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One or 2 decent moves but still an inability to pass a ball 10 yds to a player in stripes too often, hopefully this will improve with more match sharpness.. Young left back looks a lot better than the Hyde game, Essel showed pace to get to byline a couple of times but pullbacks not accurate or no Town players in the box. Our goal was well worked and a cracking finish from Mcatee. Dont think Maccas had a shot to save, Adlard not in the game really. Definately struggling due to 2 out of the front 3 being youths I think and neither are going to win a battle with their defenders. Half decent video coverage but hilarious with tech info coming up on the camera often saying things like 'panning too fast' ;D

I think we really need to practice getting the weight of our passes right, especially the long ones. It's a very difficult thing to master, I know, but it's something we should look at.

Quoted from gtfc98

The Alfreton co-commentator is the single most boring illegitimate I've heard in my life. And I was listening to THAT Harrogate commentator last season.

In the prematch the commentator mentioned about him getting grief from opposing fans, now we know why.

McAtee does look a decent signing, can see him doing well for us this season.

WTF is Macca doing, keep it on the pitch FFS.

Quoted from 123614

WTF is Macca doing, keep it on the pitch FFS.

It's going to be interesting to see who Hurst favours this season between Macca and Crocombe.

loving the "camera panning is too fast" we could do with that for interviews. "mundane questions are too mundane"..."tractor noises are too loud"...."door needs oiling!"

Quoted from Southwark Mariner

loving the "camera panning is too fast" we could do with that for interviews. "mundane questions are too mundane"..."tractor noises are too loud"...."door needs oiling!"

"Fans need belittling more"... oh, hang on... that was the old regime!

Quoted from 123614

Three times now Macca has kicked the ball straight into touch.

Kicking has been one of his weaknesses that he never has been able to improve.

Pitch looks immaculate.

Worried about fox, gone down holding his knee then limps off.

Incredible Save

Offside flag up but wow

FT.....Alfreton 0-1 Town.

Good run out for the lads.

Quoted from rancido

Kicking has been one of his weaknesses that he never has been able to improve.

Yeah, odd that, don't you think? Again, it's all about the weight of the pass, being hit too hard.

Desperately need that striker

Here's hoping Fox is okay

I thought Spokes added some energy and forward drive when he came on

Well, quite enjoyed that. We still look a bit rusty but that was competitive.
I see Rhead is still pulling his tricks the dirty pie eater. If I'd had that drop ball with him I would have put him in row Z.
Nae mind, a fiver well spent

Rhead as big a tool as ever

1-0 f.t. Distinctly underwhelmed would sum it up for me. Adlard offers v. little and Essels , who looked quick and bright,must surely have leap frogged him in the pecking order. Expected far more from Revan, just in terms of footballing ability.
Looks like it'll take abit of time for Coke to work out how him Fox and Clifton will play together.
Liked Efete & Fox, who's very busy, but McAtee was the stand out player. If only we had a forward for him to link up with....
Pearson and Longe King, on that showing, aren't a patch on Hewitt and menayese

Still it's only a friendly, we won, still 3 weeks to work things out and we've got a lot of injuries, so i'm probably being over critical

Thought we played a bit better 2nd half till Fatty came on. Created problems with his pushes and pulls which ref missed. In a League game Alfreton would be down to 10 men after a 2nd blatant yellow wasn't given to the defender. All about fitness but think we need a bit more depth if we are goiing to be contenders.

Quoted from gtfc98

The Alfreton co-commentator is the single most boring illegitimate I've heard in my life. And I was listening to THAT Harrogate commentator last season.

I enjoyed Radio York's finest commentary of the bus routes around Blundell Park.

Quoted from rancido

Kicking has been one of his weaknesses that he never has been able to improve.

One of his weaknesses, not able to catch a cross and commanding his area are the other areas, but a good shot stopper.

Best Goalie is my time of watching town was Dave Beasant

Bit over the top for a friendly, Fox could be out of the scene for a couple of matches, we were strong in the tackle but lacked skill and accuracy in passing, need more experienced players and a ball playing midfielder, as well as the obvious up front.
Early days but much work to be done

Definitely very much a work in progress but McAtee was definitely the standout, tidy player and took his goal very well.

Just hope we get a few players back from injury because we're very light on the ground.

Not many positives from that and if we don't find a bit of fluidity we are going to struggle

Quoted from forza ivano

Essels , who looked quick and bright,must surely have leap frogged him in the pecking order.

Agree . Liked the look of Essels . Willing runner.

Quoted from rancido

Kicking has been one of his weaknesses that he never has been able to improve.

If his distribution was better he wouldn't have just had a testimonial.

Combine the kicking of Paul Farman for example and the shot stopping of McKeown and you wouldn't be kicking around in League 2/National League.

I don't like the back of the shirts.

so looking forward to next season amd wanting to be good.
but were back in the excrement football .. tonight reminded me
looking forward to being at boston on saturday, see what there new ground is like

Still think we lack quality in midfield, up front and at centre back. Apart from that we’re golden.

Hoping I don’t top myself before the start of the season. Can’t guarantee it with a few more threads like this.

First game I’ve watched and it didn’t fill me with confidence to be honest. We were always going to struggle going forward with the two youth players, but it’s at the back that concerned me, we don’t look solid at all. Compare that defence to the one that got us out of the league and I think this one looks weaker...time will tell though I suppose. And let’s hope fox isn’t injured!

Quoted from BenBB

I enjoyed Radio York's finest commentary of the bus routes around Blundell Park.

I’m still wondering why the electric bus was travelling down Wetherby Road.

Neither Adlard or Essel can play the back to goal game nor do they come short for one twos. Lots to learn and they may do well next season. Meanwhile, perhaps a loan somewhere. Hurst seems to be gambling on one or both of Lennie and Taylor making a recovery. Very high risk strategy as failure to replace them soon means that preseason is wasted.
McAtee, Fox, Coke and Clifton had to work extra hard to cope with the lack of experience up front. Why are we breaking our key players? There is such a gap between our better players and also rans. We have to bring in more quality sooner rather than later. Coke played on with a knock. Why?

As for the game, I thought Pearson dealt well with balls into the box and was very vocal. Revan linked well with McAtee and Coke and Efete is always looking to get down the line. Even if Taylor and Lennie were fit, we are still short of a Podge type finisher. Also a little surprised we had no trialists.

YouTube post-match video from tonights Alfreton game, off the Grimsby Town channel, posted in the last 30-minutes.

[youtube]YCNkHdWpJu8[/youtube]

Quoted from Abdul19

I don't like the back of the shirts.

I don’t like the amount of space between the kit sponsor’s logo and the badge.

[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIWMdu7WAAQhtEj.jpg[/img]

Quoted from forza ivano

1-0 f.t. Distinctly underwhelmed would sum it up for me. Adlard offers v. little and Essels , who looked quick and bright,must surely have leap frogged him in the pecking order. Expected far more from Revan, just in terms of footballing ability.
Looks like it'll take abit of time for Coke to work out how him Fox and Clifton will play together.
Liked Efete & Fox, who's very busy, but McAtee was the stand out player. If only we had a forward for him to link up with....
Pearson and Longe King, on that showing, aren't a patch on Hewitt and menayese

Still it's only a friendly, we won, still 3 weeks to work things out and we've got a lot of injuries, so i'm probably being over critical

Enjoyed reading your honest post. Not over critical as you posted what you saw which is better than being biased for or against the team. ;)

Quoted from 123614

Three times now Macca has kicked the ball straight into touch.

He’s a great bloke though

Went to BUFC v NCFC last Tuesday and County looked very sharp indeed and won easily
Better than we looked last night
Still it’s very early in friendlies yet I guess
But will be a comparison Sat
If we finish above or around County this season we will be up there
Come on Town!!

Obvious from what PH says that this is worst pre-season for injuries he has known
We will almost certainly be going into new season with at least one very inexperienced forward
Coke has a knock - hopefully not serious

He is not going to be rushed into buying a striker for the sake of it

We need to prepare for a slow/sluggish/tough start to season - this requires patience from fans but we all know what will happen

But you can't just get a striker in for the sake of it - waste of money when the right player will eventually come along

We never seem to get off to a flyer - it's very frustrating

Quoted from sydney

Went to BUFC v NCFC last Tuesday and County looked very sharp indeed and won easily
Better than we looked last night
Still it’s very early in friendlies yet I guess
But will be a comparison Sat
If we finish above or around County this season we will be up there
Come on Town!!

