So as the dust settles on a heroic semi final display but a very disappointing season, the hard work starts already for next season. Speaking to DW at Peacehaven, he said they are already looking at and talking too, numerous quality players for next season. So who do we think will go and who will stay?
Despite a very poor record of PL 23 W9 D3 L11 F37 A35, it looks pretty clear that TW will stay in charge. Some will agree with that decision and some wont, but I will be fully behind him, and I guess he will need at least a dozen games next season, with his own team, before people can start having a valid opinion.
With regards to players, I think the team must be built around Tom Vickers, Josh Pelling, Taser and Timmy O. I would also throw in Frankie, but fear he may be off, and young Crutwell, although he may well have his sights set much higher.
You can put forward a case for all of the remainder, but if the expected rebuilding goes ahead it is difficult to see where some of these guys will fit in. I think TW likes a Sam Adams type player and despite an average season, I think and hope he will stay. That leaves Kenny, who certainly won me over this season, although still too inconsistent and Darby, who looked our best player at the beginning of the season but sadly failed to hit those heights again. I really like Ben Judge, he had a great start and end to the season and a horrible middle, and quite amazing at his age he only missed a couple of league games but has he got another season in the legs? Never quite looked the same once Irish left his side. I hear Danny Ellis may be off to Eastbourne, I assume Camara has gone, not quite sure Corrigan is good enough just yet (sorry Dave!) and Henson was poor all season. The loanees will all return, and I must say that after some gems from previous seasons this year were very average, and the youngsters such as Bachellier will continue to knock on the door.
So who may come in? Just some ideas but I have a sneaky feeling we may see some old faces return. I hope and expect to see Razor return, and would not be surprised to see Ade close behind. Full backs are a necessity so how about old favourite Ollie Rowe from Eastbourne. I would love to see that monster from Horsham, Jamahl King and how about another go for Tom Chapman at Ramsgate, only 2nd to Ross Allen in quality from what I have seen this season. And finally an old school out and out striker. Perhaps Joe Taylor, Sittingbourne, Shaun Welford at Hythe or Pat Harding at Burgess Hill.
Just a bit of fun, but fancy this line up for first game of the season.
remember dave saying on the last day of last season that they have already started to build for promotion,sadly didn't get the players so hope for a better start this time,john agree would try hardest to keep josh tom Frankie taser etc but look higher than getting players from this div,it do'es have to start very soon so as not to get left behind.
Can see Sam Crutwell getting signed by Hull as they have asked him back for a second week i believe, great for him.
Think Frankie might go, hope he doesn't but he can definately play well in Ryman Prem and been a pleasure seeing him living up to his previous reputation here. Maybe Medlock in now as a 'small striker' replacement if he does go. If Ade fancies it and is fit & focused then would be a decent foil for either alongside Kenny who has exceeded most peoples expectations this season with 17 goals and his all round effort and desire. A crowd favorite for sure!
Pretty sure Taser will stay as really does seem very happy here. Ben Judge may do one more season and Razor alongside him would still be a very good CB partnership but would require good options around him. as John says King or a returning Sean Kelly would be fine. Steve Elliott would be a decent squad member despite being at relegated Eastbourne Town.
Agree with John that a LW in the style of taser would be handy, think the Chapman boat has sailed but you never know. My shout would be Aaron Rhule.
My ideal LB who we may have a very small chance of getting would be Sam Cole from Eastbourne but unlikely, Same with Ollie Rowe but hopefully the budget will be there and Terry can persuade those type of players that we mean business!
Hopefully Tom Vickers recovers quite quickly from his ruptured Achilles but it will take a few months to recover well from that and he'll have to wait until its completely healed otherwise a re-occurrence would be quite likely and far worse. Gutted for him.
Certain we'll keep Pells for next season which is vital.
Don't forget we can only get verbal commitments from players until July 1st so its going to be a looooong wait until the squad becomes more concrete.
That's bad news about Tom. How come he was kicking a ball around at half time on Saturday? has this happened since or is this the original prognosis? Injuries like that take months and months.
As much as I want Sam to get signed don't look into Hiull asking Sam back for another week as a certain thing Dan, that's how pro clubs operate, he's only played 45 minutes for them and they wouldn't make a decision purely on that. I hope he does get signed but would be very happy to see him remain at the club, he's come a long way since Terry gave him his chance, and to think Maggs thought he wasn't ready.
