Just back.

From another atrocious game of "football".

We'll be happier with the point as they were the better side. The difference being that they weren't that clinical and we scored from a moment of magic from McAtee. Their goal was a carbon copy of the one we conceded at Southampton and another unmarked player scores against us, which happens with alarming regularity.

I don't know what our players do in training, but it isn't controlling the ball and passing to a team mate. We can't string together enough passes to put together an attacking move more than a handful of times in a game and we constantly give the ball back to the opposition.

Lloyd ran his nuts off and got nothing from the ref again, but the rest were mediocre. The best player on the pitch was their No2 Norman.

Fed up of going to BP and watching such poor fare game after game.

At risk of upsetting a few, I can’t honestly see what Holohan brings to the team. His first four passes lost possession. Emmanuel had his worst game for the club and yet, but for one dreadful piece of marking (same culprit), we’d have got three points.

Obviously McAtee MoM for the one bit of quality in the game.

Not sure anyone comes out of that with much praise. Our first thought, even when not under pressure, seemed to be to just lump it forward, half of the time blind. At the beginning of the season, we were actually playing some good passing football, now we can't string 3 passes together.

Strangely, Smith improved us when he came on and made more passes and was more progressive than anyone else.

Unfortunately Efete was at fault for their goal, as he was for Southampton's, which is pretty poor.

After finally watching an entertaining game against Northampton it’s back to same old at home. Just utter rubbish, could hardly string two passes together. A great goal from McAtee was the only positive point of the evening, although I guess we didn’t lose.

I’m not one to usually moan about the referee but although there was no big decisions I can’t recall a decision going in towns favour. Worst of the season.

The Southampton goal Efete sees the danger late tries to get to the back post but Waterfall literally pushes him the other way as he turned, watch it on slowmo.

Quoted from Mariner_501

After finally watching an entertaining game against Northampton it’s back to same old at home. Just utter rubbish, could hardly string two passes together. A great goal from McAtee was the only positive point of the evening, although I guess we didn’t lose.

I’m not one to usually moan about the referee but although there was no big decisions I can’t recall a decision going in towns favour. Worst of the season.

With the best will in the world, the ref was a long way from the worst this season.

Quoted from ginnywings

From another atrocious game of "football".

We'll be happier with the point as they were the better side. The difference being that they weren't that clinical and we scored from a moment of magic from McAtee. Their goal was a carbon copy of the one we conceded at Southampton and another unmarked player scores against us, which happens with alarming regularity.

I don't know what our players do in training, but it isn't controlling the ball and passing to a team mate. We can't string together enough passes to put together an attacking move more than a handful of times in a game and we constantly give the ball back to the opposition.

Lloyd ran his nuts off and got nothing from the ref again, but the rest were mediocre. The best player on the pitch was their No2 Norman.

Fed up of going to BP and watching such poor fare game after game.

Agree with all that and regards Norman, if he played like that most weeks, would love him here

Poor as per at home

Queuing for tickets is a farce in this weather

As if folk think we’re worse without Mcatee…..

I’ve never seen the ball in the air so much in 40 odd years of watching town, they simply can’t be bothered to take a touch and look for a pass. FairPlay to Macca and Lloyd who kept plugging away

Dreadful
We will be in big trouble if we give the ball away as much at Brighton

Quoted from MuddyWaters

At risk of upsetting a few, I can’t honestly see what Holohan brings to the team. His first four passes lost possession. Emmanuel had his worst game for the club and yet, but for one dreadful piece of marking (same culprit), we’d have got three points.

Obviously McAtee MoM for the one bit of quality in the game.

2 penalties, a FA cup quarter Final and a trip to Brighton, plus a few £100K in the bank.

Quoted from DB

2 penalties, a FA cup quarter Final and a trip to Brighton, plus a few £100K in the bank.

Of course. I forgot. He did it all on his own.

It was like most of the home games. We have been rubbish at home all season. Love the mariners but watching this team at home is a chore. Never mind the fact we rarely win we play very little decent football.
The whole midfield was abysmal and we have no width, Effete and Emmanuel do not work well together. I would try Emmanuel at full back and rest Effete.
Waterfall battled well as did Lloyd . This is a team of grafters with no guile. We look better with a target man who the midfielders can work off. I would go for this, we cannot create chances from open play and I am glad Taylor is back. If we are playing big boot football we need the personnel to do it. Not sure what they do on the training ground.
utm

PH post match strikes me that he’s happy to just avoid relegation now and that’s projected onto the players.

Fine based on this mental cup run, but not exactly fun for those of us watching it every week.

Quoted from Madeleymariner

The Southampton goal Efete sees the danger late tries to get to the back post but Waterfall literally pushes him the other way as he turned, watch it on slowmo.

He was marking their guy that scored at Southampton and then went walk about, no wonder he saw the danger late. I'm sorry but as a defender he is pretty poor.

I'd take the Newport No2 in a heartbeat. He was great tonight.

His contract runs out in June.