Put any two of county's crop of tall, strong and athletic forwards in our team last night and you have a different game. If McAtee picks up a knock as well as Coke ,Fox, Sousa, Wright et al then we will really struggle.

Personally would like us to get a left footed midfield player in to give us better balance and hopefully a little more quality as well. Thought the defence against Rotherham looked very good so a little surprised they haven’t had another chance to play together.

As a club we appear over recent seasons to have suffered more than most with injuries and let’s hope we now have better access to facilities and medical support to get these guys back out playing sooner rather than later.

Looks like we are waiting for league teams to finalise their preferred playing squads before we get another frontman so it might be another couple of weeks before we see anyone arrives unless Burnley U’23’s have someone of interest playing today!!

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Personally would like us to get a left footed midfield player in to give us better balance and hopefully a little more quality as well. Thought the defence against Rotherham looked very good so a little surprised they haven’t had another chance to play together.

As a club we appear over recent seasons to have suffered more than most with injuries and let’s hope we now have better access to facilities and medical support to get these guys back out playing sooner rather than later.

Looks like we are waiting for league teams to finalise their preferred playing squads before we get another frontman so it might be another couple of weeks before we see anyone arrives unless Burnley U’23’s have someone of interest playing today!!

The Burnley game is off today. We can't field a squad and they are struggling too.

Quoted from ska face

Hoping I don’t top myself before the start of the season. Can’t guarantee it with a few more threads like this.

There’s still hope then? ;D ;D I

When you look at the current injury list I’m not sure we can be that stunned can we? Taylor, LJL, Fox, Scannell and Coke all came in with known track records of injuries.

It’s bad luck that they’re injured already but we can hardly be surprised.

Quoted from Mariner93er

First game I’ve watched and it didn’t fill me with confidence to be honest. We were always going to struggle going forward with the two youth players, but it’s at the back that concerned me, we don’t look solid at all. Compare that defence to the one that got us out of the league and I think this one looks weaker...time will tell though I suppose. And let’s hope fox isn’t injured!

We kept a clean sheet!

Injuries, lack of strikers…. No excuses for me this seasonand the only thing that matters are the results in the league games. We were a disaster last season and the second half was no better than the first half and so no room for whining and excuses Time to deliver utm

I think that’s pretty much fair enough. A few clubs have spent big and we need to keen in touch if we don’t start that well. Couple of good strikers and one or two more elsewhere and we should be good.

Quoted from Zmariner

Injuries, lack of strikers…. No excuses for me this season and the only thing that matters are the results in the league games. We were a disaster last season and the second half was no better than the first half and so no room for whining and excuses Time to deliver utm

Fully agree, PH has to do it this season or he has to go.

It seems pretty grim but the point of these games is to find out who can do what and who can’t and who is willing to chase lost causes. So we haven’t seen anything like the Bromley starters yet.

But I must agree though that unless we sign at least two decent front players who are not prone to long term injury or are young loanees needing too much coaching, we will not be taking any league by storm. In fact with the players we have, mid-table in the autumn looks increasingly likely with a slow drag to the playoffs next year. Hope not. I really was hoping we would see a team primed and ready for goalscoring action at Bromley but the longer it goes the more unlikely that seems.

I’d agree with that RRFC. Time to dial back the expectation level pending the arrival of New Podge (whoever that might be).

Still there’s nowt we can do but go along and support.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Fully agree, PH has to do it this season or he has to go.

I think we need to have a dose of realism.

Notts County and Chesterfield have been down here a while now and have made a steady 7 additions each this summer. Wrexham have made 6 and Stockport have made 8 (source: [url]https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/national-league/startseite/wettbewerb/CNAT[/url])

We have made 13 and know that we require at least another 2.

Notts and Chesterfield are building on their recent seasons where they have been there or thereabouts. If you thought the gap between the National League and League 2 wasn't big 5 years ago, it's an even better standard down here now thanks to a few of the more traditional teams falling through that League 2 trap door and Stockport finally rising from the ashes.

When you look at teams that get promoted, it has typically been 2 or 3 years in the making with a few solid additions. In an average squad of 24, the likes of Notts, Chesterfield etc are retaining 75% of a team that knows one another. We, on the other hand, are retaining about a third of our first team squad.

Yes I would love promotion but realistically, there are a few other teams that are probably better placed than us to achieve one of only 2 promotion places this season.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I think we need to have a dose of realism.

Notts County and Chesterfield have been down here a while now and have made a steady 7 additions each this summer. Wrexham have made 6 and Stockport have made 8 (source: [url]https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/national-league/startseite/wettbewerb/CNAT[/url])

Sounds a bit more real when you put it like that :o

I still question the strength of our defence. Pearson wasn’t first choice when he was younger and we finished fourth, Longe-King is a bit inexperienced and Waterfall has generally been pretty rubbish for us.

The four central midfielders include three who were in our terrible squad last season. Clifton has great energy but there’s still questions over his ball playing ability. Spokes is young and a bit of a rookie. And Coke is very old, hasn’t played much at all in the last five seasons. There is a reason he was in the division below this one when we signed him. Fox I think looks excellent but we’ve gambled on his fitness in order to bring in someone of his ability and he has a bad history with injuries.

McAtee looks really good as a number 10 and Sousa sounds promising. But Scannell and Wright both have poor records of actually getting out on the pitch and Grant is aging a lot. Wouldn’t surprise me at all so see Grant start well and fade as the rigours of the season catch up like it did with Monkhouse. Lennie and Taylor aren’t out and out scorers and I agree with whoever said it the other day but I fear Lennie will be a big disappointment when you compare to the quality some of our competition now boast.

We need injections of quality right the way through the squad in my honest opinion. And the strength in depth is very poor particularly when you consider how many of our players have bad injury records. Two forward players (goalscorer and a wide player like Vernam) with very good quality are an absolute must to have any chance of automatic promotion. I would also like to see a centre back and a central midfielder of the quality of McAtee and Fox brought in if we are actually serious.

Play offs minimum expectation.

If the season started this weekend I would probably be a bit concerned.

But we've over two weeks until it starts and time to get in, by my reckoning, those other two pieces of the jigsaw.  Looking at both the squad and squad numbers, we're a striker and a winger/attacking midfielder short (No's 7 & 9).

I get the distinct impression that we're almost in a chain here.  I think we've got money to spend and we're going to spend it on a couple of marquee type signings, purely for examples I'm going to say Vernam and Tshimanga.   Neither Bradford or Borehamwood are going to let those players go without replacements, be it as first-teamers or back-up, firmly in place.  This could be repeated further down the chain with other clubs waiting too.

Or it could be that negotiations are taking longer, clubs holding out for more money, players wanting better contracts, Hurst & Doig hedging their bets on other players becoming available....

Something else to consider is that the loan market is open and at present we've only utilised it for one player.  We can have another four in any matchday squad.  That I'm aware the loan market doesn't shut until nearly the end of the season in the Conference either.

Am I a bit concerned with our lack of striking options?  Slightly.  But I don't think we're quite at the desperate stage of re-signing an unfit and out of sorts Alan Connell the day before the season starts, not yet anyway.

It's the easiest thing in football to say, but from what I've seen we really do look a good and fit striker away from a very, very strong outfit.

Quoted from mariner91

. And Coke is very old

flipping hell, he's 35 not 103. ;D

Quoted from mariner91

I still question the strength of our defence. Pearson wasn’t first choice when he was younger and we finished fourth, Longe-King is a bit inexperienced and Waterfall has generally been pretty rubbish for us.

The four central midfielders include three who were in our terrible squad last season. Clifton has great energy but there’s still questions over his ball playing ability. Spokes is young and a bit of a rookie. And Coke is very old, hasn’t played much at all in the last five seasons. There is a reason he was in the division below this one when we signed him. Fox I think looks excellent but we’ve gambled on his fitness in order to bring in someone of his ability and he has a bad history with injuries.

McAtee looks really good as a number 10 and Sousa sounds promising. But Scannell and Wright both have poor records of actually getting out on the pitch and Grant is aging a lot. Wouldn’t surprise me at all so see Grant start well and fade as the rigours of the season catch up like it did with Monkhouse. Lennie and Taylor aren’t out and out scorers and I agree with whoever said it the other day but I fear Lennie will be a big disappointment when you compare to the quality some of our competition now boast.

