Happy Talk...

[PhilGull]

I don't get you Fonda. At the time of your OP I am aware of three players having already signed on the dotted line. Three players, who on paper (for that is all we have until the season starts) look like really good signings.
It seems that some people like negativity for negativity's sake, regardless of the realities in front of them.

[taunton_gull]

Thea did indeed confirm the budget for this season would be the same regardless of what division we're in. Alex Rowe also said from a financial perspective it makes a great deal of difference if the club is able to bounce back straight away in the first season before the parachute payments etc. finish. The difficulty is obviously whilst our budget might be the same CH is constrained by the fact that the lion's share is being used to pay a large number of players he would rather went elsewhere. It's a real shame we aren't able to start the season with a clean slate as we did last time but that unfortunately is where we now find ourselves at due to the decisions made previously. With that in mind I would be surprised to see us challenging at the top end of the division but I am more than willing to be proved wrong. By the time Karl Hawley and the rest are on their bikes its unlikely there will be further serious funds to go for promotion next season I would have thought.

All things considered I am pretty impressed with the way Hargreaves has gone about things and will fully support him for the campaign ahead as that's all I can do. Briscoe and Young seem very good signings to me and despite the last two years I am looking forward to the new season even if it means we might be down here for the duration. As Thea said the main aim is for people to come back to Plainmoor and enjoy their football again. The kind of things Hargreaves has come out with indicates hopefully this might be the case, it's vital players and fans are united if we want to give it a good go.

[Glostergull]

'Stupid' and 'Dumb' (cheers Gloster). Got to be honest it's not what I hoped for but if the cap fits I'm happy to wear it...

Matt, appreciate your thoughts on the quality of signings being made. You're right, we've not missed out on any major talents - but at this level, major talents are not really on the horizon. A good few players who will do well at this level have moved to clubs we'll be facing next season. I look forward to us signing some.

With regards the size of support of some of our competitors, of course size doesn't equal success at all. But what better support does give you is more money. And more money provides the ability to sign better players. There are of course no guarantees of any such thing. But it increases your chances. If a manager with a big budget, does as good a job as a manager with a small budget, the manager with the big budget is likely to be more successful. It's simplistic, but accurate.

Oh, and I'm not in any way depressed. I'm fully aware of our prospects, and am able to function fully with that knowledge. As I said, I was hoping for some inspiration. I didn't believe my post to be stupid or dumb. In actual fact I've done nothing other than stating the obvious. Can to do so really be considered 'dumb'? I'dargue that to suggest we'll be 'pulling up tree's, aiming for promotion' would be dumb. But then I'm a pessimist I suppose...

Yes you are pessimistic. Glass half empty. But thats a problem becuase it can affect the attitude of others. its like a cancer that spreads and makes more poeple feel down and depressed. beleive me i know. My ex had that problem and in the end i couldt cope with it.
Dumb and stupid. Hmm Dont remember call you either of those.
I may have called the post you put up Dumb. But did not make that a personal remark on you. Neither did i call you stupid. in fact I have looked through my post and cant even see the word. are you not sure your refering to Matts post. But then he thinks we are all dumb. And i am mad. But then even i knew that.

[Richinns]

I see both sides to this argument currently.

So far we have brought three players in of which two I am very happy about.

It will be interesting to see who rocks up at pre-season as we are short in a number of positions and the need for a right and left back are very high on the agenda.

We lacked mainly two things last year - which were a creative midfielder and somebody who could stick the bloody ball in the net. Young is an excellent piece of business and seems to solve the first of these problems but I am under the impression CH is having the same excruciating difficulty that Knill had in finding a goalscorer. I am worried that he will fall into the same trap which cost us so badly last year and have a punt on somebody late on who turns out to be nothing better than poor.

Another big worry for me is that all the plans CH has/had are being jeopardised by the fact the majority of the budget is being taken up by those 5 or so who remaining transfer listed. The possible situation is that players we could be signing are finding other clubs because we cannot move the dead weight on. It will be extremely difficult to shift these guys and even if we can get rid then it might all be too late for us to sign the best we can in our current situation.

A lot of these worries are still provided through the faults of decisions made under the Knill regime. It seems both we and CH will have to live with these for more time to come and the punishment of these decisions are now costing us more than the relegation they have already provided.

