Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: TonySoprano on September 24, 2025, 10:00:18 pm
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Thought he was excellent when he came on.
Hope he can continue to improve.
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Thought he was excellent when he came on.
Hope he can continue to improve.
Agreed.
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Criminal binning him like GM did.
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Criminal binning him like GM did.
Not really criminal is it Gaz? People need managing in different ways and maybe he is the type who needs tough love and dropping from the squad to get a reaction from him? Maybe it was taking him out the spot light to get to full fitness considering he has largely missed 18months? Grant knows what he is doing regards man management of the squad better than any of us. He sees them and deals with them every day.
When he came on last night he looked 10x better than he did previously and 100x better than o-lasagne.....so maybe, just maybe, Grants approach has worked.
I certainly expect him back ahead of o-lasagne and Ajai on last nights performances.
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Criminal binning him like GM did.
It seems you have a problem with GM
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Criminal binning him like GM did.
It seems you have a problem with GM
Criminal perhaps a little string but Hanlan was brought in as the Marquee striker signing after promotion. The ways it’s played out so far is suboptimal at best.
Grant is great and he’s doing a very good job. Like all managers at every club, he makes questionable decisions at times. The same as Pep does, Arteta does and all the others. It’s a football forum and people tend to highlight things they don’t agree with on football forums. It would be a boring place if people didn’t.
I’ll add that when forging opinions as fans we don’t always have the full information, but anyone having an opinion based on the information they have available, is absolutely fine.
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I'm sure Hanlan will get there, his fitness will be improving under our medical team's skills and he will fight for his chance and eventually get to the 1st team.
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I don’t believe he bin him I believe they have been working with in training but how anyone can clas his performance as excellent is beyond me did score a goal did he create a chance. He ran and closed down which he hadn’t been doing. Comparing him to Olusanya then yes he was better but couldn’t be any worse Both players have till January to show they are capable strikers who can score in the next three months. Where any near 40 year old Billy no but he needed a rest last night to bevready for the short turn round against Luton.
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At the moment he doesn’t look a goal threat and I’m not convinced by some other qualities needed for Grant’s system.
Maybe he needs time like Street did.
Sharp is clearly our main striker, he’s been top class with his work ethic.
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Billy has been a revelation this year - he's surprised me with just how much he's still got to give - he's better than last year in my opinion, running his blood to water in every game. He's a winner, when he came off on Saturday he screamed at the goalkeeper set piece coach to 'sort that shit out' signalling at TLT. We need more of that.
But Billy being excellent hasn't left enough space for the other strikers to blossom - I think there's a decent player in Hanlan, and probably a decent player in Olusanya, but only playing one up top means they haven't had the minutes to get their sharpness up (pun intended).
You can't drop Billy, but Hanlan has got to get on the pitch every week so he can develop and get his edge back. He should definitely be in the squad and where we end up chasing a game there should be room for him and Billy on the same pitch - i.e. like on Saturday when Sharp should have stayed on but been given a partner to hunt with.
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But Street started playing either right or left not down the middle soon Grant put him there the rest is History. Neither Hanlan or Olusanya have shown anything in any position at the moment and I hope I am proven wrong both signings are not good enough.
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I don’t believe he bin him I believe they have been working with in training but how anyone can clas his performance as excellent is beyond me did score a goal did he create a chance. He ran and closed down which he hadn’t been doing. Comparing him to Olusanya then yes he was better but couldn’t be any worse Both players have till January to show they are capable strikers who can score in the next three months. Where any near 40 year old Billy no but he needed a rest last night to bevready for the short turn round against Luton.
That was a really hard read Steve.
Perhaps you could re-read your posts before hitting the send button... and maybe consider some punctuation. I know you'll probably say I'm being personal or pedantic, but if I have to read posts 3 or 4 times to understand them, I am more likely to ignore the post... just a suggestion.
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Ok no problem
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I don’t believe he bin him I believe they have been working with in training but how anyone can clas his performance as excellent is beyond me did score a goal did he create a chance. He ran and closed down which he hadn’t been doing. Comparing him to Olusanya then yes he was better but couldn’t be any worse Both players have till January to show they are capable strikers who can score in the next three months. Where any near 40 year old Billy no but he needed a rest last night to bevready for the short turn round against Luton.
That was a really hard read Steve.
Perhaps you could re-read your posts before hitting the send button... and maybe consider some punctuation. I know you'll probably say I'm being personal or pedantic, but if I have to read posts 3 or 4 times to understand them, I am more likely to ignore the post... just a suggestion.
No time to proof read or punctation, you never know when the green cookie will strike and lock you out for hours
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Criminal binning him like GM did.