We need injections of quality right the way through the squad in my honest opinion. And the strength in depth is very poor particularly when you consider how many of our players have bad injury records. Two forward players (goalscorer and a wide player like Vernam) with very good quality are an absolute must to have any chance of automatic promotion. I would also like to see a centre back and a central midfielder of the quality of McAtee and Fox brought in if we are actually serious.

Play offs minimum expectation.

If the squad is as bad as you say, why are you expecting at least the playoffs?

Quoted from diehardmariner

flipping hell, he's 35 not 103. ;D

Yes but he’s a 35 year old central midfielder who has managed less than 50 league games since 2011/12. You reckon he will be able to sustain fitness and form across a 46 game season plus all the cups? And when our other options are Fox with his injury record, Clifton and Spokes (who I like but is still fairly unproven in the professional game) then I think it’s a concern.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

If the squad is as bad as you say, why are you expecting at least the playoffs?

I’m not expecting play offs right now. I think the squad in its current form would struggle to finish above 10th.

We’ve been told there’s money to spend and we’ve sold a decent amount of season tickets to bolster the budget. We’ve also sold Grist and Pollock and may well get some more money from Dembele too. With that in mind and the fact you only have to finish 7th to make the play offs then the minimum expectation should be exactly that.

Quoted from mariner91

Yes but he’s a 35 year old central midfielder who has managed less than 50 league games since 2011/12. You reckon he will be able to sustain fitness and form across a 46 game season plus all the cups? And when our other options are Fox with his injury record, Clifton and Spokes (who I like but is still fairly unproven in the professional game) then I think it’s a concern.

It's always put out there that Giles Coke is some sort of crock but he played 9 of Herefords' 13 league games last season and went on to play for us 17 times after signing mid-February. 26 games last season alone.

In 2012/13 he played 16 Championship games and followed this up with a respectable 28 in 2013/14. In 2014/15, he played 17 Championship games and then joined Ipswich where he played 10 Championship games in 2015/16. That is 71 Championship games in a period where he's alleged to have hardly kicked a ball.

At Ipswich he did suffer a bad knee injury that required surgery. He was released at the end of 2016/17 and didn't sign for Chesterfield until February 2018 so that knee injury could have been a tough one to overcome. He was released by Chesterfield following their relegation and signed for Oldham. Giles has since gone on record to state that he was fit for selection throughout his time at Oldham and attributed his lack of appearances at Oldham as problems with the club's owner, although not elaborating on the details he says his absence was not down to injury.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

It's always put out there that Giles Coke is some sort of crock but he played 9 of Herefords' 13 league games last season and went on to play for us 17 times after signing mid-February. 26 games last season alone.

In 2012/13 he played 16 Championship games and followed this up with a respectable 28 in 2013/14. In 2014/15, he played 17 Championship games and then joined Ipswich where he played 10 Championship games in 2015/16. That is 71 Championship games in a period where he's alleged to have hardly kicked a ball.

At Ipswich he did suffer a bad knee injury that required surgery. He was released at the end of 2016/17 and didn't sign for Chesterfield until February 2018 so that knee injury could have been a tough one to overcome. He was released by Chesterfield following their relegation and signed for Oldham. Giles has since gone on record to state that he was fit for selection throughout his time at Oldham and attributed his lack of appearances at Oldham as problems with the club's owner, although not elaborating on the details he says his absence was not down to injury.

Somebody needs to update his Wiki account because non of that is mentioned.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

It's always put out there that Giles Coke is some sort of crock but he played 9 of Herefords' 13 league games last season and went on to play for us 17 times after signing mid-February. 26 games last season alone.

In 2012/13 he played 16 Championship games and followed this up with a respectable 28 in 2013/14. In 2014/15, he played 17 Championship games and then joined Ipswich where he played 10 Championship games in 2015/16. That is 71 Championship games in a period where he's alleged to have hardly kicked a ball.

At Ipswich he did suffer a bad knee injury that required surgery. He was released at the end of 2016/17 and didn't sign for Chesterfield until February 2018 so that knee injury could have been a tough one to overcome. He was released by Chesterfield following their relegation and signed for Oldham. Giles has since gone on record to state that he was fit for selection throughout his time at Oldham and attributed his lack of appearances at Oldham as problems with the club's owner, although not elaborating on the details he says his absence was not down to injury.

PS. 26 games in a season is just over half, plus how many of those 17 games did he actually complete the 90 minutes?

I always tend to check Soccerbase for players appearance info. Due to the way in which their data is collected and displayed, they shouldn't miss anything out. Wikipedia is up to somebody to bother to enter the correct information.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Somebody needs to update his Wiki account because non of that is mentioned.

Scroll down to Career Statistics on his Wikipedia 😉

Quoted from arryarryarry

PS. 26 games in a season is just over half, plus how many of those 17 games did he actually complete the 90 minutes?

He played 9/13 league games for Hereford plus 2 cup games and then joined us on 12th February where he played in 17/23 games, playing 90 minutes in at least 12 of them. He played 28/38 games in total which is pretty much 75%.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Fully agree, PH has to do it this season or he has to go.

Grow up!!

Quoted from Norseman

Does any one know if the club has received the £500,000 in total from Pollock and Grist sale and for dembele. Getting promoted with Peterborough

If Harry Clifton could finish he would be one of the answers to our goal famine and would be a half decent player

What do we put the high number of injuries down to… history aside? Should we be concerned about our sport science/fitness set up? Has the new pitch at Cheapside played a part?

People are saying we should expect a sluggish start to the season… this is what is concerning me. Due to when the league 2 season ended in comparison with the National League, we, along with Southend should have had a big head start in terms of pre-season preparations on most other teams, we should be the fittest team in the league, no excuses.

It doesn’t seem like this will be the case though. Has the additional prep time we have had over most other teams been utilised effectively or have we waged a good opportunity?!

Quoted from jamesgtfc

It's always put out there that Giles Coke is some sort of crock but he played 9 of Herefords' 13 league games last season and went on to play for us 17 times after signing mid-February. 26 games last season alone.

In 2012/13 he played 16 Championship games and followed this up with a respectable 28 in 2013/14. In 2014/15, he played 17 Championship games and then joined Ipswich where he played 10 Championship games in 2015/16. That is 71 Championship games in a period where he's alleged to have hardly kicked a ball.

At Ipswich he did suffer a bad knee injury that required surgery. He was released at the end of 2016/17 and didn't sign for Chesterfield until February 2018 so that knee injury could have been a tough one to overcome. He was released by Chesterfield following their relegation and signed for Oldham. Giles has since gone on record to state that he was fit for selection throughout his time at Oldham and attributed his lack of appearances at Oldham as problems with the club's owner, although not elaborating on the details he says his absence was not down to injury.

My mistake for assuming that Wiki career stats would be chronological. However, playing 47 games in the last six seasons with almost a quarter of them being in a semi-professional league isn’t exactly reassuring is it? Fantastic attitude, clearly a nice bloke and undoubtedly a good player during his career but making out his recent record wouldn’t be concerning is daft. He might have played 28 games last season but they were for either a midtable NLN side or for the worst team in the FL. Not exactly a glowing reference.

I still maintain that the lack of quality in depth in midfield is a worry. Fox looks a great signing if he stays fit. But Coke, Clifton and Spokes were not good enough to keep us in the league and won’t be good enough to get us back in to it without extra quality being added alongside them. And they weren’t good enough even with Matete playing in there, arguably our best player last season.

In a league game Coke would’ve probably have been sent off yesterday as would their No.6

Mild hysteria in this thread. Can we not loan players all season in the conference?

Quoted from headingly_mariner

Mild hysteria in this thread. Can we not loan players all season in the conference?

It's The Fishy. People overreact if we win or lose.

The over reaction is what keeps us going during pre-season…

Aye we’re all doomed according to this thread…….

Quoted from oochiad

Aye we’re all doomed according to this thread…….

We sent half of the first team squad to Alfreton plus some youth. Even then, Battersby gets minimal game time but our midfielders play too many minutes. The game against Burnley U23's had to be cancelled. We need a fresh, fit team for Bromley. If we have to send the Youth Team to Boston a la Spalding to protect our crocks then so be it.

As mentioned in other posts, there seems to be a disconnect between our rigorous and newly equipped fitness/ sports science set up and player availability. Alfreton, seemed to need minimal warm up in contrast to our physical jerks but gave us a hard game. Mansfield played at half pace and some of our opponents have part timers in their ranks.