[Jeff]

I'm a little surprised that we haven't been able to clear out a couple more of the transfer listed mob.

Top of that list has to be Jordan Chappell, who is being touted around as being homesick rather than short on quality, and showed last season that he can be a tidy player. Geography frequently plays a big role in the decision making process of lower league players these days, and with Chappell being a South Yorkshire lad he's pitched himself at a good area, football-wise. I'm surprised that the likes of Halifax or Alfreton haven't come in for him (unless they have, which with me being completely uninformed I wouldn't know about) as that would seem to be a good fit. One thing TUFC need to get away from is the notion that they can command any sort of fee for him though. We signed him for free, and have had bugger all to do with his development. If someone was to come in with a nominal offer with a healthy whack of sell-on fee, I'd take it. That is, if we are that desperate to get him off the wage bill.

Tonge would be in a similar boat, potential club wise. Having made a big move away from his South Yorkshire roots which seemingly hasn't turned out well, you'd imagine any move away would be back to an area he knows well and his ties too. Although given his limited performances, you might expect that the likes of a big spending Conf North club (Guiseley, North Ferriby for example) might be a good fit for his services.

For me, I don't think we should be in too much of a rush to offload Cooper, Downes and Harding at this stage. Cooper, as I understand, is comfortable anywhere across the backline as well as in a holding midfield role - a level of versatility you would hope is a benefit rather than a "jack-of-all-trades" millstone around his neck. I also think he might have skippered Bournemouth at some point as well? With his experience at L1/L2 level, you'd expect him to be a solid player. Harding I have discussed on another thread, but with the career history he has, there has to be some quality in there. And again, another captain character. And as for Downes, I think last season he was let down by the abysmal ball retention in front of him. He looks to be the sort of player who makes a mistake maybe 10% of the time. During the Ling days, when we were solid on the ball, he was maybe dealing with 20 to 30 situations a game. Last season, with no ball retention up front or in midfield, he was dealing with 50 to 60 situations and the mistakes seemed more frequent.

Amateur tactician that I am, if you could imagine a team with Downes and Pearce as Central defenders, Harding and Cooper as holding midfielders with Young playing ahead of them, that is a solid spine of a team with good leadership qualities and a bit of creativity at the top - not looking too shabby perhaps?

As for players coming in, I'm slightly surprised we haven't been sniffing around the Salisbury City fire-sale like other clubs have been. That club are surely on the verge of going out of business, and some solid Conference level players are doing the rounds. For example, Rob Sinclair who has just been picked up by Rovers - pretty sure he played against us for Stevenage a few years back and looked a decent player. Bearing in mind Salisbury almost made the playoffs last year, their players must be up to a reasonable level. They still have a few players left on the books (and no, I'm not advocating the return of Chris McPhee!) - who knows, maybe we are even talking to some of them.

At this stage of the summer I'm not too disheartened about where the team is at, and will be very interested to see who some of these players are that CH has been lauding - yet playing his cards close to his chest at the same time - as reporting in for pre-season.

[PhilGull]

The problem with selling Chappell is that Sheff Utd have a massive clause for any monies we receive. Depending on how that clause works it may be that there is a minimum we need to sell him for to cover any money owed to them....

[Fonda]

Yes you are pessimistic. Glass half empty. But thats a problem becuase it can affect the attitude of others. its like a cancer that spreads and makes more poeple feel down and depressed. beleive me i know. My ex had that problem and in the end i couldt cope with it.
Dumb and stupid. Hmm Dont remember call you either of those.
I may have called the post you put up Dumb. But did not make that a personal remark on you. Neither did i call you stupid. in fact I have looked through my post and cant even see the word. are you not sure your refering to Matts post. But then he thinks we are all dumb. And i am mad. But then even i knew that.

Gloster, you used the word 'Dumb'. The stupid and Dumb comment was a summation of the things posted in the thread. Not my intention to attribute both to you. :cool

I have historically been referred to as pessimistic on this board, so maybe I am. Or perhaps it's just the way I post, because people that know me wouldn't consider me so. I see myself as a realist actually (but then doesn't everybody?) Look at what I actually posted. I suggested that we're taking our time making signings (I think Young is an excellent signing, the others' I'd shrug my shoulders if anyone else signed them). I suggested we're likely short of cash so are probably struggling to compete for players. I expressed the opinion that the manager hasn't impressed me yet. And I said I that, based on those things, plus the fact we have a lot of players the manager doesn't want (and who know that) I think we'll struggle this season. If all this proves to be nonsense, then I will be a proven 'pessimist'. But I guess only time will tell.

