Hurst and the consortium

bit surprised that hasn't been much comment on the Hurst interview with Matt Dean, which in many ways, was more interesting than the excellent chat with Ira.
Said that under Holloway's regime Ira had been used as a centre forward, but it was only after talking to Ira that Hurst found out that he preferred to play out wide.
There was a lot of coded criticism of Fenty's penny pinching, and it was obvious that Hurst is excited by the new approach the consortium will bring , and the improvements they will be able to make.
I would be very surprised given Stockwood's supportive tweets and the discussions they're obviously having, that Hurst won't be in charge next year. Particularly  that they will soon be concluding talks on next season's budget.
Seems evident that there will be much more support given for playing staff, support staff and facilities.
I got the distinct impression that we must be amongst the worst teams in the league in terms of training facilities and back up staff
There was absolutely no comment about Hurst having any involvement with Fenty and/or Day , just with the Holy Trinity, and indeed it was because of the consortium that Hurst had decided to return ( a subtle insight into his relationship with Fenty methinks).
Did make me think that this must've been an added difficulty for Hurst in that he's working in a vacuum; the old regime are still in charge, but have no power, but the new boys who he seems to be in a regular contact with, have the plans and the money, but no power

As I said I accepted relegation a couple of months ago, it's only interviews like this and the potential of the new Consortium that gives me hope that 'it doesn't have to be like this' and we actually have quite a bright future

Quoted from forza ivano

bit surprised that hasn't been much comment on the Hurst interview with Matt Dean, which in many ways, was more interesting than the excellent chat with Ira.
Said that under Holloway's regime Ira had been used as a centre forward, but it was only after talking to Ira that Hurst found out that he preferred to play out wide.
There was a lot of coded criticism of Fenty's oenny pinching, and it was obvious that Hurst is excited by the new approach the consortium will bring , and the improvements they will be able to make.
I would be very surprised given Stockwood's tweets in support and the discussions they're obviously having, that Hurst won't be in charge next year. Particulalry  that they will soon be concluding talks on next season's budget.
Seems evident that there will be much more support given for playing staff, support staff and facilities.
I go the distinct impression that we must be amongst the worst teams in the league in terms of training facilities and back up staff
There was absolutely no comment about Hurst having any involvement with Fenty and/or Day , just with the Holy Trinity, and indeed it was because of the consortium that Hurst had decided to return ( a subtle insight into his relationship with Fenty methinks).
Did make me think that this must've been an added difficulty for Hurst in that he's working in a vacuum; the old regime are still in charge, but have no power, but the new boys who he seems to be in a reular contact with, have the plans and the money, but no power

As i said i accepted relegation a couple of months ago, it's only interviews like this and the potential of the new Consortium that gives me hope that 'it doesn't have to be like this' and we actually have quite a bright future

I agree with you. I too have accepted relegation (though hope hasn't totally died entirely and I still dream of a magical winning run....) but the thing which keeps me going is the optimism I have concerning the new owners. They are simply a different caliber of individual to Fenty and in many ways living in a different century.

They are not buying the club to see it rot away, I think we are going to have several exciting seasons ahead, slugging it out at the top end of whichever division we are in.

Call me crazy, but I see no reason why we can't do what Lincoln have, i.e. get into the L1 play off zone.  I could see us doing that in our new stadium within five years. (Ok, maybe just a little crazy.....)

Good post Forza, that’s my line of thinking too although you put it so much better than I could.

Encouraging as well that the Trust reported recently that the new owners want to work closely with them (the Trust).  

Quoted from RonMariner

I agree with you. I too have accepted relegation (though hope hasn't totally died entirely and I still dream of a magical winning run....) but the thing which keeps me going is the optimism I have concerning the new owners. They are simply a different caliber of individual to Fenty and in many ways living in a different century.

They are not buying the club to see it rot away, I think we are going to have several exciting seasons ahead, slugging it out at the top end of whichever division we are in.

Call me crazy, but I see no reason why we can't do what Lincoln have, i.e. get into the L1 play off zone.  I could see us doing that in our new stadium within five years. (Ok, maybe just a little crazy.....)

Why not? In 5 years, is it unrealistic to have a new stadium, excellent training facilities and a club at the right end of League 1?