It isn't doom mongering to be concerned that we may not be ready in just two more weeks. Rio Molyneaux, a part time model, with very few pro games under his belt tore us a new one in the first half. Coke's tackle would have been a red in a league game.

I think fans who attend pre season games are entitled to express a few concerns. Hysteria would be expecting to go straight back up this season.

ex Crewe winger Daniel Powell was at the game and chatting to doigy

2+2= 492.38’

Quoted from mariner91

My mistake for assuming that Wiki career stats would be chronological. However, playing 47 games in the last six seasons with almost a quarter of them being in a semi-professional league isn’t exactly reassuring is it? Fantastic attitude, clearly a nice bloke and undoubtedly a good player during his career but making out his recent record wouldn’t be concerning is daft. He might have played 28 games last season but they were for either a midtable NLN side or for the worst team in the FL. Not exactly a glowing reference.

I still maintain that the lack of quality in depth in midfield is a worry. Fox looks a great signing if he stays fit. But Coke, Clifton and Spokes were not good enough to keep us in the league and won’t be good enough to get us back in to it without extra quality being added alongside them. And they weren’t good enough even with Matete playing in there, arguably our best player last season.

He had a bad knee injury at Ipswich and wasn't sent for surgery until April 2017. It's quite possible that he still recovering until January time. He played 4 games for a pretty much down and out Chesterfield side and then signed for Oldham, a basket case club. He's gone on record to say that the owners are why he didn't get paid.

Yes Alfreton are Conference North but he played in 9/13 games for them last season and was probably on trial here for some of those 4 he didn't play.

It could well be that those 3 years recovering from his knee surgery and hardly playing at Oldham for other reasons have actually prolonged his career.

Quoted from oochiad

Aye we’re all doomed according to this thread…….

I’m just pleased we didn’t lose at Alfreton…

Quoted from Croxton

We sent half of the first team squad to Alfreton plus some youth. Even then, Battersby gets minimal game time but our midfielders play too many minutes. The game against Burnley U23's had to be cancelled. We need a fresh, fit team for Bromley. If we have to send the Youth Team to Boston a la Spalding to protect our crocks then so be it.

As mentioned in other posts, there seems to be a disconnect between our rigorous and newly equipped fitness/ sports science set up and player availability. Alfreton, seemed to need minimal warm up in contrast to our physical jerks but gave us a hard game. Mansfield played at half pace and some of our opponents have part timers in their ranks.

It isn't doom mongering to be concerned that we may not be ready in just two more weeks. Rio Molyneaux, a part time model, with very few pro games under his belt tore us a new one in the first half. Coke's tackle would have been a red in a league game.

I think fans who attend pre season games are entitled to express a few concerns. Hysteria would be expecting to go straight back up this season.

This is what bothers me too. There is a difference between athletic fitness and football fitness. When so many players and your two main strikers in particular have been unavailable since virtually the start of the friendlies then something is not right with the new system. To play these other friendlies without either of them can not be just unlucky. I would lay money on us losing players to calf and hamstring injuries and getting into that cycle of them coming back too soon and going off again.

As you say it isn’t doom mongering, it is genuine concern about the number of fit players we will have for the Bromley game.

Think there is a bit of an over reaction here. We are carrying a few injuries but it is blindingly obvious we have two or three additions to make in key areas.

Also unlike previous seasons we won't be bargain basement shopping heading into the season, there are clearly funds available. We have an awful lot going for us to attract those players these days, owners/manager/facilities etc.

Pretty sure Hurst is waiting for targets to be come available within the EFL, there is quite a lot of movement late on and the best will be yet to come. He won't panic and play his hand to early just for the sake of it.

Quoted from Mikey_345

Think there is a bit of an over reaction here. We are carrying a few injuries but it is blindingly obvious we have two or three additions to make in key areas.

Also unlike previous seasons we won't be bargain basement shopping heading into the season, there are clearly funds available. We have an awful lot going for us to attract those players these days, owners/manager/facilities etc.

Pretty sure Hurst is waiting for targets to be come available within the EFL, there is quite a lot of movement late on and the best will be yet to come. He won't panic and play his hand to early just for the sake of it.

I don’t disagree at all Mikey just stating a fact. Hurst has been unable to try either of the strikers which must have handicapped his planning. Alfreton would have been ideal for trying out new ideas instead of having to cobble together a team.

It is very difficult to assess new players till we see them in a competitive fixture. In friendlies, you can see if someone has a bit of class, but until the real action starts it is nigh on impossible to see how it will all gel together.

Paul Hurst may have got the right blend he might not, but what we do need is those purse strings loosened to get the three or four quality players that will make the difference between trundling along in the hope of the playoffs or challenging for the title. There is only one sure way of getting back into the league and that is to win the NL, and if we cannot be nailed on to be competitive this low in the pyramid there should be questions asked about the budget and/or the manager's recruitment.

The things the new owners have done so far off the pitch are great, but the absolute priority must be to get the players to challenge for the title.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

It is very difficult to assess new players till we see them in a competitive fixture. In friendlies, you can see if someone has a bit of class, but until the real action starts it is nigh on impossible to see how it will all gel together.

Paul Hurst may have got the right blend he might not, but what we do need is those purse strings loosened to get the three or four quality players that will make the difference between trundling along in the hope of the playoffs or challenging for the title. There is only one sure way of getting back into the league and that is to win the NL, and if we cannot be nailed on to be competitive this low in the pyramid there should be questions asked about the budget and/or the manager's recruitment.

The things the new owners have done so far off the pitch are great, but the absolute priority must be to get the players to challenge for the title.

Notts County, Chesterfield, Stockport, Torquay and Wrexham will expect promotion. Then there is the two relegated sides, Grimsby and Southend. Barnet cut costs last season to go for it this season.

On expectation alone, that is the 7 play-off spots sorted with one team missing out.

We have made 13 additions so far with at least another 2 anticipated. If 75% of your new signings perform, you've done well. For most teams that means 1 disappointing signing but for us that would mean 4.

This season is about beginning to build something and making sure we aren't talking about 15 new signings in 12 months time.

I'm seeing the same names this season beating down those who raise the slightest concern about the season and they're the same names who did it last season.

How about we just accept that some people have different views on our current situation and have every right to be worried. Nobody is saying we're 'doomed' but it's perfectly reasonable to worry about the fact we can't actually get a fit team for a pre-season friendly, just two weeks before the season starts.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Notts County, Chesterfield, Stockport, Torquay and Wrexham will expect promotion. Then there is the two relegated sides, Grimsby and Southend. Barnet cut costs last season to go for it this season.

On expectation alone, that is the 7 play-off spots sorted with one team missing out.

We have made 13 additions so far with at least another 2 anticipated. If 75% of your new signings perform, you've done well. For most teams that means 1 disappointing signing but for us that would mean 4.

This season is about beginning to build something and making sure we aren't talking about 15 new signings in 12 months time.

Haven't quite a few of torquays team from last season left? I might well be mistaken on that though. Anyway you always have at least 1 surprise package team who do better than expected, just to take up another spot.

Quoted from pontoonlew

I'm seeing the same names this season beating down those who raise the slightest concern about the season and they're the same names who did it last season.

How about we just accept that some people have different views on our current situation and have every right to be worried. Nobody is saying we're 'doomed' but it's perfectly reasonable to worry about the fact we can't actually get a fit team for a pre-season friendly, just two weeks before the season starts.

Someone raised a very valid point yesterday about our injuries and I started typing out a reply but stopped.

The worrying thing for me is that as it stands, our 2 out and out strikers have got a role to play in what could be a 55-60 game season having had less than the non-existent pre-season we had last season. This is why I think our much anticipated 7 & 9 will not be free agents.

On the injury front, I would be interested to know a bit more information.

How many of them are freak incidents and just unlucky?
How many of them are reoccurrences of previous injuries?
How many of them are players over doing it in the gym or before they went back?
How many of them are due to our training regime or surface?

The last 2 are preventable.

Hurst said in the post-Alfreton interview that he's never known a pre-season like it for injuries, so probably bad luck to some degree, despite the signing of players with recent injury problems. LJL did OK for fitness last season, didn't he, similarly Coke?

I notice that a few people have wondered if LJL overdid it in the gym because of the photos from training, but he was always built like a brick shitehouse as I recall. No reason to think that any gym work led to the injuries.

