I've just been thinking about A starting 11 for Grimsby Borough tonight and it really shows how much of a headache Hurst has in choosing his side this season. I came up with this and just see who is available afterwards...


                         Goalkeeper?

Efete.      Mullarkey.       Maher.      Glennon

         Clifton.       Conteh.      Khouri

          Eisa.           Rose.          Vernam


Subs
Amos - LB
Waterfall - CB
Rodgers - CB
Holohan - CM
Green - CM
Hunt - CM
Khan - WNG
Wilson - ST
Pyke - ST

All of the subs are very capable at league 2, then there's the issue of at least 2 competing keepers to come. We need some good cup runs and some team rotation to keep all these happy.

Excited for the season to start

Very good squad

2 keepers and maybe a forward if everyone stays on ?

Then the loan market maybe a little bit

Seems like we are almost set.

I don't see it as a headache and I doubt PH will either.

Bet he's buzzing at having so many good players to choose from. Any manager would be.

I think it will be any one of Khouri, Conteh or Hunt. Can’t see a combination of those playing together.

Now I'm not the greatest fan of Green, but thinking about it a Clifton-Green-Conteh midfield would give us some serious steel in the middle of the park, that setup isn't getting bullied.  I'd imagine in perfect situations we'll have the better ball players starting but against those more 'robust' teams we've got the tools to switch it up and battle.  Genuinely just want a RB, a big lump up front and a keeper now

I'm more than willing to admit that I'm wrong on this once the season starts but as I said elsewhere, I'm not sure I see Rose as the focal point of a front three with a combo of Vernam/Khan/Eisa either side. I think Rose is the type of forward that plays with a central partner and as such I think we're still in the market for a big lump striker. I think we could potentially see a return of Clifton doing that out wide but also tucking in as and when needed role that we saw a lot in the NL season.  I think the plan is to eventually have our two best midfielders on the ball (Hunt and Conteh if what I've read about the latter is true) together in the middle too, perhaps not straight away with Conteh being so young so I've opted for tried and tested with Holohan in the middle for this:

Goalkeeper

Efete Waterfall  Rodgers  Glennon

Clifton  Holohan Conteh  Vernam

Rose  BigLump

I'm really interested to see what PH does with his new players because I'm a bit confused about what the plan is, but that's surely a good position to be in as I think our early season opposition will also be in the dark to some extent.

Loads of questions I'm not sure of the answers to...

Who are the first choice CBs? You could argue a case for all of them.
Same question with the CMs. Is Conteh going straight in? How do you find the best balance of technical ability, energy and smashing players with the players at our disposal?
What's the pecking order of the wide forwards? I'd say Vernam, Khan and then Eisa.
Where do Pyke and Wilson fit into this?

Think we covered at RB now as Mullarkey and Rodgers have both played there throughout the career.  2 keepers, a striker and maybe another winger option then we set

Quoted from Stew0_0

Think we covered at RB now as Mullarkey and Rodgers have both played there throughout the career.  2 keepers, a striker and maybe another winger option then we set

I'd rather have another specialist right back to compete with Efete than another winger. Efete's form picked up considerably when Emmanuel was there as genuine competition. I know Mullarkey and Rodgers CAN play right back, but they're filling in at best rather than bring genuine competition.

I think we need 4 more; 2 keepers, right back, big lump of a striker.

Quoted from Son of Cod

Loads of questions I'm not sure of the answers to...

Who are the first choice CBs? You could argue a case for all of them.
Same question with the CMs. Is Conteh going straight in? How do you find the best balance of technical ability, energy and smashing players with the players at our disposal?
What's the pecking order of the wide forwards? I'd say Vernam, Khan and then Eisa.
Where do Pyke and Wilson fit into this?

That's what pre-season will decide for Hurst. What a predicament for Hurst to be in, not knowing who to play because he has such good stock to choose from.

Quoted from Son of Cod

I'm more than willing to admit that I'm wrong on this once the season starts but as I said elsewhere, I'm not sure I see Rose as the focal point of a front three with a combo of Vernam/Khan/Eisa either side. I think Rose is the type of forward that plays with a central partner and as such I think we're still in the market for a big lump striker. I think we could potentially see a return of Clifton doing that out wide but also tucking in as and when needed role that we saw a lot in the NL season.  I think the plan is to eventually have our two best midfielders on the ball (Hunt and Conteh if what I've read about the latter is true) together in the middle too, perhaps not straight away with Conteh being so young so I've opted for tried and tested with Holohan in the middle for this:

Goalkeeper

Efete Waterfall  Rodgers  Glennon

Clifton  Holohan Conteh  Vernam

Rose  BigLump

I'm really interested to see what PH does with his new players because I'm a bit confused about what the plan is, but that's surely a good position to be in as I think our early season opposition will also be in the dark to some extent.

