conditioned to winning games rather than our now usual type of signings who are conditioned to losing games.

He also signed Summerfield and that other dud from York who had Ben relegated. It showed.

I’ll leave it to Paul Hurst, he’s more equipped than any of us .

I think there will be a lot more players looking for clubs next year. Clubs finances over the last 12 months will have been severely dented , leading to reduced budgets

Quoted from MNH1972

I’ll leave it to Paul Hurst, he’s more equipped than any of us .

I think there will be a lot more players looking for clubs next year. Clubs finances over the last 12 months will have been severely dented , leading to reduced budgets

Interesting to see what our budget will be under the new administration

Quoted from MNH1972

I’ll leave it to Paul Hurst, he’s more equipped than any of us .

I think there will be a lot more players looking for clubs next year. Clubs finances over the last 12 months will have been severely dented , leading to reduced budgets

I've defended PH quite a lot and think he did a very good job the first time round. However, I don't agree with this idea that he'll be good in the non-league transfer market a second time around simply because he was before. He was in that world as one of the up and coming managers back when we appointed him. There's no way his finger will be on the pulse as much as it was back then, with regards to non-league players. He's not going to bring a Macca and a Pearson in with him from an old club to form a 5+ season long solid base with and I highly doubt that he's going to strike gold by signing a Disley as one of his first CMs and a Hearn as one of his first strikers.

Quoted from Son of Cod

I've defended PH quite a lot and think he did a very good job the first time round. However, I don't agree with this idea that he'll be good in the non-league transfer market a second time around simply because he was before. He was in that world as one of the up and coming managers back when we appointed him. There's no way his finger will be on the pulse as much as it was back then, with regards to non-league players. He's not going to bring a Macca and a Pearson in with him from an old club to form a 5+ season long solid base with and I highly doubt that he's going to strike gold by signing a Disley as one of his first CMs and a Hearn as one of his first strikers.

I have seen Hurst taking in Chesterfield games in the National League so his knowledge will be there. I take the point about a Disley or Pearson following him for 5 years of stability but I bet Coke stays on for at least 12 months.

We need stability and not another roll of the dice. Hurst is a safe pair of hands and I hope that when he leaves this club, we build on his solid foundations.

Quoted from Son of Cod

I've defended PH quite a lot and think he did a very good job the first time round. However, I don't agree with this idea that he'll be good in the non-league transfer market a second time around simply because he was before. He was in that world as one of the up and coming managers back when we appointed him. There's no way his finger will be on the pulse as much as it was back then, with regards to non-league players. He's not going to bring a Macca and a Pearson in with him from an old club to form a 5+ season long solid base with and I highly doubt that he's going to strike gold by signing a Disley as one of his first CMs and a Hearn as one of his first strikers.

Disagree totally with this. His focus will be on players at that level, even when he was at Ipswich. He will know plenty of players from League 1 down I would guess. He will also know the up and coming players from the top leagues, who we can get on loan, or pick up if they are released.

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

Interesting to see what our budget will be under the new administration

At least 200,000K more than it would have been if Fenty was still in charge

A goalscorer plus a clever billy clarke type player. Some left footed players for left midfield/wing. Hewitt and menayese at the back. The equivalent of coke n matete in midfield, and yes some conference players who have the winning mentality

  I would totally trust Paul Hurst to put together a squad fully capable of getting promoted from the National League or competing at the right end of League Two IF he is given the budget to entice players who would otherwise go somewhere else. Even then, no one can guarantee promotion as that requires an element of luck too ( especially as regards avoiding injuries to key players ). I bet he's already thinking about names we have never heard of, whichever league we are in next season. Hopefully he will be able to keep the players from the current squad that he wants too. At the end of the day, money talks.

Not sure who, but wide players that can get in behind non league full backs, 2 x strikers 1 tall one 1 fox in the box. A CM who can arrive in the box at the right time like Dis used to.

Personally I'd try and get Shaun Pearson back as we'll need someone with real experience and knowledge about that league who is part of the playing staff.  

Quoted from forza ivano

A goalscorer plus a clever billy clarke type player. Some left footed players for left midfield/wing. Hewitt and menayese at the back. The equivalent of coke n matete in midfield, and yes some conference players who have the winning mentality

Padraig Amond would be my choice

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

He also signed Summerfield and that other dud from York who had Ben relegated. It showed.