As for pessimism spreading, I'd give fellow posters more credit than that. I very much doubt anyone's opinion of our prospects will be affected by anything I've posted. Just as nobody shouting that we're going to win the league will have me believing it's going to happen. People should have the courage to form their own opinions, and express them accordingly. And if other people don't like them, that's really their look out. I don't post to get a reaction, or upset people, or start some kind of virtual revolt. I see what I see, form opinions and on occasions write them down. I'll probably not bother again.

[Richinns]

Gloster, you used the word 'Dumb'. The stupid and Dumb comment was a summation of the things posted in the thread. Not my intention to attribute both to you. :cool

I have historically been referred to as pessimistic on this board, so maybe I am. Or perhaps it's just the way I post, because people that know me wouldn't consider me so. I see myself as a realist actually (but then doesn't everybody?) Look at what I actually posted. I suggested that we're taking our time making signings (I think Young is an excellent signing, the others' I'd shrug my shoulders if anyone else signed them). I suggested we're likely short of cash so are probably struggling to compete for players. I expressed the opinion that the manager hasn't impressed me yet. And I said I that, based on those things, plus the fact we have a lot of players the manager doesn't want (and who know that) I think we'll struggle this season. If all this proves to be nonsense, then I will be a proven 'pessimist'. But I guess only time will tell.

As for pessimism spreading, I'd give fellow posters more credit than that. I very much doubt anyone's opinion of our prospects will be affected by anything I've posted. Just as nobody shouting that we're going to win the league will have me believing it's going to happen. People should have the courage to form their own opinions, and express them accordingly. And if other people don't like them, that's really their look out. I don't post to get a reaction, or upset people, or start some kind of virtual revolt. I see what I see, form opinions and on occasions write them down. I'll probably not bother again.

If true the forum would be a worse off without you Shane. I always enjoy your contributions and I often see a lot of what I am thinking in your posts. This place (and any football forum) you are always going to be picked apart on when you do not write the 'easy' option.

Stick around and post more - I think most on here would agree you add great value and insight.

[Fonda]

Cheers Rich, much appreciated. I wasn't fishing for compliments! I wouldn't have expected any!

[taunton_gull]

Agreed, I hope you stick around Shane. Any forum is at its best when there are a wide range of views and opinions. Unfortunately sometimes certain individuals jump down the throats of others because they are 'less informed' or simply do not see things the way they do. This leads to a very predictable debate with only the same individuals posting which in my opinion is a shame.

[ferrarilover]

Do you quit your job every time someone there disagrees with you?

Matt.

[Southampton Gull]

Are Shane and Anthea one and the same? Have they ever both been seen in the same place?

In all seriousness, as one who argues with you more than most I always relish seeing you post as you're usually thought provoking which is more than can be said for most. Stick around and fight your corner, I for one enjoy reading your contributions

[Fonda]

Do you quit your job every time someone there disagrees with you?

Matt.

No Matthew. But if you think a football message board is as important as your job, you might be in the wrong profession.

Cheers to those saying nice things. I'm blushing here. :Oops:

[ferrarilover]

That's just the point, this is the internet, it means **** all. If someone on here disagrees with you, it couldn't matter less, yet you're letting it dictate your behaviour. If someone at work disagreed with you, it could ruin your life, yet you give it similar regard.

There are people on here who don't even actually disagree with you, they just say they do because threads full of people just agreeing with each other are bloody boring.

Matt.

[Fonda]

I don't think I explicitly suggested 'leaving' at any point? My insinuation was that I'd stop making posts that required a degree of thought and effort. In any case, people disagreeing with me has never been a problem (I've grown quite used to it). It might not have gone unnoticed that I'm actually quite argumentative. I enjoy debate, it's kind of what I come here for. But what I do find frustrating is when you put time and effort into composing your thoughts, and the replies include 'dumb' or 'stupid op'. It kind of takes the fun away. It means my efforts at instigating debate were wasted and I'd exerted unnecessary effort. I don't dig on wasting energy.