Loads of questions I'm not sure of the answers to...

Who are the first choice CBs? You could argue a case for all of them.
Same question with the CMs. Is Conteh going straight in? How do you find the best balance of technical ability, energy and smashing players with the players at our disposal?
What's the pecking order of the wide forwards? I'd say Vernam, Khan and then Eisa.
Where do Pyke and Wilson fit into this?

I think you can be pretty sure we won't play 4-4-2 and I very much doubt that Holohan will feature much. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up back at Hartlepool.

Quoted from gtfc98

I'd rather have another specialist right back to compete with Efete than another winger. Efete's form picked up considerably when Emmanuel was there as genuine competition. I know Mullarkey and Rodgers CAN play right back, but they're filling in at best rather than bring genuine competition.

I think we need 4 more; 2 keepers, right back, big lump of a striker.

Pyke just had his best season ,playing at rb / rwb so thats what 5 players who can play RB - If you include Clifton . Would seem daft to be ,wasting budget on anymore to me .
Mularkey & Rogers have played a lot at RB/LB by the sound of things.
But it's all about opinions

Have we actually signed Conteh?

Quoted from rancido

Have we actually signed Conteh?

Yes mate

Quoted from rancido

Have we actually signed Conteh?

If we haven’t then I’ve just had the most amazing fever dream!

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I think you can be pretty sure we won't play 4-4-2 and I very much doubt that Holohan will feature much. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up back at Hartlepool.

With Hunt, Khouri and Conteh all being young, I expect Holohan to be the experienced old head amongst them. I’d argue that it’s Green who will probably get less game time.

This is what we need to be successful. In the past we’ve had a great first 11 but a much weaker squad.

This way we won’t need players to play on through minor injuries, fatigue or loss of form because we have no real alternatives.

I wonder how much the data analysis will impact player selection too? Will we be looking at the types of goals our opposition concedes and which formation’s have been effective against them?

I have a feeling we’ll be playing a few different formations and the new data led approach should give us the roundest possible pegs.

Quoted from Stew0_0

I've just been thinking about A starting 11 for Grimsby Borough tonight and it really shows how much of a headache Hurst has in choosing his side this season. I came up with this and just see who is
                         Goalkeeper?

Efete.      Mullarkey.       Maher.      Glennon

         Clifton.       Conteh.      Khouri

          Eisa.           Rose.          Vernam


Subs
Amos - LB
Waterfall - CB
Rodgers - CB
Holohan - CM
Green - CM
Hunt - CM
Khan - WNG
Wilson - ST
Pyke - ST

All of the subs are very capable at league 2, then there's the issue of at least 2 competing keepers to come. We need some good cup runs and some team rotation to keep all these happy.

Excited for the season to start

Expect there will be several outgoings to come which will reduce his problem. The good thing is this year we have the incoming first which enables choice in the outgoings rather then scrambling to fill holes with anything available

Quoted from Son of Cod

I'm more than willing to admit that I'm wrong on this once the season starts but as I said elsewhere, I'm not sure I see Rose as the focal point of a front three with a combo of Vernam/Khan/Eisa either side. I think Rose is the type of forward that plays with a central partner and as such I think we're still in the market for a big lump striker. I think we could potentially see a return of Clifton doing that out wide but also tucking in as and when needed role that we saw a lot in the NL season.  I think the plan is to eventually have our two best midfielders on the ball (Hunt and Conteh if what I've read about the latter is true) together in the middle too, perhaps not straight away with Conteh being so young so I've opted for tried and tested with Holohan in the middle for this:

Goalkeeper

Efete Waterfall  Rodgers  Glennon

Clifton  Holohan Conteh  Vernam

Rose  BigLump

I'm really interested to see what PH does with his new players because I'm a bit confused about what the plan is, but that's surely a good position to be in as I think our early season opposition will also be in the dark to some extent.

Loads of questions I'm not sure of the answers to...

Who are the first choice CBs? You could argue a case for all of them.
Same question with the CMs. Is Conteh going straight in? How do you find the best balance of technical ability, energy and smashing players with the players at our disposal?
What's the pecking order of the wide forwards? I'd say Vernam, Khan and then Eisa.
Where do Pyke and Wilson fit into this?