It seems you have a problem with GM
Criminal perhaps a little string but Hanlan was brought in as the Marquee striker signing after promotion. The ways it’s played out so far is suboptimal at best.
Grant is great and he’s doing a very good job. Like all managers at every club, he makes questionable decisions at times. The same as Pep does, Arteta does and all the others. It’s a football forum and people tend to highlight things they don’t agree with on football forums. It would be a boring place if people didn’t.
I’ll add that when forging opinions as fans we don’t always have the full information, but anyone having an opinion based on the information they have available, is absolutely fine.
Actually it’s not ‘fine’.
Not when you question Grant’s ‘method’ of handling players with emotive words like ‘criminal’ & ‘binning’.
Billy is currently the best ‘striker’ at the club…no question. His name in the position he plays is first or second on the team sheet. Hanlon is miles off.
I believe Joe Ironside is a far better player than Hanlon, but when Grant allowed him to go to Tranmere I didn’t criticise the manager because he knows football & footballers better than me AND better than you. If that wasn’t the case, I’d be the manager…wouldn’t I.
I hope Hanlon goes on to become a ‘natural’ 2nd choice should Billy miss games through injury AND that if that scenario happens, he becomes a 20 league goal scorer.
I don’t believe he has shown me, in my opinion, that he is capable of scoring double figure league goals in this division. He’s not quick enough, strong enough, assertive enough, positionally savvy enough to be able to do so.
My opinion.
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Usher - I love Billy who doesnt, but he isn’t scoring either, he is doing the hard yards though, and that will be Hanlans downfall with Grant, that is Grants non-negotiables to use modern day football talk. Gibbo had to learn this, and those who don’t/can’t or won’t will be out.
Non of us have seen enough to judge any new player yet, some need a season.
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Criminal binning him like GM did.
It seems you have a problem with GM
Criminal perhaps a little string but Hanlan was brought in as the Marquee striker signing after promotion. The ways it’s played out so far is suboptimal at best.
Grant is great and he’s doing a very good job. Like all managers at every club, he makes questionable decisions at times. The same as Pep does, Arteta does and all the others. It’s a football forum and people tend to highlight things they don’t agree with on football forums. It would be a boring place if people didn’t.
I’ll add that when forging opinions as fans we don’t always have the full information, but anyone having an opinion based on the information they have available, is absolutely fine.
Actually it’s not ‘fine’.
Not when you question Grant’s ‘method’ of handling players with emotive words like ‘criminal’ & ‘binning’.
Billy is currently the best ‘striker’ at the club…no question. His name in the position he plays is first or second on the team sheet. Hanlon is miles off.
I believe Joe Ironside is a far better player than Hanlon, but when Grant allowed him to go to Tranmere I didn’t criticise the manager because he knows football & footballers better than me AND better than you. If that wasn’t the case, I’d be the manager…wouldn’t I.
I hope Hanlon goes on to become a ‘natural’ 2nd choice should Billy miss games through injury AND that if that scenario happens, he becomes a 20 league goal scorer.
I don’t believe he has shown me, in my opinion, that he is capable of scoring double figure league goals in this division. He’s not quick enough, strong enough, assertive enough, positionally savvy enough to be able to do so.
My opinion.
I’d Sharp the best striker at the club “no question”? I think there’s certainly a question.
Football managers are in a very fortunate position and with that comes scrutiny from fans and media alike. It’s par for the course. Sure Grant is thick skinned enough to cope with it all!
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Criminal binning him like GM did.
It seems you have a problem with GM
Criminal perhaps a little string but Hanlan was brought in as the Marquee striker signing after promotion. The ways it’s played out so far is suboptimal at best.
Grant is great and he’s doing a very good job. Like all managers at every club, he makes questionable decisions at times. The same as Pep does, Arteta does and all the others. It’s a football forum and people tend to highlight things they don’t agree with on football forums. It would be a boring place if people didn’t.
I’ll add that when forging opinions as fans we don’t always have the full information, but anyone having an opinion based on the information they have available, is absolutely fine.
I don't think Hanlan was brought in as a Marque signing, just a signing.
Not comparable to when GM signed Street last season and said clearly it was a statement signing.
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I’d Sharp the best striker at the club “no question”? I think there’s certainly a question.
Football managers are in a very fortunate position and with that comes scrutiny from fans and media alike. It’s par for the course. Sure Grant is thick skinned enough to cope with it all!
Anyone with eyes can see that Sharp is the best striker at the club.
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I’d Sharp the best striker at the club “no question”? I think there’s certainly a question.
Football managers are in a very fortunate position and with that comes scrutiny from fans and media alike. It’s par for the course. Sure Grant is thick skinned enough to cope with it all!
Anyone with eyes can see that Sharp is the best striker at the club.
Those that can’t have their own ‘agendas’.
