Hurst and Doig have rejoined us

On an 18 month contract, then rolling 12 months

Things taking ‘us shape’ 👏👏🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

Excellent.  Now do a “Shrewsbury”.

Maybe a few players moving down the m180

Welcome Back Paul!

At last....proper contracts and not the usual six month rolling.

Doubt Hurst would have come for less given the mess we are in.

Welcome back.

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

Maybe a few players moving down the m180

feckin hope not - the scunts were worse than we were, and that takes some doing!

And so it begins.

Let's get behind these guys.

UTM

Left after getting us promoted, maybe just maybe they can recreate the relationship they had with the owners at Shrewsbury with our new ones. Can’t wait to see them will there be a press conference. UTFM

A safe pair of hands, and I'm £120 richer thanks to good old Victor.

Hopefully PH will be able to get rid of at least a big chunk of deadwood.

Great news.. what a week! UTM

Let’s hope that the new owners back them to do what they wanted when we came back in the league.

Glad that both of them are joining because there is one hell of a lot of work to be done in a very short period of time.

Great news; I know the song!,

Paul Hurst's Black n White Army
GTFC

Repeat til promoted  

Not overwhelming but a very safe pair of hands and can walk straight in the door and get to work with minimal fuss or learning the workings of the club. Good luck to them both and hopefully they can get us back to where we was before they left with the right backing from the board this time

Excellent, playoffs here we come!😉 UTM!!

Good to have you back Paul.

PS Have you let Doig know yet?

Bit like Championship Manager...Fenty is at home now saying “I discovered him”

Hurst will be impressed with how we have updated the facilities since he left.

The floodlights are shorter and the humps have gone  

Is that 100% definite confirmed etc?

Quoted from promotion plaice

Hurst will be impressed with how we have updated the facilities since he left.

The floodlights are shorter and the humps have gone  

Not forgetting the new portacabin, or did we have that before he left.?

Nice to see hes brought his little pet back with him....faithful til the end. Good boy Doigy.....whos a good boy

Quoted from promotion plaice

At last....proper contracts and not the usual six month rolling.

Doubt Hurst would have come for less given the mess we are in.

Welcome back.

I doubt anybody would.

I said on a thread a few weeks ago if Ian was to fail I would welcome Paul back to the club. Hope over time we can recreate the great togetherness and sign some quality players. In my opinion he was the last manager to bring some really quality players through the door.

Quoted from hheh2

Left after getting us promoted, maybe just maybe they can recreate the relationship they had with the owners at Shrewsbury with our new ones. Can’t wait to see them will there be a press conference. UTFM

You mean the sort of relationship where he crapped on them and left for Ipswich.

The word "crapped" was a comment from a Shrewsbury fan.

Quoted from Ipswin

Is that 100% definite confirmed etc?

https://twitter.com/officialgtfc/status/1344351292941078534

That’s us doomed then. They struggled with a decent squad. No chance with this bunch.

Does Doig know yet.

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

Welcome back Paul and Chris no pressure this season.

Just a play off and wembley win next season.

You know the way.

Has Hurst told Doig that they're rejoining Yet? I'm not over the moon with Hurst coming back but I think he was the most realistic person for the job. It'll be interest to see what he's learned since leaving Town.

Quoted from Ipswin

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

Bye

Get my pillow ready for his first press conference, need to be comfy when falling asleep.

Nice one. Happy with that. I reckon Hurst would've got us to League 1/up there challenging for promotion to it had Fenty not cut corners and backed him properly with proper contracts for the players, fitness coach and all the usual stuff a football league club has.

Quoted from Ipswin

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

Part Timer as suspected.

Quoted from Ipswin

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

Bye then. Don't forget your turncoat on the way out.

Excellent appointment - the squad Hurst assembled to get us out of the conference was a winning mentality squad - disciplined,organised and had quality amongst it - need to offload some uninterested squad members and rebuild! UTM

Quoted from Ipswin

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

What ... like appointing a high profile manager who nobody expected we’d get , who had no experience of L2 ?

