McAtee

Don't see this being discussed anywhere so was wondering what people made of the decision not to start him?

Was interesting that Hursty said in his interview that he ''didn't deserve'' to start.

Was the only town player who came close to scoring, but we conceded 4 goals while he was on the pitch.

Quoted from Chrisblor

Was the only town player who came close to scoring, but we conceded 4 goals while he was on the pitch.

I reckon there’s a certain element of correlation not necessarily meaning causation there. Not questioning the decision, was just wondering what people made of it really.

Goes to show how much we’ve come along in a year that Hurst can drop him without being absolutely slaughtered!

You only had to see how hard Khan worked doubling up with Glenno in the first half to understand why.

Quoted from IrishMariner

Don't see this being discussed anywhere so was wondering what people made of the decision not to start him?

Was interesting that Hursty said in his interview that he ''didn't deserve'' to start.

Wrong decision for me, Khan and Orsi might as well have been sat next to me in the stand.

Obviously ability wise one, if not the, our best players but doesn’t appear quite himself lately. Thought today there were a couple of challenges he shied away from and his touch not spot on but he nearly scored a cracking goal from Taylor’s knock down and whilst it would be great to have them two back playing together where would that leave Lloyd who deserves a place on merit at present.

Orsi started against Luton and Southampton so it's not like Hurst was taking a huge gamble with someone untested.

Dont think it mattered that much that McAtee didnt start . I do think that Taylor should have started tho to try and help hold the ball up top. But as it worked out we was chaseing shadows all game , But that was expected i suppose. Dont think they got out of second gear all game..

Was a tad surprised to see him not start, but beat Luton without him and he wasnt great against Southampton.

What surprised me most was the HT Sub of Green

Quoted from Hagrid

Was a tad surprised to see him not start, but beat Luton without him and he wasnt great against Southampton.

What surprised me most was the HT Sub of Green

I agree, he was a huge miss in the second half.

It's all academic really.

I'm sure PH had good reasons for doing what he did and you can't really criticise what he has achieved in the cup this season.

We were getting nowhere near them whatever the line up.

PH probably thought there was only one way we could win this tie - to stay in the game for as long as possible and then hope we had something in the tank in the last quarter to create something. In which case having McAtee charging round with energy in the last quarter would be the plan. Hunt was brought on to help us keep the ball a bit better I expect. If we’d held it at 1-0 to 70 mins or so it could then have got interesting, as it was we were gone once the second went in.

He threw a paddy over being subbed off a couple of games ago and Hurst wasn't having that so is benching him. Hurst doesn't like players who talk back or question him.

To be honest, Mcatee didn’t look fit when he came in. As soon as they got the third he saw his bottom.

Massively disappointing from him…

He injected a tiny bit of energy and urgency when he came on at the start of the first half. But I don’t really think it was a huge issue with him not being in the starting 11.

He’s not having a particularly good season in the EFL by his own standards in the National League last season. For the majority of this season I’ve referred to him being a bit of a luxury player, that has often flattered to deceive.

I don’t think he will feature greatly next season at Luton. I think he needs to impress far more consistently at L1 and L2 levels before you will ever see him making a dent anywhere in the Championship

On a wider note ,there is no way at this point Mcatee is Championship standard -will be interesting to see what Luton do with him next season ,they might even be in the Prem .

Would expect him to be loaned out , maybe a lower end league 1 team .

We did good business getting the cash we did for him tbh , if we can use a small amount of that to tempt Cheltenham and sign lloyd on a decent length contract it would be the icing on the cake as I think although slightly different ,in terms of quality there isnt much in it between them +i cant imagine Lloyd answers back .

All opinion of course .

Quoted from Mappers

On a wider note ,there is no way at this point Mcatee is Championship standard -will be interesting to see what Luton do with him next season ,they might even be in the Prem .

Would expect him to be loaned out , maybe a lower end league 1 team .

We did good business getting the cash we did for him tbh , if we can use a small amount of that to tempt Cheltenham and sign lloyd on a decent length contract it would be the icing on the cake as I think although slightly different ,in terms of quality there isnt much in it between them +i cant imagine Lloyd answers back .

All opinion of course .

It would be interesting to know what cash we did get or him before deciding on whether it was good business.

He is currently on £4000 per week at Luton of which we pay 50% to have him returned to us for the season, most of which he has either been injured or ineffective.

He has been a great player for us, though I am looking forward to next season when he is no longer an option and we have hopefully secured a couple of long term strikers of quality with the money we have accrued from the cup run.