Quoted from forza ivano

bit surprised that hasn't been much comment on the Hurst interview with Matt Dean, which in many ways, was more interesting than the excellent chat with Ira.
Said that under Holloway's regime Ira had been used as a centre forward, but it was only after talking to Ira that Hurst found out that he preferred to play out wide.
There was a lot of coded criticism of Fenty's penny pinching, and it was obvious that Hurst is excited by the new approach the consortium will bring , and the improvements they will be able to make.
I would be very surprised given Stockwood's supportive tweets and the discussions they're obviously having, that Hurst won't be in charge next year. Particularly  that they will soon be concluding talks on next season's budget.
Seems evident that there will be much more support given for playing staff, support staff and facilities.
I got the distinct impression that we must be amongst the worst teams in the league in terms of training facilities and back up staff
There was absolutely no comment about Hurst having any involvement with Fenty and/or Day , just with the Holy Trinity, and indeed it was because of the consortium that Hurst had decided to return ( a subtle insight into his relationship with Fenty methinks).
Did make me think that this must've been an added difficulty for Hurst in that he's working in a vacuum; the old regime are still in charge, but have no power, but the new boys who he seems to be in a regular contact with, have the plans and the money, but no power

As I said I accepted relegation a couple of months ago, it's only interviews like this and the potential of the new Consortium that gives me hope that 'it doesn't have to be like this' and we actually have quite a bright future

Great post Forza.

My understanding (from someone in the know) is that the budgets that Hurst had to work with in the Conference were a lot lower than most people would expect.

With new ownership that will invest in our infrastructure and give proper attention to those needs, we may be in a position to bounce back quicker than last time.

Agree Forza
I wrote something yesterday that was basically a short summary of what you have now written
Not that I am accusing you of plagiarism!
Just agreeing with your more expansive summing up

Whoever is in charge - and it will be Hurst - has a far better chance of succeeding

We will be dragged into the the 2020s from the 1970s!

I think the fact that PH is on a 2.5 year contract and not the rolling 6 months tells us all we need to know. I truly hope these guys want to engage the supporters and build a football club at the heart of a community.
Not entirely convinced PH is the man to help deliver that but with the right leadership who knows, and with the right financial support I think we'll be out of the cesspit much quicker this time.

So Hurst is the man for the consortium and like it or not I have to accept it whether I agree or not. They will be in charge in a few days (I hope) and it is their money so time will tell. I just hope that he has a budget to get the right players in and get us up from the NL.

I can't see any reason why, as someone posted, we can't be in L1 in 5 years with a new stadium and updated training facilities. The poistive thing about being rock bottom is the only way is up.

Be interesting to see how the new owners respond to criticism if we aren’t challenging for the title next year under hurst. Luton dismissed every manager when promotion wasn’t achieved every season in non league and I’m pretty sure they spent less time down there than us, totally against the model we ran with.

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

Be interesting to see how the new owners respond to criticism if we aren’t challenging for the title next year under hurst. Luton dismissed every manager when promotion wasn’t achieved every season in non league and I’m pretty sure they spent less time down there than us, totally against the model we ran with.

One season less than us. Went down the season before us but came back two seasons before us. But for one poor refereeing decision we might have been down there one season less.

They had significantly bigger crowds than us throughout too, so presumably bigger budgets.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

One season less than us. Went down the season before us but came back two seasons before us. But for one poor refereeing decision we might have been down there one season less.

They had significantly bigger crowds than us throughout too, so presumably bigger budgets.

And look at them now

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

And look at them now

What has that got to do with the price of fish?

We’re on our sixth permanent manager since promotion. They have had the same manager for five years and have bigger crowds than us.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

What has that got to do with the price of fish?

We’re on our sixth permanent manager since promotion. They have had the same manager for five years and have bigger crowds than us.

So what you saying hurst gets us to a play off next season and fails you would keep him on for another go ? No idea of fish prices btw and if crowds mattered Sunderland would be in the prem and Accrington would be in the north west counties league

Quoted from KingstonMariner

What has that got to do with the price of fish?

We’re on our sixth permanent manager since promotion. They have had the same manager for five years and have bigger crowds than us.

No they haven’t. He went to Stoke, got sacked and came back.