Agreed, looked decent. Whether he plays like that more than not I haven’t a clue, but he’ll have interest if he does

Our possession is abysmal. We never seem to keep the ball for more than a couple of minutes, any promising string of passes always undone with a final overhit or wayward pass. We also get drawn into long tedious bouts of head tennis, no one seems capable or willing to get the ball down and it's invariably either headed out if play or lumped up, either way we see possession conceded.
The earlier post was right, passion and determination in spades but little guile.

Quoted from ginnywings

I'd take the Newport No2 in a heartbeat. He was great tonight.

His contract runs out in June.

ex Norwich - didn't we have a link on the coaching side with Norwich?

The beautiful game, that was not. More like a rugby match,

I don’t understand the sense in us just aimlessly hoofing the ball. We don’t have the players to play that sort of football effectively even if we wanted to, because we lose nearly every header and second ball so were just playing into Newport’s hands.

Awful stuff but didn’t lose at least. Cracking goal from McAtee that was almost from a different game.

Quoted from DB

2 penalties, a FA cup quarter Final and a trip to Brighton, plus a few £100K in the bank.

He was atrocious tonight to be fair

Hunt has to play at home without him we have nobody capable of playing a forward pass through midfield to a teammate. The rest it’s just hoof and hope , harry and harass.Dire to watch

Think we need to be starting with McAtee, Khan, Taylor and Hunt in the same 11 and Green as soon as he's anything like match fit. I did wonder where any creativity would come from when I saw last nights mid field three of Gav, Clifton and Khouri, though the latter deserved his chance and played well.

Not sure the pitch helps & not making too many excuses for that last night but please get hunt in our midfield he's the only that plays with his head up & can actually pass a ball

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Think we need to be starting with McAtee, Khan, Taylor and Hunt in the same 11 and Green as soon as he's anything like match fit. I did wonder where any creativity would come from when I saw last nights mid field three of Gav, Clifton and Khouri, though the latter deserved his chance and played well.

It's all about opinions isn't it... I don't rate Khan myself

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Think we need to be starting with McAtee, Khan, Taylor and Hunt in the same 11 and Green as soon as he's anything like match fit. I did wonder where any creativity would come from when I saw last nights mid field three of Gav, Clifton and Khouri, though the latter deserved his chance and played well.

Hunt was outstanding in the last home game, we look a threat when he plays and look insipid when he doesn’t.

Quoted from lukeo

It's all about opinions isn't it... I don't rate Khan myself

Agree it’s about opinions, but that’s a strange one in my view. He’s been excellent!

Quoted from lukeo

It's all about opinions isn't it... I don't rate Khan myself

Not being rude but do you see many games? Khan has been one of our best players

Quoted from lukeo

It's all about opinions isn't it... I don't rate Khan myself

I reckon he's been one of our biggest threats, but like you say opions.

Quoted from forza ivano

ex Norwich - didn't we have a link on the coaching side with Norwich?

Paul Wilkinson

Quoted from lukeo

It's all about opinions isn't it... I don't rate Khan myself

Strange opinion that, i really rate him

Quoted from DB

2 penalties, a FA cup quarter Final and a trip to Brighton, plus a few £100K in the bank.

To move forward you must separate the Myth/Legend from Reality. I too was taken up with the euphoria of the Southampton win, because the score on the door says we outplayed them, and thrashed them 2-1.  However, we all know deep down it was Southampton 1    VAR 2. I'm still enjoying it, what game eh, still wearing my "we thrashed them " hat, still got my Harry Haddock pumped up, but I'm wearing my Reality Hat on for Carislse and Newport. We didn't play well. Simple.

We have players who struggle to trap a ball, and know where their team mates will be stood in the preferred formation of the night.

Basics - aim the ball towards a team mate, preferrably to allow a forward movement not having to check a run or turn backwards to receive. Ban the ball going above head height in training and use the full width of any pitch. Remember that Lloyd is well under 6 feet tall, and play passes at ground level for him to run onto at pace. Defend the back post at corners, more chance of stopping shots than losing opponent runs. Play Hunt in centre midfield and have an enforcer like Morris or Green (when fit) to protect him while he passes out to players.

Poor disjointed hoof / boot / head tennis type of game.

Quoted from lukeo

It's all about opinions isn't it... I don't rate Khan myself

It's all about opinions. But this one is wrong.

Quoted from GrimPol

To move forward you must separate the Myth/Legend from Reality. I too was taken up with the euphoria of the Southampton win, because the score on the door says we outplayed them, and thrashed them 2-1.  However, we all know deep down it was Southampton 1    VAR 2. I'm still enjoying it, what game eh, still wearing my "we thrashed them " hat, still got my Harry Haddock pumped up, but I'm wearing my Reality Hat on for Carislse and Newport. We didn't play well. Simple.

If it wasn't for the cup run Hurst would be facing some difficult questions, let's be honest about it.

The style of play, the transfer policy,  the terrible home results and performances and the inability of the team to get on the front foot and give the crowd something to get behind.

The cup run has kept interest going and it has been great, but I think a lot of fans would be completely fed up by now otherwise.