Quoted from male private Nale

It would be interesting to know what cash we did get or him before deciding on whether it was good business.

He is currently on £4000 per week at Luton of which we pay 50% to have him returned to us for the season, most of which he has either been injured or ineffective.

He has been a great player for us, though I am looking forward to next season when he is no longer an option and we have hopefully secured a couple of long term strikers of quality with the money we have accrued from the cup run.

I cant see how it wouldnt have been a good deal for us
-Leaves at the end of this season for free anyway
-We get a fee and him loaned back for a season

I think the issue you are reffering to is that IYO he has underperformed this season (which i would actually agree with )

I just hope people dont continually bring him up as one to return in future if he becomes available ,he did well in the NL (which he was a level above ) time for him and us to move on .

Quoted from Mappers

On a wider note ,there is no way at this point Mcatee is Championship standard -will be interesting to see what Luton do with him next season ,they might even be in the Prem .

Would expect him to be loaned out , maybe a lower end league 1 team .

We did good business getting the cash we did for him tbh , if we can use a small amount of that to tempt Cheltenham and sign lloyd on a decent length contract it would be the icing on the cake as I think although slightly different ,in terms of quality there isnt much in it between them +i cant imagine Lloyd answers back .

All opinion of course .

He's perhaps become a bit of an Omar Bogle since getting injured and coming back on loan. When he's good he's very good but he has a tendency to get frustrated and take himself out the game. We saw it sometimes in the NL too but he was so beyond that league he was often able to make something happen instead of waste chances by trying to do things on his own. Probably likes to party on his days off a bit too much and became too much of a Billy big boots since signing for Luton for Hurst's liking and he finally put his foot down. He's always been the type of manager who prefers players to be more disciplined and professional.

He's a good player and has been for us since he signed but at this point he should perhaps knuckle down and focus on his own game instead of throwing a tantrum when things aren't going his way.

MCAtee was not the only frustrated player yesterday, as our passing of the ball, when we did get our 20 odd% possession, was rather poor.

Several of Crocombe's kicks out just flew into touch giving the ball steaight back.

Brighton just kept making simple passes to each other, waiting for us to attempt tackles so they could feed the ball through to swift runners.

Town held back and that just made for a slow game in the 1st half. They looked like any through ball correctly made would lead to a chance to score, but didn't pass until a strong run was being made.

Brighton rarely got out of 2nd gear, and didn't need to, really.

In reality, they should have scored more, but didn't have to cheat or foul us like Southampton did.

This was a sharp lesson in patient build ups, accurate passing, and having lively attackers who made runs for each other in turn.

They did to us what we did to Dover, yes it hurts, but it also shows what we need to improve ready for next season at our level.

Anyone got £354 million going spare?

They continually research, they select from the conveyor belt, they improve eager players, they eventually sell at huge profit, and they go back to the conveyor belt again.

We need to set up a lower league level conveyor belt approach !!

The above post refers to a blueprint of what can be achieved.

Quoted from male private Nale

It would be interesting to know what cash we did get or him before deciding on whether it was good business.

He is currently on £4000 per week at Luton of which we pay 50% to have him returned to us for the season, most of which he has either been injured or ineffective.

He has been a great player for us, though I am looking forward to next season when he is no longer an option and we have hopefully secured a couple of long term strikers of quality with the money we have accrued from the cup run.

How on earth do you know what his salary is?
To say he’s been injured or ineffective is a bit daft. I don’t think he’s been as consistent and productive this season as last but he’s still made some fantastic contributions - great goal at Crewe for example and he is a fantastic player that we are lucky to have. To be dismissive and perhaps a bit disrespectful of him is really not fair.

No matter what people think, I believe it will be really, really difficult to replace him for next season.

I hope we can bring in Lloyd on a permanent, and pay a fee for Smith too. But where Hurst finds the new McAtee, I’m unsure.

The best case scenario would be that Notts County mess up the playoffs, and we go in and offer 300k or something for that Langstaff fella, but I suspect he’ll either stay at County when they go up, or go to a bigger fish than us anyway, possibly for a much bigger fee.

Glad it’s not my task to find a new striker for next season.

Either way, we will be weaker when McAtee leaves, don’t kid yourselves otherwise.

There was a guy behind me at Brighton yesterday, who when he wasn't berating Efete at every opportunity, was having a go at McAtee, and at one point shouted for him to "fook off back to Luton".

Made a change from the Taylor bashing I hear at BP I suppose.

Quoted from Heisenberg

No matter what people think, I believe it will be really, really difficult to replace him for next season.

