When do we start to question Hopkin?

Hopkin has always said he would only want to sign the right type of player for him.

I haven't heard anything concrete from anyone about who DH had targetted prior to the transfer window opening.

There was that lad from Bournemouth who half the EFL was after. He was never gonna come here.

So what was available after the first targets that were financially within our grasp and who fit into the type of player DH wants at the club? Seems like very few.

I don't know where the Connor Sammon link arose from but he would not be someone who would fit into the high press style DH wants to play. He is at best a lumbering unit a bit like Steve Davis who flattered to deceive.

With regards to spending the transfer budget-well who knows what it was but it paid for Payne (probably a huge chunk), O'Brien, Ball, Anderson, Butterfield, P O'connor and Clarke. Have I missed anyone?

I dread to think what team we would have out on Saturday if Payne O'Brien and Ball weren't available.

Will we stop up with that squad? Well its gonna be close I think.

 

On deadline day it was Parker’s blog I think. He was offered to us and then we later decided we didn’t want him

 

Yes, your mate

 

The sammon link was actually from a Scottish journo nothing to do with Parker although he did ask the club and was told it was bollocks straight away.

 

I think he’ll keep us in L1 (just) and that’s enough for him to keep his job IMO. I’ll give him the summer to have free reign over the squad and recruitment and then see what he can produce next season. With a clean slate, everyone starting on 0 points he can have no excuses.

There have been glimpses of a good football team this season and that gives me a bit of hope that given time he may be able to put a decent team together. However, there have also been some horror shows as well so it’s a tough one to call. Overall though I’ll be content if he keeps us up and stays on next season.

 

Sammon was offered, DH turned it down.

 

I'd heard that too, on here I think, but if that's the case how do we know on what basis he was offered? £10k a week and every other Saturday off? Or maybe DH thought he was a kn*b, or wouldn't fit in. I'm sure it wasn't as simple as he would rather have Billy Clarke

 

OK, so we've had all the arguments, and some continue to rage on.

Disappointing is possibly the kindest word I could use to describe this season.
At this moment in time - Not one of us knows how it will end, but we each have a fair idea. For some - Relegation is a disaster ............... But is it ? For others .......... Each week is a case of 'We go again', as the trapdoor nears. And then there are those who are just happy to have a Club to support.

For Me (infuriatingly), did it all have to come to this - With two months of the season to go ?
Could, or should any brakes have been applied earlier ? And NO, NO, NO !! I'm not talking about Edin Whatsisface, here ! I'm talking post Edin.

Julian Rhodes has publicly stated that for Hopkin to lead City to 20th come the end of season is the target ........... in his mind. But is that really acceptable ? City will still have many poor players on contract in the Summer ............. Trying to move them on should be fun.
The only good players we have are not ours, or set for retirement. The budget is very likely to be one of the poorest for years - Yet I feel it could have been so different.

Let's discuss Hopkin, for a moment. He came in after 7 games, OK ? But to cut him some slack ............. Let's just say 10 ............ Humour me In his 23 games since, the Clubs points return is not acceptable. Sure the team lacks balance, however there is more than enough talent to compensate for that. If there isn't ............ then why continue ? Why not just end the season right now ? Because this same group of players have just 13 games to haul City out of this shit. And if they can - Then why didn't it happen earlier ? Yes - My anticipation and expectations rose in December, but that soon shuddered to a halt.

The January transfer window was poor ............ But financially we were screwed, anyway.

Yet it begs the question ............. should Stefan Rupp dug deeper into his pockets, or should a greater demand have been placed on Hopkin? If this same group of players are to save City from the drop, then it should have started sooner ............. And that lies firmly at the door of David Hopkin .............. 23 games !!

If only football was that simple. So where do we draw the line ?
When it's too late to change it - Or too early to have actually have given it a chance ?

IMO - Had it not been for December, Hopkin would have been on thin ice, in January.

 

Hopkin was left with Jack Payne, David Ball, Eoin Doyle, Sean Scannell, Hope Akpan, Lewis O'Brien, Ryan McGowan, Kelvin Mellor & Richard O'Donnell to name a few of them. That's 9 decent starting 11 players providing you know how to get the best out of them. (Which obviously he doesn't know how to)

He then added Paul Caddis, Karl Henry, Paudie O'Connor, Calum Woods, Jim O'Brien plus the additions of Billy Clarke, Jacob Butterfield, Jermaine Anderson

There is a quality spine right there, and it should be getting results whether that's draws or wins. - Should have far more many points than what we do. Don't get me wrong we've had some poor decisions go against us, but DH tactically is woeful and doesn't know how to adapt or even when to make changes within a game.

January window was poor, Why on earth we wanted to sign Paudie O'Connor I'll never know. Why didn't we get a target man or another striker? why did we let O'Brien go when we was still in big trouble? All we had to do was use our brain and get the job over the line. Now, its going to go right to the wire.

Parky brought pro's in to get the job done and make sure we stayed up. i.e Ravenhill, Kozluk, Seip, Fagan, Duke, Reid etc

 

Hopkin has brought pros in to get the job done and been slated for it. Clarke, caddis, Henry for a short spell. Etc

 

How many anti Hopkin threads do we actually need; like the squad we are in danger of the same type of threads and repeated arguments?

 

Thats what I'm saying, he should of kept O'Brien and Henry at all costs to get out of the danger and seal survival

 

One spent more time on the treatment table and the other was way past the required standard. Keep them at all costs? Really?

 

Experience
Leadership

Are two I can think of straight away.