Hastings Supporters Forum - 100% Unofficial!

The only one that even remotely concerns me is number 2 and I don't think the rest amount to a lot even when you group them together. I doubt if anyone cares what I think either though chris

Some comments from Ian on facebook last night (now removed) suggested that some potential quality signings had turned us down, because of the supporters reputation for getting on players backs.
If true, this shows that the constant carping does have a tangible effect.

In Dom we trust. They're doing it their way that they believe is the right way. I know managers get no time in football now as fans want overnight success, but let's not nit-pick at everything they do (Or reportedly do).

Blimey Chris, pretty sure you backed the appointment of this team fully on here when they came in, not exactly helping them or backing them with this post are you?

Would hate to see what you thought about a managerial team you didn't want..... Oh wait...... Been there a few times haven't we....

Probably all John Maggs fault And JohnW's

 

 

To clarify the comment didn't mention the forum, so could be interpreted to negativity from the crowd , of which most of us have been guilty.
For example - player of the year lee Carey was crucified by the crowd the following season. His performances got steadily worse as his confidence was shot.
Former professional Richard rose has started to head down the same route.

Some times complaining is the only way to provoke a change, other times it just makes things worse.

If only we had them now.

In regards to the concerns that Chris has raised at the start - Im too like General, not too worried.

I read the rest of this thread with some interest as I have mixed views on this. Firstly, of course players should be tougher than that and as John says – channel it to improve performance. Having said that, Ive always been a believer that from first to last whistle the supporters have to get behind the team and give as much support as they can. (Even when all seems hopeless – many of us still cheer the team on)
After the final whistle has gone, of course it seems only fair that supporters who have paid money give their opinions, be it in the bar, on the forum or in the ground.Constructive would be great and we mostly get that to be fair. It made me laugh at Faversham, sitting in the stand surrounded by home supporters who were giving their side hell for being 2-0 down.It was surreal considering their home form!
On Monday, I had the luxury of a night away from the PA and catching up with supporters around the ground. I noted that there was a consistent level of noise towards the dugout which lasted several minutes on the occasion that I witnessed it and it made me wonder how I would feel if someone at work consistently kept telling me that I was rubbish. I think my performance would probably dip too. It doesn’t matter what job or profession that you are in, confidence is key, and especially in the sports arena where you come under so much more scrutiny. For us to say that they should toughen up ( which I have said too) kind of takes us away from our responsibilities in my opinion. That responsibility is to support from whistle to whistle, and then to debate as constructively as we can ( not always possible) afterwards.

yeah well said pat, sometime it feel like at home we want to make bad feeling for our player, sometime players have bad game but sometimes supporters very quiet and all you hear is moan and critism. think positive feeling for 90 minutes will help but sometime it is very hard after paying 10 quid. think sometime it need players to try and encourage supporters behind goal to make noise, remember players doing that in harrogate game

A bit heavy for a football match Bert ! but I do rather like the bit " oh, woah, come on baby, ay ay ay ay ay ay ay ay ,
ay, dooh dooh dooh dooh dooh dooh dooh dooh dooh"
Do you think it might have been better to have the sound up ?

-- Edited by rev59 on Friday 28th of November 2014 06:43:47 AM

Just one win in last 8 games. For all the excitement surrounding Dom's appointment, me included, has any new Hastings manager had such a poor start over the past 10 years? With Ade not available for the next three things are not going to get any easier although 7 of our next 9 games are against teams around us and four of those are below us in the table.  With a bit of luck along the way I expect 19 points from the next 9 games and some mid table stability going into 2015.

Think we are the Aston Villa of the Ryman South. Some stories this weekend reinforced the feeling we are stuck in a rut at the moment. Firstly a club we used to be on equal terms with-Dover-flying up to and beating Gateshead this weekend.
Also, big story in the Tonbridge local paper about the apparently thriving Tonbridge academy providing good quality young players to supplement their First Team squadron. And finally the good news story about Harry Beautyman and Peterborough.
Crowds are inevitably going to dwindle this season but really hope our new management team have a vision of how they are going to get Hastings back to where they should be and they get all the support and backing they need from the owner.