You haven’t seen Rose play then have you mate, it’s very much the other way around. Danny Rose is the focal point for people to play off him. Last season at Stevenage it was Jamie Reid. At Northampton he was the single striker, Mansfield he was the single striker. He’s a definite upgrade on Ryan Taylor in how he can hold the ball up and he’s much more mobile.

Quoted from Son of Cod

I'm more than willing to admit that I'm wrong on this once the season starts but as I said elsewhere, I'm not sure I see Rose as the focal point of a front three with a combo of Vernam/Khan/Eisa either side. I think Rose is the type of forward that plays with a central partner and as such I think we're still in the market for a big lump striker. I think we could potentially see a return of Clifton doing that out wide but also tucking in as and when needed role that we saw a lot in the NL season.  I think the plan is to eventually have our two best midfielders on the ball (Hunt and Conteh if what I've read about the latter is true) together in the middle too, perhaps not straight away with Conteh being so young so I've opted for tried and tested with Holohan in the middle for this:

Goalkeeper

Efete Waterfall  Rodgers  Glennon

Clifton  Holohan Conteh  Vernam

Rose  BigLump

I'm really interested to see what PH does with his new players because I'm a bit confused about what the plan is, but that's surely a good position to be in as I think our early season opposition will also be in the dark to some extent.

Loads of questions I'm not sure of the answers to...

Who are the first choice CBs? You could argue a case for all of them.
Same question with the CMs. Is Conteh going straight in? How do you find the best balance of technical ability, energy and smashing players with the players at our disposal?
What's the pecking order of the wide forwards? I'd say Vernam, Khan and then Eisa.
Where do Pyke and Wilson fit into this?

I don't see it like that at all. I would be very, very surprised if we set up with two out and out strikers given the players we've got who are capable of playing out wide and Hurst won't want to cede the middle of the pitch by only having two in there. Rose puts himself about really well and it doesn't matter if he isn't massive if we're planning on playing to feet at speed. Which to be honest is what worries L2 defenders far more. We'll get another striker who can rough it up if we need to go more direct but I doubt we'll start many, if any,  games with 2 strikers.

Quoted from LocalLadGTFC

You haven’t seen Rose play then have you mate, it’s very much the other way around. Danny Rose is the focal point for people to play off him. Last season at Stevenage it was Jamie Reid. At Northampton he was the single striker, Mansfield he was the single striker. He’s a definite upgrade on Ryan Taylor in how he can hold the ball up and he’s much more mobile.

I'm not saying he's not a focal point of a two man attack, I'm saying he's not traditionally been used as the focal point of a three man attack with the other two players being wingers which is what seems to be the general consensus on here with regards to how we're going to play.

You've confirmed that yourself by saying he was used up top with Jamie Reid last season. Northampton often played him in a two up top with Kabamba or Etete. The season when they  got to the playoff semis whenever they played one up top, Rose was generally on the bench. At Mansfield he was played in a two with Maynard, Cook or Walker. I'd say he's rarely used as the central striker in a three. He plays in a two or out wide in a three way more often from what I've seen.

I can't for the life of me imagine that a 2-man attack is what Hurst's thinking when he's built this squad, could be wrong...

He hasn't signed Vernam and Eisa to play without width.  Nor has he added Conteh to packed midfield options to only play two of them.  

Playing with high wingers (Vernam and Eisa) also probably rules out wingbacks.  So that leaves a back four, options in the middle and high width.  If it's anything but a variation of 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 I'll be absolutely amazed.

Rose is perfect to do that solo striker role.  Every time I've seen him he's led the line really well.  He's not the biggest but he puts himself about, more the type to nip in front of someone than barge them out the way.  Ridiculously good in the air for his size too.  As with any lone striker, it's all about the support.  Vernam and Eisa won't be there just to defend and keep shape.  Centrally I think we'll have either one holding in midfield with two pressed further forward or two sitting a bit deeper and one playing off Rose.

Quoted from diehardmariner

I can't for the life of me imagine that a 2-man attack is what Hurst's thinking when he's built this squad, could be wrong...

He hasn't signed Vernam and Eisa to play without width.  Nor has he added Conteh to packed midfield options to only play two of them.  

Playing with high wingers (Vernam and Eisa) also probably rules out wingbacks.  So that leaves a back four, options in the middle and high width.  If it's anything but a variation of 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 I'll be absolutely amazed.

