Hastings Supporters Forum - 100% Unofficial!

Good to see Kyle and Bright both getting game time last night. Both ones to watch in my opinion.

With Ade out suspended I would like to see a brave management decision by telling Bright Temba this is your chance you are playing up front with Kenny for the 3 games. He fully deserves his chance after being patient and hanging around on the bench. 

With Hopkinson and Hassan playing wide and Vickers, Timmy O Adams and Keehan in midfield.

Come on Dom lets just go for it. 

Especially after we witnessed another poor display from Archibald last night. Clearly not up to and another one who would struggle to get in Johnw's under elevens side.

 

                         

Might as well be that formation Peter as nothing else has worked has it. 

Seriously though those 2 up front and I hope Tom Vickers starts the game.

 

 I wouldn't bother with wide players as they aren't providing the goods, play 4 4 2 with the sams the wide midfielders, pogue / temba up front or pogue / Woodley , perm 2 from Olarunda Vickers keehan in centre midfield, Hopkinson Ray Pullen Farmer in defence, gamble on Hopkinson I know but we need some pace at back.O

 

-- Edited by ChrisB on Tuesday 2nd of December 2014 10:58:08 PM

-- Edited by ChrisB on Tuesday 2nd of December 2014 10:59:12 PM

Sadly can't make this one as seeing Madness in Brighton. But here's some rendezvous;

There are no records of any meetings between the clubs until we were drawn together in the preliminary round of the F.A. Vase, a tie staged at the Kiln Brow ground on Saturday, 21st September, 1985 that then Spartan League side Redhill had only used for one season. Notwithstanding the tie attracted a crowd of 207 who saw us run out winners by the odd goal of five thanks to strikes by Peter Heritage, Wayne Pea**** and Malcolm Streeter. The following year we entertained Redhill for a pre-season match on Saturday, 9th August, 1986 which was staged up on “The Firs” whilst preparation of the Pilot Field pitch proceeded after some close season difficulties. We won the match 4-1 with Peter Heritage and Dean White bagging a brace of goals apiece. Later that season we were to meet again in the two legged semi-final of the Gilbert Rice sponsored Floodlight Cup winning 3-1 here, with goals from Peter Heritage (2) and Ernie Batten, on Tuesday, 7th April, 1987: Nine days later we completed the double, Liam Barham scoring the only goal in the away tie.

Season 1987/88 again saw the two sides paired together in a Gilbert Rice Floodlight Cup tie that was to become something of an classic: It was a second round tie and the first leg was staged at Kiln Brow ten days before Christmas when a make shift, and it has to be said not very interested, side crashed 1-4 before a crowd of just 43 – Town’s only goal being a Terry White penalty. Given that deficit it was surprising that a crowd of 159 turned up at the Pilot Field but they did and saw a more normal Hastings Town win 4-1 with goals from Terry White (3 of which two were penalties) and Mark Brown; with the aggregate score level at 4-4 extra time was played and Town ran in a further four goals, scored by Mark Brown (2), Cliff Marsh and Wayne Pea****, without reply to progress 8-1.

In season 1990/91 Hastings Town entered the Southern Counties Floodlight Cup and were successful reaching the semi-final stage, however, having played 24 games in nine weeks, it was not to stage the tie versus Dorking and that was played as a pre-season game – Town winning 3-1 – to set up a two legged Final with Redhill. On Tuesday, 17th September, 1991 Town won 1-0 at Kiln Brow, with a Danny Whyman goal, before a crowd of 220. Seven days later Redhill visited the Pilot Field and a crowd of 215 saw them win 2-1 – Andy Blondrage netting the Town goal - to level the aggregate score and it was agreed not to play extra time but for the two clubs to share the trophy.

