Keep calm.......

I will probably get shot down for this .......but if you look at our points total of 20 from 23 games it’s 5 points pro rata from the “staying up” target of 50 points . Hope my maths makes sense lol !
So if you add on a point for our negative goal difference the minimum target is 31 points from our last 23 games.
If you look at the current teams who have achieved 31 points at the halfway stage you come up with a number of mid table teams - who on average have lost around 6 -7 games.
Our target is not impossible. Tough yes.......but in our hands and half the season left to play for.
Hurst is not blind to what needs doing,and quite capable of delivering it.
I still have hope and the glass is half full.

My thinking is more:

Keep calm... as the transfer window is open and we have half a chance of signing the players to get us out of this mess.

Good luck Paul!

Quoted from Epworth Mariner

I will probably get shot down for this .......but if you look at our points total of 20 from 23 games it’s 5 points pro rata from the “staying up” target of 50 points . Hope my maths makes sense lol !
So if you add on a point for our negative goal difference the minimum target is 31 points from our last 23 games.
If you look at the current teams who have achieved 31 points at the halfway stage you come up with a number of mid table teams - who on average have lost around 6 -7 games.
Our target is not impossible. Tough yes.......but in our hands and half the season left to play for.
Hurst is not blind to what needs doing,and quite capable of delivering it.
I still have hope and the glass is half full.

I admire your sentiment but I’m afraid the damage is done. Poor policy, poor recruitment, poor planning means that we’re unlikely to attract the players we need. But, hey, at least we made a profit!

Would be delighted to be proved wrong but PH interview yesterday was very telling.

The trouble is EM, with the current squad just getting a point seems like an impossible task right now.
I hope Hurst can bring in enough players that are willing to put a shift in for him.  We've seen it before with him in charge; players that perhaps individually weren't world beaters but collectively they would die for the badge (okay maybe a little OTT) but they would go out there and play for PH.

If we can achieve that I have some hope, but with those we have at the mo...


I would also like to add if we do go down, I in no way will blame Paul for it.

I felt with his interview last night he knew it was an impossible job and it is!

Quoted from Epworth Mariner

I will probably get shot down for this .......but if you look at our points total of 20 from 23 games it’s 5 points pro rata from the “staying up” target of 50 points . Hope my maths makes sense lol !
So if you add on a point for our negative goal difference the minimum target is 31 points from our last 23 games.
If you look at the current teams who have achieved 31 points at the halfway stage you come up with a number of mid table teams - who on average have lost around 6 -7 games.
Our target is not impossible. Tough yes.......but in our hands and half the season left to play for.
Hurst is not blind to what needs doing,and quite capable of delivering it.
I still have hope and the glass is half full.

I think you have got to face reality.

We are the worst team in the division (fair play to Grim Rob who called it weeks ago) and we basically need a new team.

Players looking on from afar will say thanks but no thanks.

Someone said yesterday that Hurst and Doig spent more time on the phone last week than the training ground, and that shows the enormity of the task - yesterdays team was absolutely pathetic, and anyone could have rolled us over as we do not possess one ounce of fight or Grimsby grit.

It all depends if we are going to throw considerable funds at it to stay up -  that is the only way I can see of attracting the quality of player needed and enough of them to make a difference.

Players on the way back from injury won't cut it, nor will players who nobody else is interested in.

We have gone backwards alarmingly since the Scunthorpe win, and they are the only team who have actually looked worse than us so I think we need a miracle to be honest. Against the Iron we were slightly less pitiful than two pitiful teams.

We have the added complications of covid, and will the season even finish? We effectively need enough points in the next few weeks in case we get trapped in the points per game scenario.

You can tell I am a pessimist, but if Hurst gets us safe he will deserve a legend status.

In terms of relegation I’m not calm.

There’s been no new manager bounce (played 2 lost 2) and there is nothing to suggest we will start winning.

We have a useless team and anyone willing to sign for us in January will either be not very good or desperate.

I think the gaffer will bring in players he wants to get us out of the conference next season. There is one nail left in our coffin, the rest have been hammered by messrs Fenty, Day, Holloway and Captain McKeown.

Not sure if it’s the grief talking but don’t think I’ll be committing to next season after a second relegation in a near decade.