Oh wait .....

Enjoy Portman Road .

This might be a controversial view but I think this is a fairly straightforward job for an experienced manager; he has half a season and a full transfer window to shift out some players who aren't good enough, bring in some who are, organise them and get them away from the relegation zone. If we finish the season in mid table the job's a good 'un. We are not in the relegation zone and we are currently getting a point a game on average.

The big challenge, as ever, is getting the better players to come here.

Good luck Paul. Welcome back.

Quoted from Bawmariner

Has Hurst told Doig that they're rejoining Yet? I'm not over the moon with Hurst coming back but I think he was the most realistic person for the job. It'll be interest to see what he's learned since leaving Town.

Hell be ringing as we speak:

“When I left Grimsby, it was Paul that phoned me and said ‘a deal’s been done, we’re both leaving.’

“When we both left Shrewsbury, Paul phoned me again, ‘deal’s done, we’re both going’. Nothing for me to decide really, I was included in things without having any real say as such.

“It’s Paul that’s wanted to take me, but he’s been good for me, and he lets me do a lot of stuff that assistant managers don’t get to do. I’ve appreciated his help and support as well, and we get on really well.

“He’s a good guy first and foremost, a real honest guy, and I like working with him, and that’s the way it’s panned out.”

His comments about our issues and the team are spot on!

Quoted from Ipswin

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmZnn45DoN4

Only kidding Swin  

Grimsby Town are delighted to announce the appointment of Paul Hurst as manager with immediate effect on a contract until June 2023.

Joining Paul in the dugout will be his long term trusted Assistant Manager, Chris Doig who he has worked alongside since 2014.

We welcome back Paul as he returns to the club where he spent five-and-a-half years, taking charge of over 300 games. Memorably, he guided the Mariners back to the Football League after a 3-1 victory at Wembley Stadium over Forest Green Rovers in 2016, ending a six-year spell in the National League.

Paul went on to spend two years at Shrewsbury Town, guiding them from the bottom of Sky Bet League One to the League One Playoff final in 2018, falling just shy of promotion after a 2-1 defeat to Rotherham United at Wembley in extra-time following a 3rd place league finish.

His stock continued to rise, as he was appointed manager of Sky Bet Championship side, Ipswich Town where he spent a short period before joining Lincolnshire rivals, Scunthorpe United at the start of the 2019/20 season.

We spoke exclusively to Chairman Philip Day, who was delighted to secure the signature of our new manager. “I am delighted that Paul has agreed to join us as manager", said Philip. "He needs no introduction from me. We can look back to his five and a half years as manager between 2011 and 2016 and the success we enjoyed under his leadership including four visits to Wembley Stadium. The consortium has been involved and consulted on Paul’s appointment and is very supportive of the Board’s decision. As Paul has identified there will be a necessity to sign players in the forthcoming transfer window, I am pleased that the consortium will again be involved in decisions relating to this and we welcome the added value this will bring.”

Paul was present at Blundell Park yesterday evening, where he saw his side draw 0-0 with Oldham Athletic. Gtfc.co.uk caught up with Paul, who spoke about his delight at re-joining the Mariners and his readiness for a fight. "It's a bit surreal to be back!", he said. "It brings back a lot of nice memories too. It's great to see a lot of familiar faces here still and I have enjoyed it. Not much has changed, many of the faces are still the same but that can be a positive. In terms of getting to know people that's easily done, I already know the people here so that'll be an easy transition.

"No one wants to see the club where it is. There is no doubt that it is a perilous position. There is no point in hiding away from that fact and after being a big part in helping the club get back into the League, I can hopefully play a big part in making sure that we are still there come the end of the season.

