Hastings Supporters Forum - 100% Unofficial!

How important will the loss of Billy prove? Step forward Zac Attwood, your chance to become a Hastings hero and dare I say, secure a place in the team next year?

Preview from Ramsgate: www.ramsgate-fc.co.uk/news/final-home-game-ramsgate-v-hastings-united-1596894.html

Crazy afternoon with things constantly changing. We know we don't deserve to go up, but after today, all we can do is win and pray next week. As we've seen in this league anything can happen, so let's hope Corinthians slip up at home to Three Bridges.

Only concern is that is seems like Three Bridges play Monday, Wednesday and Saturday next week, so let's hope that doesn't have an impact

Post match interview with Garry

www.facebook.com/HUFCPF/videos/1147824175248373/

really should won that today, better side especialy in 2nd half and 2 debated off side goals, both quite close and the missed penalty. good effort but the goals we let in was poor and play off now look like it will need much luck with corinthian casuals having easiest game out of faversham us and them.
but if we miss out on play off it was not today and not having luck at Ramsgate. we have good players in team this year, very good and must have biggest budget in league by a way and embarasing that hythe and corinthian casuals might get play off who probably have small budget and no budget as think corinthian dont pay. I bet Serbony wish he stayed with them. Hythe look like relegation team early in season but they got manager and he change it round in the season and probably on very little money. we have big management team, expensive side that been together since july and that make our position embarasing when hythe done what they have. it not over yet and maybe miracle happen next week but if we dont make it up this season i think it disaster. 2 year ago we made play off with not a good a side so big question on manager and i think div one south will be tougher next season than this.
i think wilson and bloor has had everything this season, good, great players and money to have them and if miracle dont happen next week then they have failed big time and should be show the door. to many wrong decision, wrong tactics and maybe balance of team wrong with such a weak defence. it has not been good enough from managers when the players are more than good enough for ryman south

Really can't fault today's performance from start to finish.Normally go home feeling downbeat when results don't go our way,but not today.Obviously didn't get the rub of the green today but it goes to the last game with just a glimmer of hope.Need Three Bridges to do us a big favour but it will be their third game of the week.

But last time we had managers with no Hastings Utd experience (baggage in your words), it was Dom Di Paola and it was dreadful. The time before that was Maggs, before that was Hopkinson and before that was Dolby. Dolby had a couple of good seasons, Hopkinson didn't, Maggs was sacked whilst on track for promotion but couldn't keep up CDG. Kane got us promoted in to the Prem, Sean Ray gave us a memorable FA cup ride and relegated, Terry White got us in the play offs, and Garry Wilson could get us in the play-offs. No need to change the manager, as it seems Garry Wilson's 'baggage' may be what we need.

I think I am probably somewhere in between the feeling of Pater and Chris and those of Liam and Dan.

Firstly I have to disagree with the comments on Dom. He was the right appointment at the time and a breathe of fresh air to start with and I enjoyed his passing style of football. His problem was he had too much trust in those same players that had served him well at county level and sadly the step up was too great. Believe he will have the same problems with Horsham next season. What I will say is I do wish supporters could see how Dom and his coaching staff worked with the players in training and worked on tactics, set pieces and the opposition, and then compared it with what goes on now. The training now, when the players are bothered to turn up, is in my mind very average and here lies the problem for me.

This season we have once again looked to have inferior fitness compared to the top sides, our tactics have been poor a lot of the time, and our defending of set pieces in particular has been garbage. Has this been worked on, on the training pitch, or are we happy to turn up for an hour and have a bit of keep ball or a mini match? Even on match day, I have never seen a senior team before line up and run up and take shots at the goalkeeper in the warm up. Any budding coaches out there will know this is what you do at youth football.

I also keep hearing about this huge haul of points and how we compare to last season. Danny Bloor even mentioned it in an interview which I think was him defending himself against the shambles at Faversham.. There is just no way you can compare this season to last season. I remember last year, the lowest we ever got was a 2-0 home defeat to Horsham who were currently bottom and without a win in months. I look back on that team and on the day Kane had Richard Rose, Kyle Holden, Brinkhurst, both Olorunda's, Liam Foster, Luke Turner, Matt MaClean and someone called Ugbene. Compare that with Cole, Medlock, Attwood, Rowe, Johnson, Adams etc. So please lets stop throwing this huge improvement in supporters faces, we have achieved the absolute minimum of what should have been expected with those players and the squad assembled. I do think we have carried a couple of players, who appear to be managers favourites but are no better than county league, but outside of that our squad is excellent, so I go back to training and tactics again.

Also too much tinkering around this season with formations and sometimes we appear to be confused in what we are doing. We will start 4-4-2, then go 3-5-2 or 4-3-3. We stick Attwood out wide, Medlock too deep, Cole at left back. We just never seem to have settled on our favourite formation.

On the plus side, Gary and his team have made some very good signings and do appear to have decent contacts still. The signing of Medlock was inspired and Cole and Johnson have also been very good. Rowe has slightly disappointed after a very strong first half of the season but the rest have been just okay. Gary should also be applauded for the great work he has done with young Sam, who has really come on this season and Tyrell has shown the odd glimpse of brilliance.

