New Year New Era

Quoted from gytone

Agree to a point, but don't think Tilley, Williams and Green put much effort in the other day.

Lots of sensible posts on this thread,

If ever there was a few lines that illustrates the inheritance the manager has walked into it’s the ones above.

Green - Good attitude but past it.

Williams - Probably a squad player at best but a bit of a fanny. Dead ball specialist my @rse.

Tilley - Looks like he needs an arm around him or a massive boot up the backside. Clearly has skill not sure about the application.

Other than Macca. Hendrie, Pollock, Waterfall and Moraise I don’t see that we have many other “1st names on the team sheet” though there is a pool of players in the squad that could add value with a bit more experience and work rate alongside them to take some of the weight off them.

We have half a dozen max who are up to it, another similar amount who could make up a squad but some gaps are big ones.  

I think Hurst will find defenders up to it and also a ball winner and a ball player for the mid field, getting the 2 strikers in we need and getting them going quickly will need all his expertise and luck.

I don’t agree that we’re doomed but it wouldn’t surprise me if we went down as there is so much to do.

Paul Hurst has no doubt been brought in to keep us up and move us forward and I’m optimistic if not confident he will.

If we drop through the trap door we’ll all have to stay on the same page behind a manager who we know from history can bring us back.

This could take a long while to truly fix and get a bit bumpy but without a doubt “we’re on our way” as the song used to go.

We need 3 or 4 new players coming in and we will be fine.

That means 6 to 9 players going out if we can either find loans for them or paid off.

If Hanson can not get back to fitness I believe he can be paid off  by the PFA  so that want cost us so much.

Quoted from Poojah

As shocking a result as that was, the starting 11 that day included McKeown, Pearson, Disley and Hearn, so I’m not having that. I recall the likes of Pearson and Hearn finding it particularly tough making the step up to the Conference, but never looked back once they got going.

It’s difficult to make an assessment on the current crop as there are so many of them and ‘the team’ has changed so much from game to game. However, I’d take a look at the lineups from our defeats to Bath in 2009 and Chasetown in 2011 and see how many players you’d want to bring into what we’ve got now.

I’m also of the opinion that what we have is salvageable. We have a back 5 that is easily capable of playing in League Two. I am confident that Hurst will bring some structure and rigidity to our game and that, along with some basic improvements in terms of personnel should be sufficient to keep us up. The bar is very low - even minor progress should keep us above it.

the back 5 isnt that good at keeping clean sheets, you over estimate their ability.  Pollock is ok. Waterfall a liability, Preston average and Hendrie ok....nothing at all spectacular, and a keeper who has made much more mistakes than we are used to.

Of course when the midfield is as powder puff as ours,its only to be expected

Quoted from Boris Johnson

the back 5 isnt that good at keeping clean sheets, you over estimate their ability.  Pollock is ok. Waterfall a liability, Preston average and Hendrie ok....nothing at all spectacular, and a keeper who has made much more mistakes than we are used to.

Of course when the midfield is as powder puff as ours,its only to be expected

Our defence is okay although we could do with a more experienced left-back. Our shambolic midfield leaves the defence exposed again and again.

New Dawn for Grimsby. We will at last have the impetus to do what we really deserve. We have not had real investment in this club for nearly 90, since the Barretts stand was built in the thirties and top flight football, two FA Cup semi finals!

Football is different today?

We were close back in 1985, but football is different today?

We have had, whatever the thoughts have been, JF and sticky plaster philosophy at the club for far too long. There was a brief respite in the early 2000's, but itv farcical put paid to any of that. There is talk on other threads about the resulting actions! That is all history now!

Today is now. So realistically what can be done?

This season, the only option is survival, we are too adrift to even consider a run at the playoffs! Coming above the Scunts has to be number one priority.

But for the future. I can only see PH as caretaker in reality. He has a tough job on his hands and if we are not in for a place next season, then I fear change will be cruel. I could also be wrong.

The main question is real investment. BP is a dump! Only one new stand in 90 years. But how long before we can get into the new stadium. Realistically I see this as five years.

So where should we be in five years? Championship is a must?

The road is going to get much more bumpier!

Quoted from ginnywings

It's not the worst side we've had. They all try at least, unlike the useless bags of skin masquerading as footballers we had under Newell.

Unlike that side, this one could be vastly improved with 3 or 4 players in key areas. I think relegation is far from a given at the moment.

Totally agree. It's not as if we have to spend a lot of money. Shipping out 5 or 6 players could free up enough wages to pay 3 decent players. It's not how much you spend that counts, it's how you spend it. A prime example is Hanson and Green. Probably quite high wage earners but should never have been signed, especially Green who was released by Salford when they got promoted to our level!

I think Edwards clearly would have stayed for the time being if not recalled. Also Hurst as much as said Morton is no loss.

If the match 18 looks like staying pretty much the same apart from replacing Edwards that shows he doesn't think much of the players on the fringe (gomis, taylor, spokes, sisay) in terms of turning us around apart from maybe those that are currently injured (Wright, Hanson, scannell) from the dvds he must have seen so far.

Very clear from that interview (albeit diplomatically) that he feels we have a lot of dead wood to clear out ('some aren't ready for this level now, if they will ever be ready" or words to that effect).

I would think plenty even in the 18 squad will be eligible for moving on if he can get takers/come to an agreement.

Think we're overestimating our defence - we've got the second worst defensive record in the league, only behind Oldham (who we couldn't even score against ourselves!). I don't think our 'best' back 5 of Preston, Pollock, Waterfall, Hendrie and McKeown is anywhere near good enough. Personally I'd like to see Preston replaced with someone a lot more solid and Waterfall moved to 3rd choice behind a new and much better centre half.

I think the chaotic approach from Holloway, the constant excuse making meant we never really saw anything like a settled side note did the squad look settled.

They’re detached from us and it felt like going through the motions.

I think hurst will change that and whilst he may not be the most chipper of chaps I’d take a dour yorkie over that bullshitting wurzel gummage girl private...

Now is the time for the club to alter from top to bottom. We need to support that but we need patience and to manage expectations...but it couldn’t have gotten any worse...

It's nice that this is a generally positive thread and it feels like some hope has been discovered from a train crash situation. The most encouraging thing in the interview was recognition that the club has been left behind in terms of it's structure and it's going to change. He didn't use the term cheapskate but think he inferred it!
Like many others I think we have the basis of a defence and with greater protection from the midfield, and better organisation I think the first thing he'll focus on is getting clean sheets. The more difficult task will be fixing the scoring issue because that's not tinkering it's a major rebuild. We could stick Harry Kane in the current set up and he'd look crap (but I would like to try that)
Love the phrase "we need to get some quality up front", made the hairs stand up on my neck!!