Leave Summerfield alone - Bully

Six clubs in the play-offs in the National League and one automatic promotion. If we cannot gather a squad to get into the play-offs (at least) I would be amazed.

However, the problems in the club are deep seated and need to be sorted out. If there is unrest behind the scenes them it is usually reflected on the pitch.

Paul Hurst seems to have the trust of the new owners and that is a good starting point for him to be allowed to rebuild the team.

The club made the sports section of the Observer on Sunday and I have never known that before. But it was for all the wrong reasons and reflected badly on this once greatly respected club. The guy who did the head butting should not play for this club again.

Quoted from hampshiremariner

Six clubs in the play-offs in the National League and one automatic promotion. If we cannot gather a squad to get into the play-offs (at least) I would be amazed.

However, the problems in the club are deep seated and need to be sorted out. If there is unrest behind the scenes them it is usually reflected on the pitch.

Paul Hurst seems to have the trust of the new owners and that is a good starting point for him to be allowed to rebuild the team.

The club made the sports section of the Observer on Sunday and I have never known that before. But it was for all the wrong reasons and reflected badly on this once greatly respected club. The guy who did the head butting should not play for this club again.

It should be a given that we be challenging for the play off in that league ( I know it’s not). We need to do something we’ve not done for forty years though and win a league. Play offs are too much of a lottery.

Assuming the worst happens we should have one of the best playing budgets in the Conference.

There will be only two clubs on full EFL parachute payments and one will be us.

Beautyman has had a very good season for Sutton from midfield. 11 goals too.

Quoted from Marinerdeano

Beautyman has had a very good season for Sutton from midfield. 11 goals too.

Why would he sign for us? Based upon how they’ve progressed if they don’t take our place in the EFL they’ll be a rival for promotion.

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

It should be a given that we be challenging for the play off in that league ( I know it’s not). We need to do something we’ve not done for forty years though and win a league. Play offs are too much of a lottery.

Don’t disagree but let’s not kid ourselves there will have to be some serious changes for us to be in a position we’re we can consider ourselves a side that could win that league.

I think we’d be deluded to think that top 6 won’t be a big challenge.  

Quoted from promotion plaice

Assuming the worst happens we should have one of the best playing budgets in the Conference.

There will be only two clubs on full EFL parachute payments and one will be us.

I doubt it. £500k needs paying to Fenty by 1878 and I assume a lot of contracts will be getting paid up too.

Hopefully things go smoothly with easing out of lockdown and we can have capacity crowds in August because that will help massively.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I have seen Hurst taking in Chesterfield games in the National League so his knowledge will be there. I take the point about a Disley or Pearson following him for 5 years of stability but I bet Coke stays on for at least 12 months.

We need stability and not another roll of the dice. Hurst is a safe pair of hands and I hope that when he leaves this club, we build on his solid foundations.

Quoted from ginnywings

Disagree totally with this. His focus will be on players at that level, even when he was at Ipswich. He will know plenty of players from League 1 down I would guess. He will also know the up and coming players from the top leagues, who we can get on loan, or pick up if they are released.

Fair enough, I hope you're both right and I'm wrong. Two things I would say here though...

Is Coke good enough? He puts a shift in and is aggressive which is great, but I'm not convinced.

And also regarding the Ipswich/League 1 down comment, I'd fully expect him to have a good knowledge of L1/L2 players but I was talking about Conference down really. If he has still got good connections and knows who he wants then great, but I'm not sure if he will. He didn't try to tap into the non-league market at Ipswich or Shrewsbury as far as I can remember.

In my opinion Coke is not good enough no. Yes he was an improvement on what we had but that reflects on how dreadful we were.

Remember this, last time we were in the conference we had Disley, was we ever good enough to threaten for the title? No. Was Disley better than anything we have now? Yes.

With Disley and clay and Nolan as the 3 competing for the central 2 positions, we weren't good enough. Sobering thought.

Our aim has to be for the title, and if we fall short we get a second bite of the cherry via playoffs.

We need to aim for a central pairing better than Disley and clay.

Quoted from toontown

In my opinion Coke is not good enough no. Yes he was an improvement on what we had but that reflects on how dreadful we were.

Remember this, last time we were in the conference we had Disley, was we ever good enough to threaten for the title? No. Was Disley better than anything we have now? Yes.

