Grimsby Town set to confirm signing of Sam Hatton

“after reading the bible of Grantyy,What your saying, is that i do agree with the comments about S&H and the team,but we still have to wait and see what they can do on the pitch!before making judgement.im not on here to talk about the stats of every player,im not interested.only in watching them play and performing.As for being in the past,Im not,otherwise I wouldnt renew my season ticket every year,because the level of football is S**T,but i go and support my local team!,i know that the standard is not the same as in the past ,but posts on here rate players like its F'in Ronaldo,they are not.Im optimistic like every fan,but im a realist and dont watch GTFC through rose tinted glasses. Dexxx is spot on ! with his comments,As for elding hes not prolific ,but does alot of holdind the ball up for the like of Hearn,384 apps 125 goals,at a low standard of football.Hes not a 20 goals a season man thats prolific.lee_GTFC1put something down thats constructive rather than you talking Drivel!”

“The assessment of players is subjective and must take into account the era in which they operated and the standard of the league they played in. It is noticeable that many players .
enjoy a much higher reputation before they actually play rather then after I'm afraid we have ,because of past failures ,commited ourselves to life in the doldrums and will be lumbered with players of dubious quality for some time yet ,or until we can produce our own .”

“Rommellthecat you talk utter drivel man!

Ive been following Town since the early 80's,so ive seen more than you think.”

“bore off”

“Excellent post Granty and spot on”

“Rommelthecat, you said "We are in Div 5,players we get are Div 4-5 standard,otherwise we would pay money ala Crawley,Fleetwood.The last 3 seasons have been GFTC worst in History!,so dont insult me by saying we have quality signings! Yes they might be good signings,(AT THIS LEVEL!)"

I make no comparisons to previous Town teams, I remember the Championship days well but I am a realist and really there is no comparison to be made, we have to build a quality team for this level and to stop living in the past, everyone knows we should be higher up than what we are and S&H are building a team to attempt to address that!

I saw the Wimbledon vs Luton play off final last year live, my mate won tickets and so we went, more for a night out in Manchester but I thoroughly enjoyed the match to my surprise, I would hope that S&H have watched that video with the team as what a great example of what it takes to beat the tougher teams like Luton in a big match, that day that Wimbledon team gave their all, their short passing, attacking play and support for each other was immaculate, everytime they were in possession there were always players providing the short option and then moving forward together as a team, that day I thought we are no way near that standard yet, the Luton fans expected to beat Wimbledon but on the day I'm sure the right team won, Sam Hatton played that day, I can't say he particularly stood out, it was a great team performance and from my memory there was not one single outstanding player as everybody rolled up their sleeves and took responsibility on the day, sure Luton played well but they were on the back foot defending and if not for keith Keane in the middle then they would have been totally outplayed, If we could get our hands on a midfielder similar to him I'd be elated.

So to finalise my thoughts so far, I honestly think that S&H's policy of bringing in proven/hungry players who are still capable of learning and still to hit their prime Is spot on, If players have made it out of this league or maybe have a record at this level which shows their hunger then in the end we should have a team capable of competing at the top end of this league, once that's in place S&H have to make sure they keep them motivated and giving their all and as I said before, from what I've seen so far i'm optimistic this season and hopeful that we will see a few more quality signings arrive as the managers have stated that it takes a larger squad to compete at the top end of this league, the stats back that up! :)”

“I agree to some extent on Heywood, he didn't turn out to be as good as expected but lets not forget that he was perhaps our main defender playing within a team in free-fall, no easy task even for the best defender, having a sub standard team lacking any kind of fight in front of you, even the best players lose heart when fighting a losing battle.
As for Mckeown and Pearson my perception of fans feelings towards both of them is that they both did well, particularly in the second half of the season and both have outstanding stats while at Boston, Mckeown going unbeaten for a very long time and Pearson scoring a ridiculous amount of goals for a defender in a team which rarely lost.
Stats may be boring to some but there is no getting away from the truth which can be found in them, of course all players are susceptible to a dip in form but once they have proven themselves then the risk is far less of them being labeled a flop, as no footballer gets an outstanding record without busting their guts to do so and that is all our fans ever ask for, so long as players give their absolute all and take their responsibility on a match day the fans will always respect them, Leary was sub standard but most fans respected his attitude, he simply lacked the required ability for a promotion chasing team at this level!
"I mean it takes some effort for a right back to win player of the season (ala Macca)"
"to say Hatton ala macca? thats an insult to JM! he played in the championship and could of played higher"
I think you have misunderstood my meaning, not that it would be an insult at all, more a complement to Hatton, I said it takes some effort for a RB to win player of the year referencing Macca only, that is the closest comparison I have and lets face it, in this day and age a full back winning the senior player of the year award is a rare thing indeed!