I hope we can bring in Lloyd on a permanent, and pay a fee for Smith too. But where Hurst finds the new McAtee, I’m unsure.

The best case scenario would be that Notts County mess up the playoffs, and we go in and offer 300k or something for that Langstaff fella, but I suspect he’ll either stay at County when they go up, or go to a bigger fish than us anyway, possibly for a much bigger fee.

Glad it’s not my task to find a new striker for next season.

Either way, we will be weaker when McAtee leaves, don’t kid yourselves otherwise.

I both agree and disagree with you there, the part of me that agrees is that he just has that x factor very few players in L2 have, when he's on it he can produce magic.....but he's very mercurial and hasn't influenced much this season.   I really liked the look of that Clifton-Taylor-Lloyd front 3 we used at Sutton and that's why I disagree, there is life without McAtee

Quoted from ginnywings

There was a guy behind me at Brighton yesterday, who when he wasn't berating Efete at every opportunity, was having a go at McAtee, and at one point shouted for him to "fook off back to Luton".

Made a change from the Taylor bashing I hear at BP I suppose.

thought Efete was very good yesterday

Quoted from OddShapedBalls

I both agree and disagree with you there, the part of me that agrees is that he just has that x factor very few players in L2 have, when he's on it he can produce magic.....but he's very mercurial and hasn't influenced much this season.   I really liked the look of that Clifton-Taylor-Lloyd front 3 we used at Sutton and that's why I disagree, there is life without McAtee

That is an interesting take on it. Mind you, will Taylor be here next season? Or Orsi, for that matter?

I hope Hurst has a plan….

Quoted from ginnywings

There was a guy behind me at Brighton yesterday, who when he wasn't berating Efete at every opportunity, was having a go at McAtee, and at one point shouted for him to "fook off back to Luton".

Made a change from the Taylor bashing I hear at BP I suppose.

I will fight anyone who bashes Taylor at any stage until the end of the season. The Sutton game should have crystallised how valuable he is to us, how much harder we are to play against, how much better the ball sticks up front.

I thought Michee did well yesterday, kept Mitoma as quiet as can be reasonably expected by a L2 full back. There were a couple of moments when he came on when I thought McAtee could have tried harder to challenge for the ball in a 50/50 or 60/40 situation, something, to be fair he normally excels at. It would have been very easy for Hursty to just say he was carrying a minor injury, but he made a point about "not deserving to start". Wonder if he wants an angry, and therefore dangerous, McAtee for the remainder of the season.

Herd from a reliable source possibly of McAtee coming back next season on loan again

I’ve never shouted at a player. Not even Scott McGarvey. What does it say about your life that you abuse your own team’s players, more often than not in front of kids. Never understood it.

Quoted from Heisenberg

That is an interesting take on it. Mind you, will Taylor be here next season? Or Orsi, for that matter?

I hope Hurst has a plan….

I'm with you there, I just can't see Taylor being here next season but finding someone in his mould should be number one on the priority list, whether we can hold onto Clifton is a bigger issue,

Orsi I thought was going to be a fox-in-the-box type but hasn't showed much goal threat and will probably move on (but then again he's hardly had consistent game time).

I genuinely think we need someone with real pace to give us an option too, and ultimately we may have none of Clifton, Lloyd or Taylor next season but if we can recruit players in those moulds then the system will work.

Who'd want to be a football manager, eh?   The players you want cost a fortune, the untested lads from leagues below everyone else knows about too and cost nearly as much, you can take a punt on someone from Ireland/Wales/Outer Mongolia hoping the big teams have missed a diamond but without any real knowledge of whether they can cut it at L2 and armchair muppets like me know it all!

Quoted from OddShapedBalls

I'm with you there, I just can't see Taylor being here next season but finding someone in his mould should be number one on the priority list, whether we can hold onto Clifton is a bigger issue,

Orsi I thought was going to be a fox-in-the-box type but hasn't showed much goal threat and will probably move on (but then again he's hardly had consistent game time).

I genuinely think we need someone with real pace to give us an option too, and ultimately we may have none of Clifton, Lloyd or Taylor next season but if we can recruit players in those moulds then the system will work.

Who'd want to be a football manager, eh?   The players you want cost a fortune, the untested lads from leagues below everyone else knows about too and cost nearly as much, you can take a punt on someone from Ireland/Wales/Outer Mongolia hoping the big teams have missed a diamond but without any real knowledge of whether they can cut it at L2 and armchair muppets like me know it all!

Do you really think clubs are going to be lining up to pay over the odds for Harry? Yes he never stops running and has bundles of energy but I'm not sure he has the requisite skill to compete at the top end of L1 or the Championship, and those are the clubs he can realistically expect to need to pay to get him.