Perhaps the players aren't used to having a training pitch which isn't rock hard and uneven and are overcompensating? ;)

Quoted from pontoonlew

I'm seeing the same names this season beating down those who raise the slightest concern about the season and they're the same names who did it last season.

How about we just accept that some people have different views on our current situation and have every right to be worried. Nobody is saying we're 'doomed' but it's perfectly reasonable to worry about the fact we can't actually get a fit team for a pre-season friendly, just two weeks before the season starts.

It's because they can't bare to see an opinion without confusing it with a FACT . Grimsby Town are a Joke of a team that will be in the conference north in 2 years , guaranteed ........ Let's see how they cope with that opinion

Quoted from It Bites

It's because they can't bare to see an opinion without confusing it with a FACT . Grimsby Town are a Joke of a team that will be in the conference north in 2 years , guaranteed ........ Let's see how they cope with that opinion

I say old chap I must commend your on you opinion, but I find I must take a contrary view to yours.

Quoted from It Bites

It's because they can't bare to see an opinion without confusing it with a FACT . Grimsby Town are a Joke of a team that will be in the conference north in 2 years , guaranteed ........ Let's see how they cope with that opinion

I'm sure you just spout sh!t to get a reaction...zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Quoted from pontoonlew

I'm seeing the same names this season beating down those who raise the slightest concern about the season and they're the same names who did it last season.

How about we just accept that some people have different views on our current situation and have every right to be worried. Nobody is saying we're 'doomed' but it's perfectly reasonable to worry about the fact we can't actually get a fit team for a pre-season friendly, just two weeks before the season starts.

Exactly. Nobody has said we are doomed but equally some, including myself, have voiced concern about the squad as it stands thus far.

Quoted from mariner91

Exactly. Nobody has said we are doomed but equally some, including myself, have voiced concern about the squad as it stands thus far.

So are you and a few others Professional Football Managers, and know better than PH?

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Notts County, Chesterfield, Stockport, Torquay and Wrexham will expect promotion. Then there is the two relegated sides, Grimsby and Southend. Barnet cut costs last season to go for it this season.

On expectation alone, that is the 7 play-off spots sorted with one team missing out.

We have made 13 additions so far with at least another 2 anticipated. If 75% of your new signings perform, you've done well. For most teams that means 1 disappointing signing but for us that would mean 4.

This season is about beginning to build something and making sure we aren't talking about 15 new signings in 12 months time.

Of course there are several contenders for the top spot.

I want and expect us to be one of them, by signing top players. Isn't that the objective?

Those players to complete the jigsaw will cost money, and I fully expect the new owners to provide it otherwise all their grand dreams will not count for anything till we win the league, or at the very least go up via the playoffs.

I absolutely get the building for the future argument OFF the field, but on it is a different matter. We have a very experienced manager, new players with the key ones to come and a far superior regime running the club. I think even the new players have said promotion is the aim this season, and the only way to guarantee that is by finishing top..

Quoted from It Bites

It's because they can't bare to see an opinion without confusing it with a FACT . Grimsby Town are a Joke of a team that will be in the conference north in 2 years , guaranteed ........ Let's see how they cope with that opinion

The only joke is your post. ;)

Quoted from It Bites

It's because they can't bare to see an opinion without confusing it with a FACT . Grimsby Town are a Joke of a team that will be in the conference north in 2 years , guaranteed ........ Let's see how they cope with that opinion

Alright John, calm down. We know you think you did a good job and you’re still annoyed someone exposes your little tryst with May and the mouthy one…sorted that tax issue yet?

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Of course there are several contenders for the top spot.

I want and expect us to be one of them, by signing top players. Isn't that the objective?

Those players to complete the jigsaw will cost money, and I fully expect the new owners to provide it otherwise all their grand dreams will not count for anything till we win the league, or at the very least go up via the playoffs.

I absolutely get the building for the future argument OFF the field, but on it is a different matter. We have a very experienced manager, new players with the key ones to come and a far superior regime running the club. I think even the new players have said promotion is the aim this season, and the only way to guarantee that is by finishing top..

I think what many people are overlooking is that what we also have is an almost entirely new team, and that makes for an uphill climb from the off. In our promotion season, we added the likes of Tait, Bogle, Amond, temporarily Townsend and latterly Nolan to a squad which already consisted of Macca, Gowling, Pearson, Toto, Disley, Clay, and Arnold to name just a select few.

The players we've retained from our relegation season are exclusively either in their 30s (Macca, Waterfall, Coke, Scannell and LJL) or relative youngsters (all aged <24) that have either come up through our youth system or via the lower non-league ranks. There is no way that this season's base is as good as the one we had in 2015, so in effect you need the majority of what will eventually be 15+ new signings to be roughly in the same league Tait, Bogle, Amond et al. I'm confident one or two, maybe even three, might make that grade, but most of them? That's a big ask.

This isn't a criticism of anyone currently at the club. I don't think I'm being pessimistic either - it's just a cold, hard assessment of the facts. Hurst inherited a horror show and the sad reality is that it will take time to recover from it. It's naive to think that we aren't some considerable way behind several clubs in this division, and I don't buy into the notion of "he gets us up this season or he has to go" - that's not a fair or reasonable expectation of anyone, Hurst or otherwise, under the circumstances we have entered this season.

This will be a tough, attritional season. A transitional season. I'm hopeful we can make the play-offs, but I don't think it should be seen as the end of the world if we don't. We are on a steady footing now and I believe the club will continue to make steady and consistent progress under new leadership, but it's not all about next season. Enjoy being back at the football with your mates. With your Town brethren. If we happen to have a banging season and go straight back up then happy days, but all the signs point to something a little less sensational.

As Celine Dion once said, that's the way it is.

As a club we are still in a tailspin.

Disastrous pre season, disastrous beginning of season, a change of manager and owners which made very little difference to results and then finished bottom of the football league and deservedly relegated to non league.

Changing this trajectory will be very difficult. I am confident we have the right people at the top now and it's been great to see the engagement and excitement levels build over the summer. I am not going to judge us on the pitch in pre season friendlies, but am hoping for a MASSIVE improvement from Hurst and the players this season as last season was pathetic and an embarrassment.

Quoted from Kris2

It's The Fishy. People overreact if we win or lose.

It’s the Internet. Not peculiar to the Fishy.

Quoted from Poojah

I think what many people are overlooking is that what we also have is an almost entirely new team, and that makes for an uphill climb from the off. In our promotion season, we added the likes of Tait, Bogle, Amond, temporarily Townsend and latterly Nolan to a squad which already consisted of Macca, Gowling, Pearson, Toto, Disley, Clay, and Arnold to name just a select few.

The players we've retained from our relegation season are exclusively either in their 30s (Macca, Waterfall, Coke, Scannell and LJL) or relative youngsters (all aged <24) that have either come up through our youth system or via the lower non-league ranks. There is no way that this season's base is as good as the one we had in 2015, so in effect you need the majority of what will eventually be 15+ new signings to be roughly in the same league Tait, Bogle, Amond et al. I'm confident one or two, maybe even three, might make that grade, but most of them? That's a big ask.

This isn't a criticism of anyone currently at the club. I don't think I'm being pessimistic either - it's just a cold, hard assessment of the facts. Hurst inherited a horror show and the sad reality is that it will take time to recover from it. It's naive to think that we aren't some considerable way behind several clubs in this division, and I don't buy into the notion of "he gets us up this season or he has to go" - that's not a fair or reasonable expectation of anyone, Hurst or otherwise, under the circumstances we have entered this season.

This will be a tough, attritional season. A transitional season. I'm hopeful we can make the play-offs, but I don't think it should be seen as the end of the world if we don't. We are on a steady footing now and I believe the club will continue to make steady and consistent progress under new leadership, but it's not all about next season. Enjoy being back at the football with your mates. With your Town brethren. If we happen to have a banging season and go straight back up then happy days, but all the signs point to something a little less sensational.

As Celine Dion once said, that's the way it is.

That makes sense but it’s all very well to say what happened last time when promotion took us 5 years to achieve and most fane and the manager blamed the regime for a low budget.. I thought the new owners and certainly the fans were looking towards an improvement on that. We got it for a week or two and we are still optimistic and grateful for the new spirit and off field happenings. Nevertheless our squad does not look powerful.enough to be challenging in general this season..No doubt you are right, there will be further signings but it is pointless making yet more signings that are only going to give us a season of attrition. They need to be players with the ability to take us beyond that ……. Now.

Quoted from psgmariner

As a club we are still in a tailspin.