Saturday, 17th August, 2013

​Hastings United​ 2 – 1​Redhill

​ ​Ryman Division One (South)​
​Scorers:
​Sam Adams and​ (360)​Scorer:​Niall Egan
​Jamie Crone

Last season’s return match was postponed for twenty-four hours to allow the pitch to dry out and the fixture was then played as follows:

Wednesday, 26th February, 2014
​Redhill​ 0 – 4​Hastings United

​ ​Ryman Division One (South)​

​ (115)​Scorers:​
Tim Olorunda (2),
​Josh Jirbandey and Kenny Pogue

Tuesday, 19th August, 2014

​Redhill​ 3 – 1​ Hastings United

​ ​Ryman Division One (South)​
​Scorers:​
Tyrone Pink (2) and​
(132)​Scorer:​Frankie Sawyer
​Tre Mitford

If we don't beat Redhill convincingly it will be because we don't take on the full backs and get crosses into danger areas, Disagree strongly about Archibald, he runs all night find spaces and very seldom gets a decent ball to his feet, Why is this,any ideas, We have pace on one wing and tricks on the other, Come on please the supporters and get round the full backs as other teams seem to do to us so easily, Still I'm optimistic of a win! Please don't let us down lads.

So where Is Aaron hopkinson??

Not a very good performance Jordan was our stand out player, you could see Dom clearly getting frustrated with our players, it seemed they weren't doing as requested, I wont name the 2 players that were clearly being got at most, but what it does highlight for me is that if they won't listen to him then what is happening. These are worrying times.

A nervous disjointed performance, particularly after we deservedly equalised and then failed to push on in the final 20 minutes.
Surely we would be more effective if all 11 players had somewhere near the fitness levels of Sam Adams. We look one of the unfittest teams in thd league and with Tom and Tim stuck in their own half forbthe majority of the game a very dodgy opposition defence again had an easy afternoon at the Pilot Field. Some great touches of skill from Jordan and well done to Taser for a good finish. Perhaps we should make the pitch narrower and shorter.

good word to decribe that mick, typical. we probaby made more chances than them but as usual find it hard to score. our fitness is awful in general and speed to slow. positive was woodley who was best player. good for tas to get a goal.with crutwel top of assist table think it important he start more games. why he dont start?
negative side we had ben judge as old head last season and at end he look like legs had gone but rather have judge back as pullan look like judges dad! so slow and even reading game cant make up for it and so many time now goals come from his mistake. and archibald, enough said.
at start of season it said that we had big budget does anyone know if we still have that because if we have it a waste of money and crowd now falling quick must be time to cut back. dont think we get relegated but thought after 2 months we may be seeing improvements now but until we get another striker and get fit we will struggle

After watching yesterday's game and now with dwindiling attendances  surely the club is at its lowest standard in its history. You cannot expect people to pay a tenner to keep watching that rubbish.

Everybody at the club from the players through to the management and above need to have a long look in the mirror and say are we the best people to run this club. If they think they are then what's going on?

The club is being lead into oblivion by the current set up.

Sorry to sad and angry to say anymore.

Barry,
Interesting that you ask whether this is the poorest standard we have ever seen at the Pilot Field. I asked this very question to a number of people yesterday and I think the vast majority agree that this is the case. Personally I think the team we had in the Autumn of 2003 comes close because we really were clueless in defence back then and regularly let in any number between 3 and 6.
It is depressing when you see so many of our traditional rivals from years ago now streets ahead of us while we are competing with, and often losing to, what amount to village teams who survive on gates of 80.
That said,I don't think I can blame "the current set up". We have tried every conceivable 'brand' of manager and money has been made available but still we can't find a recipe for any sustained progress. So I can't see how this is DW's fault. I'm sure others will disagree with this.
Many were hugely enthusiastic about Dom's appointment and everyone said we must give him time. However after just two months the rumblings of discontent are growing louder. The best of the new arrivals, Joe Shelly, played four matches and then left and with the departure of proven players like Dolan and King many feel we have actually gone backwards in the last two months.
The biggest questions now, does Dom have the contacts and "pulling power" to draw a few more quality players to the club ? Can he get the current players performing as a team with far more self belief than they seem to have at the moment ?
Time will tell.

Mick, I take your point about the current ownership but with all the managers we have got through does that not say things are not right at the top. As all the managers we have had have failed then it must be the top brass held responsable as they appointed them. Also are the managers put under too much pressure and interference from above?

