Give Hargreaves A Chance

[hector]

Anyone absolving Hargreaves of any blame must be barking. The blokes had nigh on half a season to get us out the sh*t. All he has done is dig us into a bigger hole.
If Danny Stevens had signed for any of our rivals we would have been pissing ourselves. He has been an absolute waste of space. A joke signing - past his sell by date yonks ago.
Hargreaves seems to be in denial have the time which seems to worry me. If you listen to him Goodwin seems to be the second George Best. Yet as a winger he has been bang average - he is quick enough but contributes bugger all really.
Defensively we were not that bad. Hargreaves should have booted Tonge out - played his best two centre halves Downes and Pearce. O'Connor should have been a shoe in at right back and Cruise at left back.
That didn't require too much sorting out. Chapple should have been played on the wing - instead we had the useless Stevens playing there.
Hargreaves signings were an unmitigated disaster and thats the real reason why are going down.
Also I just do not understand how so many of our players appear to "become" injured when they are not playing games,
Cooper has been a farce. It appears he must have had an ankle amputated in training. Was apparently "fit" a couple of weeks ago and now seems to have disappeared again. Ditto Cruise who seems to have done a disappearing act.
Goodwin seems to have sustained a season ending injury (this must have been done in Sainsburys presumably) and so on and so.
This culminated in Bodin appearing to gell his hair on Saturday into some weird style. Spend 20 minutes doing sod all and then fall over sustaining a game ending injury in the process.
Poke can't play cause he can't kick the ball - I mean what the f*** is going on with this bunch of underachieving arsewipes.
It is just too pathetic for words,

Did I miss something? I thought you were 'never posting again'.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Some people say they aren't going to get pissed ever again but then go out and get wasted. :~D

[stefano]

Did I miss something? I thought you were 'never posting again'.

Glad he did though and indeed I knew he would. Terry / Brucie is a proper long standing supporter of the club and whilst his posts may infuriate some at times, he says it from the heart and regularly talks a lot of sense. I do of course know Steve / Hector that you are a proper long suffering fan as well. I am not sure whether in 50 years time there will still be people like us around the club. Well I know it won't be us as we will be long gone, but I meant people with 50+ years supporting the club. Those lovely enthusiatic kids in the corner of the family stand go once or twice when they get a freebie trip organised by the school, other than that have a glance around at the age profile! We're doomed

[Gullscorer]

Believe in Hargreaves. We'll be fine next season.
But don't bet on it..

[AustrianAndyGull]

I'd better not then or we WOULD be in the shit!

[AustrianAndyGull]

Probably a bad example but I've just watched the highlights of Norwich v Liverpool.

Pound for pound Liverpool have much better players than Norwich but Norwich threw everything at them and were unlucky to lose the game in the end. That is what I expected when Hargreaves came in, what I've seen tonight from Norwich is (relatively speaking) the kind of attitude and approach I thought CH was going to bring us. It was exciting and Norwich lost but that performance will breed confidence for the next game because the players know they can perform like that. The fans go away happy even with a loss because they know that Norwich gave it a real crack and in the end just fell short. When can we say that about any game CH has taken charge of?

The new Norwich boss has had 2 games.

Why can't 11 poor players like Torquay have apply the same principals against another poor set of players such as Accrington, Newport, Northampton and so on and so forth. These teams aren't better than us and they haven't had more luck than us although some will think they have. So we hit the bar for example and on another day it might go in. Well the answer to that is to create some more chances and make sure the job gets done and not to rue the odd piece of bad luck or bad miss. We gave up months back and it looks to me like CH did too I'm sorry to say.

[PL21gull]

Re the Premiership highlights, the players showed more composure than ours - whatever the apparent faults of selection and tactics in CH's reign, should he get the blame for our players failing to score when six chances were created on the Daggers goal from c. 6 yards. These were the types of chance which came from good - as opposed to hopeful - delivery and which we have been craving to be created since August; at least our attempts were mostly on target this time but straight at the opposing keeper (good positioning as well as good fortune?).
What CH and the coaching staff should be driving into players is picking their spot to aim at more effectively rather than just blasting it and wasting excellent positions (eg EB in the second half, careless free-kicks in previous matches) often without even forcing the keeper to make a save. Indeed, even at pre-match kick-ins, how many times do we see our forwards hitting the net?; not enough is the answer - is it not meant to be serious practice/warm-up time for the real thing?

[Gullscorer]

When CH first arrived at Plainmoor as manager, some people immediately believed (and probably and understandably still do) that relegation had become a certainty. Others thought that he was very much the man for the job and could even perhaps work a few miracles to save us from the drop. The reality was that the squad he inherited was odds-on bound for relegation, whether under CH or any other manager, because the negative mindset and low morale in the camp could not have been turned around in time.

Whatever the skills and abilities of individual players, this capitulation and lack of confidence in the squad was never something that could be changed overnight. But, looking back over the last three months, there does appear to have been a gradual change in morale and team spirit, resulting in improvements on the pitch. This is apparent if one compares recent games with those in January and February. We may indeed be going down, but the fact that we are not yet relegated tells us something about the changes that have been and are occurring.