I can see us really being a force next season, obviously we need to bring the quality in but I'm confident a concerted effort is already being made in doing that.
I think the absolutely critical thing is to have a manager who will last the season firmly in place, well before the start of the season, to select the squad he wants. We will not get out of this league if we repeat next season the managerial changes we have seen this year. If it is TW who is here next year - good; provided that he stays the full year to be given every chance of at the very least getting as far as we have this season and - most importantly - building a nucleus of players who will take us forward whatever we achieve in the season ahead.
Now for my usual half empty post. Why would Josh or Sam C stay on, they are both looking to further their careers so why would you stay at a Ryman South club when you could probably be in squads at Conference South Level.
People mention Medlock and Elliot but why would this help as they chose a relegation struggle over play-offs last season, and you can bet your life they would have got more money with us. If they did come would it be for the money? It certainly wouldn’t be for love of the club.
Then there is the players that rarely turned up for training, do you want those in the squad?, and those that reportedly want away.
I maybe wrong but if there are more than 4 players who played Tuesday in the team for our 1st league game of 14/15 I will be surprised
Just because they didn't want to abandon Eastbourne and their team mates halfway through the season doesn't mean that there is any ulterior motive there. Just either wasn't the right time or wanted to see it through to the end like Ben Judge and Frankie did with us in regards to their offers from higher level near transfer deadline day. After failing to keep Eastbourne up they will not be wanting to play County League football i'm sure and both have been here previously, live relatively locally and Steve Elliott spoke very well of us after the Match at theirs. They were the best players by far in their team ( albeit relegated team ) but good enough to do a job for us somewhere i'm sure.
Of course money plays a big part in many players choice at this level ( Not all ) but in our position that can also be used to our advantage compared to all the other clubs at this level next season unless another Peacehaven cash cow comes along. The relativly small pool of players willing to travel from far away is our biggest issue and the travel explains alot of the training issues i would imagine especially for players with jobs who live in London, Lewisham etc.
It is up to the club to sell its ambition for next season to players like Sam and Josh, Any players who want away ( if any as the only mention of that came from a player who left unless you can name other sources ) will obviously go if they want and thats obviously for the best option for both parties.
Tom Vickers and Lee Carey both tried their hand at a higher level than where we were last season and both promptly returned to Ryman South as well as they were not getting games. So playing at a higher level in front of crowds probably lower than ours ( Except for Maidstone / Lewes etc ) is not always going to turn out great everytime.
You could be right about 4 players although i personally expect it will be more like 6 or 7 starting but we'll have to wait and see now but hopefully Terry and Dave can secure verbal agreements now that are confirmed once July 1st comes around.
I think Medlock and Elliott would be very useful for us next season. Your point about them coming for money doesn't really follow with these particular two as if money was so important to them - they'd have kicked Easbourne into touch the minute we approached them.
-- Edited by Pat on Thursday 1st of May 2014 01:47:06 PM
I hope you are wrong Dan and Chris is right. If 7 players from Tuesday are starting the first game of the season i'm afraid that would show a huge lack of ambition.
Steve Elliott would be a great shout at right back!
You had a decent 5 starters from tues in your starting line up though John?.... :)
But yes i did misread his post, I meany 6-7 starters from the squad we have tbh not the literal starting line up on Tues as full of injurys so yep not quite the same i admit! :)
These are the players that I would keep,
Peking, judge, crutwell, Tim, Darby, Adams, tasser, vickers, Ellis, Frankie, Kenny,
Those are the player that with a few additions would make a really strong squad for next season
We're all forgetting Andy Corrigan - he should be given more of chance !
Need razor at the back and as captain- don't care what people say on this one , you'll be deluded if you say we dont need him ! Hastings through and through, determination, commitment, leader but most importantly wears out shirt with pride and cares about our club !
Pelling, tasser, vickers, corrigan, kenny, frankie, sammy, and timmy - we need to do our very best to keep all these and build a team around them !