Or is it every managers fault they have failed. (Example - We were second in the league when John Maggs left so not a failure there but still he left)

The current set up must have a look and remember the club they run represents the Town and it's residents so are they doing the best for us or don't they really care.

To be a successful non league club you need everybody on board especially the council but that will never happen with this ownership.

How long before the sponsors end their interest and local businesses stop paying for the advertising boards etc.

Thing is, Chris, DW is in charge and is under no obligation to do anything, as Lenny has pointed out many times. And in reality, if there is disenchantment, it's probably only 300 people who care anyway, less those who wear those lovely,rose-tinted spectacles, and show unwavering support for the present set up. So nothing will change. We'll keep hiring and firing, continue to play in a rubbish league, until somebody somewhere says, "we've had a go, we're no further forward, time for somebody else to try and see if they can do any better". I think I may have mentioned this in the past, and the powers that be took offence. It seems simple to me...we've tried about 20 different managers, goodness knows how many players and systems....and we're still where we are. Isn't anybody prepared to take responsibility for us disappearing towards the County League?? By the way, I think Dom is a very good manager with a solid pedigree, so if he can't get it right, we have nowhere to go.

As for the ownership issue, imo we aren't going anywhere under Dave Walters. I just hope he will act in the best interests of Hastings UnitedFC whatever he chooses to do.

I am glad more supporters are starting to see where the real problems lie with our club. He can't do any more. Please put the club up for sale. We might just be surprised at who would be willing to take it on. The potential is massive in the right hands.

 

Yes surely he must see that he is not the best person to take the club back to where we should be, let the town have its club back please.

Mick, this was your 200 post and really think that a lot of that you wrote is true.
Think it hasn't anything to do with DW; i really believe he wants the best for the club. The manager is the key factor and lately we were not overwhelmed with success, in the table and attracting players who could bring us to a higher level.
Regarding Dom; he is a very enthusiastic young Manager and had a lot of success at EP . Can imagine that he brought some players with him- players he know and what they can or can't do -He is just started and i think 100% of the members of this forum wished him success and said we will give him some time.
The progress is not coming quick enough, it never comes but i really think Hastings United must be giving the time to '' start '' over again. Surely Dom knows he mades some mistakes from the players te took with him; important now how he will deal with it. He made some clear things that a player has to be 100% committed to the club.
Very important and a key factor in bringing things upwards.

Can imagine how certain members of this forum are not happy with this situation but what do you do when someone is asking for help? You will help him, you support him and are 100% behind it.
Please do that the same with our lovely club. You can criticize things but always keep in mind that 100% support at the games, supporting players and staff will let them play better. Only criticism and moaning will not do the job and will not let the players improve. How difficult sometimes but enthusiasm and support will bring something.

Like you Mick, I have supported United on and off for 48 years, but tell me what is different now from when I started following them in 1966 ? you`re right it is not the owner, how many owners have they had ? and how high is the highest they have ever got ? a couple of good cup runs, and one fantastic one, but they will at some point get promotion to ryman premier, then after a couple of years they`ll come back down again, its where we are at, that`s our level, and after 48 years, like me everyone better get used to it. Just enjoy the good times and hope the bad times are quickly over.

agree with mick and rev. think where we are on coast and mile from anywhere is big problem. if local player not good enough then it is big problem getting player here but if our budget is high then should help. last 2 owners had loads of money and we got relegated and then in ryman south so not just since dw came.
dont get interfere bit cos dom get job and bring player with him they are his players so why is that the set up fault? think all football club have up and down and we had a promotion and a relegation and 3rd round of fa cup in last 10 year. think that average for a club although not many club get 3rd round fa cup but because we support and care we all want better but sometime we have to accept our level.
gaz you say that club dont look for local player but in programme (i did buy one dan) saturday nigel kane is head of football development so find it hard what you say that club dont look at local young player and how you know ther is to much interfereing. cant see what your facts are on with young player and interefere?

still think to that you dont have to be that good in this league and or biggest problem is we are slow and not fit and best players arnt played like crutwel so not sure how that is owner fault

-- Edited by Peter R on Monday 8th of December 2014 07:18:26 AM

Genuine question time that I hope gets a proper answer.