At the end of the day ,if/when we go down i certainly dont expect us to come straight back , surely our memories arent that short ?  Plenty of chatter last time about Pub teams, dog and duck , part time players etc etc  and it took us ages and some luck to eventually escape.

Why would anyone think we are just going to come straight back ? Also given that the promotion system has completely changed now, more opportunity to make the play offs but extra games involved.

Also have Wrexham been officially taken over yet ?  They could have some siginficant backing and again plenty of other former league clubs in there and probably more full time clubs now.

Some of the backroom changes, infrastructure changes that could take place wont be overnight or bring instant success.

And finally, Hurst.....still i only see the manager who doesnt want to lose and see's drawing as ok , even now drawing doesnt seem to be a disaster to him and he even said post match Saturday regards Tuesday , although he doesnt like the phrase he reluctantly would accept its a "must win game".
Its why we never threatened to take the title under him, he never could see that in a three points for a win system a point just sometimes isnt enough....remaining unbeaten always seemed to be his focus.

Quoted from moosey_club

At the end of the day ,if/when we go down i certainly dont expect us to come straight back , surely our memories arent that short ?  Plenty of chatter last time about Pub teams, dog and duck , part time players etc etc  and it took us ages and some luck to eventually escape.

Why would anyone think we are just going to come straight back ? Also given that the promotion system has completely changed now, more opportunity to make the play offs but extra games involved.

Also have Wrexham been officially taken over yet ?  They could have some siginficant backing and again plenty of other former league clubs in there and probably more full time clubs now.

Some of the backroom changes, infrastructure changes that could take place wont be overnight or bring instant success.

And finally, Hurst.....still i only see the manager who doesnt want to lose and see's drawing as ok , even now drawing doesnt seem to be a disaster to him and he even said post match Saturday regards Tuesday , although he doesnt like the phrase he reluctantly would accept its a "must win game".
Its why we never threatened to take the title under him, he never could see that in a three points for a win system a point just sometimes isnt enough....remaining unbeaten always seemed to be his focus.

The qualifying teams don't actually play more games as there are no home and away ties. The second and third finishing  teams play a one off home game against the winners of the 7th and 4th teams and the 6th and 5th teams.

Quoted from arryarryarry

The qualifying teams don't actually play more games as there are no home and away ties. The second and third finishing  teams play a one off home game against the winners of the 7th and 4th teams and the 6th and 5th teams.

At least interest should be retained right until the last few weeks. Assuming we are in and around the top 10. God help us if we aren't!!!!

Quoted from moosey_club

At the end of the day ,if/when we go down i certainly dont expect us to come straight back , surely our memories arent that short ?  Plenty of chatter last time about Pub teams, dog and duck , part time players etc etc  and it took us ages and some luck to eventually escape.

Why would anyone think we are just going to come straight back ? Also given that the promotion system has completely changed now, more opportunity to make the play offs but extra games involved.

Also have Wrexham been officially taken over yet ?  They could have some siginficant backing andplenty of other fo again rmer league clubs in there and probably more full time clubs now.

Some of the backroom changes, infrastructure changes that could take place wont be overnight or bring instant success.

And finally, Hurst.....still i only see the manager who doesnt want to lose and see's drawing as ok , even now drawing doesnt seem to be a disaster to him and he even said post match Saturday regards Tuesday , although he doesnt like the phrase he reluctantly would accept its a "must win game".
Its why we never threatened to take the title under him, he never could see that in a three points for a win system a point just sometimes isnt enough....remaining unbeaten always seemed to be his focus.

had a look at our last Conference table and there's still about the same number of ex League clubs and i think that there is still the same amount of full time club.Even 6 years ago the vast majority were full time.
As for Wrexham there was always one mega bucks club - Luton, FGR etc
I do wonder whether much will have changed in the 6 years we've been away; there may be slightly better pitches, facilities and some clubs may have better off field support staff, but i haven't seen anything to make me think there's anything radically different.

we however, should be much better prepared. Interesting comment earlier in another thread that the budget wasn't as generous as Fenty made out, and i don't see the consortium being that penny pinching. Also whilst some off field stuff will take time, things like the analyst and strength & conditioning can make improvements pretty quickly (especially as we will have nearly 5 months to prepare!)
the hoped for sale of Dembele in the summer would be a nice problem for the consortium and Hurst to deal with.
Also add in that Hurst and Doig have a lot more experience now plus a number of potential rivals will be financially weakened after the shambles of this National League season and there are reasons to be hopeful

Can I ask why we think the new consortium are going to put more money in? Just asking the question .