Very pedantic I know but we were 3rd when Maggs left, 6 points behind Leatherhead.

Agree that unfortunately we have not been looking like getting back up there since.

The current form reminds me of the league form after the FA cup run ended and how desperate we were for good performances yet they just didn't really come. The same desperation / expectation is in the air now after an encouraging start against Guernsey, E Grinstead and also the performance ( although 0-0, against Whyteleafe ) 

Not made the last couple of games due to illness but sounded like we really lack some confidence in finishing ( despite the 3 goals on Sat we've been missing so so many chances of late ) and have been up against some real standout performances by quality opposition players that we just cannot cope with. But mostly seems a confidence issue. 

Dom really needs a lucky break soon and a win somehow, anyhow just to change the narrative on the pitch and build from there.

Attendances are 12% down at this stage compared to the overall from last season ( average 405 last year ) which ain't great and really doesn't want to get any worse.

Carshalton & Guernsey though are over 23% down on their gate each from last year, even bigger worry for them.

Doms got to play a very difficult game on the pitch and in the media of managing ( heavy ) expectations with making sure it doesn't come across as a situation where some more fairweather and potential new fans decide that consolidation and steady progression isn't the thing they want to be watching his season.

To be fair watching the Fans Forum vid again he does make clear on there that it would take some time to get the squad playing as he wants, it probably started misleadingly well initially and is probably behind where he wanted to be right now but he certainly didn't promise the stars and then fail to deliver on his promises or anything.

Can see some encouraging signs in general performance but the negative stats and defensive mistakes etc do overshadow these currently. Just got to hope this we ride out this turbulent period and that we come out in as fair a shape possible attendance wise and still in the hunt for something ( anything ) on the other side when the form picks up.

 

I think people need to look back at the start of the season and ask themselves what was our league record like then! 11 points in 11 games with what was seen to be one of the strongest squads by far in this league. Since Doms appointment we have 12 points from 9 games and have scored 18 goals appossed to 13 in 11 league games up to when Terry resigned after the Tooting game.
Dom is unquestionably rebuilding the squad to one he thinks will be competitive. I agree that without singling individual players out, some have in my opinion failed to impress but on the flip side of that some I believe have proved they are capable of playing in this league.
As regards the attendances it's interesting to see that half of the clubs in this league have attendances which are down compared to last season and out of the other half that are showing an increase, all three clubs that have been promoted are in amongst them as you'd expect. Although of course we'd all like to see an increase in attendances like for like from the start of the season to the time Dom took over, league games only we're actually averaging 352 to 349 so actually we are roughly the same.
I can't believe that once again we are complaining about the squad after 10 games of Dom taking over. Let's Just get behind the squad, It was never going to be a miraculous fix and us contending for the league title straight away was it?

I also think that stats can be used to paint any picture you want. Why do we have to use attendance comparisons with other teams with totally different demographics etc? And I don't care if Guernsey's gates are up or down? So what if we've scored more goals? That hasn't put wins on the board - when you look at our form - one win in how many? Last league win at home? Not great by any standards. I'm really surprised we didn't get a post new-manager run, which worries me. As to squad building, yes that does take time, but if you know and have worked with the players you bring in, this should bring at least a few wins against some of the poorer teams. I've said all along that if you are fit, organised and have half a plan, that's enough in this division. I fully support Dom - if he fails we've nowhere to go - but I am concerned that this is going to turn into a relegation battle and the EP lads haven't had to fight to stay up, have they? We used to see the Senior Cup as an inconvenience but now we desperately need a win and a performance tonight. Anything else is not acceptable. C'mon Dom, prove the doubters wrong and fire 'em up!