Quoted from acko338

MCAtee was not the only frustrated player yesterday, as our passing of the ball, when we did get our 20 odd% possession, was rather poor.

It was a perfect indication of where the team stands right now. Lots of guts and application, everybody willing to put in a proper shift and work for each other, but some of the passing is just woeful at times. Simple passes in midfield went astray as often as not and Brighton really didn't have to work hard enough to regain possession. I was surprised that Khan's touch and passing seemed to let him down as well. I don't expect slick passing from Holohan and Green, but would have hoped for more from one or two others.

I thought McAtee improved things to some degree after he came on but then Orsi really wasn't at the races in the first half and just wasn't having any impact of the game - not that he could do a lot given the lack of decent balls towards him. A couple of nice link-ups between Taylor and McAtee showed what we had missed but it really was a step too far for this squad.

We'll not be playing teams like Brighton every week so, now we're concentrating on the League, I hope we can push on from our reasonable recent form and end up with a top half finish and a positive goal difference. Play-offs look too far away unless we hit promotion-winning form but this hasn't really looked very likely this season. Never say never, though.

Quoted from Hagrid

thought Efete was very good yesterday

So did I - he did a much better job on Mitoma than Glenno did on March. They (Brighton) are a fantastic side trying to bring players out of position and then pick holes - some Town fans started singing 'get into 'em', I'm thinking no, don't, that's exactly what they want.

I think it's actually been good for us, in a way, that McAtee hasn't hit the heights of last year. We were so dependent on him and really struggled to win games without him last season.

This season we haven't been able to base our team around him which has made us stronger. Of course we'd all like a fully firing McAtee, but we have a more rounded threat as a team this season - although it's still the area of our game that needs the most improvement.

Quoted from Maringer

It was a perfect indication of where the team stands right now. Lots of guts and application, everybody willing to put in a proper shift and work for each other, but some of the passing is just woeful at times. Simple passes in midfield went astray as often as not and Brighton really didn't have to work hard enough to regain possession. I was surprised that Khan's touch and passing seemed to let him down as well. I don't expect slick passing from Holohan and Green, but would have hoped for more from one or two others.

I thought McAtee improved things to some degree after he came on but then Orsi really wasn't at the races in the first half and just wasn't having any impact of the game - not that he could do a lot given the lack of decent balls towards him. A couple of nice link-ups between Taylor and McAtee showed what we had missed but it really was a step too far for this squad.

We'll not be playing teams like Brighton every week so, now we're concentrating on the League, I hope we can push on from our reasonable recent form and end up with a top half finish and a positive goal difference. Play-offs look too far away unless we hit promotion-winning form but this hasn't really looked very likely this season. Never say never, though.

That a very fair summation.

It is rotten to be too critical but far too many players never got into the game at all, and when we got the ball we simply gave them it straight back.

I think Hurst set us up OK but he must have assumed we could keep the ball long enough to get it up the other end. Like others have said we never laid a glove on them and the Brighton fan on Twitter who was afraid we would "kick lumps out of them" was wide of the mark.

We will make incremental improvements over time for sure, but I would like to see a more expansive passing game at our level and hope we recruit accordingly. Some of Hurst's sides play fantastic football but not enough.

How many minutes have Mcatee and Taylor spent together on the pitch this season? Very few. I think that is a major part of the explanation for his decline in form.

I don't understand all this criticism of John McAtee.
I've been watching the Town far longer than the majority on here.
In my opinion he is the most talented player I have seen in a Town shirt for a long time.
For a lot of his games this season, he has been played up front on his own, including yesterday until Taylor came on.
How many games this season has he had Taylor up front?
We all know his best position.

Leave him alone.

Quoted from cannylad65

I don't understand all this criticism of John McAtee.
I've been watching the Town far longer than the majority on here.
In my opinion he is the most talented player I have seen in a Town shirt for a long time.
For a lot of his games this season, he has been played up front on his own, including yesterday until Taylor came on.
How many games this season has he had Taylor up front?
We all know his best position.

Leave him alone.

I couldn't agree more.

Few thoughts after reading this thread:

McAtee missed a fair chunk of the season, he was playing catch-up for a while and even when back in the side can't seem to complete 90 mins (either his body won't allow it, or Hurst won't allow it).

Probably why Hurst started him on the bench. I'm sure he was hoping we might still be in the game when he could bring McAtee on, greater chance of him creating a bit of magic out of nowhere (which very few others in this squad can do).