Regardless of whatever happens at Brighton a big re think is needed in the summer.

I think that as some of our better players become match fit (Including Khan) we should move back to 4 at the back.

Also as the schedule is hectic especially next week with 2 trips South I'd would be giving the players today and tomorrow off.  

I'm taking the zen approach of another point gained, 13 clear of relegation with games in hand etc and only 1 loss in the last 6 games in all competitions........

However, leaving my Japanese peace garden for a moment I have to agree with the rest of you- if the dire football was winning lots of games we couldn't complain, but as it's generally resulting in us losing or scraping draws at home we may as well try and play it Buckleyish and at least entertain the fans

Crawley's complete capitulation has helped ease the relegation worries. They'd need to average a point a game just to catch us now and they've managed 5 points in their last 10. Rochdale have also managed 5 points from 10 games and have even fewer games to catch us.

However, the squad needs quite a lot of surgery in the summer. We haven't got anywhere near enough pace. We haven't got anywhere near players who are comfortable on the ball. And we've got virtually no creativity. Midfield needs a rethink and we desperately need three or four good attacking players.

Quoted from mariner91

Crawley's complete capitulation has helped ease the relegation worries. They'd need to average a point a game just to catch us now and they've managed 5 points in their last 10. Rochdale have also managed 5 points from 10 games and have even fewer games to catch us.

However, the squad needs quite a lot of surgery in the summer. We haven't got anywhere near enough pace. We haven't got anywhere near players who are comfortable on the ball. And we've got virtually no creativity. Midfield needs a rethink and we desperately need three or four good attacking players.

No disrespect to Ollie Battersby but we also need an experienced keeper to put Max under a bit of gentle pressure. The inability to pass the ball is my biggest frustration, potentially we will have healthy budget so I'm optimistic.

Think there has to be an acknowledgement of amount of games, limited training etc - certainly at the moment anyway - and it impacts on energy levels, mentally etc.

That said the points about lack of pace, physicality and creativity are spot on- and have been apparent for a long time.

Whilst this squad and prior have had an amazing 12 months, and rightly recognised and applauded, if we are to progress there does need to be changes made for next season. I’m sure there will be.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

If it wasn't for the cup run Hurst would be facing some difficult questions, let's be honest about it.

The style of play, the transfer policy,  the terrible home results and performances and the inability of the team to get on the front foot and give the crowd something to get behind.

The cup run has kept interest going and it has been great, but I think a lot of fans would be completely fed up by now otherwise.

Regardless of whatever happens at Brighton a big re think is needed in the summer.

From my point, it's not just one player that will kickstart our season, not just one player pulling the team down, although I have to say O'Neill plays like the opposition has Ebola and just will not get close to them. Gets dis possessed too easily. Has some nice touches.
When it all comes together (Luton) then they are good, but mostly they are not. Their passing, heading, throw-ins and dead ball situations are one league down. We are not going down, but for the Cup Run, our season would be best forgotten.
Onto Rochdale then, HH still got air in him.

Quoted from fishcake63

Not sure the pitch helps & not making too many excuses for that last night but please get hunt in our midfield he's the only that plays with his head up & can actually pass a ball

Did you watch Saturdays game?

I think it is glaringly obvious that we need an upgrade in quality on the playing side. We know it and PH knows it. I think he's been frustrated in his attempts to bring in better players because of various reasons.

We got promoted with a side that was just about good enough for the top end of non league, and didn't have the time or the structure in place to make much of an impact in terms of upgrading. January didn't improve the situation much, but then Jan is a tough window, especially given the problems we have with location and image.

This season has turned into what feels like a long drawn out play off campaign with the cup exploits and winning games none of us thought we would. This team has massive amounts of energy and fight, but not a lot of skill or guile.

It's become a slog to the end of the season, which PH touched on in his interview last night. We need to get to the end, having stayed in this league and re-group after what would have been 2 extraordinary seasons. We are inching ever closer, like a wounded snail, toward the safety zone of mid to high 40's points wise.

We have the means, the time, and the structure now in place to have a much better transfer window this summer, and bloody hell do we need it.

Think the frustration on here from everyone is spot on and nothing being said out of turn. We've got away with being poor in the league with a good cup run which has lifted us all and give us a good cash injection. In the summer we have to be ruthless and not sentimental to the players which simply aren't good enough. Hurst has a big job on for the summer to try and get the right names through the door. We sometimes make look like playing simple football and passing a 5 yard ball look difficult.

We’re not going up . We’re not going down .
We’ve got a cup 1/4 final to look forward to.
How about we just enjoy the rest of the season and get off the players and managers back ffs ?!!

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

We’re not going up . We’re not going down .
We’ve got a cup 1/4 final to look forward to.
How about we just enjoy the rest of the season and get off the players and managers back ffs ?!!

Are we getting on their backs, or just using a forum to discuss why we are having problems breaking teams down at BP?

We can play well, as we did against Northampton and Orient recently, but too many times we put in displays like last night and Harrogate and Colchester.