"You part company and we went our separate ways for a period, but that doesn't change the fact that you're always looking for the results. I don't take any pleasure in looking at where the club is currently. Between now and the end of the season the goal is to stay up. There is no point in trying to pretend that it's any more than that but, longer-term, I have always said that this club can go further, I truly believe that.

"I have still been watching a lot of football. Part of my routine is watching games from the weekends. It helps with one, my routine but also two, helps keep my knowledge up. It's no good thinking a certain player was good a couple of years ago, you've got to stay on top of it and that's why, when the next challenge comes, you've got to be ready for it and I believe that I am in a good place for that in terms of knowledge.

"I think it's crucial that some players are brought in to help the ones that are already here. Again, people will have chances, but I have watched the last four games now. Already, some players have had that opportunity and whether they have taken that, I always say that I don't think players understand that they never know who's watching in any scenario. Whether that's in the future for a new club or in this case for a new manager, it shouldn't take a change of manager or someone fresh to bring the best out of people but unfortunately that happens sometimes and it's not nice for those that have departed, but it's the case sometimes.

"It will be a fresh start. There are some things that I have seen that I like, but some things that I haven't liked. One thing is obvious, we are not scoring enough goals and we're conceding too many. Unfortunately, that's a terrible recipe and we have got to try and change that. There have not been enough clean sheets for the team and when you're out there and you concede and you've got the feeling that you're not going to score too many, that can be deflating. You've got to be able to cope with that as individuals but most importantly as a team and a squad. That is something we've got to try and do. We've got to try to get people wanting to play, play with a smile on their face, but working extremely hard and that's where it all starts.

"I am really keen to get back to work, to get to know the players, I have got to make some decisions very quickly in terms of ins and outs, in terms of who to include. One thing that is evident is there are too many players here. I have proved before that's not what I like to work with, I like to work with a smaller squad. There, it is easier to get everybody on board, you try and cut out any cliques or negativity around because if you have got 30 odd players, you can have 18 and the subs aren't happy anyway and then you've got another group of players. For me, how I like to work, that is something I will have to deal with, but I am looking forward to the challenge. I am certainly up for the fight and that's what we are going to want and need from the players".

Finally, Chairman Philip Day made a plea to fans following an eventful week. “The last few days have been very divisive", said Philip. "I trust and hope that everyone can put their differences behind them for the good of the Club. Let us all get behind Paul and the team to ensure that we can move up the table. Paul and the players will need all of us united to support them in their endeavours to achieve this.”

You will be able to catch Paul's first interview with iFollow Mariners.

Welcome back, Paul and Chris!

Concede less and score more.

I like his ethos.

    Just hope there is a roll for Ben Davies  he's been the casualty amongst this.

A backwards step struggled in the conference with amond and boggle took him 5 seasons to get a decent squad.

First decent other offer he gets will be out the door like a rat up a drain pipe like at Shrewsbury.

Not full of hope at all The feel good factor has gone.

Quoted from Ipswin

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

Please don't come back

I wonder if they’ve chosen Hurst based upon he’s had experienced at saving sides but also brining a side up from non league?

Quoted from Yoda

A backwards step struggled in the conference with amond and boggle took him 5 seasons to get a decent squad.

First decent other offer he gets will be out the door like a rat up a drain pipe like at Shrewsbury.

Not full of hope at all The feel good factor has gone.

Dear me,what a cheery soul you are.
Happy 2021.

Quoted from samg

Excellent appointment - the squad Hurst assembled to get us out of the conference was a winning mentality squad - disciplined,organised and had quality amongst it - need to offload some uninterested squad members and rebuild! UTM

Whilst not trying to put a dampner on the current euphoria, many on here were pleasuring themselves saying the same thing when Ian Holloway arrived.

Let's see how he does before you get the tissues out again.

Quoted from Ipswin

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

Can this week get any better? 😘

Quoted from Ipswin

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

You really are a wind up merchant Swin. I guess you must just get off on upsetting people and being negative. Still it takes all sorts but my God there are times when just a little bit of positivity wouldn’t go amiss. *UTM

A new dawn shattered interesting to hear what he says about cupping his ear.