Fair to say he hasn't looked himself for most of the season — whether or not that'd down to the loan situation, I'm not sure. Technically, though, he's a very good player at this level. He's shown it in the goals he's scored.

I'm not too fussed, given the way this season has played out, about him going. He's a talent, but in L2 he's been much more hit and miss. I think Hurst wants consistency.

Not knocking the lad. He made an outstanding contribution last season and was integral to us getting back in the FL. We'll always owe him for that. Scored some cracking goals, too.

This season he hasn't been available or at peak condition/form, so it's hard to judge him on that. We got a nice wedge of cash for him, at the right time. I wish him all the best when he returns to Luton. Like other posters have said, based on this season alone, not sure he's a Championship player.

But, in a team that exerts a bit more control in possession and approach play, I think he could have a future at that level. It's really down to him being as fit and sharp as possible, and how Luton utilise him.

As I said the other day McAtee is a front foot player who needs to be getting the ball when facing the goal to use his ability, but we're not a front foot team at the moment. I think he'll do better in a team which is generally better in possession than we are at present, but he's still not likely to make it at Championship level without a lot of improvement. He has enough skill to do it and the necessary physical attributes (stamina aside, perhaps), but it is about getting the decision-making right.

Quoted from Mariner_09

Do you really think clubs are going to be lining up to pay over the odds for Harry? Yes he never stops running and has bundles of energy but I'm not sure he has the requisite skill to compete at the top end of L1 or the Championship, and those are the clubs he can realistically expect to need to pay to get him.

What is over the odds?  Define it for me because we've seen stupid money thrown about the place for all and sundry before and there's only a year left on his contract iirc. Young combative goalscorer who can play across the midfield and is an absolute athlete would be on most coaches shopping lists despite his limitations in other areas.  It's an incredibly subjective amount all depending on how much £ town want to release him, what level/wages he wants to play at and what the other teams are willing to pay.

I think it's more realistic that he stays a year then pockets a signing on bonus instead of the club he goes to shelling out on a transfer fee this summer, if we don't go up next year and keep him that way. But it's definitely a possibility.

If John McAtee is guilty of one thing, it's trying too hard. He has to be making things happen and I totally understand how and why PH arrived at his team selection in that he would want as many players as possible to play within a disciplined system, The fact they scored so early sort of scuppered the plan to stay 0-0 for as long as possible.

Paul Hurst said we did not look after the ball when we won it and he’s right. There were several times when we won tackles in midfield or made good interceptions and then gave the ball away straight away. That was a killer for our defence who needed a breather. To keep defending like that and chasing shadows is knackering. Nevertheless, they showed real grit and determination. Four would have been enough, but the last one came from fatigue as much as anything and five sounds a lot worse.  Max had a good game and had litlle chance with any of the goals. Ferguson was pure class and there was not much we could when the guy pulls the ball down and shoots accurately in one movement and in such a small amount of space. Our fans were brilliant but Brighton fans went out of their way to welcome us to their stadium. Well done to everyone. Our club us back! Thank you Jason and Andrew, you rescued us from the previous regime and your vision is now shining through. I’m proud to be a Mariner of 67 years standing.

Well in the 45 minutes he was on he got in two strikes at goal, one of which was only kept out by a very good save.

A short pre season when his shoulder obviously wasn’t right which culminated his injury after a couple of minutes in the first game really mucked up his season, trying to play catch up when he got back . He hasn’t looked fully fit since and this has obviously frustrated him as he wants to show Luton what he’s all about so he could have a real go with them next season.
Maybe another season on loan here with a pre season in his tank would do him and us good 👌🏻

Quoted from chaos33

How on earth do you know what his salary is?
To say he’s been injured or ineffective is a bit daft. I don’t think he’s been as consistent and productive this season as last but he’s still made some fantastic contributions - great goal at Crewe for example and he is a fantastic player that we are lucky to have. To be dismissive and perhaps a bit disrespectful of him is really not fair.

Where have I been disrespectful?

As for how I know his salary and the club's commitments to it, my contacts go a lot farther than this message board. It is up to you what you chose to disregard or take onboard. I won't lose sleep over it.

Great goal against crewe and he has had moments of brilliance but largely ineffective in comparison to last season.  

As he is no longer our player, I look forward to next season when we are cheering on the next Mcatee who will hopefully belong to the club.

McAtee isn't the problem our problem is that we've been pretty poor most of the season in transition from defence to attack.

Quoted from IrishMariner

Don't see this being discussed anywhere so was wondering what people made of the decision not to start him?