With Disley and clay and Nolan as the 3 competing for the central 2 positions, we weren't good enough. Sobering thought.

Our aim has to be for the title, and if we fall short we get a second bite of the cherry via playoffs.

We need to aim for a central pairing better than Disley and clay.

For context, Disley had just made 29 appearances in a Shrewsbury side that had just missed out on automatic promotion from League Two by a single point. That's a reminder of what a brilliant signing he was even before he had gone on to become such a great servant to the club, and how lucky we were to get him.

I don't think we've made a central midfield signing of that calibre, or anything close, since we got back in the league.

I think Disley broke his ankle in his first season at Shrewsbury and barely played a game. He got more game time in his second season there and I reckon that injury set him back enough to bring him onto our radar.

Otherwise he was a League 2 player at the very least, and probably should've been playing L1.

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

He also signed Summerfield and that other dud from York who had Ben relegated. It showed.

Nowt wrong with Summerfield in my opinion, not technically great but there wasn't a blade of grass he didn't cover and always stuck a foot in.

I’m sick of this claim that we never challenged for the title. People seem to forget we were a point off Barnet going into Easter Weekend before, in fairness, blowing it.

Quoted from Grantley

I’m sick of this claim that we never challenged for the title. People seem to forget we were a point off Barnet going into Easter Weekend before, in fairness, blowing it.

We didn't.

Whatever players we get we will struggle. Once Hurst works his negativity we will will be copulated

Quoted from realist

Whatever players we get we will struggle. Once Hurst works his negativity we will will be copulated

Struggle? Can someone remind me of the finishing positions when Hurst was in charge on his own? Not forgetting the tight budget!!!!

Quoted from promotion plaice

Assuming the worst happens we should have one of the best playing budgets in the Conference.

There will be only two clubs on full EFL parachute payments and one will be us.

Wrexham might be big spenders next year with two Holywood stars as owners now. Suspect they'll have a bigger budget that anyone.

Quoted from smokey111

Struggle? Can someone remind me of the finishing positions when Hurst was in charge on his own? Not forgetting the tight budget!!!!

You happy with all the failed promotion attempts then. I don’t call it success.

Quoted from realist

You happy with all the failed promotion attempts then. I don’t call it success.

We only really disappointed against Newport in those attempts. Bristol and Gateshead both had some dubious officiating that helped them along

Quoted from realist

You happy with all the failed promotion attempts then. I don’t call it success.

Why don't you support your original statement with facts? You said we will struggle. I asked where we finished in the seasons under Hurst on his own. All the evidence points towards us being more than competitive and at least a top 4 finish.

Quoted from smokey111

Why don't you support your original statement with facts? You said we will struggle. I asked where we finished in the seasons under Hurst on his own. All the evidence points towards us being more than competitive and at least a top 4 finish.

Our only target in non league was promotion. We failed to get automatic promotion in any of the seasons. I consider this to be struggling, the lowest point ever in this great clubs history.
If you consider reaching the play offs and failing to secure promotion a satisfactory outcome for a season, you will be forever doomed to the level of mediocrity you support. Top four is rubbish if you don’t go up.

Quoted from realist

Our only target in non league was promotion. We failed to get automatic promotion in any of the seasons. I consider this to be struggling, the lowest point ever in this great clubs history.
If you consider reaching the play offs and failing to secure promotion a satisfactory outcome for a season, you will be forever doomed to the level of mediocrity you support. Top four is rubbish if you don’t go up.

On this, we will have to agree to disagree.

I know, for a fact, that our budget was never in the top 5 for the entire time in the conference (same source that confirmed the takeover was happening, which I stated on here 48 hours before the last announcement). If finishing anywhere between 2-24 is failure in your eyes, then so be it.

Not these

Interesting thread this, as we approach a period where our club is hopefully about to be reborn it’s telling how many posters enjoy referencing the past, especially the seasons where we didn’t win the league by Easter.

It's really sad when you are reminded of some of the players we had at non-league, and compare them to the players we've had in the football league since  :o

I know it's against the thread, but one of my favourites, other than the obvious of Amond, Bogle, Disley, Pearson etc, was Tait, far too good for us, and was a joy to watch!

Quoted from nightrider

We didn't.

correct

The National League is the toughest league to get out of and it's probably tougher now than it was 6 years ago.