Its a sad state of affairs when, whilst watching Chorley yesterday i felt that Cardwell is better that any striker we have at the club at the moment and yet couldnt make our squad last year.
Ian Hollow words has left us with an awful squad and poor Hursty has got 3 weeks to try and sign a team that a) wants to come here and b) need to be fit enough to be thrown straight in AND gel with his team mates.
Massive ask, but hope we can perform a miracle

The lot of them are useless spineless shite. Not a care amongst them. Thought PH interview very telling. He has a near impossible job and i feel for him

Quoted from Stew0_0

Its a sad state of affairs when, whilst watching Chorley yesterday i felt that Cardwell is better that any striker we have at the club at the moment and yet couldnt make our squad last year.
Ian Hollow words has left us with an awful squad and poor Hursty has got 3 weeks to try and sign a team that a wants to come here and b need to be fit enough to be thrown straight in AND gel with his team mates.
Massive ask, but hope we can perform a miracle

Would we want them to gel with a bunch of underachieving, possibly useless players? What level would a new player have to sink to get to their level?

For me the biggest worry is from what I've seen in the last two games particularly is the players giving their all. Certainly no lack of effort but a clear lack of gumption, belief and simply quality. We have a lethal combination of a soft underbelly and a complete absence of cutting edge.

Yesterday was as worrying as anything. We had the better of the play, we had more possession, we got into some decent positions, they were dreadful and yet we still lost 3-0 by virtue of our utter incompetence in both boxes.

Difficult? Yes but to say it’s impossible is slightly over stating it. We have the best management team for the job, clear to see the board (new and old) have made funds available and we have HALF a season left.

Don’t get me wrong I’m wide awake to the reality of our situation but to be calling it already is ridiculous.

Will he be able to bring in world beaters? No. But I’ve every faith he will bring players that are good enough to drag us out of this and improve some that we have here already.

As the post says, keep calm and trust Hurst. He’s never given us a reason not to.....

PS don’t take to much of what he says in interview as gospel. He said no incomings before Saturday and an hour later we signed Sam Habergam!

A top craftsman would have a bag of top tools.

He could not make a cabinet if all is tools were third rate.

Paul's tools and I mean tools are 4th or 5th rate at the best.

He has got an impossible job unless he can replace most of his bag.

Best of luck with that Paul.

Quoted from Hagrid

The lot of them are useless spineless shite. Not a care amongst them. Thought PH interview very telling. He has a near impossible job and i feel for him

The selection was spineless. Too scared to 'risk' the youth and inexperience of Gibson, Spokes and Jackson from the start he fell down the same plughole as IH, Ben and last week's format. To counter Vale's obvious intent of targeting full backs and crosses for two big units, we had to have a counter threat. The three mentioned above plus Wright would have given their defence a harder time and injected pace and vigour.
The introduction of Williams was telling. Too cautious and easy meat for their pressing midfield. When our only wide threat is our own full backs we invite yesterdays shitshow.
I called it before kick off and was, sadly, proven correct. No wonder Gibson looked frustrated when he came on. He was never going to find space against a side defending a lead.

BTW. I never want to hear another lengthy Mckeown interview again. One in a week is enough, two, excruciating.

Quoted from grimsby pete

A top craftsman would have a bag of top tools.

He could not make a cabinet if all is tools were third rate.

Paul's tools and I mean tools are 4th or 5th rate at the best.

He has got an impossible job unless he can replace most of his bag.

Best of luck with that Paul.

There's plenty of massive tools in this squad.

Macca needs dropping now. He’s instilling no confidence what so ever. Him laid prone in the goal after the second goal said it all.

Quoted from Croxton

The selection was spineless. Too scared to 'risk' the youth and inexperience of Gibson, Spokes and Jackson from the start he fell down the same plughole as IH, Ben and last week's format. To counter Vale's obvious intent of targeting full backs and crosses for two big units, we had to have a counter threat. The three mentioned above plus Wright would have given their defence a harder time and injected pace and vigour.
The introduction of Williams was telling. Too cautious and easy meat for their pressing midfield. When our only wide threat is our own full backs we invite yesterdays shitshow.
I called it before kick off and was, sadly, proven correct. No wonder Gibson looked frustrated when he came on. He was never going to find space against a side defending a lead.

BTW. I never want to hear another lengthy Mckeown interview again. One in a week is enough, two, excruciating.

I am really down and fed up about our plight but alarm bells are already ringing for me in Hurst's selections yesterday. What did he hope to achieve by playing the same useless line-up?

I know his options are severely limited but surely he could have tweaked the line-up sufficiently to get some response?