Was interesting that Hursty said in his interview that he ''didn't deserve'' to start.

I was more surprised that Josh and Hunt didn't start tbh - though I understand why he went with Green.

Quoted from male private Nale

Where have I been disrespectful?

As for how I know his salary and the club's commitments to it, my contacts go a lot farther than this message board. It is up to you what you chose to disregard or take onboard. I won't lose sleep over it.

Great goal against crewe and he has had moments of brilliance but largely ineffective in comparison to last season.  

As he is no longer our player, I look forward to next season when we are cheering on the next Mcatee who will hopefully belong to the club.

If you do in fact know what his salary is due to your ‘contacts’, and I don’t believe for a minute you do, then it’s pretty classy of you to post that personal information on a public forum.

I guarantee we’ll look back on threads like this and wonder why on earth people didn’t recognise what a talent we had in McAtee. Some of the disrespect he’s had on this forum in the past few months is baffling.

Quoted from pontoonlew

I guarantee we’ll look back on threads like this and wonder why on earth people didn’t recognise what a talent we had in McAtee. Some of the disrespect he’s had on this forum in the past few months is baffling.

I don't always agree with you Lew but on this occasion you're 100% spot on!!

Quoted from HertsGTFC

McAtee isn't the problem our problem is that we've been pretty poor most of the season in transition from defence to attack.

This is the nub of the problem.

It is ok keeping the shape, everybody tracking back all the time, but then what? It takes a lot of skill and luck to get a 10-man defence up the other end to create a chance.

We have to adopt a more expansive style, don't we? It was a one-off but on Sunday when we got the ball back who did we have to pass to? Nobody really. In league games though a similar thing happens - we win the ball outside our own box but there is nobody out wide and far enough up the pitch to pass to, and invariably attempts to get up the field falter, so we all track back again and the process is repeated.

I think most clubs at our level do it to be fair, but obviously the clubs with the more skilful players will be more adept at keeping the ball and getting from one end of the field to the other.

There is a couple of options - we either play a longer ball game to a centre forward who can hold it up to bring the team up, or we don't have seemingly everybody tracking back so the opposition can't pile forward without leaving men back to cover.

Quoted from pontoonlew

I guarantee we’ll look back on threads like this and wonder why on earth people didn’t recognise what a talent we had in McAtee. Some of the disrespect he’s had on this forum in the past few months is baffling.

Agree totally.

Whatever else he is or isn't for me he's our one player to get you up on your feet when he has the ball. The home league games have for the most part been boring to watch with limited excitement. We set up not to lose rather than go out and win and players like JM struggle to influence games. Before Covid hit Holloway had us playing the most exciting football I've seen in a good few years with lots of emphasis on attack .Enjoyable though it was it never yielded any real success and PH with a promotion and the cup run shows how to get those results more constantly. Not great to watch though and I'm hoping attacking players are top of his wishlist when it comes to recruitment.

Quoted from chaos33

If you do in fact know what his salary is due to your ‘contacts’, and I don’t believe for a minute you do, then it’s pretty classy of you to post that personal information on a public forum.

Hahaha seriously ? footballer's wages are a massive topic of conversation in fans forums as are club's expenditures.

As stated I care not a jot whether you believe me or not.

Enjoy your beetroot and the rest of your day.

Cheers Nick. You stay classy. 😉

One of the problems for McAtee was that he was recovering from injury until early December. Then his strike partner Taylor was injured and has only just recovered.

Last season they were like chalk and cheese but have had little time together this season. Hopefully, they will bond and we will see McAtee at his best along with a few goals.

McAtee hat-trick incoming at Field Mill.

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

McAtee hat-trick incoming at Field Mill.

That would require PH picking Hunt, Taylor & McAtee in the same team....(and we might concede more than we score!)

I think there’s a strong possibility he’ll go Taylor and JM.

Quoted from chaos33

I think there’s a strong possibility he’ll go Taylor and JM.

I don't think he'll leave Lloyd out.

Easily the most exciting player we've had since Reddy.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

I don't think he'll leave Lloyd out.

I hope not. I'm like a broken record ATM but I rate Lloyd. More than Taylor.

Quoted from lukeo

I hope not. I'm like a broken record ATM but I rate Lloyd. More than Taylor.

not even remotely the same type of player.

Quoted from lukeo

I hope not. I'm like a broken record ATM but I rate Lloyd. More than Taylor.

It's like comparing two different roles. We've looked better as a team when Taylors been playing whilst Lloyd has shown moments of quality.