Sorry, but had to laugh at United's comments. So you want to keep the same 11 that failed to get us promoted this season? Every season we go back to the same players that failed previously. A lot of these players were part of the squad that were relegated from the Premier, and these same players failed to get us promoted from the South. Surely that tells you that something a lot more drastic is required. Just adding a couple of names to our current squad is not enough. Terry needs to be brave and put his own stamp on this squad, then the comments of favouritism towards friends and old players will be totally unfounded.
Interesting to read TW comments in the Observer and on his video interview. The words fantastic, magnificent, very possibly the nearest I want from my players were used, which is fair enough if he believes that, but another comment was slightly baffling. 'I'm gradually starting to get the right characters within the team' ??? I've looked back through some team sheets since Xmas and the only difference on Tuesday was no Danny Ellis, no Trevor Mcreadie and no Bailo Camara in the squad. Are these 3 players the main reason we did not get promoted? Were these the 3 players causing all the trouble in the changing room and the reason why we were so dire on the pitch? Who are these right characters we are getting on the pitch? because apart from Russell Eldridge, the players were exactly the same as he has had since Xmas. Just a thought.
Good points john. Am i the only one who would think that if Josh was with us next season it would be sad, as a player of his ability should be playing at a higher level.
You do realize you make it harder for the club to retain players with comments like that Chris? This is only the latest of many dodgy posts you've done that ive been under pressure from other Mods to ban you for but have long resisted.
We are trying really hard to keep some players, Josh being a prime example, as well as bring in new & better players. Money is always an issue and although we are in a good position we also have to sell the club with our ambition, the pitch, terrific supporters on the whole, etc
Trust me it is tough, so why would any genuine supporter continue to undermine our efforts?
Since day one you've been allowed to comment freely on here despite a lot of pressure from some fellow fans and other mods to warn you or ban you for consistently deliberately negative posts with an agenda as confirmed by your post recently saying that you 'enjoy' the team losing but am I definitely moving away from defending your right to be on here.
You only post negative things and very rarely anything that can be seen as supportive or positive.
Take this as an official final warning that any more comments like this will likely result in your leaving this site. Got the backing of a majority of mods to do so. and we had agreed to warn you previously in any case. Not what i have ever wanted tbh but by god you do make things hard to defend on your behalf....
Next step will be up to the other Mods if it happens again, don't have any more time to moderate this forum so leaving it in the capable hands of Pat, Barrie, John & Dave.
Sorry Dan, but I like to see players whoever they play for, reach as high a level as they possibly can, and I don't see how that can be deemed bad. Its not negative at all, we have had players move on too far higher levels in the past. To the other extent you tore me off a strip for slating players, and when I pay a compliment too one that is wrong to.
Even though I would keep those player I would only start a few of them on a regular basis, the rest I would use as squad player for the simple fact that they are experienced players
Not just me to say the least that thinks it was deliberately divisive Chris. A formal warning was agreed by the mods long ago for a load of different posts anyway. Am quitting being a mod on here though so next step will not be mine to make.
To be successful you need to have good players, Josh is exactly that and why wouldn't he want to stay with his home town club and be successful. The club are working extremely hard to retain key players for next season, josh being one of those, saying that it would be sad to see him playing for us isn't helping at all. Some players take pride in playing for their home town clubs and want to help them reach higher levels, look at Bellamy at Cardiff he dropped to the championship to help his home town club.
I am sure that everyone of our supporters want the likes of Josh, Frankie, Tom etc to stay and would not see it as a sad situation so as far as you comment goes yes I think you would be the only one to think its sad. We want the best players playing for us end of.
Very rarely agree with anything ChrisB posts and he often makes my blood boil but I don't believe that banning people for any reason other than outright abuse or constant personal comments. I don't understand why anyone would want their team to lose but that is not a reason to ban someone from an open forum.
He's warned Steve not banned which the democratic majority of mods even without me had felt is justified. Dont want to get involved in any further conflict of interests so thats why i'm not doing the modding anymore. Gonna give the forum a rest for a while so have a good summer all and see you at Westfield away ( probably ) for the first preseason friendly. May pop back but got other things to concentrate on.
I rarely stir myself to post these days but read the forum a lot. I agree with FatherXmas, unless somebody posts something abusive, threatening or illegal I don't see the need for any form of censorship and this is even more pertinent now that the forum is completely independent from the club and not on the main site.