If there were genuine parties realistically capable and interested in buying the club from DW for what would be a realistic price then why has there never been any public indication of it? Surely it would be the bidding parties interest to do so.

Without a clear process of handover to a capable buyer then any indication of a willingness to sell without known interested parties would cause much greater instability within the club as has occurred in the past with the club and nobody wants that do they?

I personally doubt there is anyone around in Hastings or local areas who is seriously interested and genuinely able to do so with any better financial backing otherwise we why haven't we seen it by now?

We hugely lack training facilities in local area, have a 'money pit' main stand that will cost a huge amount of money to either resolve or replace and struggle to attract players due to location. With the economic situation nowadays who else is really capable of turning those situations around to any guaranteed better effect than the current setup?

There's never been any genuine answers to these questions despite all the talk over the years.

We obviously all want the club to be a success and just differ on the ways to get there. I'm sure we all dream about winning the lottery and turning the club around but unless that situation actually occurs then the lack of genuine financially named alternatives in place  makes any alternative plan as much as a myth as a unicorn.

Chris if you know something concrete has been offered by a capable party then I'm just very surprised it hasn't come out publicly knowing how small this town is. Which was the point of the post.

Before you make a post Dan I think you should check what you put, please ask DW you might be surprised at the answer.

Chris think saying we are where we are cos of a reputation is a bit wild. are players unfit because you say the owner has a reputation? i see other forum where our supporter get a lot of stick so our supporter have reputation to and maybe sometime my post on here might add to it but sometime frustrating. did we get fa cup 3rd round because of reputation? did we get promotion before cos of reputation? sorry dont get it . our player look even less fit than before we now have players in that are too old, other teams look like athletes and we dont. think that is biggest problem right now. we have 4 players that are probably fit enough the rest struggle.

Hello Mick, are you already that old?
You got 2 private messages; are they from people who don't support DW ?
Seems to me that there are always 2 sides on a story. It is always the best to try to be so objective as possible.

Sorry Chris, think you read my reply completely wrong , i knew Barry sent a PM because he said so.
I do know both sides of the debate and just trying to keep a open mind and not accusing anybody.
Think you remember you did that last time against DW with false claims and that is why i replied on Mick.
I have a open mind to you all here on the forum and think we all support a beautiful club. I try always to give 100% support ( from a distant ) but of course i can see that there are things who can and maybe must improve. But there we can debate about.

I too would like to hear both sides of the story. Doesn't have to be a private message. Please post here for all to see.

Sorry we can't post all we would like, as people would be compromised.

ChrisB wrote:

---

Sorry we can't post all we would like, as people would be compromised.

---

 But Chris, this sentence says it all.

 

This is what you replied to me: 

Bert, you already get one sides point of view on here from Lenny Pat etc so why shouldn't people know the other side of the debate. 

I agree but now you said people would be compromised ? That could be true  if we all know both sides. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bert,
Yes, I can safely say the messages were from people who do not support DW. However they stated that they did not want this information made public via the forum and I must respect that.

Well said Rev. If you know you can't post it for any reason, is it really worth bringing something up? It just causes a bedlam of rumours and debate that we really don't need. It's great everyone has an opinion but sitting back reading this thread the last few days has been like reading a transcript on the Jeremy Kyle show!

-- Edited by winchy_hastings on Tuesday 9th of December 2014 03:18:06 PM

Chris, as I said in a previous post, I`ve seen all this before, you say " but at what stage in recent times have things been going well", Chris , this is Hastings United, things are never going well, trust me they never will, but it sure as hell ain`t gonna stop me going up there, so just stop with the wind-ups !

No point Bert, hes gone,

Well at least that will please you Chris

Excuse me Pat like the new signing last week one rule for one and one for another, I know it wasn't you but it was others connected to the club.

Are you ok Pat as I clearly state it wasn't you