Quoted from forza ivano

bit surprised that hasn't been much comment on the Hurst interview with Matt Dean, which in many ways, was more interesting than the excellent chat with Ira.
Said that under Holloway's regime Ira had been used as a centre forward, but it was only after talking to Ira that Hurst found out that he preferred to play out wide.
There was a lot of coded criticism of Fenty's penny pinching, and it was obvious that Hurst is excited by the new approach the consortium will bring , and the improvements they will be able to make.
I would be very surprised given Stockwood's supportive tweets and the discussions they're obviously having, that Hurst won't be in charge next year. Particularly  that they will soon be concluding talks on next season's budget.
Seems evident that there will be much more support given for playing staff, support staff and facilities.
I got the distinct impression that we must be amongst the worst teams in the league in terms of training facilities and back up staff
There was absolutely no comment about Hurst having any involvement with Fenty and/or Day , just with the Holy Trinity, and indeed it was because of the consortium that Hurst had decided to return ( a subtle insight into his relationship with Fenty methinks).
Did make me think that this must've been an added difficulty for Hurst in that he's working in a vacuum; the old regime are still in charge, but have no power, but the new boys who he seems to be in a regular contact with, have the plans and the money, but no power

As I said I accepted relegation a couple of months ago, it's only interviews like this and the potential of the new Consortium that gives me hope that 'it doesn't have to be like this' and we actually have quite a bright future

Good post Forza!

What we do know is that even if Hurst had been talking to the consortium daily he wouldn’t tell us anything until it all done, to his credit unlike his predecessor he tends not to talk much about what he can’t control. I’m surprised Matt Dean got that much out of him.

We’ll go down and looking at what the playing squad looks like and the lack of infrastructure I’d be amazed if we came straight back up.

The NL may not be completely full of “once great clubs” but it’s certainly got plenty of currently well run clubs who have just as much ambition as us and are further along in their development plans, let’s hope our plan is ready to take off the shelf before the ink drys on the deal.

Quoted from forza ivano

had a look at our last Conference table and there's still about the same number of ex League clubs and i think that there is still the same amount of full time club.Even 6 years ago the vast majority were full time.
As for Wrexham there was always one mega bucks club - Luton, FGR etc
I do wonder whether much will have changed in the 6 years we've been away; there may be slightly better pitches, facilities and some clubs may have better off field support staff, but i haven't seen anything to make me think there's anything radically different.

we however, should be much better prepared. Interesting comment earlier in another thread that the budget wasn't as generous as Fenty made out, and i don't see the consortium being that penny pinching. Also whilst some off field stuff will take time, things like the analyst and strength & conditioning can make improvements pretty quickly (especially as we will have nearly 5 months to prepare!)
the hoped for sale of Dembele in the summer would be a nice problem for the consortium and Hurst to deal with.
Also add in that Hurst and Doig have a lot more experience now plus a number of potential rivals will be financially weakened after the shambles of this National League season and there are reasons to be hopeful

Once bitten , twice shy for me.

Whilst p!ssed off we are heading back i am not one of those that is saying thats its for me or i wont go , i loved the realness of the non league , felt much more like real football for me, not standardised almost franchised feel about the Football League and miles away from the financial greed......although i think that has been spreading down since we left.

Certainly wont be thinking its going to be a given that we will be up there, as we will be looking at a largely new squad as well.... albeit

Wherever , however , still GTFC til i die.

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

Can I ask why we think the new consortium are going to put more money in? Just asking the question .

Also, is there a spending “cap” of any kind in the National League?

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Good post Forza!

What we do know is that even if Hurst had been talking to the consortium daily he wouldn’t tell us anything until it all done, to his credit unlike his predecessor he tends not to talk much about what he can’t control. I’m surprised Matt Dean got that much out of him.

We’ll go down and looking at what the playing squad looks like and the lack of infrastructure I’d be amazed if we came straight back up.