Josh Pelling has been fantastic this season. I also hope he gets to play at a higher level one day but I also hope he sticks around with us for a few more seasons. Does anyone really think that Chris B saying it would be sad if hes here next year will have any influence on that outcome? Quite frankly, giving a warning for this is pretty pathetic and not very democratic even if it is the majority view of the mods.
People need to read the forum rules re consistent negative posts and the deliberate posting of inflammatory posts. If saying you'd be sad to see our player of the season playing for us next season and saying you get some enjoyment out of side loosing isn't negative or inflammatory then what is? Not to mention about the goading and being rude to people on here.
My point would be Lenny, that now the forum is completely independent from the club what need are there for rules other than those that cover legal matters? I mean, what is "consistently negative" all about? should we have quotas per month? or perhaps discounted Prozac for the pessimists among us.
The forum is totally unofficial General and has always been independant from the club. If you don't have rules then it will easily end up being a free for all. I suggest you look through the posts to see what consistently negative means, I along with others find almost everything posted by Chris negative so I'm not in a minority.
Lenny, I don't know Chris B nor do I agree with most of what he says. I would imagine that about 90% of what he posts is negative and that's probably conservative. I certainly don't think you're in the minority, far from it. most of the posts in response to his posts would indicate the majority don't agree with him. In this way the forum effectively becomes self-regulating and rules unnecessary. Where we probably differ is that I don't necessarily think that being negative is a crime or should be against the rules and lead to warnings of expulsion.
I'm not here to defend Chris B's views but think that it is an important principle that he and others with unique or minority viewpoints should be able to express those as long as they're not abusive, threatening or illegal. If mods seek to dictate the tone and content of what people post to that extent, it will cease to be a forum in the true sense of the word in the same way that you couldn't describe the North Korean parliament as a forum.
There have been suggestions from the club recently in the press and in programme notes that people who don't like things should clear off and support someone else. I imagine that riled a few people. It didn't bother me. Its refreshing to have such frank views from the club sometimes. I'm not a regime change fanatic I think there have been good and bad aspects to the current tenure and I have probably agreed and disagreed with actions in equal measure. I don't agree with this particular view from the club or suggest that anybody should take any notice. I'm a Pilot Field newbie compared to some but I've been going every season since 1980. How many of the directors, management team and players can say that? None I imagine except Terry and he had seasons away at Hythe, Dover St Leonards etc. They are all transient, supporters are permanent and if they want to moan and complain and demand better they have every right to.
My way or the high way doesn't have to become the ethos on here.
Good post General agree with what you said and i also dont agree with much Chris B say either and find some of his post barking mad. he is most of time negative but think John W is to but do agree with most of what John says. unless lies are said or stuff legally not right think there is no need to warm or ban. i can think of only 1 time where there was something to do with chairman fine for insulting a suusex FA man. assume that was made up as not see anything in paper about it.
if we can only come on here and say how wonderful everything is and how great we are then people who run this forum have strange thoughts as much as Chris B. when it is for views we should be able to say what we want good or bad and as General say above just as club has said in programme if dont like it support someone else maybe club directors should go somewhere else if they cant take any bad points supporters may have.
to players to keep and subject of this then i keep Pelling Vickers Hassan Sawyer Olorunda Crutwell Adams Pogue. Darby maybe, but he need to find form from start of season. Woodley only if he can prove he is fit and stay off pies. got to go, man just arrived with kebab
Ill take that as a back handed compliment Peter. I think when you have been supporting Hastings and visiting the Pilot Field for near on 35 years, well before most of the people that post on here were even born, then you have every right to post your true feelings for how the club is run. People don't have to like it but I will certainly never change. If the team are playing well and the management are performing then I will always say so. if they are not and players are not giving 100% then unlike most posters, I will also say so. If people don't like it, I really don't give a toss. I love this club and only want it to succeed. Many supporters come up to me at matches and tell me that they find my comments and reports the most honest on here and enjoy reading them and until I hear otherwise I will not change on what I say. I have put it on record that, unlike others, I have a lot of time for DW, but at the same time I find it sad that people such as Barry, Phil, Dave N, Keith etc feel they cannot post their true feelings on here any longer. If Terry turns our fortunes around next season I will be the first to congratulate him, until then I will always stay true to myself and say things how I see them. That is what a good forum is all about.