Disastrous pre season, disastrous beginning of season, a change of manager and owners which made very little difference to results and then finished bottom of the football league and deservedly relegated to non league.

Changing this trajectory will be very difficult. I am confident we have the right people at the top now and it's been great to see the engagement and excitement levels build over the summer. I am not going to judge us on the pitch in pre season friendlies, but am hoping for a MASSIVE improvement from Hurst and the players this season as last season was pathetic and an embarrassment.

Nail on the head from me, certainly not going to reach any dizzy heights this season, but with money from ticket sales and transfers etc, we must invest in a decent striker otherwise like previous seasons we will playing catch up

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

That makes sense but it’s all very well to say what happened last time when promotion took us 5 years to achieve and most fane and the manager blamed the regime for a low budget.. I thought the new owners and certainly the fans were looking towards an improvement on that. We got it for a week or two and we are still optimistic and grateful for the new spirit and off field happenings. Nevertheless our squad does not look powerful.enough to be challenging in general this season..No doubt you are right, there will be further signings but it is pointless making yet more signings that are only going to give us a season of attrition. They need to be players with the ability to take us beyond that ……. Now.

The objective, I'm sure, will be more than just consolidation. I was simply offering a realistic viewpoint that consolidation might be what we ultimately end up with given the mess the club was in, and that predictions of league titles in this first season are wildly premature.

I think we've already seen a number of tangible improvements from the new owners, it's just that it's going to take a little while longer to filter through to the playing side. I'm sure Hurst will be backed in terms of his playing budget but what these guys aren't going to be doing, and have never promised to do, is throw millions or even hundreds of thousands of unsustainable cash at the first team.

I'm not convinced that would be in the long-term interests of the club anyway. If they have a finite amount of money to invest then I do believe that's better spent on long-term infrastructure that will serve the club for years and decades to come, not lumping big on one season (a tactic we've seen fail many a time). Furthermore, if we were ever to do that I'm not sure this season is the right time to go all in given the relative point of weakness we're starting from.

There are parallels with the Operation Promotion pre-season in terms of the new found optimism amongst the fanbase, but in terms of squad maturity we're not even close. I think people are possibly conflating the optimism then and now with our chances of going up next season, whilst overlooking the fact that the squad simply isn't anywhere near as good - and that's the fault of no one but the chancers long since gone.

Quoted from Poojah

I'm sure Hurst will be backed in terms of his playing budget but what these guys aren't going to be doing, and have never promised to do, is throw millions or even hundreds of thousands of unsustainable cash at the

From what was said, it does appear hurst has been backed with a healthy budget. But that doesn’t really reflect in the team for me at the minute. I can’t help but compare to the team that won the play offs (but only finished 4th), and this doesn’t look as good, which it should if we’ve got a better budget now. And I don’t think a good striker will change my opinion on that.

Don't think the squad is good enough yet to mount a serious promotion challenge but it is important we are winning plenty of games and playing some entertaining stuff otherwise a lot of the new found enthusiasm will be gone the following season as people say same old same old and season ticket sales could bomb :(

Quoted from Poojah

The objective, I'm sure, will be more than just consolidation. I was simply offering a realistic viewpoint that consolidation might be what we ultimately end up with given the mess the club was in, and that predictions of league titles in this first season are wildly premature.

I think we've already seen a number of tangible improvements from the new owners, it's just that it's going to take a little while longer to filter through to the playing side. I'm sure Hurst will be backed in terms of his playing budget but what these guys aren't going to be doing, and have never promised to do, is throw millions or even hundreds of thousands of unsustainable cash at the first team.

I'm not convinced that would be in the long-term interests of the club anyway. If they have a finite amount of money to invest then I do believe that's better spent on long-term infrastructure that will serve the club for years and decades to come, not lumping big on one season (a tactic we've seen fail many a time). Furthermore, if we were ever to do that I'm not sure this season is the right time to go all in given the relative point of weakness we're starting from.

There are parallels with the Operation Promotion pre-season in terms of the new found optimism amongst the fanbase, but in terms of squad maturity we're not even close. I think people are possibly conflating the optimism then and now with our chances of going up next season, whilst overlooking the fact that the squad simply isn't anywhere near as good - and that's the fault of no one but the chancers long since gone.

Worth noting that despite what a certain former chairman said, the small touches that the new owners have put in off the pitch can make all the difference on it.

Quoted from Poojah

The objective, I'm sure, will be more than just consolidation. I was simply offering a realistic viewpoint that consolidation might be what we ultimately end up with given the mess the club was in, and that predictions of league titles in this first season are wildly premature.

I think we've already seen a number of tangible improvements from the new owners, it's just that it's going to take a little while longer to filter through to the playing side. I'm sure Hurst will be backed in terms of his playing budget but what these guys aren't going to be doing, and have never promised to do, is throw millions or even hundreds of thousands of unsustainable cash at the first team.

I'm not convinced that would be in the long-term interests of the club anyway. If they have a finite amount of money to invest then I do believe that's better spent on long-term infrastructure that will serve the club for years and decades to come, not lumping big on one season (a tactic we've seen fail many a time). Furthermore, if we were ever to do that I'm not sure this season is the right time to go all in given the relative point of weakness we're starting from.

There are parallels with the Operation Promotion pre-season in terms of the new found optimism amongst the fanbase, but in terms of squad maturity we're not even close. I think people are possibly conflating the optimism then and now with our chances of going up next season, whilst overlooking the fact that the squad simply isn't anywhere near as good - and that's the fault of no one but the chancers long since gone.

But Hurst is in a dream position. He knows the club inside out after all those years, he has been here again since December and knew for a long time that he would be planning for the NL this season.

That would have been a reasonable platform under Fenty, but he now has all the benefits of new owners who have given him full support. He has what 95% of non-league managers don't have - a great fan base putting the money in, millionaire owners who are putting the club on the right footing, and one of a handful of non-league clubs to seemingly have no money worries whatsoever and has had plenty of time to plan for the new campaign.

In my eyes he simply has to deliver; I am not saying he won't, but it obviously depends on the final few players we sign/loan. It is imperative we get the quality we need.

The new owners must be prepared to back him with cash, otherwise it all seems a bit pointless. You don't have to throw the kitchen sink at it, but with 3000 season tickets, sales from players and presumably increased sales of other things like merchandise and drink releasing the money to get top players in seems common sense. They are going to have put money in on the playing side over many years if they intend to make a success of it, that is the reality of being club owners. It is not fair for fans to keep putting the money in without real intent shown by the owners.

We can certainly improve year on year, but we should be aiming for the top this season without a doubt.

Quoted from 123614

So are you and a few others Professional Football Managers, and know better than PH?

2 + 2 = 5

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Of course there are several contenders for the top spot.

I want and expect us to be one of them, by signing top players. Isn't that the objective?

Those players to complete the jigsaw will cost money, and I fully expect the new owners to provide it otherwise all their grand dreams will not count for anything till we win the league, or at the very least go up via the playoffs.

I absolutely get the building for the future argument OFF the field, but on it is a different matter. We have a very experienced manager, new players with the key ones to come and a far superior regime running the club. I think even the new players have said promotion is the aim this season, and the only way to guarantee that is by finishing top..

I think we all want to get promoted but given the overhaul of our squad, the odds are stacked massively against us. The beauty of this league is that you can do some business outside the transfer window so we can continue to improve throughout the season and move those on that aren't working out to give us the best chance next season if it isn't going to happen this season.

If we finish 10th but look like we are 5 signings away from being up there next season should Hurst be sacked? I don't think so because a new manager would be more likely to shake things up and give us another season of mid-table mediocrity.

It took 6 seasons last time and after 3 consecutive play-off failures, we did it at the 4th attempt.

The play-offs are a lottery, even more so now that all games are one leg. Personally, I think it will take 3 seasons.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

If we finish 10th but look like we are 5 signings away from being up there next season should Hurst be sacked?

100% yes.

As others have alluded to he’s had just about every advantage available to a non league manager

Time in the job to asses what we have
2 transfer windows
Knows the club already
Big fanbase
Good budget
Progressive and supportive owners
Improved facilities
Experience of non league

If we finish 10th this is a unacceptable. I said the same when he got us relegated though so what do I know!

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I think we all want to get promoted but given the overhaul of our squad, the odds are stacked massively against us. The beauty of this league is that you can do some business outside the transfer window so we can continue to improve throughout the season and move those on that aren't working out to give us the best chance next season if it isn't going to happen this season.