‘Someone’ also said (in hindsight of course) that Grant picked the wrong team to play Wimbledon.
I did ask the question ‘which team they would have selected to ensure a win over Wimbledon’?……silence.
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He didn’t bin him, he played sharp who then became undroppable, that’s football. I’m sure he’ll get his chance again soon.
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The Spurs game was the first time I'd seen Hanlan since the Everton kids - he hasn't even been on the bench most weeks. Semantics aside, it's hardly a vote of confidence if the you're initially coming as the managers first choice and after a couple of games aren't even a sub. Sharp has been incredible, as I posted above, and deserves to start - but Hanlan needs more game time, including being on the pitch with Sharp.
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He’ll never be on the pitch with sharp,
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He did come off against Everton U21s due to injury, it could’ve easily just been that too!
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Dosent look fit enough to me, l know he's not been getting much game time recently but he had a full pre season, looks heavy and akward in his running gait, dont know if this is something that will improve with match fitness but its a worry as we are relying on him to take some of the strain off BS over the season.
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Criminal binning him like GM did.
It seems you have a problem with GM
Criminal perhaps a little string but Hanlan was brought in as the Marquee striker signing after promotion. The ways it’s played out so far is suboptimal at best.
Grant is great and he’s doing a very good job. Like all managers at every club, he makes questionable decisions at times. The same as Pep does, Arteta does and all the others. It’s a football forum and people tend to highlight things they don’t agree with on football forums. It would be a boring place if people didn’t.
I’ll add that when forging opinions as fans we don’t always have the full information, but anyone having an opinion based on the information they have available, is absolutely fine.
I don't think Hanlan was brought in as a Marque signing, just a signing.
Not comparable to when GM signed Street last season and said clearly it was a statement signing.
He clearly wasn’t brought in “just a signing”
He was given a 2-3 year deal and the number 9 shirt.
This is a clear indication he was brought in to lead the line.
I also think this is why Joe looked for another club, he wasn’t prepared to be sat on the bench or not in the squad.
I do hope he does come could, however in the times he played he really didn’t show anything at all.
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I’d Sharp the best striker at the club “no question”? I think there’s certainly a question.
Football managers are in a very fortunate position and with that comes scrutiny from fans and media alike. It’s par for the course. Sure Grant is thick skinned enough to cope with it all!
Anyone with eyes can see that Sharp is the best striker at the club.
Those that can’t have their own ‘agendas’.
‘Someone’ also said (in hindsight of course) that Grant picked the wrong team to play Wimbledon.
I did ask the question ‘which team they would have selected to ensure a win over Wimbledon’?……silence.
I don’t have to answer anything you ask me. No point picking a fictional team after the event is there.
On Hanlan. People are jumping to conclusions that Sharp is a better option based on seeing BH play 158mins in the league.
Again, I’m not saying he will prove better or worse than Billy, but it’s too early to draw a conclusion.
He is a proven L1 player who was given the No9 shirt and a long contract. He wasn’t brought in to make the numbers up was he. For what it’s worth I think he’ll end up probing to be the best of the three strikers this season. I’ve seen him over the last 7 or 8 seasons and know he’s far from useless.
Can you enlighten me what my agenda is please? Do you think I’m after the managers job!? Haha I just want us to be as successful as possible and potentially get to the Premier League. That’s it.
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Criminal binning him like GM did.
It seems you have a problem with GM
Criminal perhaps a little string but Hanlan was brought in as the Marquee striker signing after promotion. The ways it’s played out so far is suboptimal at best.
Grant is great and he’s doing a very good job. Like all managers at every club, he makes questionable decisions at times. The same as Pep does, Arteta does and all the others. It’s a football forum and people tend to highlight things they don’t agree with on football forums. It would be a boring place if people didn’t.
I’ll add that when forging opinions as fans we don’t always have the full information, but anyone having an opinion based on the information they have available, is absolutely fine.
I don't think Hanlan was brought in as a Marque signing, just a signing.
Not comparable to when GM signed Street last season and said clearly it was a statement signing.
He clearly wasn’t brought in “just a signing”
He was given a 2-3 year deal and the number 9 shirt.
This is a clear indication he was brought in to lead the line.
I also think this is why Joe looked for another club, he wasn’t prepared to be sat on the bench or not in the squad.
I do hope he does come could, however in the times he played he really didn’t show anything at all.
He was signed for free, not a big fee, after returning from a significant injury having scored 16 goals in 111 games for Wycombe and a couple on loan at Stevenage.
He wasn't/isn't a Marque signing in my opinion and Grant never said he was like he did with Street.
What are we supposed to do with squad numbers? Retire No9 until we sign a L1 Haaland? George Miller was No9. A number doesn't mean you are guaranteed starter.