If his solution is to get a handful of better players in but more or less admit defeat in the meantime it will be even more of a disaster.

Does anyone know how Hurst turned the Shrews around when he took them over at the bottom of L1?

Did he bring in several new faces rapidly?

Quoted from Croxton

The selection was spineless. Too scared to 'risk' the youth and inexperience of Gibson, Spokes and Jackson from the start he fell down the same plughole as IH, Ben and last week's format. To counter Vale's obvious intent of targeting full backs and crosses for two big units, we had to have a counter threat. The three mentioned above plus Wright would have given their defence a harder time and injected pace and vigour.
The introduction of Williams was telling. Too cautious and easy meat for their pressing midfield. When our only wide threat is our own full backs we invite yesterdays shitshow.
I called it before kick off and was, sadly, proven correct. No wonder Gibson looked frustrated when he came on. He was never going to find space against a side defending a lead.

BTW. I never want to hear another lengthy Mckeown interview again. One in a week is enough, two, excruciating.

There’s far from any guarantee that the players you mention would have made any difference. Gibson has had plenty of opportunities and shown very little (apart from an ability to match Ross Hannah for offsides). Spokes played ok the other week but looks like a player that’s taken a huge step up. Jackson probably deserves a start virtue of the fact he’s the only striker who can actually score. Wright had just come back from injury so starting him was optimistic. And let’s be honest, even if those 3 had started, the chances are vale would still have easily won.

Quoted from Mariner93er

There’s far from any guarantee that the players you mention would have made any difference. Gibson has had plenty of opportunities and shown very little (apart from an ability to match Ross Hannah for offsides). Spokes played ok the other week but looks like a player that’s taken a huge step up. Jackson probably deserves a start virtue of the fact he’s the only striker who can actually score. Wright had just come back from injury so starting him was optimistic. And let’s be honest, even if those 3 had started, the chances are vale would still have easily won.

Maybe, but he should surely have tried to do something? We bring in a new manager to create a new buzz, a fresh start and all that and the players looked flatter yesterday than ever.  

We started brightly yesterday and had it not been for the post 1- up. The other end is the real problem as we ship goals for fun. How can we build on a bright start when up the other end we are totally crap. The goals were laughable.

Macca the flapper. He’s done now in my eyes.

Quoted from oochiad

Macca the flapper. He’s done now in my eyes.

I think there is zero trust between Macca and the back 4 and the back 4 and Macca.

For a laugh me and my lad looked back at Macca’s goals he’s given up this season, my god there are plenty. I don’t like to single people out but we really need to address this and quickly. I know there are plenty of other issues but we desperately need a change, only my opinion of course. UTM!!

Quoted from oochiad

For a laugh me and my lad looked back at Macca’s goals he’s given up this season, my god there are plenty. I don’t like to single people out but we really need to address this and quickly. I know there are plenty of other issues but we desperately need a change, only my opinion of course. UTM!!

No I think you are right, Russell is not really a solution either so we definitely need a new keeper in.

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

No I think you are right, Russell is not really a solution either so we definitely need a new keeper in.

The way his side improved with Henderson in goal will have shown Hurst that he needs a GK to take charge of the back 5. I would look at an experienced GK with a good pedigree (Labrador or retriever?) from a higher league.

We don’t need a shot stopper, we need a good football brain to sort out the defence, a Sherwood or a Beasant type keeper who has played at a decent level. A really good signing in goal would work wonders.

Christ the negativity in this thread is pathetic. There’s half a season left, a transfer window still open and 69 points available. The state of panic in mariners fans when we are winning every week is unbelievable. Yes, I appreciate we are on a very poor run and need a lot of work doing but if we go by these message boards, we should have been relegated when Jolley took over and all the over occasions when fans melt down.

Get behind the team from afar, have some trust in Hurst and his team and look forward to the future of new ownership.

Quoted from gtfc_akpa_akpro

Christ the negativity in this thread is pathetic. There’s half a season left, a transfer window still open and 69 points available. The state of panic in mariners fans when we are winning every week is unbelievable. Yes, I appreciate we are on a very poor run and need a lot of work doing but if we go by these message boards, we should have been relegated when Jolley took over and all the over occasions when fans melt down.

Get behind the team from afar, have some trust in Hurst and his team and look forward to the future of new ownership.

Negativity? Think it's more reality - not knocking Hurst but he was brutally honest about the task ahead in the post match interview.