Rose is perfect to do that solo striker role.  Every time I've seen him he's led the line really well.  He's not the biggest but he puts himself about, more the type to nip in front of someone than barge them out the way.  Ridiculously good in the air for his size too.  As with any lone striker, it's all about the support.  Vernam and Eisa won't be there just to defend and keep shape.  Centrally I think we'll have either one holding in midfield with two pressed further forward or two sitting a bit deeper and one playing off Rose.

This - in terms of systems
I can't see the point in 3-5-2 when we now have such an abundance of attacking options

4-2-3-1 looks good option to me

Quoted from diehardmariner

I can't for the life of me imagine that a 2-man attack is what Hurst's thinking when he's built this squad, could be wrong...

He hasn't signed Vernam and Eisa to play without width.  Nor has he added Conteh to packed midfield options to only play two of them.  

Playing with high wingers (Vernam and Eisa) also probably rules out wingbacks.  So that leaves a back four, options in the middle and high width.  If it's anything but a variation of 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 I'll be absolutely amazed.

Rose is perfect to do that solo striker role.  Every time I've seen him he's led the line really well.  He's not the biggest but he puts himself about, more the type to nip in front of someone than barge them out the way.  Ridiculously good in the air for his size too.  As with any lone striker, it's all about the support.  Vernam and Eisa won't be there just to defend and keep shape.  Centrally I think we'll have either one holding in midfield with two pressed further forward or two sitting a bit deeper and one playing off Rose.

I think after his recent injury troubles, Eisa is more in the punt category with Khan ahead of him. I don't think we'll be playing without width either, it's clear that Vernam has been brought in to provide that. However, I think we'll see a variety of styles and I'm certainly not saying we'll play 442 all season or anything, just that Rose has for a lot of his career been used in a pair up front and rarely as the lone striker in a three and that there aren't too many other formations that accommodate two strikers. Everyone is probably correct and I'll be proven wrong but just pointing out how Rose has been used most of the times I've seen him play.

Quoted from diehardmariner

I can't for the life of me imagine that a 2-man attack is what Hurst's thinking when he's built this squad, could be wrong...

He hasn't signed Vernam and Eisa to play without width.  Nor has he added Conteh to packed midfield options to only play two of them.  

Playing with high wingers (Vernam and Eisa) also probably rules out wingbacks.  So that leaves a back four, options in the middle and high width.  If it's anything but a variation of 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 I'll be absolutely amazed.

Rose is perfect to do that solo striker role.  Every time I've seen him he's led the line really well.  He's not the biggest but he puts himself about, more the type to nip in front of someone than barge them out the way.  Ridiculously good in the air for his size too.  As with any lone striker, it's all about the support.  Vernam and Eisa won't be there just to defend and keep shape.  Centrally I think we'll have either one holding in midfield with two pressed further forward or two sitting a bit deeper and one playing off Rose.

100% agree with this.

Whatever his preferred starting line up, the competition for places looks better now than I can remember for years. With so many subs now allowed the options to change things around mid game are terrific. Plus we won’t need to carry half fit or out of form players.

We are looking very strong.

Quoted from diehardmariner

I can't for the life of me imagine that a 2-man attack is what Hurst's thinking when he's built this squad, could be wrong...

He hasn't signed Vernam and Eisa to play without width.  Nor has he added Conteh to packed midfield options to only play two of them.  

Playing with high wingers (Vernam and Eisa) also probably rules out wingbacks.  So that leaves a back four, options in the middle and high width.  If it's anything but a variation of 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 I'll be absolutely amazed.

Rose is perfect to do that solo striker role.  Every time I've seen him he's led the line really well.  He's not the biggest but he puts himself about, more the type to nip in front of someone than barge them out the way. Ridiculously good in the air for his size too.  As with any lone striker, it's all about the support.  Vernam and Eisa won't be there just to defend and keep shape.  Centrally I think we'll have either one holding in midfield with two pressed further forward or two sitting a bit deeper and one playing off Rose.

If there's anyone out there who is old enough to remember, Matt Tees was 5ft 10, and he got a few goals with his head, as I recall

Quoted from RonMariner

Whatever his preferred starting line up, the competition for places looks better now than I can remember for years. With so many subs now allowed the options to change things around mid game are terrific. Plus we won’t need to carry half fit or out of form players.

We are looking very strong.

We still have 5 fewer players than we ended the season with. Assuming no major outs (e.g. Clifton), I’d still expect another 2 or 3 to come yet.

Always difficult to make accurate calls before a ball has been quick, but it’s hard not to look at the squad we’re building and not see tangible improvements.