Didn’t ull up any frees at Scunny

So it appears that the current Board selected Paul Hurst as the Manager, does that indicate a possibility that they will all remain on the board once the takeover is complete?

TBH was frustrated when he left before
Podge going as well was a sickener (he has proven at Subsequent club)
We Broke up a team that could have done well in DIV2 then
Second Chance now
But just need to finish away from bottom 2 is priority
Question?
If the season is finished early coz of covid and we are in Bottom 2 at that time, are we relegated?
Does that Make Sat a must win game ?
Welcome Back PH (not sure about Doig though)!!
Come on Town!!

Quoted from GrimExile

You really are a wind up merchant Swin. I guess you must just get off on upsetting people and being negative. Still it takes all sorts but my God there are times when just a little bit of positivity wouldn’t go amiss. *UTM

Ex HMRC.... it goes with the territory from my experience  

Good interview. Will do what's needed and trim that massive squad, bringing in some better players soon I hope. We don't need massive improvement to stay up, just enough to get us to 50 odd points and safety. I'm fairly confident he will achieve at least that and possibly a bit more.

Welcome back Paul.

Quoted from Yoda

A backwards step struggled in the conference with amond and boggle took him 5 seasons to get a decent squad.

First decent other offer he gets will be out the door like a rat up a drain pipe like at Shrewsbury.

Not full of hope at all The feel good factor has gone.

Feel good factor at a football club comes from everyone buying in to something together. If you chose to always see the glass as half empty then don’t expect to experience it anytime soon.

Watched his interview on ifollow and like what he says

Think he knows who we need to get rid of!

Shame to see the usual suspects moaning whinging etc but hey if
It gets rid of some of them then this week gets even better

Welcome back Paul

Quoted from Hagrid

Watched his interview on ifollow and like what he says

Think he knows who we need to get rid of!

Shame to see the usual suspects moaning whinging etc but hey if
It gets rid of some of them then this week gets even better

Welcome back Paul

I’d expect the exit door to be very busy, let’s see, but apart from Preston and possibly Edwards you’d think the loanees will be all sent back.

Quoted from FishOutOfWater

Ex HMRC.... it goes with the territory from my experience  

Really? I didn’t know that. That says it all!!!

Good - Paul has watched the last 4 games - so must have had the heads up. If anyone can help us through this - he can. Like his thoughts on trimming the squad and the reasons why.
Welcome back
UTM

Quoted from Yoda

A new dawn shattered interesting to hear what he says about cupping his ear.

Didn’t ull up any frees at Scunny

Very infantile referring to an incident around 4 years ago but not unexpected.
Similar to certain people referring to a referee's decision the previous year.

Quoted from Teestogreen

Good - Paul has watched the last 4 games - so must have had the heads up. If anyone can help us through this - he can. Like his thoughts on trimming the squad and the reasons why.
Welcome back
UTM

I'd imagine his first request was for the season DVD collection. He will have seen them all by now I would have thought.

After the last couple of managerial appointments, it's nice NOT to be carried away on a wave of bloated, misguided optimism and positivity. We kind of know what to expect with Hurst and Doig. I'm hopeful that during their last couple of years they have added to their skillset and coupled with the backing of a progressive board will bring GTFC an injection of success.

Over the course of the non-league years, I like many had become desperate for promotion and believed Hurst would not achieve it. I became part of the toxicity that prevailed and was glad to see the back of Hurst, even during our promotion season. A toxic triangular relationship had developed - Hurst - The board- The fans. Each were in their own camp and not even promotion could mend the wound.