The NL may not be completely full of “once great clubs” but it’s certainly got plenty of currently well run clubs who have just as much ambition as us and are further along in their development plans, let’s hope our plan is ready to take off the shelf before the ink drys on the deal.

i'm told that the Consortium have always had a plan A and a plan B. i think it's safe to say that they are not the sort of people who will have been sat back twiddling their thumbs during this 3 month period.
i would fully expect to see a costed, coherent plan being revealed almost immediately. it wouldn't surprise me if some sort of CEO was announced at the first pres conference. And i can imagine gym facilities, strength and conditioning and the analysts side being improved almost immediately, as well as some of pyschological input being introduced.
none of this is rocket science and it doesn't need to cost the earth.i think this is why Hurst sounded so enthused, because he can see the possibilities . btw Hurst's tenure at Ipswich must have opened his eyes to how  a proper off field structure should or could be done

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

Can I ask why we think the new consortium are going to put more money in? Just asking the question .

They'd struggle to put less in than Fenty given that he's spent the last few years taking money out.

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

So what you saying hurst gets us to a play off next season and fails you would keep him on for another go ? No idea of fish prices btw and if crowds mattered Sunderland would be in the prem and Accrington would be in the north west counties league

No. Did I say anything to that effect? I’d stop trying to read between the lines.

Of course crowds make a difference. Sunderland are underachieving and Accy are overachieving. Only have to look at their respective histories.

Quoted from tanga_the_indestructible

No they haven’t. He went to Stoke, got sacked and came back.

Didn’t realise that. Still doing well as a club with far fewer managers than us.

But as I said before. No one has succeeded with us since came back in the League and I don’t think the underlying reason is the manager.

Quoted from mariner91

They'd struggle to put less in than Fenty given that he's spent the last few years taking money out.

That might depend on how they are financing the acquisition.

Assuming that they’re not loading the club with debt to buy Fenty out, then we won’t have his loans to pay off any more.

Think 1 or 2 maybe getting carried away with consortium finances, and may be in for a surprise with our non league budget.

Quoted from Humbercod

Think 1 or 2 maybe getting carried away with consortium finances, and may be in for a surprise with our non league budget.

Think most will just be happy not to see £200k of our money disappear straight into the pocket of a board member lording it up round town in an Aston Martin.

We’re starting from a very, very, VERY low bar when it comes to club owners.

Stockport have had more than their share of troubles in the last decade or so.  They now have new owners and have just bought Paddy Madden from Fleetwood, reportedly for £250,000, so there cant be a spending cap in the lower leagues.

Let us not worry about non-league until it is mathematically certain we are down, otherwise we will be going mad until the end of the season. Stay positive and hope that the players and staff do, otherwise we will go down. Time for recriminations is at the end of the season and are a distraction until then.

Quoted from ska face

Think most will just be happy not to see £200k of our money disappear straight into the pocket of a board member lording it up round town in an Aston Martin.

We’re starting from a very, very, VERY low bar when it comes to club owners.

Really!? I wonder how much that cost. Has he ever said?

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Didn’t realise that. Still doing well as a club with far fewer managers than us.

But as I said before. No one has succeeded with us since came back in the League and I don’t think the underlying reason is the manager.

I know the CEO at Luton well, our kids go to school together, so I've spoken to him often about non-league, L2 etc. I can see why they've done well when we haven't. He told me that Fenty called him asking him how he'd found Nathan Jones (I think our next appointment was Jolley). Luton is a very well run club with a strategy. Ironically the CEO's mrs comes from just outside GY

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Really!? I wonder how much that cost. Has he ever said?

Ooh I don't know but I bet it costs a small fortune to get minor things fixed like scratches and excrement. I read somewhere that one can cost about £80K to £85K

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

Can I ask why we think the new consortium are going to put more money in? Just asking the question .

1. They are not Fenty .

2. Even if they do not put any money in they will not be taking 200,000 quid out.

3. They are not Fenty .

Quoted from grimsby pete

1. They are not Fenty .

2. Even if they do not put any money in they will not be taking 200,000 quid out.

3. They are not Fenty .

Aren't they having to pay him off though so the funds will have to come from somewhere.

I dont think the playing budget willbe as big as some think. They only want the club to go with the regeneration of the area . I wouldnt think for one minute they wanted the club soley for making us a top team and will go all out for it

Quoted from BlackandWhiteBarmy2

Ooh I don't know but I bet it costs a small fortune to get minor things fixed like scratches and excrement. I read somewhere that one can cost about £80K to £85K

Wow! That’s a lot. I bet if someone scratched that it would be much more important than if they scratched my car.