If we finish 10th but look like we are 5 signings away from being up there next season should Hurst be sacked? I don't think so because a new manager would be more likely to shake things up and give us another season of mid-table mediocrity.

It took 6 seasons last time and after 3 consecutive play-off failures, we did it at the 4th attempt.

The play-offs are a lottery, even more so now that all games are one leg. Personally, I think it will take 3 seasons.

Well argued but I don't agree with it. For a start, what is not to like about getting more or less a new side? Most managers do it anyway when they are appointed, and a lot of them make a success of it. There is absolutely no certainty that incremental improvements to the playing side yield better results. When he was last here Hurst kept changing the squad each season and a strong case can be argued that the team he built that didn't go up was actually better than the one that did! It is too much of a lottery to look further than one season at a time, as there are so many variables including the players you would like to keep wanting to move on if we don't achieve promotion. Managers can also be poached come to that to leave you back at square one.

The best plan as I see it is to aim for the top spot from the off, and keep aiming for it till you get there.

Quoted from 123614

So are you and a few others Professional Football Managers, and know better than PH?

Plenty of mistakes are made by professional football managers - one of them thought a single pre season friendly against cleethorpes Town and packing the squad out with players from way down the pyramid who he'd never seen before was a great idea!

The squad he inherited was dire but I would expect play offs and be very disappointed if that wasn't achieved.I think people do need to remember that they wanted decent, honourable owners running the club in a sustainable way so if we struggle to compete with a Hollywood owned, Netflix based team throwing £££££ at it then........

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I think we all want to get promoted but given the overhaul of our squad, the odds are stacked massively against us. The beauty of this league is that you can do some business outside the transfer window so we can continue to improve throughout the season and move those on that aren't working out to give us the best chance next season if it isn't going to happen this season.

If we finish 10th but look like we are 5 signings away from being up there next season should Hurst be sacked? I don't think so because a new manager would be more likely to shake things up and give us another season of mid-table mediocrity.

It took 6 seasons last time and after 3 consecutive play-off failures, we did it at the 4th attempt.

The play-offs are a lottery, even more so now that all games are one leg. Personally, I think it will take 3 seasons.

Seems to me a number on here are already coming up with excuses if we don't get promotion this coming season.

Quoted from 123614

So are you and a few others Professional Football Managers, and know better than PH?

Didn't you keep bleating on last season that we would stay up when many who do have an idea about football could see we were doomed for months.

I think that we will be competitive. Not interested in the injury list , possibly correlated to the recruitment but who knows. Mid table in this league would be a choker. Hurst will need some time but this is all about locking into the top 7 , in my eyes anything else is failure. Hurst is well capable of this and I expect nothing less. I am bored senseless by the demise under the old regime and I need something to rekindle the passion which is the lowest it has been. Brutal but truthful utm

It would be great to see the final pieces of the jigsaw in place sooner rather than later but surely it’s better to get the right pieces? I know we want to hit the ground running but we’re told that there’s money to spend from season ticket sales so we need to be patient.

By the sounds of Hurst is saying in his interviews , There is nothing out there that he wants and we will have to play the youths etc up front to start off with, Not a good way to start a season by any stretch for any club that has money to spend. There will be many fans that have pushed the boat out cash wise , And have been carried along with the new flow of hope that we have, but paid full price to watch a half built team when it comes to it unless more players have been found

We still don't have shirt numbers 7 & 9. Obviously, Hurst has a plan for these positions beit the guys he wanted earlier have gone elsewhere or his targets are holding out for EFL clubs. They could be holding out to see who offers them the most money or be in the EFL and not be required by an existing club, but not replaced yet.

Whichever way you want to spin it no manager is not going to have a number 9 & 7, so it's wait and see time. We're told patience is a virtue and with the season starting soon it's trying for all of us.

I will be deeply concerned if we go into the first game of the season having not signed another striker atleast (hopefully 2) yes I know no leagues are won in August but we need to get off to a good start o
If we can and starting the first game of the season with 2 teenage youth players leading the front line isn't ideal.

Likewise we need more options right throughout the squad, depth is a real issue and I'm not concerned yet as we still have 2 weeks to go but this time in 2 weeks time on the eve of the new season I sincerely hope we have signed atleast another 3 players with atleast one of them being a recognised striker

Quoted from Mariner93er

From what was said, it does appear hurst has been backed with a healthy budget. But that doesn’t really reflect in the team for me at the minute. I can’t help but compare to the team that won the play offs (but only finished 4th), and this doesn’t look as good, which it should if we’ve got a better budget now. And I don’t think a good striker will change my opinion on that.

I think that the reason we have stalled with signings is the fact that we have possibly reached our budget limit mainly due to us being unable to offload our highly paid unwanted players

Quoted from arryarryarry

Didn't you keep bleating on last season that we would stay up when many who do have an idea about football could see we were doomed for months.

Hahaha, you know nothing about my background in football, don't assume things sonny, because assumptions are often wrong. Also I was saying we could stay up until it was mathematically impossible, i.e. if we still had enough to points to play for to avoid relegation. Those of you experts who said we were doomed from months before the season ends are just those few who always make derogatory comments when Town lose, but are nowhere to be seen when Town win.

Quoted from 123614

Hahaha, you know nothing about my background in football, don't assume things sonny, because assumptions are often wrong. Also I was saying we could stay up until it was mathematically impossible, i.e. if we still had enough to points to play for to avoid relegation. Those of you experts who said we were doomed from months before the season ends are just those few who always make derogatory comments when Town lose, but are nowhere to be seen when Town win.

It was quite apparent to anybody with half a brain cell the way we started last season was a recipe for disaster.Whilst this season is not exactly the same there are worrying similarities we have not yet acquired our main strikers at this late date.Had we won a couple more at the beginning of the season we would have stayed up.I am not overly hopeful for this season.

Like rats in a sack on here. You can tell Hurst’s a yorkie, tight as a Duck’s bottom. Just get some money spent man.

Quoted from golfer

I think that the reason we have stalled with signings is the fact that we have possibly reached our budget limit mainly due to us being unable to offload our highly paid unwanted players

Not true. PH made it very clear that players who were putting cones out wouldn’t impinge on his budget.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Not true. PH made it very clear that players who were putting cones out wouldn’t impinge on his budget.

Correct, he did say that. Is he just being stubborn? He is known for that. Perhaps the asking prices are too high and it’s a poker face. A dangerous game though, we’ve been that way before and finished with barrel scrapings. The other side of this of course is that if we don’t sign a couple of really decent players, where does that leave the ones we have who were promised ambition and and a quality side? Can’t imagine the likes of Pearson will continue to be impressed forever with what we have, and fans will start to think why did we bother to sign up for a season ticket.

Quoted from golfer

I think that the reason we have stalled with signings is the fact that we have possibly reached our budget limit mainly due to us being unable to offload our highly paid unwanted players

Hurst said that it had been agreed that his budget wasnot dependent on offloading those players.

Personally I still think its daft to insist we won't come to Ana rrangement with them, if we don't make them an offer some will just see out the season on full pay with the youths. I would be surprised if anyone will match their current contracts so they will be reluctant to leave.

Offer them 50% to get gone, surely they can find somebody willing to pay them half or more of what we were. Then they will be better off and so will we. An incentive for them to go, and maybe we can reinvest those savings towards a player we will use!

Quoted from 123614

Hahaha, you know nothing about my background in football, don't assume things sonny, because assumptions are often wrong. Also I was saying we could stay up until it was mathematically impossible, i.e. if we still had enough to points to play for to avoid relegation. Those of you experts who said we were doomed from months before the season ends are just those few who always make derogatory comments when Town lose, but are nowhere to be seen when Town win.

All I know about you was you kept spouting balderdash and wouldn't accept the fact that we were excrement and going down.

Quoted from arryarryarry

All I know about you was you kept spouting balderdash and wouldn't accept the fact that we were excrement and going down.

No, I wouldn't accept that we were going down until it was not possible, haha pot kettle black re balderdash, that's all you ever spout.

There's a difference between wanting something to happen and simply identifying that problems/issues are present that can cause something to happen and being concerned about it.

If the side has players that aren't good enough in it then pretending they are good enough won't help, they will be found out in the reality of the season.

Quoted from toontown

There's a difference between wanting something to happen and simply identifying that problems/issues are present that can cause something to happen and being concerned about it.