Quoted from oochiad

We started brightly yesterday and had it not been for the post 1- up. The other end is the real problem as we ship goals for fun. How can we build on a bright start when up the other end we are totally crap. The goals were laughable.

Pollock was offside so wouldnt have mattered

Quoted from gtfc_akpa_akpro

Christ the negativity in this thread is pathetic. There’s half a season left, a transfer window still open and 69 points available. The state of panic in mariners fans when we are winning every week is unbelievable. Yes, I appreciate we are on a very poor run and need a lot of work doing but if we go by these message boards, we should have been relegated when Jolley took over and all the over occasions when fans melt down.

Get behind the team from afar, have some trust in Hurst and his team and look forward to the future of new ownership.

Have you seen us play in the last 2 months or so?

110% trust and belief in Hurst but we are pretty bad. We need half a dozen competent players at L2 level, how many of them types will sign for a club in our position?

Quoted from gtfc_akpa_akpro

Christ the negativity in this thread is pathetic. There’s half a season left, a transfer window still open and 69 points available. The state of panic in mariners fans when we are winning every week is unbelievable. Yes, I appreciate we are on a very poor run and need a lot of work doing but if we go by these message boards, we should have been relegated when Jolley took over and all the over occasions when fans melt down.

Get behind the team from afar, have some trust in Hurst and his team and look forward to the future of new ownership.

I’m totally behind the team and Hurst and have everything crossed we can stay up. I’m being realistic in what I think we need to sort to stay up. That’s what this board is for, expressing one’s opinions and if you watch how can you deny the suggestion I am making? UTM!!

I still have hope and the glass is half full.[/quote]

The glass is like our squad - regardless of whether it’s half full or half empty it’s twice as big as it should be

Quoted from Epworth Mariner

I will probably get shot down for this .......but if you look at our points total of 20 from 23 games it’s 5 points pro rata from the “staying up” target of 50 points . Hope my maths makes sense lol !
So if you add on a point for our negative goal difference the minimum target is 31 points from our last 23 games.
If you look at the current teams who have achieved 31 points at the halfway stage you come up with a number of mid table teams - who on average have lost around 6 -7 games.
Our target is not impossible. Tough yes.......but in our hands and half the season left to play for.
Hurst is not blind to what needs doing,and quite capable of delivering it.
I still have hope and the glass is half full.

Our biggest problem is that most of this squad would struggle to get into a Northern Premier League side.

We haven't got a forward who will score more than 5 goals in a season, it is sad that our leading scorer is a lumbering centre half.

Our midfield is weak and never look like adding a goal or two, Clifton's form is going backwards, Rose in the main has been poor and doesn't look fit enough to even last a game. There is no real creativity or any sense of battling for the cause there either.

As regards the defence and goal keepers, you only have to look at the goals we have been conceding which can only be described as dreadful.

The only bright spots for me are possibly Morais who as yet doesn't look fit enough to last a full game and Wright who again had a problem remaining fully fit.

We could do with at least 12 new players but will the club allow that?

Yesterday was disappointing for a number of reasons:

1.  No new manager bounce, whilst Port Vale get an immediate return from sacking their Manager
2. No improvement in our defensive shape or ability to stop conceding goals. Hoped a week with Hurst & Doig would see us either hang on for a 0-0 or lose to odd goal but it is seems maybe not enough time was spent on the training ground because of the need to sign players. A no win either way.

3. Selections. Agree with a number of posters, and stated on another thread, that the selection of Spokes, Wright, Gibson and Jackson Jnr, would not only have given us some energy and pace but sent a clear message to others that changes are happening so perform or leave.

4. As Forza said in other threads the fact PH never has trusted young players to perform and prefers experience. In our situation that is, in many ways, understandable but surely having seen our last 5 games, and having consulted Dave Moore and Ben Davies there should have been enough football knowledge that to continue to pick Preston, Rose, Green & Williams was very unlikely to change our fortunes.

Just watching Crawley and they are on a 9 game unbeaten run which suggests to me Town were the last team to beat them which seems unbelievable. We have also won at Cheltenham, Orient and should have beaten Carlisle at home, but for Macca, and given these sides are all nearer the top of the league rather than the bottom it does indicate we do have some ability within the side but new signings and some much needed confidence are the priority for the remainder of the season.

Watching Crawley thrash Leeds 3-0 at the moment and they’re top scorer has 16 goals! Imagine that........

Hassenthaler having a great game......