Not saying it’s likely..but you could have the three playing together. Taylor up top for the physicality, Lloyd the harrying and McAtee in the pocket behind. Of course that’s mean you lose in other areas of pitch so as said highly unlikely.

Quoted from marinerjase

Not saying it’s likely..but you could have the three playing together. Taylor up top for the physicality, Lloyd the harrying and McAtee in the pocket behind. Of course that’s mean you lose in other areas of pitch so as said highly unlikely.

He's played mcatee and clifton slightly behind a higher forward sometimes recently, so could go lloyd and mcatee behind taylor instead and pull clifton further back I suppose. You'd still have clifton but might not get the best of him in that role tho.

Think Khan has to be in the conversation to . Expect him to be a big player for us next season .

I can see us trying Taylor, McAtee and Lloyd up front together. Would be interesting to see who played in a midfield 4 if we went that route. Most likely, Glennon and Emmanuel in the wing-back roles with Holohan and Clifton in the middle?

With McAtee I think we're better without him at the moment.

There's no denying his obvious technical talent and is why Luton have paid to secure his services. They also see that he still has some work to do for his development and if the reports are accurate then he'll be loaned out again next season to continue that.

The reason I think we're better off without him is he seems to take everything so personally on the pitch. In one sense that is what endears him to fans, we can see that he cares and we can see the effort and hard work he puts in, I'd like to think no fan would dispute that.

But the downside to that is he makes rash decisions and he loses his head when things don't go right, which hasn't been uncommon this season. He plays as though he's shouldering the burden of success and that he has a standard to uphold following last season.

The step up has made games more challenging and it hasn't been as easy for him to hit the heights he did last year, not helped by an injury to himself and then to Taylor who he links well with. I wonder how much he wants to justify the faith that has been place in him by Luton, to repeat the personal feats of last season for us and maybe even feels the pressure of his younger brother playing at the level he does. Whichever of those might apply (if any at all) I think it stems from caring greatly about his profession which is highly commendable.

I don't for one second think JM is a poor player who should be sitting out because he isn't talented enough, he's our most talented player by far on an individual level. But if he seems to be feeling some pressure or whatever it is that seems to be affecting his play - as PH seems to have alluded to in recent press conferences - then it's better for both him and the team to take a spell out and get some stability after a very busy period.

8 pages in ...
Not a bad option off the bench is he ?
Wouldnt be suprised if 9 and 10 are when hes bagged one or two at Mansfield or against Walsall

Play Lloyd and Orsi for 45
Just say go all out
Then bring Taylor and Mcatee on for the second 45

To be brutally honest, I wouldn't have Orsi near the starting line-up. He's put in one or two decent performances all season, didn't kick on after his good showing against Luton, and I just don't think he's the answer. I'd be surprised if he was with us next season.

Quoted from Maringer

To be brutally honest, I wouldn't have Orsi near the starting line-up. He's put in one or two decent performances all season, didn't kick on after his good showing against Luton, and I just don't think he's the answer. I'd be surprised if he was with us next season.

Similar thoughts here, was surprised he started with him if I'm honest.

Overall I enjoyed the day, the trip down and back, wandering around the stadium, the atmosphere, I was sitting in their main stand and the Town fans sounded great to me.

I wasn't surprised by the way Paul Hurst set the team up to try to stop them scoring, I didn't expect him to start with Orsi and Khan as they really aren't the best for trying to hold the ball up.

I didn't expect anything other than quite a heavy defeat but was disappointed with the goals we conceded as most of them came from poor defending with the first from a poor save by Crocombe and God knows what Waterfall was doing for their 5th trying to play the ball out.

Still I'm glad to say I was there.

Quoted from Maringer

To be brutally honest, I wouldn't have Orsi near the starting line-up. He's put in one or two decent performances all season, didn't kick on after his good showing against Luton, and I just don't think he's the answer. I'd be surprised if he was with us next season.

To be fair to Orsi, after the Luton replay he came off the bench at half-time against Colchester when everyone was crap, got 14 minutes in the defeat at Gillingham and got hauled off at half-time away at Northampton when he wasn't the only one who didn't do much in a drab first half where we didn't seem to suit the system we played.  

That's the league anyway, next round of the cup he absolutely ran his heart out at Southampton.    He was ineffective against Brighton but he was totally isolated up there against very good players, there's chasing shadows and there's that.  

I thought he was bought as a fox-in-the-box type and Hurst described him as the most natural finisher we've got at the club.  Yet every time I've seen him played it's as either a No 9. or he's sent out to make a nuisance of himself.  