Regards contract length most are 2/3yr contracts now with GM at the helm. Gives us more security in most instances. Clearly not every signing will work, that's the game.
I think Hanlan looked really good when he came on against Spurs and definitely should be back in first team squad ahead of o-lasagne/Ajai
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Personally I’d start him Saturday. Luton are likely to come at us and we need a bit more mobility than Billy has. Harlan also looked a bit more up for it when he came in. Hopefully he’s got a point to prove after been dropped.
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I’d Sharp the best striker at the club “no question”? I think there’s certainly a question.
Football managers are in a very fortunate position and with that comes scrutiny from fans and media alike. It’s par for the course. Sure Grant is thick skinned enough to cope with it all!
Anyone with eyes can see that Sharp is the best striker at the club.
Those that can’t have their own ‘agendas’.
‘Someone’ also said (in hindsight of course) that Grant picked the wrong team to play Wimbledon.
I did ask the question ‘which team they would have selected to ensure a win over Wimbledon’?……silence.
I don’t have to answer anything you ask me. No point picking a fictional team after the event is there.
On Hanlan. People are jumping to conclusions that Sharp is a better option based on seeing BH play 158mins in the league.
Again, I’m not saying he will prove better or worse than Billy, but it’s too early to draw a conclusion.
He is a proven L1 player who was given the No9 shirt and a long contract. He wasn’t brought in to make the numbers up was he. For what it’s worth I think he’ll end up probing to be the best of the three strikers this season. I’ve seen him over the last 7 or 8 seasons and know he’s far from useless.
Can you enlighten me what my agenda is please? Do you think I’m after the managers job!? Haha I just want us to be as successful as possible and potentially get to the Premier League. That’s it.
No you don’t have to answer anything I ask you, but as you posted ‘after’ the Wimbledon game that you could have chosen a team more capable of winning that game than our current manager did, I thought it a reasonable question to ask….but ok, you’ve chosen to dodge that one.
With regards to Hanlan ‘over Billy’, seems to me that whilst I’m categorically stating (imo) that Billy is far the superior striker option, it seems to me you are hedging your bets on that one, I’ll let others decide based on your post.
Hanlan is what 27, 28 years old. A time when most players are ‘hitting their peak’ in playing terms. You state you’ve been watching him over the last 7-8 years, since he was 20-21 years old then?
You again state that he is a proven Lg1 player & yet he has never scored more than 6 goals for ANY side he has played for in any league in any season in the EFL.
So it beggars belief as to what makes you rate him so highly??
Unless of course you don’t know what you are talking about, which indeed would explain everything.
You say you just want us to be as successful as possible & get to the Premier League…..really?
I might be putting myself out on a limb here but I reckon a majority of Rovers supporters would happily settle for us to be an established Championship Club that can have great cup runs in that period.
Huddersfield, Luton, Cardiff, Sheff Utd are all now paying for their ‘moment in the sun’, some may never ‘recover’ from those ‘heady days’.
Suffice to say, you & I are poles apart from so many things ‘Rovers’ but I’ll give you this, we clearly both love ‘our club’.
But I love Rovers more!!
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Thought he was excellent when he came on.
Hope he can continue to improve.
When he came on at Spurs I’d completely forgot about him … he needs to start making an impacted before the goals start drying up.
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Thought he was excellent when he came on.
Hope he can continue to improve.
And, it looks like hes back to his usual incompetence :headbang:
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Spell out what he did wrong Tony, tell me the chances we created for him, that he missed.
I saw a guy getting stuck in running back to defence and winning a ball in the right back position then setting an attack up in the same move.
Christ, I would not want to play for us as a striker, we don’t create - and this has been an issue for a couple of years now.
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Spell out what he did wrong Tony, tell me the chances we created for him, that he missed.
I saw a guy getting stuck in running back to defence and winning a ball in the right back position then setting an attack up in the same move.
Christ, I would not want to play for us as a striker, we don’t create - and this has been an issue for a couple of years now.
And yet we were the second highest scorers in L2 last season.
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We were Hound, with Moly number 2 in the top scorer chart - a winger.
Can you tell me where our strikers came from in that list? It’s not even on the first page of names it’s that far down!
As I’ve said, you wouldn’t want to play upfront for us, we a heavily reliant on wingers cutting in and.shooting, we don’t create chance upon chance for strikers to score.
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I think yesterday was a poor match to establish any position about how effective Hanlon will be, it looked to me like he was playng a deeper role behind Olusanya who was up top. This resulted in him having to drop back and cover which id ont think is his game.
Needs a good run of games played in his optimal position which i don't believe we have established yet.
Bringing Olusanya into the club may have complicated that somewhat.
We need a strategy and we need to work at it.