Well, the grass was certainly NOT greener, was it? Bignot, Slade, Jolly and Holloway  
I've learnt a lot since that promotion. Was I unrealistic wanting a speedy return to the league? Unrealistic wanting a Bristol Rovers turbo into league 1? Was I spoilt, by not appreciating the football being served at the time? Probably. But what I know now is I want the Town, the community and the supporters to get behind the new board, Hurst and whatever players remain in February.

The fact remains we remain perilously close to relegation and I firmly believe Hurst, with the right backing can keep us in the league. I firmly believe, over time, Hurst will build a team proud to play in the black and white stripes. Although this will not happen overnight, I have no reason to believe Hurst/Doig are not up to the task. Finally, I firmly believe under the new board, we will have the club we’ve all desperately craved, standing squarely in the centre of our community and successfully relocate to a stadium, fit for the best supporters in the land. UP THE MIGHTY MARINERS!!!!

A good solid appointment given the desperate situation we find ourselves in - yet again it has to be said.

To be honest, we have known for some time that all managers here have been working with one or even both hands tied behind their backs for reasons that are becoming more obvious by the day, so if there is ever a time to come together and support the manager this is it.

I know I thought Ollie was the one and was desperate for him to make a go of it, as I desperately hoped all the other managers could make a go of it, but this is very different. We are almost free of the previous regime that has held us back for so long; a new dawn is breaking.

I still can't quite believe it, after all these years hoping for it to change, but from the credentials of the new consortium it could about to be a fantastic, memorable time to be a Town fan.

I am sure everything will be done with a purpose, within a time-frame and towards a business plan which will obviously include re-location. If I see Town in a new stadium on a rejuvenated Dockside, I will probably faint.    

I'm really pleased to see him back. Feel confident he will keep us up and then get us competing at the other end of the table next season.

He may keep us up.??

But not an inspiring appointment.

Hopefully he can recreate the team building he managed during his last term with us and crucially, get the support for it that he needs. He managed a lot with what he was given and the pressure of fan expectation on his back, players have been loyal to him by following him to different teams so it says something.

In the end despite the criticism, I believe most people wanted him to stay on and keep building on our first season back in league football. We've not exactly done better since with all the managers we put in charge since he left and I'm not sure we could do much better at this point.

Quoted from Cricklewoodmariner

Please don't come back

He will be back  

Quoted from Yoda

He may keep us up.??

But not an inspiring appointment.

Yeah, you said.

By the sound of things Paul took so long to get us up because he had one hand tied behind his back.

He won't have that problem this time.

Quoted from Gaffer58

Get my pillow ready for his first press conference, need to be comfy when falling asleep.

perhaps you misunderstand the role of a first team manager? his primary role is to manage the team and win matches.
Speaking well, or entertainingly, to the media does not get us 3 points.
btw you always have the choice of the 'off' button when he comes on the radio

Quoted from jaygy

Not overwhelming but a very safe pair of hands and can walk straight in the door and get to work with minimal fuss or learning the workings of the club. Good luck to them both and hopefully they can get us back to where we was before they left with the right backing from the board this time

Surely the workings of the club are exactly what have held us back, and what need to change?

[tweet]1344355434593968132[/tweet]

Looks like he can get a bit of a backroom team together that he wants too...

Quoted from Ruston AT

    Just hope there is a roll for Ben Davies  he's been the casualty amongst this.

I don't think there is any danger there we were light one assistant manager in any case.

great news yesterday, excrement news today, bet he brings the Ginger Pig here,,  

Quoted from Stadium

Very infantile referring to an incident around 4 years ago but not unexpected.
Similar to certain people referring to a referee's decision the previous year.

Was that the referee who decided to override the law of football?  

Quoted from Yoda

He may keep us up.??

But not an inspiring appointment.

The last inspiring appointment went well, didn’t it? Billy Bullshit from Bristol.

Quoted from 123614

So it appears that the current Board selected Paul Hurst as the Manager, does that indicate a possibility that they will all remain on the board once the takeover is complete?

I never got that impression.