"so dont insult me by saying we have quality signings!,why would wimbledon get rid if he was that good?"
No insult, its proven by his stats but if you have had enough of the hard truth of stats for the minute and you don't take my word, how about Scott and Hurst or maybe the Wimbledon manager and fans opinions.
Taken from the above report!!!
Speaking on the club's official website, Brown said: "Sam was one of my first signings when I took over. He has been a fantastic servant to the club.
"He was instrumental in taking us from the Ryman League to the Football League and I have no doubt that he will continue to have a successful career in football.
"Releasing Sam was definitely one of the hardest decisions I have had to make as a manager."
The headline yesterday was "Sam Hatton 'coup' is sign of Grimsby Town's ambition" says Paul Hurst, now using the word Coup is something i'm sure the managers don't take lightly, that suggests he is well capable of playing at a higher level or maybe that there were many clubs who could rival GTFC in for his signature as suggested on another story on this very site, "Hatton, who was the Dons' record appearance holder, would have had a host of potential suitors after his surprise release last month."
Wimbledon ans have posted on the various Town sites including one on one of the articles regarding Sam on here, it says -
"Shocked when we let him go,dependable right back who likes getting forward.Good luck Sam and thanks for all the effort you put in for the Wombles :)"”

“I have actually realised something with Elding while trying to prove his prolificness, when he has been on song he has been extremely consistant and has proven that he can do that for sustained periods as he did between 2002 and 2008 averaging almost bang on a goal every 2 games and he was close to that for us last season too. Prolific, I think so, see definition 2 below! I stated "Elding had proven himself as a prolific goalscorer at this level" the stats and reports below prove that.

Definition of Prolific:-
1. productive - producing or capable of producing (especially abundantly); "productive farmland"; "his productive years"; "a productive collaboration"
2. producing constant or successful results

STRIKER Anthony Elding was satisfied with a goals return of 16 in his first campaign at Grimsby Town – but is gunning for more next season. The 30-year-old frontman believes he still has doubters to convince among the Mariners faithful, despite a return that equates to *a goal almost every two starts* since his move a year ago.

In January 2002, he trialled with Tottenham Hotspur, [4] appearing for the reserves in their 1–0 defeat at Nottingham Forest's reserves on 14 January 2002.[5] The following week he trialled with Bolton Wanderers scoring twice for the reserves in their 2–1 home victory over Aston Villa's reserves on 22 January 2002.[6] However, no move materialised and Elding remained with Boston, *completing the season with six league goals from twelve starts at the Pilgrims secured the Football Conference title and promotion to the Football League.*
Elding made his debut in Stockport County's 2–0 win over his former-team Boston United at Edgeley Park. This was the first win of the famous Football League record, winning nine consecutive games without conceding a goal. *By the end of the season he had scored 11 league goals in 20 league games, which put him top of the County goalscoring charts for the season.*
Elding was at his most *prolific* during his time with Stevenage and was a favourite of the fans.
After Elding left Kettering Town, Craig Short called him to Ferencvárosi TC. *He scored eight goals in 15 matches to become their top scorer for the season.*
Below Taken from Towns own Website
The 28-year old started his career with home town club Boston United in the late-1990s, before going on to enjoy a *prolific* strike-rate with Stevenage Borough, scoring 50 goals for them in the Conference in addition to one against Premier League Newcastle in the FA Cup.
Stevenage 2002 - 03 League App 12 (2) Goals 7
Stevenage 2003 - 04 League App 33 (3) Goals 17 - FA Cup A-3 G-2
Stevenage 2004 - 05 League App 42 (2) Goals 19 - FA Cup A-2 G-1
Stevenage 2005 - 06 League App 16 (1) Goals 7 - FA Cup A-1 G-2
Boston Utd 2006 - 07 League App 18 (1) Goals 5
Stockport 2006 - 07 League App 20 (0) Goals 11
Stockport 2007 - 08 League App 18 (7) Goals 13
Total - App 159 - Goals 79 = 1 goal every 2 games”

“lee_GTFC1,im guessing by your comments that you havent seen any "quality" players at BP,Whats the best team youve seen? Russell slades team? or perhaps the fall of the championship team?,as for the Leary,silk comment i was genralizing on the players we bring in and often they are poor!,Buckley brought in Heywood,Brentfords player of the year,fans raved about him! was poor.Im not on here to **** off new signings,I am basically saying that lets see them first on the pitch before we make judgement.As for Elding been prolific! 12 goals hardly prolific?Mckeown,jurys still out on him,good shot stopper but poor on crosses,made some big mistakes last season.Pearson,poor again too slow,good in the air but thats it.And to say Hatton ala macca? thats an insult to JM! he played in the championship and could of played higher,i remember Aston Villa coming in for him,no comparison.We are in Div 5,players we get are Div 4-5 standard,otherwise we would pay money ala Crawley,Fleetwood.The last 3 seasons have been GFTC worst in History!,so dont insult me by saying we have quality signings!,why would wimbledon get rid if he was that good?,because they need players to go to the next level.Yes they might be good signings,(AT THIS LEVEL!),but they are not the best to grace BP.whos the best youve seen ?Hearn,Connell,Jones ,Jevons? no comparison to Mendonca,Drinkall,Wilkinson,get real!.Like i said before we need players that can get us out of this league,they might be the ones?,I beleve S&H are turning the corner,at last,but lets see first!.S&H dont have millions to play with so have to be shrewd with signings,but after all that they are still Div 4-5 players.Grantyy what you put i agree with to a point,but thats opinons,as for lee_GTFC1,you talk S**T,season ticket holder 35 years,through thick and thin.utm”

“Put that in your pipe and smoke it 'rommelthecat'....you asked for that one.”