No positives. No chance in Hell

Only positive today was the kids behind the goal. Is there any reason why that cannot be done every match?

Could be used as detention for the unruly kids. 

For all the criticism of putting Astles on up front, I've not heard one person suggest any alternative other than leaving the forward line as it was, which wasn't working.

So, I would ask, you're 1-0 down in a home game you need something from, and your forwards don't look at all like scoring. You have Astles, Anderson, Slew, Turnbull and a goalkeeper on the bench - what do you do?

Possibly. Slew was pretty ineffective once he came on though. Astles did actually do what you want him to up there. I feel too much emphasis is being put on that substitution when it wasn't the reason we lost today.

I think it just highlighted how desperate and the state this club is in. Putting a 17stone lump upfront in shear hope of getting something out of a home match against a side who had previously only won one away game all season. 

What finished the game was the formation change to 433. This left Halls (one of the worst players I've ever seen) exposed at right back. 3 of the goals came from crosses he failed to stop. Why expose the weak link?

If Astles for the terrible Bell was the decision, MB should have kept the 3421 so Hannah and Aki could feed off him

Awful as we were today in the second half, other results didn't harm us too much. We shouldn't be throwing in the towel. If there are any positives, Bignot has hopefully learned a thing about a few players and has two weeks to have a good think about how to react. Halls should certainly never be at full back again and we should start looking for a better option up front to Bell, even on the bench when Archer is fit. We've got the Trophy coming up but part of me thinks it would be better to go out and keep players fit for the relegation battle.

There's an interesting question - would you take what's happened at York and Halifax for the last two seasons - i.e. being relegated but winning the FA Trophy? Right now, given that we don't look like staying up anyway, I think I would!

Also, a stat for you, our 36-year-old substitute goalkeeper has scored as many National League goals this season as Bell, and more than White!

Grimsby fan here in peace. Been looking out for your results since Bignot took over to see if my suspicions about him were correct and so far it appears they were. When he joined us he unleashed a charm offensive, praising the fans all the time and a lot bought in to that very quickly. He then got a couple of good results (using a team that was sat 7th in League 2 due to somebody else's good work) and people were very taken in, believing he was the next Brian Clough.

Even before we sold our star striker, performances dropped and although we were still picking up points (mainly thanks to the Championship standard striker on our books at the time) I was alarmed by the lack of tactics and poor showings from the team. Already there had been a noticeable drop off. He alienated half of the squad by claiming they weren't "technical" enough then went on a spending spree, spending a load of money (from selling Bogle) and brought in 8 players. Only 2 of those players are remotely good, a lot of them have either already left or been loaned out. It seems lightening does strike twice and he's signed a load of pap for you too.

It also became increasingly obvious that he didn't have a clue tactically. The turning point for me was when we went to Stevenage and lost 2-0 with one of the worst performances I've ever seen. His solution was just to throw strikers on so we had four up front but nobody seemed to know where to be or what to do and we registered no shots. I realised that day that this was a man who acted like he knew what he was doing but realistically didn't have a clue. Again, reading reports today it seems his tactical nous hasn't improved any more than his ability in the transfer market. We then went through a period where he played a different team and formation nearly every week, seemingly with little thought behind it such as putting the second choice left back in central midfield for a game or dropping our star centre back against local rivals Doncaster so that we lost 5-1 at home. He then later had the audacity to claim once he'd been sacked that he'd been "getting the results".

I have a soft spot for Chester, I've enjoyed my trips to the Deva over the years and I'm sorry to say you've been sold a con. He talks a lot without saying anything and doesn't back it up with performances on the pitch. He also tries to make it all about him. I will continue to look at your results with interest. Good luck going forward, you're going to need it if he remains in charge.

Even if the kids do want to go back the battle is persuading parents to take them. We can't rely on schools all the time, they won't do it week in, week out. We need to reach out to local families, make it a family day out, offer iniatives, family tickets/deals etc.

I don't care if he has lost the dressing room. Perhaps the dressing room needs to be lost?

These players haven't earned the right to take umbrage with the manager. If they liked McCarthy, they didn't perform for him, and they're not performing now either.

Categorically untrue that we are paying McCarthy off for the duration of his two year contract. Stop making stuff up, goatboy.

Must admit, today was the day when I accepted our fate. We're just a soft touch, and an unfit, unbalanced one at that.

This group of players, whilst not bereft of talent, just do not have the mentality to win games of football. Prime example, letting in Wrexham's goal the other week. Big game, nearing half time, long floated ball into the box and we find a way to concede. Today was the same, when they missed a penalty, I turned to my friend and said we'd concede within the next 3 minutes. Whilst a missed penalty should have been the incident to galvanise us and breathe life into our performance, we found a way to pathetically throw it away in no time at all. It's so predictable and galling to watch.

I do feel for Bignot, he's got a difficult job on his hands. That said, he's not above questioning and his tactics were poor today. It was clear we were too narrow. Every time Rainey or Gough had the ball and looked up, there was not a single blue pass to be made. We were crying out for Hannah or Bell to move into the channels and stretch them but they stayed so central. Frustrating to watch.

Also, Nyal Bell's performance today was a joke. I'd be terminating that loan deal first thing tomorrow morning.

I think just about the only positive I can take after today is that, incredibly really, we are still within touch of safety. Doesn't feel like it. Need the mini break to galvanize the troops now.