I think I would be much happier paying my entrance fee now than at the start of the season . At least we are trying to play some passing football, and we are creating more chances. Much more entertaining. The frustration is that this is not yet translated into results. Taking those chances, and cutting out the defensive ricks, and those results will come. (And a bit of luck Bert !)

Overthehill my post re other clubs was to show that gates are down in general, I too don't really care if other clubs gates are down, but it does show that we aren't alone in this situation so for someone to put the blame on the squad in its entirety isn't right other factors come into it too, even Folkestone are down in their attendances and are enjoying a better season than we are. We are playing better football than we were prior to Doms arrival, we are creating a lot more chances and if we put those away like we did at Faversham then we'd of been sitting a lot higher than we are now. As for your question about when was the last home win? it was 4 games ago when Dom took over, one of only two wins this season, that is just not good enough and needs to change, however I would say in those 4 games we have also only lost once.

Chris I don't have a young family although my kids are both young adults, I do value time with them especially as my eldest son is away at University and I get to see him once a week sometimes less so time is equally valuable with them too. If my kids were younger then I would be pushed to find time like a lot of the volunteers who have young families do. In all honesty the time I give up each week is so that people can go and watch football, it wasn't the reason I got involved at the club, the reason I got involved was because my son played for the club and I started helping out when I could because I noticed that Simon could do with a hand. None the less just because I and other volunteers don't pay £10 admission don't think that it doesn't hurt when we don't perform well, I too am annoyed and fed up just like the paying supporters when we loose, it ruins my weekend. It just shows we all have a passion for the club and for it to be successful. This season isn't going as planned but I do believe we have the right man in charge and am confident that if we back him we will be successful. He doesn't have a magic wand which he can wave and make things better at an instant. Just give him time.

It is strange Barry, we have seen no mention of anyone leaving, so perhaps they were just unavailable and left out of the bench squad for the next game, similar to that of our best centre forward.

I don't think people are enjoying seeing us lose, as for getting on the managers back, that was in my case Doms own self doing with the observer article, that was my concern as one week he was happy with the squad then 2 weeks later it wasn't good enough. So what are we supposed to think, you can follow the party line as much as you wish. But to those of us outside the party things just don't make sense.

I go back to the point I raised before. Has part of the management team left the club already?

 

I am a volunteer and I have a season ticket as do some others I know. I can't see what that has to do with anything as we are all supporters of Hastings United, or are we?
We all hate loosing but it doesn't help the team to see constant negativity aimed at them.

I just re-read the first 8 words of this thread . Hmmm..............

Part of the management team have been away, as it says in Dom's notes on a different thread.

Answers Barry's point, but doesn't touch on mine so doesn't really clear much up.

Not concerned about Boswell leaving, Arron Hopkinson is a huge upgrade on him IMO and doubt he would be listed in anyone here's matchday squads.

Shame about Shelley thought he just needed a goal and then he would hit a run of them. Obviously we're not destined to get that 15 goal a season from midfield player judging from our experiences with him and Dave Cook! Notice that you did t include him in your squad for Sat though either Chris, did you not rate him anyway?

Makes a starting chance for Wooders more likely than ever now.

Need a one or two players in ideally to replace, hopefully on the line of Hopkinsons standard.

He was decent but he did miss some sitters over the past few weeks.

Is this not half the problem at Hastings and always has been? the turnover of players is quite astounding and no coincidence those at the top of the division have settled squads. So far this season we have used 30 players and 10 have already left. compare that to others and this is where the problem may lie. Burgess Hill 18 players, Folkestone 16 players (plus 4 subs), Merstham 22 players (plus 3 subs). And before anyone says this is expected as the new manager will want to bring in his own players the past seasons records are equally astounding.

14/15   30 so far

13/14   44

12/13   45

11/12   40

10/11   45

We need solidity and a settled squad like other Ryman teams. Whatever happens to Hastings this season Dom must be given at least until the end of 2015/16 season to sort this mess out, otherwise we may as well get rid of him today.