That’s what I was alluding to Denni.
I suppose on the up side, should any other investors come in after the takeover, at least the same money won’t be taken out of the club by someone.

Quoted from denni266

I dont think the playing budget willbe as big as some think. They only want the club to go with the regeneration of the area . I wouldnt think for one minute they wanted the club solely for making us a top team and will go all out for it

i don't think any reasonable person is expecting them to throw buckets of cash at it, but imho they will be realistic - they will know from their consultant (who was involved at Yeovil, remember) what an average Conference /League 2 budget is and what the top boys are paying.
Said consultant (& Hurst) will no doubt have made them aware as to what is needed behind the scenes to, at the very least, catch up with everyone else. 1 area where i think there could be improvements ( that i forgot in my original post) is injury management / physiotherapy .

Perhaps the difference will be that whilst Fenty was looking to pay out the very least possible, the Holy Trinity will look to go towards the upper limit of what can be reasonably afforded. Remember that Stockwood is a fan , so they are not totally disinterested businessmen

FAO NORTHSEA - i was informed that they will be bringing new investors on board along with them (a mix of old and new faces apparently). I can't swear to that so don't shoot the messenger! One name that i wouldn't be surprised to see involved in some way is Mike Parker

That makes sense with previous unsubstantiated rumours from years ago that there were people willing to invest in the club, but nit while Fenty was in charge.

I’d imagine that the other side of the equation is what will it cost NOT to spend the right amount of money.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

That makes sense with previous unsubstantiated rumours from years ago that there were people willing to invest in the club, but nit while Fenty was in charge.

I’d imagine that the other side of the equation is what will it cost NOT to spend the right amount of money.

good points. I think we might reasonably expect them to outline , not necessarily a 'vision', but a coherent strategy as to where they want GTFC to be and how they aim to achieve that.
should've mentioned in response to Denni & northsea that the fact that hurst is on 2.5 year contract rather than Fenty's 6 month rolling contract suggest that they are not going to be cheapskates
As i said their first press conference is going to be fascinating

Quoted from forza ivano

bit surprised that hasn't been much comment on the Hurst interview with Matt Dean, which in many ways, was more interesting than the excellent chat with Ira.
Said that under Holloway's regime Ira had been used as a centre forward, but it was only after talking to Ira that Hurst found out that he preferred to play out wide.
There was a lot of coded criticism of Fenty's penny pinching, and it was obvious that Hurst is excited by the new approach the consortium will bring , and the improvements they will be able to make.
I would be very surprised given Stockwood's supportive tweets and the discussions they're obviously having, that Hurst won't be in charge next year. Particularly  that they will soon be concluding talks on next season's budget.
Seems evident that there will be much more support given for playing staff, support staff and facilities.
I got the distinct impression that we must be amongst the worst teams in the league in terms of training facilities and back up staff
There was absolutely no comment about Hurst having any involvement with Fenty and/or Day , just with the Holy Trinity, and indeed it was because of the consortium that Hurst had decided to return ( a subtle insight into his relationship with Fenty methinks).
Did make me think that this must've been an added difficulty for Hurst in that he's working in a vacuum; the old regime are still in charge, but have no power, but the new boys who he seems to be in a regular contact with, have the plans and the money, but no power

As I said I accepted relegation a couple of months ago, it's only interviews like this and the potential of the new Consortium that gives me hope that 'it doesn't have to be like this' and we actually have quite a bright future

Cheers, Forza, for a very informative post which has made me feel a bit better about this dreadful season. I refuse to use up any more nervous energy wondering if we can escape relegation. The fact is we are going down, What has happened at Barrow since Jolley left is quite amazing. Even if we beat them tomorrow there is still too much ground to make up.
All of this, I believe, goes back years with poor management at the top. If you read John McDermott's book it illustrates just how tight the management was in refusing him an increase of £50 per week. And we now know that the same has happened to others such as Padraig Amond. Let us all hope that the new consortium (when it gets into power) can deliver us from the dreaded Conference by treating our best players with respect and rewarding them as well as they can.