Quoted from oochiad

Watching Crawley thrash Leeds 3-0 at the moment and they’re top scorer has 16 goals! Imagine that........

Mark Wright comes on in stoppage time, publicity stunt or what  

The simple fact is we only need to compete with the bottom 4 teams to stay up . Most of these aren’t going to regularly pick up points . New players will make a difference. As long as we end up 22nd that’ll do me

Quoted from promotion plaice

Mark Wright comes on in stoppage time, publicity stunt or what  

Didn’t touch the ball did he? 😂😂

Quoted from gtfc_akpa_akpro

Christ the negativity in this thread is pathetic. There’s half a season left, a transfer window still open and 69 points available. The state of panic in mariners fans when we are winning every week is unbelievable. Yes, I appreciate we are on a very poor run and need a lot of work doing but if we go by these message boards, we should have been relegated when Jolley took over and all the over occasions when fans melt down.

Get behind the team from afar, have some trust in Hurst and his team and look forward to the future of new ownership.

We are behind the team The discussions about our shortcomings between a couple of dozen posters on a forum won't change things one jot. If crowds were allowed in most of us would be cheering our heads off.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

We are behind the team The discussions about our shortcomings between a couple of dozen posters on a forum won't change things one jot. If crowds were allowed in most of us would be cheering our heads off.

Agree and I think Holloway would have been gone much earlier if he could hear the “opinions” from the stands

Quoted from Epworth Mariner

I will probably get shot down for this .......but if you look at our points total of 20 from 23 games it’s 5 points pro rata from the “staying up” target of 50 points . Hope my maths makes sense lol !
So if you add on a point for our negative goal difference the minimum target is 31 points from our last 23 games.
If you look at the current teams who have achieved 31 points at the halfway stage you come up with a number of mid table teams - who on average have lost around 6 -7 games.
Our target is not impossible. Tough yes.......but in our hands and half the season left to play for.
Hurst is not blind to what needs doing,and quite capable of delivering it.
I still have hope and the glass is half full.

Can’t believe no one has pointed this out after 5 pages...,,
....20 points from 23 games means a pro rata total of 40 points for the 46 game season. So 10 points off 50.

Having said that 50 points is the target when there are 3 relegation spots (long time since we’ve been in that position!). With 2 to go down the total for safety is usually a little lower. Small crumb of comfort, very small.

Quoted from oochiad

Didn’t touch the ball did he? 😂😂

He'd fit in well with our current team  

Quoted from Mariner93er

There’s far from any guarantee that the players you mention would have made any difference. Gibson has had plenty of opportunities and shown very little (apart from an ability to match Ross Hannah for offsides). Spokes played ok the other week but looks like a player that’s taken a huge step up. Jackson probably deserves a start virtue of the fact he’s the only striker who can actually score. Wright had just come back from injury so starting him was optimistic. And let’s be honest, even if those 3 had started, the chances are vale would still have easily won.

Hasn't stopped him picking the ineffective Green, has it?

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Yesterday was disappointing for a number of reasons:

1.  No new manager bounce, whilst Port Vale get an immediate return from sacking their Manager
2. No improvement in our defensive shape or ability to stop conceding goals. Hoped a week with Hurst & Doig would see us either hang on for a 0-0 or lose to odd goal but it is seems maybe not enough time was spent on the training ground because of the need to sign players. A no win either way.

3. Selections. Agree with a number of posters, and stated on another thread, that the selection of Spokes, Wright, Gibson and Jackson Jnr, would not only have given us some energy and pace but sent a clear message to others that changes are happening so perform or leave.

4. As Forza said in other threads the fact PH never has trusted young players to perform and prefers experience. In our situation that is, in many ways, understandable but surely having seen our last 5 games, and having consulted Dave Moore and Ben Davies there should have been enough football knowledge that to continue to pick Preston, Rose, Green & Williams was very unlikely to change our fortunes.

Just watching Crawley and they are on a 9 game unbeaten run which suggests to me Town were the last team to beat them which seems unbelievable. We have also won at Cheltenham, Orient and should have beaten Carlisle at home, but for Macca, and given these sides are all nearer the top of the league rather than the bottom it does indicate we do have some ability within the side but new signings and some much needed confidence are the priority for the remainder of the season.

New manager bounce happens when the players of a team are simply underperforming with the old manager but actually have a bit of quality about them.

Our players are just completely excrement and wouldn’t be able to play better for any manager to be honest.

You can’t polish a turd.