At first I found the 5-2 loss against Greenwich Borough quite humbling......I thought they were utterly ruthless and punished us for each individual error that we made-mistakes that we’d made in the previous games against Ramsgate and East Grinstead that went unpunished were well and truly dealt with by Barham and co for Greenwich! But now taking the emotion of the defeat out of the equation I think the collective disappointment of a loss against a team that boasts so much experience at a higher level (Tom Beere for example less than 2 years ago was starting a football league playoff final for AFC Wimbledon) shows the progress that this young team has made in the past couple of months (our front 6 was 20 years of age or younger). Being honest I think in hindsight I made a couple of selection errors for the Greenwich game-for obvious reasons I won’t name exactly who but the point I’m making is that out of the defeat the players like myself will learn and react accordingly.........this team will continue to grow.....no doubt!
An update regarding the squad, Sam Cole and Tom Vickers are currently on loan at Crowborough Athletic.....ideally this wouldn’t be the case however needs must, Tom Vickers hasn’t played for 10 weeks and needs to get match fitness as does Sam Cole for obvious reasons-now due to the restructuring of the U23’s competition there hasn’t been any 23’s games for nearly 6 weeks and won’t be for a further 3 weeks.....therefore rather than both players getting 10-20 mins from the First Team bench and getting there match fitness over a longer period of time I instead felt to get them up to speed for HUFC faster it would be far better served if both players get 90 mins at Crowborough Athletic for 3-4 weeks-yes it makes our squad lighter short term however I believe the longer term benefits outweigh any short term negatives. I can also confirm that Rhys Whybourne was released from the club last week.....I would like to say a huge thank you to Rhys who has been superb both on and off the pitch-he’s a player and man whom I have huge respect for and who I wish all the best for the future-the main reason for this is I felt with Sam Cruttwell, and a match fit Tom Vickers as well as the ever-improving Jamie Fielding that we have adequate CB cover.....like your Ansu Janneh’s and Tom Climpson I think it’s important that with a view to the longer term plan that the pathway is clear for our talented young players-therefore Jamie like others need and deserve an opportunity which he and others will get.
In terms of player recruitment we do have a number of targets which we are working on-however I’m keen that any player that comes in isn’t a short term fix....we can’t bring in players that come the end of the season we are looking to release-all signings will be made with a view to the longer term-they have to fit the right profile.....which leads me to my final comment-over the next couple of months we will be aiming to announce the existing players that are committing to extended/longer term deals.....I’m keen to retain the right players so that rather than having a summer rebuild on our hands where we are having to build foundations we are instead adding the finishing touches to a intact and familiar squad of players...so whilst we continue to chip away and improve during this campaign we are always working towards the bigger picture and making sure the future of Hastings United continues to look bright and move in a healthy and sustainable direction.
Thanks as always for your continued support-the 400+ attendance Saturday is an indication that over the past couple of months we’ve moved forwards from the days of Molesey away and Thamesmead Town at home!
I have great and growing respect for Chris. It is helpful that he explains his thinking. Although he is very much comitted to a youth based approach, the emphasis is different to when Adam was in charge - I certainly do not feel, under Chris, that the Academy is being given priority over the first team. Chris has achieved much more by this stage than I expected. It is imperative - as others have already said in other threads - that he is with us next season and hopefully well beyond.
That said, I still feel that we need more experienced players, particularly in defence. Yes, I take the point that we don't want to block the progress of younger players, but surely it helps their progress to have older heads around them?
The problem you have with Sam is where he plays. He plays left midfield or wide left, the same position as David Rodari. I don’t think it matters how poorly he may play at any time, I don’t believe the manager will ever drop him. Therefore I think Sam will either be a bench warmer at Hastings, fighting Sam ‘sick note’ Beale for the left back spot or perhaps we will do a Jack Harris on him and say he has never been the same since his injury and release him. I hope not because at his best he is a super player.