It says on the club statement the current board consulted with the consortium. Until it is all signed and completed the consortium are just a consortium.

Hopefully not long before they are in the boardroom.

Hurst is considerably more experienced than when he was last here. He'd only a few league games under his belt then.

Happy, welcome back paul.

With so much change at boardroom level, surely a bit of stability with a known manager is something positive ?
Generally Hurst did a good job in his first stint, and since then he will have gained lots more league  experience (something he was very short of first time around) , and hopefully he will receive more support from above than previously, as it was well documented that there were lots of compromises and negativity he had to deal with during his initial tenure

Welcome back Paul & Chris. Pretty excited to see if they can, finally, stop the rot.

We’ve had bullshitters, we eve attracted super successful Ian Holloway and that was a flipping disaster.

In a time when the club is on its bottom and some stability and probably calmness, Hurst is the right appointment. If it doesn’t work out then so be it.

He’s almost got a free hit. We stay up and he gets the chance to build and create his own squad and he’ll be a genius for keeping this lot up.

We go down and not only is he well aware of the conference but he can hand in heart say he gave it a go but bullshitter Ian assembled a truly awful squad.

Quoted from Ipswin

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

Stop being such a bloody big bed-wetter.

You know you'll be frothing at the mouth, vein bulging in your temple and face distorted with rage as your poisoned fingers quiver with anticipation to get back on here when we fail to take maximum points from our opening fixtures.

You've no doubt already updated your two-bob fraudulent psychic prophecy on your signature, so it now reads:  'Well I did tell you Paul Hurst was a bad idea'.

I suspect we could have recruited Klopp or Pep and you'd have found a reason to spin it as doom and gloom. They don't know the lower leagues...

Jolley, who you 'told was a bad idea'  was axed, as was Holloway 'who you also told us 'was a bad idea', so you should be delighted.

I'm intrigued to learn who you actually wanted us to appoint, who in your view 'would be a good idea'? And don't try to side step the question by saying you're not bothered,  as you clearly are.

And good luck getting to Portman Road this season.

Quoted from Yoda

He may keep us up.??

But not an inspiring appointment.

Holloway was an ‘inspiring’ appointment....

That ended well didn’t it?

Great news. Very pleasing

Pleased that Paul Hurst is back, he knows the league and I think he'll do a good job.
What l don't like is the chairman asking the fans to back the club after all the crap he's given us over the last few weeks. Think he's got a bloody nerve.

Quoted from Ipswin

Shame a great opportunity for a new dawn missed

Money no object for the first time ever and we take a backward step

That's it, time to try Portman Road, I'm done

I hear their forum needs a wind up merchant. 🥳

Quoted from Mallyner

Was that the referee who decided to override the law of football?  

Do you require examples of others that did the same over the years?
There are many if you research.
Of course you can keep reminding yourself of an incident that happened many years ago & making yourself angry.
Alternatively you could just look forward?

Ipswin must have still been hoping for Paul Harsley 😁

Finally, Chairman Philip Day made a plea to fans following an eventful week. “The last few days have been very divisive", said Philip. "I trust and hope that everyone can put their differences behind them for the good of the Club. Let us all get behind Paul and the team to ensure that we can move up the table. Paul and the players will need all of us united to support them in their endeavours to achieve this.”

Surprised nobody picked up on Days comments there, and I would argue that the last few  days have been divisive, quite the opposite, the fans were pretty much as one in wanting change, next step is clearly to remove the puppet from his non-position...

Quoted from Davec

I never got that impression.

It says on the club statement the current board consulted with the consortium. Until it is all signed and completed the consortium are just a consortium.

Hopefully not long before they are in the boardroom.

The consortium has been involved and consulted on Paul’s appointment and is very supportive of the Board’s decision.The consortium has been involved and consulted on Paul’s appointment and is very supportive of the Board’s decision.


Now I don't know about anyone else, but that implies to me that it WAS the Boards decision.