My way or the high way is a bit strong isn't it Matt? Always makes me wonder when free speech is never allowed to be challenged even if it becomes personal and libellous.maybe the warning - which was originally agreed after personal insults were posted- should have been said at the time. I personally would rather discuss this with Chris personally if he wishes to. To say though that we would only allow positive posts is also incorrect. In the time that this forum has been going since 2008- we have only banned two people. One was Jez and the second was a clown who posted under two names just to agree with himself! All views are actively encouraged I can assure you and whilst I don't agree with some posts, others don't agree with me. Let's not put this out of proportion at all. For the record - I felt we underachieved last season and didn't get enough players in. I've even posted to that effect. Long may we have differing opinions! That said - consistent posts that try to undermine everything we do as a club and personally insult other forum members have to be checked. I think it's harsh on the moderators to insinuate that we are pathetic when we are keeping to forum rules. Rules that are based on guidelines that across the board are there to maintain order and also protect posters from external challenge.
Pat, I'm not sure it is a bit strong to be honest and I don't believe that free speech should be unchecked which is why I suggested that abusive and illegal (which would include libel) posts should be moderated. Posts which you and some of the other moderators might feel "undermine everything we do as a club" aren't really relevant on an independent forum are they? however frustrating they might be for people who put in long hours voluntarily for the good of the club we all support. The best way to deal with these views is through reasoned argument not censorship and threats of banning. I still haven't read the forum rules, as beyond the caveats already mentioned I maintain that they're not necessary on an independent forum. You're probably right that this has got a bit out of proportion but I think warning somebody just because they are consistently negative is also disproportionate too.
I've noticed that you've been quite critical this season Pat, perhaps that's an indication of how bad things have got? That isnt a criticism by the way, an individuals's right to be positive is as important as the opposite. I think a lot of this is born out of frustration, I know we havent got a divine right to be higher up the pyramid but we should be. My formative years on the Elphinstone Road end terrace involved singing songs about our then fierce rivals Crawley, look at them now, they might as well be on a different planet! We all want the team to do well, I even believe Chris B does despite weird posts about being glad when we lose. I'm going to get a bit political now, during the Thatcher years when the country was ultra-blue , there were left wing splinter groups that were opposed to the NHS as they thought it lessened the likelihood of revolution., maybe this is his take, things must get worse before they'll get better but he'll have to confirm that.
Getting back to the original post on who should stay or go? we certainly need some quality additions especially in defence but beyond that I'll have any of the current crop who want to be in the squad and are prepared to work very hard to improve their game and earn their place in the team!
Fair enough Matt. My point was more around personal insult which I do feel has to be checked. However to move on to the original post again I'd certainly try and build around Josh Ben Frankie Tom Kenny and Darby. Think Johns squad choice would be very hard to beat. I'd love to see Steve Elliot back along with Medlock but let's see what the summer brings
I have been using the forum for about 2 seasons now and don't post too often but I really enjoy some of the banter that goes on amongst supporters.Must admit I am not always the most optimistic of fans when it comes to our team but would not like to openly criticise anybody.
When I take the time to view other teams forums I am surprised to see the lack of activity that takes place.I therefore take some amount of pride in our supporters who are obviously very passionate about their club and what goes on within it.
Whilst I find many of Chris B's comments embarrassing,that is o.k.,but have also found some of them quite offensive.Agree that they need to be toned down a bit but they certainly generate plenty of discussion.
Some very interesting exchanges. Totally agree that personal insults have no place on this forum. Views from very different ends of the scale are different. It seems that Chris B has an agenda and his views, however negative, should be countered with factual argument. I don't see such extreme views as divisive, unless they are true. So, if Chris B posts something controversial, respond with a sensible alternative view where appropriate, stick to the facts, and blow him out of the water (to coin a phrase). Interesting view that we underachieved last season - did we? A proper reality check will say that our form in the second half of the season was befitting of an average County League team playing in a truly average glorified County League. We had a majority of very average footballers with a few exceptions. To get to the play offs, with this in mind, is a good effort. IMO, if you've got a good keeper, a good centre half, a midfield general,and a 30 goal a season striker, you've got a chance in this league. So, build a team around the spine and concentrate the budget around those key players. I wouldn't keep anybody who has not performed at this level. One more thing - I keep reading that the pitch is part of the package that attracts players - whilst it is magnificent, a credit to the groundstaff and the envy of non-league, if you offer enough money to somebody at this level, they will play on a cow field. As for supporters, they come to watch a team that wants to put in a shift and perform to their best. Perhaps some of our players did that last season but were simply not good enough? We are where we are, and the need to move on is clear. If we are to move on, we need stability in the management position and lots of new blood on the pitch. 2013/2014 was a massive reality check. It should be a busy summer.