The abysmal long ball football from early in the season has also disappeared to my relief (and Geoff's dismay ) and offensively we always look like we will score but clean sheets have been few and far between.

I do like the fact that Gary is very vocal on the side lines and don't like the Nigel Kane way of managing. Like to hear my managers and see their passion. Not sure why we have so many other people on the bench with Gary and Danny and some of them need sending off to the stands.

The fact is, whether you like it or not and whether we make the play offs or not, the same management team will be in place for next season and that is probably right, although a certain John Maggs maybe wondering why he got the bullet when sitting 2nd in the league albeit under different owners. The difference next season will be if we are moving into November, mid table with poor performances to boot, then I have no doubt the board will react and there can be no more excuses. The crazy thing is that we are one game away from the play offs and 3 games away from promotion, and if we get that, however unlikely it may seem, it will be job done and Wilson and Bloor will be heroes and  would have achieved what we all want and expect. Lets see what happens next weekend, but my end of term report would read 7/10, showed some promise but must do better next season.

-- Edited by johnw on Sunday 17th of April 2016 02:48:46 PM

I I remember correctly Gary was given two years to get us promoted and if we don't do it this year, I want to give him the chance to do it in the time frame that was agreed, and applauded by most supporters, after the carnage of the previous couple of years. I haven't always agreed with Gary's team selection or tactics but that's football, all about ideas, differences of opinion and passion. I can't see Casuals blowing it as they impressed me both at the PF and away but if they do and we win lets all get behind Gary and the team and cheer them on to promotion.
As for Saturday, I will only say that but for the vagaries of a certain official it would still be in our hands.

Can only presume with the budget we had this year we were indeed going for it already! But sometimes you still need time to build and sure that will still happen. Hope we can keep that level of budget next season. Sounds like Lewes will be on around £1500 per week next season according to some people there and expect they will also want to win the title for that anount. Regardless of where they finish you have to applaude Corinthian Casuals for doing as well as they are not paying any wages! ( apparently )

-- Edited by Dan on Monday 18th of April 2016 02:51:32 PM

i dont get why some have faith in the managers. Dan say that Corinthian dont get paid and even if they do get travel they still must spend half what we do on players, same with Hythe. Not sure about Dorking and Worthing. Santa says it was a 2 year plan maybe it started that way but to get a player in like medlock and johnson then i can see nothing other than we went for it this year(like Dan says) and fail. can we really do all that again next season can we take the chance to spend so much with this manager again. i give credit to them for getting the player in they did but that is the only credit they can take. the club supported them with a lot of money our money and even with biggest budget in league we have a lottery to get in the lottery of play offs.
id agree with ChrisB and say we could be better with a manager from out of the area. you say Liam that not work before but the closest i think we got to conference south was with Dolby when we finished just out of play off in ryman premier so that is not bad. agree with john to that Dom was a good manager but he fail by not getting better players in. i like the way he played and the team always look organise and there was a plan. unfortunately the players was not quite good enough.
i often watch warm ups from teams as well and ours looks a mess. players come out in dribs and drabs and the shooting is just like something from the school playground. so it does not surprise me when john says training is not good.
Liam talks of baggage and the baggage garry has is what we need but i think he needs to try and get the baggage back he had at eastbourne borough cos his baggage now not helping and the tactics and selections and subs at time make you scratch heads.
the managers have had all season to get things right but balance of side is wrong and with training, tactics etc that is biggest reason we could miss out. we have a side that can only win by saying we will score 1 more than you but good sides that win things are sides with good defence but if we keep same forward line next season our budget will need to be even more to improve defence.
if you compare this season to last the football has been better but seasons are only memorable ones if you get promoted or win something so in 10 years time no one will remember we nearly got relegated last season and nearly got play off this season. what will last is the cost and you just have to hope that the club is not getting itself into debt with spending way to much to get out of this league when other clubs in our league spend far less and are more sucesful
i think it a huge risk keeping same managers next season when there are so many faults this season but easy option is better the devil you know but that does not make it right decision

Geoff fair point about Nigel and bet he might be thinking oh what he could have done with the money available and probably would have done no worse. it all about view and big gamble keeping the managers now and can see it a gamble to change just think when you weigh everything up apart from players managers has got everything else has been well below what you expect so think the gamble is worth it to get where we want. if we stick and we end up with more of the same we wont get promoted next season either but new manager this summer to use some of what we have and be more organise and improve with defence would give us a real chance of winning league.
all about views and there always lots when it is football and no one really know who is right and who is wrong but that is my view

£15000 is more like some teams in the National league.

£1,500 a week Dan ? I thought that was Mr.Cosen's biscuit allowance......custard creams, jammie dodgers, ginger nuts etc..........

Was told the same Dan, from an Owner 1500pw.

Glad Tonys shopping at Lidls nowadays then Phil, if he was at Waitrose would prob be even more than £1500 Per Week!!!