I have followed pools since my dad sat me on the wall of the rink end in 79/80 season I was 6 some 30 years ago now !

Billy Horner the first time...Bob Newton was my hero despite his past...Martin Burleigh super goalie la la la LA.

We swapped ends at half time...... 2000 plus crowds....Some mental crowd trouble at times when I think back and that was as good as it got really.

We nearly got promoted the following season I think we finished 7th or 8th nearly did again a few year later then we did Fook all till promotion in 90/91.

Believe it or not I loved it and apart from work commitments in more recent times I dont think I have ever missed a home game to date.

What an emotional roller coaster I have been on some great away days been in some right touch & go situations in some strange train stations in other strange towns and for what little Hartlepool United!

At times it could not get worse which I suppose made it all the more reason to go back every week Ha ha but when it was good it was FOOKING Great!!

I can remember beating Crewe at hom 6-2 at home Newton got 2 Houchen 2 not sure about the other 2 It was like winning the world cup.

I still never miss a home game now & take my 3 sons when I can....but even I have found myself going to the game later & later leaving the house at 14:45 it's like going to work..It's seems like punishment at times even though we are playing at the highest level in the clubs history!!!!!!!!! Even the town is dead on a Saturday Night it's just not the same as it was.

We live in a world full of premiership business men and it's destroying the game at our level.

The kids expect far to much especially mine watching Chealsea & Man U on the sky etc... but what do they expect from little Hartlepool United?

I even expect to much now because it's the way life is no one likes to lose!!

I dont post much but its exactly what goes on...here on this forum.

And I put it to you BUNKERITES what do you want / expect us to acheive really?.

Derek Hampton & Bobby Kerr, Mr Hangers.

http://www.inthemadcrowd.co.uk/cgi-bin/ ... p?oid=2866

I expect us to win every game we play.

Why watch it if you don't think you'll win?

You would 'like' us to win every time. Thats why i watch and in the hope that we do. To say you only watch if you think we will win is nonsense.

holy shite, i have to agree competely with you Tree.

I hope and wish we win every game we play, but never EXPECT it.

Chip gets it pretty much spot on. Years ago it cost you your spare change to get into the match. Nowadays if there are more than 2 home games in a month then a lot of people will be looking at over £100 to find to watch/drinks & food etc.

god help the people who go to away games regularly too!

Indeed they are Dibbs.
In fact, I dont think i disagree with one word typed on this thread, which is weird.

Anyhoo, as the mighty blur said....modern life is rubbish.
And Modern day football is rubbish, and footballers by and large are worse than rubbish.
They are weak, pathetic, molly coddled and have ego's bigger than the moon.
And thats in the lower leagues! Nevermind the pack of not nice people that occupy the premier division!

Personally I like to nonce horses futher I think Sussex is a decent bloke and a good poster.

up till this post........

you trickster,trickster Peej

I can relate to the first post, in the sense that I can remember going to pools in the eighties and not expecting at all to win, being satisfied with small victories here n there. Looking back it was a total different mentality supporting pools then, to what it is now, when we all want to be royally entertained and indeed expect it, when it doesn't happen, people are rightly miffed. But its a good measure of how far the club has come, that we all expect more from the team, even when we are as high as we have ever been in the league pyramid. It is true to say that over the last 8 year we have been, in the main, spoilt for entertainment at the vic, long may it continue

yeah, feelings pretty much well summed up for me in a lot of posts on this thread. Some of the old school ex Pools players have all pretty much said the same thing - the players in the lower leagues get far too much money, but it's still relatively the same ratio to what top flight players are getting - which just shows how much those blokes up there are coining it in.