Quoted from forza ivano

good points. I think we might reasonably expect them to outline , not necessarily a 'vision', but a coherent strategy as to where they want GTFC to be and how they aim to achieve that.
should've mentioned in response to Denni & northsea that the fact that hurst is on 2.5 year contract rather than Fenty's 6 month rolling contract suggest that they are not going to be cheapskates
As i said their first press conference is going to be fascinating

Not to be pedantic  but I thought Hurst was given an 18 month contract, followed by a rolling 12 month deal.

Agree with the other points you have made as to what we can expect going forward. Definitely think they will invest more into the whole structure, including the team. They have been trying to buy out JF for some time and were prepared to meet all his conditions of sale, so I doubt they will then skimp on budgets and upgrades to facilities. What would be the point?

Quoted from hampshiremariner

Cheers, Forza, for a very informative post which has made me feel a bit better about this dreadful season. I refuse to use up any more nervous energy wondering if we can escape relegation. The fact is we are going down, What has happened at Barrow since Jolley left is quite amazing. Even if we beat them tomorrow there is still too much ground to make up.
All of this, I believe, goes back years with poor management at the top. If you read John McDermott's book it illustrates just how tight the management was in refusing him an increase of £50 per week. And we now know that the same has happened to others such as Padraig Amond. Let us all hope that the new consortium (when it gets into power) can deliver us from the dreaded Conference by treating our best players with respect and rewarding them as well as they can.

I think it was actually a pay cut, not just a refusal to give a pay rise. Macca says he was on about £300 a week by the end. When you think what he must have been on a few years before in the Championship.

I think the reality is, given the club was setting itself up on the idea that the season wouldn’t start or if it did, it wouldn’t finish, relegation has been a real possibility since September,

Holloway was a crack pot and it’s becoming more and more apparent that he and his mate Fenty weren’t interested in GTFC for any other reason than financial gain, ironic given they devalued the club beyond all recognition.

I’ve come to terms with relegation already, perhaps the new owners got the ball rolling a month too late, perhaps Hurst should’ve been brought in sooner? Who knows?

We all know some fans are still very precious Becauee Hurst called out the fans, had an interview taken out of context and cupped his ear...in truth, none of this can be blamed on him. Has he made mistakes? Naturally, nobody is perfect but then so many of the players have too. The damage was done before, it’s been happening since the day after we got promoted and reverted back to our old ways (did we ever change? Or was it masked by the fact PH assembled a decent side that won games?).

I’d imagine there will forever be a pocket of fans who think Fenty kept us afloat and all that jazz but they’re a minority, a blind minority. I know plenty of fans that had turned off well before Hurst and the consortium...the plan, or part of it has to be how to get them back...

This football club has an amazing future ahead of it.

Cheers Forza.
What you say in your posts is what I have been hoping for, for a long time. Hopefully it will come off and the club can move forward without the stone of JF’s loans around it’s neck.

Quoted from aldi_01

I know plenty of fans that had turned off well before Hurst and the consortium...the plan, or part of it has to be how to get them back...

This, I think, is a very important question and the reality is we have an almost once in a lifetime opportunity to get this right.

Many of the fans you allude to will have turned their back on the club, either directly or indirectly, because of Fenty. And now, with him all but gone, there is a new dawn on the horizon.

Couple the fact that we’ve all been locked in our homes for most of the past year, and that with a bit of luck August should mark the opportunity to start celebrating something close to normal life once again - and that of course means going to the footy.

Looking back, one of the main reasons that Operation Promotion was so successful was that it struck a chord with the prevailing emotions of the time. All that pent up frustration and despair - OP was a way of the fans taking things into their own hands. And it worked.

I’m not suggesting a repeat of OP, or even anything fan-led necessarily. But there is every reason to believe, irrespective of what division we are in next season, that there will be a pent up demand to visit Blundell Park unlike anything we have seen for some time.

We have to take advantage of this, and I have every faith that the new ownership will do just that.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

I think it was actually a pay cut, not just a refusal to give a pay rise. Macca says he was on about £300 a week by the end. When you think what he must have been on a few years before in the Championship.

I'll have to reread the book but you are much more knowledgable than me. It was, though, a show of disrespect to the most loyal player you could wish to have. Macca was an outstanding servant.