One automatic space compared to 3 in League 2. Yes there are now 6 play off places instead of 4 but they are one legged ties. 4v7 and 5v6 play at 4 & 5's ground for a place in the semi-final at the ground of 2nd and 3rd.

Whilst I would like us to go for the title, I think we need to avoid panic stations. Chopping and changing managers won't see us out of this mess.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Chopping and changing managers won't see us out of this mess.

Whilst having the wrong one to start with gives us even less chance

Quoted from Bignic69

Nowt wrong with Summerfield in my opinion, not technically great but there wasn't a blade of grass he didn't cover and always stuck a foot in.

He was a trier and you couldn’t fault that, but that’s about it. We need more than that if we are to win a league.

Quoted from realist

Whilst having the wrong one to start with gives us even less chance

I hope I never get stuck in the kitchen at a party with you, Mr Funster.

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

He was a trier and you couldn’t fault that, but that’s about it. We need more than that if we are to win a league.

Totally agreed. Exceptionally bad concentration too.

Quoted from promotion plaice

No way he would drop down to the Conference and he's still under contract but I'd love to see Omar back.

He's not exactly pulled up any trees at Doncaster and they have been shocking since he joined in the January window.

They are on the worst run of form in League 1.

Spoke to a Donny Rovers fan last night who's been watching their games and he's been very impressed by Omar. He says their dip in form has come about because of the sale of their centre midfielder Ben Whiteman to PNE.

The key for me will be fitness next season.

The National League doesn't end until May 29th with the Play Off's not finishing until late June. Our season ends on May 8th. We have no excuses not to be the fittest team in the league. We have a massive head start on recruitment and a chance to have a proper extended pre season when others will struggle to get 6 weeks in.  

Quoted from Youngy

The key for me will be fitness next season.

The National League doesn't end until May 29th with the Play Off's not finishing until late June. Our season ends on May 8th. We have no excuses not to be the fittest team in the league. We have a massive head start on recruitment and a chance to have a proper extended pre season when others will struggle to get 6 weeks in.  

People have thrown many things at Hurst from when he was here before, i don’t recall a time when you could say the players weren’t fit.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

People have thrown many things at Hurst from when he was here before, i don’t recall a time when you could say the players weren’t fit.

Absolutely, I have no doubt if Hurst was here at the start of the season that a) we wouldn't be in this position now and b) we would have had as close to a proper pre season (or certainly be better prepared) then this shambles.

Quoted from Youngy

Absolutely, I have no doubt if Hurst was here at the start of the season that a) we wouldn't be in this position now and b) we would have had as close to a proper pre season (or certainly be better prepared) then this shambles.

Last week Hurst spoke about plans for pre-season are already underway. A stark contrast to last year.

Quoted from Youngy

The National League doesn't end until May 29th with the Play Off's not finishing until late June. Our season ends on May 8th. We have no excuses not to be the fittest team in the league. We have a massive head start on recruitment and a chance to have a proper extended pre season when others will struggle to get 6 weeks in.  

Doesn't the NL 21/22 season start 2/3 weeks later in August to accommodate for this?  

Just looked, season starts on 21 August, 2 weeks after the EFL.

Quoted from MarinerDevil

Doesn't the NL 21/22 season start 2/3 weeks later in August to accommodate for this?  

Just looked, season starts on 21 August, 2 weeks after the EFL.

Still means we'll have up to a 5 week head start on teams and allows us to arrange pre season games against EFL teams before their season starts.

I mean a pre season at all would be nice...

Quoted from realist

Whilst having the wrong one to start with gives us even less chance

Who’s the right one ?

Quoted from HertsGTFC

People have thrown many things at Hurst from when he was here before, i don’t recall a time when you could say the players weren’t fit.

Youngy was pointing out we have much longer to plan than all the others, and indeed it's good to know Hurst is giving himself even more of a headstart, 2 months before the end of their season.
i don't know if the point was making was this: we were notorious for getting off to poor starts in the Conference, which made it all the more difficult to get into pole position, we were always coming from behind. And i seem to remember that often we (probably due to fenty's budget) made very late signings. I don't seem to recall having our first team squad in place , ready to go from day 1 of pre season.
Perhaps others can confirm or give the lie to this.
Certainly getting off to poor starts wasn't a help. You can't win the league in August/September , but you can lose it in that period