Quoted from ginnywings

Are we getting on their backs, or just using a forum to discuss why we are having problems breaking teams down at BP?

We can play well, as we did against Northampton and Orient recently, but too many times we put in displays like last night and Harrogate and Colchester.

last night was turgid.

Pleased to See Mcatee put in a performance, and thought Smith actually looked decent as a marauding Centre half

For the first 20-25 minutes against Carlisle I thought we played our best football of the season. A few more chances would have really put some icing on the cake but our general movement of the ball was really slick, calm, composed and I felt a little bit of Premiership football had rubbed off on us from Wednesday. That game then turned badly and didn't recover.

Last night was just a continuation of Carlisle, with no meaningful play, very few clear chances (if any) and the ball spent considerably more time in the air then usual. Their goal was well deserved and pretty much on it's way at the time they scored, they came out for the second half all guns blazing and showed what some sustained pressure can do.

For me, albeit only a short game but Smith was my MOTM. Thought he made all the difference going forward from his lofty position of CB. Scoring the chance he had at the end would have been fitting given his impression on the game.

Quoted from ginnywings

I think it is glaringly obvious that we need an upgrade in quality on the playing side. We know it and PH knows it. I think he's been frustrated in his attempts to bring in better players because of various reasons.

We got promoted with a side that was just about good enough for the top end of non league, and didn't have the time or the structure in place to make much of an impact in terms of upgrading. January didn't improve the situation much, but then Jan is a tough window, especially given the problems we have with location and image.

This season has turned into what feels like a long drawn out play off campaign with the cup exploits and winning games none of us thought we would. This team has massive amounts of energy and fight, but not a lot of skill or guile.

It's become a slog to the end of the season, which PH touched on in his interview last night. We need to get to the end, having stayed in this league and re-group after what would have been 2 extraordinary seasons. We are inching ever closer, like a wounded snail, toward the safety zone of mid to high 40's points wise.

We have the means, the time, and the structure now in place to have a much better transfer window this summer, and bloody hell do we need it.

Good post. Some have mentioned we should have more money to splash around after the amazing cup run. But I don’t believe money has been, or is the main issue with Stockwood/Pettit at the helm. I just don’t think enough good players want to come to Grimsby, giving Hurst a minimal choice of candidates to choose from. I really hope we can push further up the league with our remaining games, which will hopefully demonstrate intent and that we can be a good option to potential future players. Every little helps.

I do believe this isn't the team Hurst would want to have in an ideal world for L2- the incredibly short pre-season compared to our competition, compounded by location/chequebook size/known playing style (delete as appropriate for your favourite hindrance) meant that El General had to scrabble around in the bargain bin to just put together a team in time for game 1 and obviously January was never going to really change much for us BUT I'll judge us on next season because after this summer, with the FA Cup dollars in the bank, league safety secured and a years exposure to what it requires in League 2 to contend for success I do expect a lot of changes and...dare I say it...more expensive players coming in who can facilitate a better brand of football consistently.
If we're still a group of unimaginative clodhoppers who have heart and will run around lots with little end product then it'll be tough to take.   I'm actually starting to think we need 2 decent Taylor-types bringing in rather than a 20+ a season chap as all our midfielders can score goals we just need more composure, time and pressure in the final third.

Last night screamed that the manager and players have given up this season and will be happy to finish around where we are. I think their eyes are on nothing but the FA Cup.

Newport were there for the taking, but we were too slow, too defensive (why make attacking subs in the last 4 minutes) and generally lacked any quality, barring McAtees out of the blue goal.

I support Hurst, like him as a person and believe he has done well for the club, however this FA cup run is saving him from some serious stick from some fans I think.

Without the FA cup run, we would have to say its been a poor season, especially our home form.
Based on our start to the season alone, I would of liked to think we could of finished around 10th and pushed on next season.

Blundell park is more of a Funeral than a fortress and to be honest, I don't enjoy going at the minute.
After the FA cup game, if the season was to finish then, I think I would be relieved.

Its a big summer for Hurst. He has been told he will be given most of the FA cup money for his budget, so we would have to say that if we aren't hitting the playoffs come May 2024, maybe we would need  a change of personnel.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

No disrespect to Ollie Battersby but we also need an experienced keeper to put Max under a bit of gentle pressure. The inability to pass the ball is my biggest frustration, potentially we will have healthy budget so I'm optimistic.

Can someone tell Max he doesn’t need to timewaste when we are drawing at home at against a team lower then us in the League

Quoted from Corkyefes

Last night screamed that the manager and players have given up this season and will be happy to finish around where we are. I think their eyes are on nothing but the FA Cup.

I agree the league form has been poor, but I don't personally think the comment above is right.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

If it wasn't for the cup run Hurst would be facing some difficult questions, let's be honest about it.

The style of play, the transfer policy,  the terrible home results and performances and the inability of the team to get on the front foot and give the crowd something to get behind.

The cup run has kept interest going and it has been great, but I think a lot of fans would be completely fed up by now otherwise.

Regardless of whatever happens at Brighton a big re think is needed in the summer.