If the side has players that aren't good enough in it then pretending they are good enough won't help, they will be found out in the reality of the season.

I want us to get promoted but I don't think that will happen and I'm willing to accept that we are in transition. If a team finishes 3rd in League 2 everybody is happy because they are promoted automatically yet in this league you can finish 2nd and not go up so the ultimate goal of promotion is always going to be difficult and no matter what we spend, there will always be a few good teams making it difficult.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I want us to get promoted but I don't think that will happen and I'm willing to accept that we are in transition. If a team finishes 3rd in League 2 everybody is happy because they are promoted automatically yet in this league you can finish 2nd and not go up so the ultimate goal of promotion is always going to be difficult and no matter what we spend, there will always be a few good teams making it difficult.

Yeah I was talking about last season really but the point stands for this season - I thought our pre season started really well with early signings. However my optimism is wearing off, we seem to be short of a couple of strikers one of which at least needs to be a proven goal scorer TBH I think we are short of goal scoring potential throughout the squad but maybe some will have that at this level. Other teams are more obvious candidates for the top spot. I would still like to think we can be in and around the playoffs with a couple more quality signings.

I suspect we may be waiting for dembele to be sold before we can then put our recruitment into practice. Just got to hope our targets don't choose to move whilst we have to bide our time...

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I want us to get promoted but I don't think that will happen and I'm willing to accept that we are in transition. If a team finishes 3rd in League 2 everybody is happy because they are promoted automatically yet in this league you can finish 2nd and not go up so the ultimate goal of promotion is always going to be difficult and no matter what we spend, there will always be a few good teams making it difficult.

This exactly, Wrexham finished second one year with 98 points and didn't get promoted. Tough league, but on the other hand just a 7th placed spot and a bit of luck could do it.

Maybe, just maybe, Hurst is in the middle of negotiations with agents/clubs and doesn't want to show his hand by blabbing to the press that he's absolutely desperate to sign a striker...

Surely it's not lack of money that's impeding the recruitment of some quality players for the obvious gaps in the squad. We have parachute payments, healthy season ticket sales and a good wedge from the sale of two of our young players, with the real possibility of more to come from the Dembele add on.

I have to say that I am so far a little underwhelmed with our recruitment from an attacking point of view. We look to be solid, as you would expect from a Hurst side, but we need those players that can turn possible defeats into draws and draws into wins.

I accept that Hurst is rebuilding from a very low base, but I'm bored with hearing every bloody season how we need to build a side for the future. We have been doing this for what seems like forever.

No excuses for Hurst as far as I'm concerned. It's play offs as a minimum considering we should be one of the biggest and best supported teams in non league. If we aren't in the top 7 teams in that league, then the manager is not doing a good enough job IMO.

Lincoln were at a lower point than us when the Cowleys took over, with crowds down to under three thousand, but with new backing and pushing the boat out with their recruitment, they took off in a big way. No reason we can't do the same.

Crawley and Fleetwood in our last stint down there showed what can be done if you push the boat out for quality players and they both smashed the league.

If you pay them, they will come.

Quoted from ginnywings

Surely it's not lack of money that's impeding the recruitment of some quality players for the obvious gaps in the squad. We have parachute payments, healthy season ticket sales and a good wedge from the sale of two of our young players, with the real possibility of more to come from the Dembele add on.

I have to say that I am so far a little underwhelmed with our recruitment from an attacking point of view. We look to be solid, as you would expect from a Hurst side, but we need those players that can turn possible defeats into draws and draws into wins.

I accept that Hurst is rebuilding from a very low base, but I'm bored with hearing every bloody season how we need to build a side for the future. We have been doing this for what seems like forever.

No excuses for Hurst as far as I'm concerned. It's play offs as a minimum considering we should be one of the biggest and best supported teams in non league. If we aren't in the top 7 teams in that league, then the manager is not doing a good enough job IMO.

Lincoln were at a lower point than us when the Cowleys took over, with crowds down to under three thousand, but with new backing and pushing the boat out with their recruitment, they took off in a big way. No reason we can't do the same.

Crawley and Fleetwood in our last stint down there showed what can be done if you push the boat out for quality players and they both smashed the league.

If you pay them, they will come.

Couldn't agree more. Whilst a lift off the field is very welcome as is the demise of "him who shall not be named". I expected much more of a lift on the field and I don't think it was wrong to expect that given everything that has happened. Its bad enough sat here seeing the EFL start tomorrow but I feel flat as a pancake with the team so far regardless of injuries. I expected a bit more of a "let's go for it" attitude on recruitment. Maybe that will come but my trip to Alfreton didn't really help my optimism.

I do agree the recruitment on paper has been slightly underwhelming but then I don't remember a Hurst's summer recruitment which has ever been exciting on paper and we always made play offs under him, he has a knack of making these signings that don't set our pulses racing but they then turn out to be good signings

Quite a few have theorised/suggested that this squad is inferior to the ones of 14/15 and 15/16. And whilst that may be true, what we aren’t factoring in the progression of Hurst as a manager. He is vastly more experienced this time around and this will count for a lot in my opinion. Add in two or three good quality signings and I’m confident the experience of Hurst and Doig will pay dividends.

Quoted from Mighty_Mariner

Quite a few have theorised/suggested that this squad is inferior to the ones of 14/15 and 15/16. And whilst that may be true, what we aren’t factoring in the progression of Hurst as a manager. He is vastly more experienced this time around and this will count for a lot in my opinion. Add in two or three good quality signings and I’m confident the experience of Hurst and Doig will pay dividends.

He hasn't progressed that much in the last few seasons. After Shrewsbury, he was a disaster at Ipswich and roundly hated by many of their fans till he was sacked, then moved downwards to Scunthorpe and again sacked then took over a club not in a relegation spot and took them down.

He is clearly here for at least the majority of the coming season but I will be loudly calling for his sacking if we don't even manage the play-offs come the season end.

Hurst at GY always had at least one decent striker at his disposal and usually two I expect him to get one in before the season starts.

Quoted from arryarryarry

He hasn't progressed that much in the last few seasons. After Shrewsbury, he was a disaster at Ipswich and roundly hated by many of their fans till he was sacked, then moved downwards to Scunthorpe and again sacked then took over a club not in a relegation spot and took them down.

He is clearly here for at least the majority of the coming season but I will be loudly calling for his sacking if we don't even manage the play-offs come the season end.

You continue to post rubbish on here, I have to consider that you are a troll!

Quoted from 123614

You continue to post rubbish on here, I have to consider that you are a troll!

Consider what you frigging like sunshine.

What of what I posted was rubbish?

Just about every post you make is rubbish. Grow up!

Quote from Peter Swann: Swann said that Hurst was not sacked for football reasons but that there was a breakdown in the relationship between the two but he was unable to elaborate on the reasons why.

“The situation is the relationship has broken down,” Hurst told Radio Humberside.

“There are a few things I’m unhappy about but I can’t talk too much about it and I’m sure Paul can’t talk about it, because we are still under contract.

“It is not a footballing thing, it is not about how we played or how he coaches.

Quoted from 123614

Quote from Peter Swann: Swann said that Hurst was not sacked for football reasons but that there was a breakdown in the relationship between the two but he was unable to elaborate on the reasons why.

“The situation is the relationship has broken down,” Hurst told Radio Humberside.

“There are a few things I’m unhappy about but I can’t talk too much about it and I’m sure Paul can’t talk about it, because we are still under contract.

“It is not a footballing thing, it is not about how we played or how he coaches.

I seem to recall there were a few entertaining Saturday evenings on Humberside where Swann and Hurst would both be interviewed and say conflicting things. I think Swann constantly appearing on Humberside saying his piece about the playing side must drive players and managers mad.

Quoted from 123614

Just about every post you make is rubbish. Grow up!

Come on sunshine spit it out, what of my post was rubbish.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Come on sunshine spit it out, what of my post was rubbish.

You throw out a general statement about how the fans at Ipswich hated him and that he was a disaster there. No mention of 3 of the best players at the club being sold, or the fact that he had a miserly budget of £3M for a team in the Championship! Pathetic. Also I posted earlier re your comment about Scunthorpe, he wasn't sacked for footballing reasons, he was sacked by, what some people describe as an idiotic owner. If I had the patience to go back through all your posts, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that I could come up with loads of rubbish you posted, but I can't be arsed. You are one of several posters who like to post negative rubbish on here, you're a WUM and a Troll!