Overthehill ChrisB's comments have on numerous occasions been replied to with facts but unfortunately he seems to think I'm a liar and doesn't believe me, at times I wonder why I bother? There's nothing wrong with negative comments if you believe them to be true however balanced comments like John W posts are better rather than constantly putting the club, staff and players down.
Something that you cannot say is a lack of budget, when Maggs was appointed he said he'd bring in certain players which never materialised, these players weren't going to be cheap but the board were prepared to back him. I do however say you cannot throw money at the cause like its going out of fashion because if you do then you'll soon find the club will go out of business, my guess is Whiehawk and Peacehaven will probably go that way in a few years. As I said in a previous post the club are determined to get out of this league next season and are already seeking quality players, Terry inherited the vast majority of these players so let's allow him to build a squad of his own and give him the chance. Play offs is not a bad season, with just one automatic promotion place up for grabs every team is playing to finish inside the top 5, when let's face it anything can happen.
What we all need to do is though is get behind Terry and the squad next season, I believe we will have a fantastic opportunity to get automatic promotion next season.
Agree entirely, Lenny. I'm sure Terry knows exactly what he needs and he deserves the full support of everybody - players, management, board and supporters. It's the only way we can move on.
as I said in my earlier post at the end of last season money was there to build a team for promotion but we started the season with players from around us or county,if we can keep players as mentioned we have a startand terry can build on that for a real promotion side ,
Agree with Lenny but not convinced in showing so far that we have the right manager - but whoever we have next season it is vital that (total disasters aside) that they have the job all season.
To get back on topic, my ten pennuth for who I would like to get to the club would be Medlock (of course and now more likely?), Ollie Rowe from Borough (of only!), Joe Swaibu (is he still at Peacehaven Real quality but question mark over match fixing but don't think he was ever charged) and Sanchez Ming (real quality but 100%insane - only a handful of starts at Staines but imo best RB in non league football at any level if only his temper could be controlled nd had a really goodu.derstanding with Swaibu a ouple of years ago at Bromley.
I can only repeat that I don't agree with censorship regardless of the circumstances except for certain situations outlined in previous posts. Chriisb has made a lot of people, including me, very angry with his ridiculous and constant carping at the club and individuals but has created a vibrant forum by generating responses from supporters. Johnw reports it as he sees it but does not resort to personal abuse and is therefore respected for his views.
Those of us who only care about HUFC and do not have an agenda to destabilise the club should carry on supporting but be prepared to criticise when we see fit.
I can only repeat that I don't agree with censorship regardless of the circumstances except for certain situations outlined in previous posts. Chriisb has made a lot of people, including me, very angry with his ridiculous and constant carping at the club and individuals but has created a vibrant forum by generating responses from supporters. Johnw reports it as he sees it but does not resort to personal abuse and is therefore respected for his views.
Those of us who only care about HUFC and do not have an agenda to destabilise the club should carry on supporting but be prepared to criticise when we see fit.
These are the Rules:
1.- While debating and discussion is fine, we will not tolerate rudeness, profanity (or attempts to bypass profanity filters)
2.- insulting posts, personal attacks or purposeless inflammatory posts. Our decision is final in these matters.
3.- Offensive, potentially libellous or personally abusive messages will be edited or removed.
4.- Spamming/Trolling/ consistently deliberately overly negative posts will not be tolerated
Point 1-3 is obvious and maybe discrimination should be mentioned also.
Point 4 is a little bit '' tricky '', special about the negative posts. When i read the comments for example ChrisB writes down on here if gives me a smile when i read them. I always ask myself why on Earth is he supporting Hastings United ?? But at the other end; it is his choice to be for most of the time negative/critical. It is his life and his to deal with that ! But it gives always others to react with facts and responding to him with positive and constructive criticism . I think that is a Forum all about.