Whether or not we win or lose the final two games, and whichever division we find ourselves in next season, it does look as if CH has at least managed to turn the Gulls around from a squad of bottlers and losers to one which believes in itself and wants to win and succeed. The next three months will give him the chance to make the squad even more his own. He deserves that chance, along with our full support over the coming year.

[AustrianAndyGull]

When CH first arrived at Plainmoor as manager, some people immediately believed (and probably and understandably still do) that relegation had become a certainty. Others thought that he was very much the man for the job and could even perhaps work a few miracles to save us from the drop. Whatever the skills and abilities of individual players, this capitulation and lack of confidence in the squad was never something that could be changed overnight. But, looking back over the last three months, there does appear to have been a gradual change in morale and team spirit, resulting in improvements on the pitch. This is apparent if one compares recent games with those in January and February. We may indeed be going down, but the fact that we are not yet relegated tells us something about the changes that have been and are occurring.

Whether or not we win or lose the final two games, and whichever division we find ourselves in next season, it does look as if CH has at least managed to turn the Gulls around from a squad of bottlers and losers to one which believes in itself and wants to win and succeed. The next three months will give him the chance to make the squad even more his own. He deserves that chance, along with our full support over the coming year.

I have to disagree with you there Mick. :Oops:

I'm not for one minute suggesting we could have afforded these people or even if they would have even considered coming to Plainmoor anyway but a couple of names I can think of off the top of my head would have DEFINATELY got us out of the shtuck and it is no coincidence that they are all in the 'no nonsense' mould. A type opposite to CH in a managerial sense and a type we most desperately needed to get us out of this mess which we could have done given a more 'aggressive' appointment.

David Flitcroft - I said on here before he joined Bury that he was ideal for us and would keep Bury up no problems. At time we had just beaten Bury at their place and they were bloody awful. He got them organised and playing for one another with a no messing, common sense approach - CH on the other hand..............

Martin Allen - Just the sort of manager needed to get us out of the mess and if not him, someone cut from the same cloth. Intimidating, gnarled and experienced with total focus and calls a spade a spade. Fine if you can back it up with success - CH on the other hand...................................

I have a feeling that CH is the kind of manager that needs two or three seasons to get something going, like Nigel Worthington at York - they have struggled a bit and now his methodology and the right mix of players are now beginning to make them a useful outfit. Thing was, CH didn't have time to apply his methods to save us therefore his appointment was more or less condemning us to the drop and it was just the final nail in the coffin hammered in by the board.

[Scott Brehaut]

I suppose the one thing we have to bear in mind with the two names above, as well as almost every other "household" name you can think of, is cost.

You can bet your last pound (and knowing Andy, you probably would) that CH is a LOT cheaper that either of those mentioned.

[AustrianAndyGull]

I suppose the one thing we have to bear in mind with the two names above, as well as almost every other "household" name you can think of, is cost.

Yes I know Scott. I did say that we wouldn't have been able to afford them but then I guess the board thought that the kind of attributes CH had as a player here would be simply transferable into his management and that has been the total opposite from what I see. I know I bloody well did. I expected Tarzan - The Real Deal but I got The Smurfs.

That has been the shock and disappointment for me, I know throwing teacups and having a rant doesn't make a successful football manager but CH has almost adopted a new persona as one of these blokes who like to look sports casual on the touchline yet still remain professional and one of these managers who like people to think they are 'studious' about the game. There is no cutting edge about the man from what I've seen and I thought that is what he would bring to the table. It appears his time in the media has turned him into a softie and given him the spiel that would enable him to appear that he looks like he has a solid gameplan in interviews and the board have bought it.

Like you say, it could be that the board wanted CH all ends up because they knew he was a fans favourite AND cheap and therefore if it went boobies ahoy then it won't cost them much and the fans would give him more time and less stick in the short term. Plus the fact that he was inexperienced and everyone knew this kind of gave him and them an excuse if he failed.

[Paul John]

Flitcroft was a cheaper option than Hargreaves he has come to Bury because he believed in the plan the Chairman has! He convinced Brassy to join him as they knew they would always work together and their passion will be our success! I know having spoke to the chairman at Bury and Flitcroft with theirs and Brassys wheeling and dealing with players costs to budget has been minimal! Thanks again for Brassy and I hope you achieve the great escape!

[PlainmoorRoar]

Flitcroft was a cheaper option than Hargreaves he has come to Bury because he believed in the plan the Chairman has! He convinced Brassy to join him as they knew they would always work together and their passion will be our success! I know having spoke to the chairman at Bury and Flitcroft with theirs and Brassys wheeling and dealing with players costs to budget has been minimal! Thanks again for Brassy and I hope you achieve the great escape!

I imagine Flitcroft is on more than CH

[Paul John]

Unless your board telling ours porkies Hargreaves on more than Flitcroft and more than Knill was!

[Southampton Gull]

Or yours are telling porkies about what our board said.................