Truth be told, I don't think he'll make it here.  He just doesn't fit into our system and style, especially with the way Hurst likes to approach games.  But the lad has been thrown crumbs of opportunities, he's only managed more than 60 minutes once for us (Salford at home, where he did brilliantly to set McAtee away for Khan's goal)

The Brighton game identified which of our players showed glimpses of being able to cope physically or mentally with a step up in class, not Brighton's class, but a step up. There were five of them, maybe six, and McAtee was definitely one of them..

The others..

Maher
Smith
Efete
Clifton
Glennon

Green's presence was also missed second half..

Quoted from Maringer

To be brutally honest, I wouldn't have Orsi near the starting line-up. He's put in one or two decent performances all season, didn't kick on after his good showing against Luton, and I just don't think he's the answer. I'd be surprised if he was with us next season.

He works incredibly hard, in the same way George Lloyd does, but I’m afraid to say he’s miles away from Lloyd in terms of football ability.

I would have him here next season as 5th choice striker rather than one of these kids on loan from a team higher up eho isnt physically ready  ,at least we know what we get from Orsi

Lloyd ,Taylor ,Orsi and then 2 other quality players up top would be a decent set .

Just a personal opinion, and it’s one I’ve held since we signed him - think we need better. To be fair to him he’s had limited chances, and he’s done well in the Cup games in respect of attitude and work rate ..and I know there’s been remarks such as ‘best finisher in training etc ‘ but I’ve not seen evidence to suggest he can be a ‘consistent’ scorer of goals. Nothing against the guy - he comes across as personable and likeable, respected by colleagues etc - just don’t him as anything other than a squad member, used sparingly. Think PH said he liked Sousa, and he’s done better than he thought he might - but he was still released end of season. Orsi falls in that bracket for me, but if he’s here for another season bench warming then good for him and wish him well.

Quoted from marinerjase

Just a personal opinion, and it’s one I’ve held since we signed him - think we need better. To be fair to him he’s had limited chances, and he’s done well in the Cup games in respect of attitude and work rate ..and I know there’s been remarks such as ‘best finisher in training etc ‘ but I’ve not seen evidence to suggest he can be a ‘consistent’ scorer of goals. Nothing against the guy - he comes across as personable and likeable, respected by colleagues etc - just don’t him as anything other than a squad member, used sparingly. Think PH said he liked Sousa, and he’s done better than he thought he might - but he was still released end of season. Orsi falls in that bracket for me, but if he’s here for another season bench warming then good for him and wish him well.

I do agree, clearly he's a really good lad and you can see from the stuff on social media, Mariners TV etc.. he's really bought into the club understands it and what we're trying to do, this alongside his work rate and attitude on the pitch he should be respected for, he'll need a pretty big second season though if he's to stay any longer.

Quoted from marinerjase

Just a personal opinion, and it’s one I’ve held since we signed him - think we need better. To be fair to him he’s had limited chances, and he’s done well in the Cup games in respect of attitude and work rate ..and I know there’s been remarks such as ‘best finisher in training etc ‘ but I’ve not seen evidence to suggest he can be a ‘consistent’ scorer of goals. Nothing against the guy - he comes across as personable and likeable, respected by colleagues etc - just don’t him as anything other than a squad member, used sparingly. Think PH said he liked Sousa, and he’s done better than he thought he might - but he was still released end of season. Orsi falls in that bracket for me, but if he’s here for another season bench warming then good for him and wish him well.

Completely agree Jase.  Just think it's a shame the lad has had so limited opportunity to impress.  

End of the day, Hurst sees him day-in-day-out in training, we don't.  I'm pretty sure if he was standing heads and shoulders above everyone in training, it's not likely Hurst isn't going to use him when we've looked pretty meek up top.

Quoted from Mappers

Lloyd ,Taylor ,Orsi and then 2 other quality players up top would be a decent set .

I would be surprised if any of those three are here next season.

Quoted from arryarryarry

I would be surprised if any of those three are here next season.

I have to agree with this (notwithstanding Orsi’s contract).  We have to look forwards not backwards, Lloyd is a keeper but not our player, Taylor I admire but his days are numbered at this level and Orsi simply hasn’t shown enough consistently.

We’re not going to be shopping in Fortnum and Mason, lets be honest, but an extra million or so moves us up from Poundland to Lidl.

Quoted from marinerjase

Not saying it’s likely..but you could have the three playing together. Taylor up top for the physicality, Lloyd the harrying and McAtee in the pocket behind. Of course that’s mean you lose in other areas of pitch so as said highly unlikely.

Didn’t think it’d be tonight 👀

Good to see, though leaves Holohan with a lot to do?