In absolute buckets!

The cup run has masked a pretty drab and awful season, at home especially.  I was bored to tears last night and it isn't the first time, in fact I've lost count of that feeling this season.

But the fact is we have had that cup run and Hurst is as much responsible for that as he is the poor showing in the league.  I don't think the mass changes each game are helping but I don't think there's an option to not do it either.  Key players are starting to look a bit leggy too.

12 months ago I'd have bitten your whole arm off if you said we'll be stable if dull in League Two and in the last eight of the FA Cup.  But right now I wouldn't mind getting a bit of entertainment from the home games in the league too.

Quoted from heppy88

Good post. Some have mentioned we should have more money to splash around after the amazing cup run. But I don’t believe money has been, or is the main issue with Stockwood/Pettit at the helm. I just don’t think enough good players want to come to Grimsby, giving Hurst a minimal choice of candidates to choose from. I really hope we can push further up the league with our remaining games, which will hopefully demonstrate intent and that we can be a good option to potential future players. Every little helps.

The better players will come, but not if they can command bigger wages elsewhere and have a few clubs interested.

I have reluctantly accepted we are not in the market for the better known better players at our level, but I hope the cup run income will enable us to tempt a level of player that will give us a chance of the playoffs.

I wouldn't like to have to determine player budgets as there are a number of clubs that will pay considerably more in wages.

The reality of the situation is that we were an average NL side that through sheer grit and determination got promoted, a season earlier than planned. We were late into the summer transfer window, mainly because we didn't know which league we would play in.

Who would want to come to an ex NL team that didn't finish in the top 4 that season and had the remnants of the old regime weighing down their past?

The reality of our position was highlighted in the January transfer window, 'Can we talk to you about coming to Grimsby? NO'. I think this was a revelation to 1878. So Hurst has to field a team that he basically set up for the NL.

Although I thought the momentum of promotion would carry us to League 1 this is now nowhere achievable, but a midtable finish is. All of us have opinions and can call various players but not one of them are without fault, some are clearly out of their depth in League 2.

Another dire home game showed this with bits of good play in the 90 mins, but not enough. While I always try to look on the positive side I think we will have to reluctantly accept this, as Hurst has to utilise who he has.

Let's enjoy the cup run and Brighton game and now we will become an established League 2. A rebuild in the summer is a necessity and we have some money to do it with. Sustainability is great but 1878 has to realise that it matters on the pitch first so I hope they learnt a lesson in the January transfer window.

At the end of the day, I believe we all want the same, a successful team.

UTM

I think Stockwood said the cup run money goes into the budget?  Or something similar to that.

That's a massive boost and welcome one to be honest, as largely we've come a up bit short this season when trying to recruit.

Whilst a sizeable sum, over the course of a season or two and stretching across a squad, it might not be the game changer we would hope.

With a better budget Hurst will have two options:

1) Spread that increase across the whole squad and look to get a reflective improvement in every position.
2) Go for broke on a couple of big signings that will eat into the budget considerably.

Guess there's the third option which is a bit of a blend of both.   Likelihood is he goes for the first option.  I get that, it doesn't upset the balance too much but I think there's an argument that we're in greater need of a bigger boost in certain areas.  

What frustrates me is when we keep doing the same things when it clearly isn't working.  For instance,  playing long high balls against another huge side. We are not a particularly tall side , especially up front so the balll invariably goes straight back to our defensive area. The only time we looked decent last night was when we kept the ball on the deck.

Last night, as against Colchester the other week and quite often this season, we were bullied by the opposition (though Newport could also play a bit). They had a few players who were quicker than any of ours, our midfield and forward line was relatively diminutive in comparison to the opposition (though our defence competed well in general) and we just didn't win any of the second ball from challenges to get it down and be able to pass it.

McAtee competed well last night but I can only think of a couple of occasions where he received the ball on the deck facing their goal and one of these led to his goal. For all his efforts, Lloyd simply cannot play as a 'target man' because referees just let smaller players get shoved and pulled around with impunity at our level and then, of course, penalise them as soon as they give something back.

We need to make some signings this summer to allow us to get parity in the physical side of the game at the very least as we're going to struggle to get the ball down and play otherwise. We were much improved last night after Smith came on for the utterly ineffectual Emmanuel and Taylor came on to occupy their defenders and help to link up play. A bit more strength and dynamism helped a lot there (Smith did extremely well on a couple of occasions), but that needs to be the minimum we see every game.

Unfortunately, I don't see any way that Hunt can be the answer as he's not consistent enough or reliable enough. Green has his limitations, but we perhaps need him to help win the midfield battle in games like last night.

Another rebuild required in midfield and up front this summer, I think. It will be interesting to see if we go back to 4 at the back or persist with a three and perhaps sign players more suited to play as wing-backs.

Quoted from mariner91

Crawley's complete capitulation has helped ease the relegation worries. They'd need to average a point a game just to catch us now and they've managed 5 points in their last 10. Rochdale have also managed 5 points from 10 games and have even fewer games to catch us.

However, the squad needs quite a lot of surgery in the summer. We haven't got anywhere near enough pace. We haven't got anywhere near players who are comfortable on the ball. And we've got virtually no creativity. Midfield needs a rethink and we desperately need three or four good attacking players.

Probably not that much. A sense of squad togetherness needs retaining rather than rebuilding season after season. We need to use the FA Cup money to invest in five or six players that are clearly better than we've got in the starting eleven, moving some of the regulars to squad players.. On occasions every player has had good games, but without enough consistency to be part of a team that wins regularly enough to get promotion at this level. Pace, power and creativity definitely needed..

Quoted from Bigdog

Probably not that much. A sense of squad togetherness needs retaining rather than rebuilding season after season. We need to use the FA Cup money to invest in five or six players that are clearly better than we've got in the starting eleven, moving some of the regulars to squad players.. On occasions every player has had good games, but without enough consistency to be part of a team that wins regularly enough to get promotion at this level. Pace, power and creativity definitely needed..

I'd agree with the number of players needed bringing in, as long as they're all improvements. To me that's quite a bit of surgery but that's purely semantics  

Quoted from Bigdog

Probably not that much. A sense of squad togetherness needs retaining rather than rebuilding season after season. We need to use the FA Cup money to invest in five or six players that are clearly better than we've got in the starting eleven, moving some of the regulars to squad players.. On occasions every player has had good games, but without enough consistency to be part of a team that wins regularly enough to get promotion at this level. Pace, power and creativity definitely needed..

I think the major difference between players at this level and the level above is more about consistency rather than ability.   On a few occasions earlier this season Kiernan tore teams apart, definitely against League One leaders Plymouth.  The problem was he couldn't do that in consecutive weeks, regardless of the opposition.

On our day, we're better than anyone else in this league.  But not every day is our day, in fact they're few and far between.  To my eyes there's 3, maybe 4, players in our squad who are consistently good enough to in a promotion challenging side.  They are Crocombe, Waterfall, Clifton and Emmanuel.  It's Emmanuel who is the 4th as whilst his ability is without question, we've not seen him on a consistent basis yet.  Either way, quite confident he can and would do it so let's go with 4.

You're rarely going to get 11 players at the top of their game every week unless you're Manchester City and you don't need that to win League Two.  But the majority is needed.  8 would be the magic number of players who get 8 or 7 out of 10 each week to be a threat, that leaves us 4 short with no accounting for injuries etc.  

With Crocombe, Waterfall and  Clifton there's a decent spine.  Emmanuel on the right gives you an outlet but for those who are delivering more often than not there's a big gap in the attacking options.  

I think there's a category of our players who are nearly there in terms of being good enough to join the other 4.  Smith, Maher, Glennon and perhaps Khan.  Possible argument for Lloyd if he stayed permanently and is used properly.  For Maher he's taken time to get going and is still stepping up a level.  Glennon is still relatively inexperienced and like Khan has suffered bit with knocks and niggles.   If all of them added the consistency to their game I would feel much more comfortable with our numbers.

But it still leaves a big attacking hole.  No two ways about it, that's got to be the focus area in the summer.

For reference, the 2006 side was the last one that came close to getting out of this league at the right end.  From memory we had Mildenhall, Macca, Whittle, Jones, Bolland, Gary Jones and Reddy as those who could consistently deliver, with an able support cast of Newey, Cohen, Parkinson, Toner et al.  Even that wasn't enough, for a variety of reasons.

Quoted from diehardmariner

I think the major difference between players at this level and the level above is more about consistency rather than ability.   On a few occasions earlier this season Kiernan tore teams apart, definitely against League One leaders Plymouth.  The problem was he couldn't do that in consecutive weeks, regardless of the opposition.

On our day, we're better than anyone else in this league.  But not every day is our day, in fact they're few and far between.  To my eyes there's 3, maybe 4, players in our squad who are consistently good enough to in a promotion challenging side.  They are Crocombe, Waterfall, Clifton and Emmanuel.  It's Emmanuel who is the 4th as whilst his ability is without question, we've not seen him on a consistent basis yet.  Either way, quite confident he can and would do it so let's go with 4.

You're rarely going to get 11 players at the top of their game every week unless you're Manchester City and you don't need that to win League Two.  But the majority is needed.  8 would be the magic number of players who get 8 or 7 out of 10 each week to be a threat, that leaves us 4 short with no accounting for injuries etc.  

With Crocombe, Waterfall and  Clifton there's a decent spine.  Emmanuel on the right gives you an outlet but for those who are delivering more often than not there's a big gap in the attacking options.  

I think there's a category of our players who are nearly there in terms of being good enough to join the other 4.  Smith, Maher, Glennon and perhaps Khan.  Possible argument for Lloyd if he stayed permanently and is used properly.  For Maher he's taken time to get going and is still stepping up a level.  Glennon is still relatively inexperienced and like Khan has suffered bit with knocks and niggles.   If all of them added the consistency to their game I would feel much more comfortable with our numbers.

But it still leaves a big attacking hole.  No two ways about it, that's got to be the focus area in the summer.

For reference, the 2006 side was the last one that came close to getting out of this league at the right end.  From memory we had Mildenhall, Macca, Whittle, Jones, Bolland, Gary Jones and Reddy as those who could consistently deliver, with an able support cast of Newey, Cohen, Parkinson, Toner et al.  Even that wasn't enough, for a variety of reasons.

Good post and I’d agree about the impact of consistency.

I don’t know what to make of Lloyd or should I say what to make of the way we use him which is generally receiving the ball with his back to goal, I’ve seen him do some really good stuff with his head up going forward and the ball at his feet.

Quoted from ginnywings

Are we getting on their backs, or just using a forum to discuss why we are having problems breaking teams down at BP?

We can play well, as we did against Northampton and Orient recently, but too many times we put in displays like last night and Harrogate and Colchester.

Yeah we’re allowed to critique the constant poor home performances , we’d all be a lot more happier if we at least got to see a dozen shots on goal in a game

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Good post and I’d agree about the impact of consistency.

I don’t know what to make of Lloyd or should I say what to make of the way we use him which is generally receiving the ball with his back to goal, I’ve seen him do some really good stuff with his head up going forward and the ball at his feet.

Not just Lloyd but Orsi has been used pretty much in the same way when he’s started. If you look at the goals he scored, v Luton & Mamas & Papas Cup, they were both really well taken and showed he could be a quality finisher given a longer run.

As for other posters and comments on persisting with the long ball this, IMO, is for one of two reasons, Manager instructions or midfield players not demanding the ball or getting into space to receive it. Given PH’s comments I don’t believe it’s the former thus it’s the midfield hence why Hunt needs to play more regularly. Yes he was at fault for the goal at Carlisle but sometimes that’s the price you pay if you want to play better football on the ground.

Personally would like to see, for home matches, a return to 4-3-3 or 4-2-1-3 whatever they call these systems nowadays with Khan playing as an out and out wide man.

Great posts...
I think a big issue is our identity
We are neither a cracking football-playing team or a strong 'direct' team
Slade mark 1 was the latter - and we had some very good technical players who could pick the ball up in final third and deliver

We fall between two stools on a regular basis - we are not strong enough to stand up to several 'bully boy/hoof it merchants and get dragged into a dog fight where to be honest I'm grateful for a point (las night) and we don't have enough guile/craft to break teams down; especially at home

'I don't want us to be a 'direct' team cos it can be ugly to watch but if it's the best way to go and with end product then fine

Sutton - horrible long ball team but 2pts off play offs... this backs up my point

Hopefully PH will look at this - and he's already mentioned getting bigger players in - and with Cup war chest can make some big improvements in key areas; namely up top and in midfield, where we need more variety

I don't think PH instructs or wants the team to play like they did last night and other occasions. He seems quite frustrated that they do.

Problem is that the players we have don't seem to have the ability to do anything other, often resorting to just clearing their lines.

A lot of our headers are just that; headers with no thought of direction toward a team mate. Just head it as far as you can in the direction you are facing. There are loads of clearances that are just pumped away from the box as far as possible, when a lot of the time they have the space to bring the ball under control and play it with more direction. You see Emmanuel do this, but the others not so much.

It's about confidence in your own ability, and I don't see a lot of it in our side sadly. Some don't have the ability and some do, but they probably get swept up in the panic mode.

One of the things we're particularly bad at is clearing the ball effectively. There are two things that usually happen:

1. We scuff the ball to the edge of the box, allowing the opposing team to maintain the attack
2. We clear the ball sideways, often directly to an opposing player or out for a throw-in, allowing the opposing team to maintain the attack

We never seem to be able to clear the ball diagonally, either out for a throw-in (but with good distance from our area) or to a Town player for a quick break. It would allow us to relieve any pressure much more effectively, but we can't do it. It's partly why we'll eventually concede if we start slowly or lose momentum during a match. And because our midfield players can't seem to maintain possession under pressure, we can't play our way out of the opposing team's press very often.

I think the one thing that's happened since the switch to wingbacks is that we're less dominant and present in central areas.

I wonder if this is partly because we're now not benefiting from Clifton dropping in from wide to overload teams. Fatigue is playing a factor in there but I think the style Green brings would really suit the current system. Something completely different to what we've got.

Quoted from devs

Great posts...
I think a big issue is our identity
We are neither a cracking football-playing team or a strong 'direct' team
Slade mark 1 was the latter - and we had some very good technical players who could pick the ball up in final third and deliver

We fall between two stools on a regular basis - we are not strong enough to stand up to several 'bully boy/hoof it merchants and get dragged into a dog fight where to be honest I'm grateful for a point (las night) and we don't have enough guile/craft to break teams down; especially at home

'I don't want us to be a 'direct' team cos it can be ugly to watch but if it's the best way to go and with end product then fine

Sutton - horrible long ball team but 2pts off play offs... this backs up my point

Hopefully PH will look at this - and he's already mentioned getting bigger players in - and with Cup war chest can make some big improvements in key areas; namely up top and in midfield, where we need more variety

I agree about the lack of identity in our playing style.

Hurst is more pragmatic than having a playing philosophy ala Buckley and I think far too many mistakes are made in recruitment because of this.

Sometimes pragmatism works wonders -like utilising Croppers long throws in the play-offs,  but it usually results in the team losing their way, too much chopping and changing formations and players unsure what they are trying to do. We can be great but it's too few and far between and we don't create or score enough. We are hard working but we don't spread the play so when we regain possession there is nobody to pass to in any space.

Having said all that we might produce a miracle at Brighton and that will be typical Hurst.

If it wasn't for the best cup run in 84 years blah blah blah


We are having an unbelievable cup run, a set of games that have given us memories for a lifetime and an unbelievable achievement.

We aren't in any danger of losing our league place which is an absolute novelty for us. I'm massively confident we will be massively improved by a full preseason and adjustments to the squad.

I actually heard someone saying Hurst out at the game last night. Totally seriously, I was pissing myself.

Quoted from Zmariner

Not being rude but do you see many games? Khan has been one of our best players

I've not missed a game all season except the 1st round of the fa Cup.
If I was to choose 2 of mcatee, clifton and khan... he wouldn't be picked.

Good job that Khan has played different roles to Clifton and McAtee this season, then. I'd also say he's been more effective than McAtee this season so far as well. It's a pity that both haven't been fit for the whole season.

Quoted from ginnywings

I don't think PH instructs or wants the team to play like they did last night and other occasions. He seems quite frustrated that they do.

Problem is that the players we have don't seem to have the ability to do anything other, often resorting to just clearing their lines.

A lot of our headers are just that; headers with no thought of direction toward a team mate. Just head it as far as you can in the direction you are facing. There are loads of clearances that are just pumped away from the box as far as possible, when a lot of the time they have the space to bring the ball under control and play it with more direction. You see Emmanuel do this, but the others not so much.

It's about confidence in your own ability, and I don't see a lot of it in our side sadly. Some don't have the ability and some do, but they probably get swept up in the panic mode.

I think Hursty's repeated insistence that the lads were "trying" laid bare a frustration that too many of them, in his view, simply aren't up to the standard he wants them to be, ie competing at the sharp end of L2. He's more ambitious than some give him credit for because there is a narrative that he's overly cautious and negative. At their best, Hursty's teams play quite slick football and are quite front foot, but they are never cavalier. I think he thinks that we have too many limitations, as a L2 team this year, to play as he wants and is having to setup quite conservatively to mitigate this.

The Cup run, and resultant windfall, is going to put some pressure on Hursty next season. People won't accept 17th in L2 and three league home wins all season in twelve months time. I'm sure Hursty has a very clear idea of the type of player he wants this summer, and with a full close season and a bigger budget, you'd hope he'd be much better placed to sign them.

I get the idea that this side is somewhat cobbled together, given the rushed nature of the close season and then how notoriously hard January is to sign the players you actually want. Next season, no such excuses exist. I expect Hursty will improve us, quite noticeably, as the basis of a decent side is there but certain areas need large improvements.

As a comparison, the last time we had a cup run of any note from the fourth tier was of course 1988/89, reaching the fifth round against holders Wimbledon.

Town finished the season 9th and five points off the final play-off spot.  However, the contrast in form before and after the cup exit is very much of a contrast.  19 games after the exit produced 33 points, exactly half of our seasonal total of 66.  Prior to the exit we had managed back-to-back wins just once all season.

The day we exited the FA Cup, we were fourth bottom of the league and with just six home wins to our name all season.  Notably less away wins (2).

Am I saying history is a guarantee that our form will dramatically improve if we get knocked out to Brighton?  Of course not.  But there's no doubt the cup run has proved a big distraction, especially since the New Year as it gathered pace.  

We also all know what happened the following season in 1989/90...

Quoted from diehardmariner

As a comparison, the last time we had a cup run of any note from the fourth tier was of course 1988/89, reaching the fifth round against holders Wimbledon.

Town finished the season 9th and five points off the final play-off spot.  However, the contrast in form before and after the cup exit is very much of a contrast.  19 games after the exit produced 33 points, exactly half of our seasonal total of 66.  Prior to the exit we had managed back-to-back wins just once all season.

The day we exited the FA Cup, we were fourth bottom of the league and with just six home wins to our name all season.  Notably less away wins (2).

Am I saying history is a guarantee that our form will dramatically improve if we get knocked out to Brighton?  Of course not.  But there's no doubt the cup run has proved a big distraction, especially since the New Year as it gathered pace.  

We also all know what happened the following season in 1989/90...

I, for one, can't wait for Championship football in 2025/26

Quoted from arryarryarry

He was marking their guy that scored at Southampton and then went walk about, no wonder he saw the danger late. I'm sorry but as a defender he is pretty poor.

Sorry arry but I can't agree with that,he's pretty poor all round,his main problem seems to be he's very slow in thought.