“Get rid of me? You got rid of Higgy, Ronnie Moore and everyone else before that. There’s a common denominator here, look at it and figure it out.

Even though he's been a disaster and this is the only thing we can do to give us even a slight bit of hope he's not wrong is he? It's a point I've been making for a number of years. Managing Pools is a poisoned chalice and given what happened in January most would have struggled.

He's not wrong at all on this point and I hope people don't slip back into some sort of comfort from the quick fix of binning another manager off.

The timing is also appalling, as a few people have said on other social media who the hell is going to do the retained list now? We go into potentially one of the most crucial close seasons ever with the behind the scenes problems remaining and starting from scratch again on the playing side.

The players who have been put in charge in fact I expected them to be some of the released ones come 3 weeks time. It's bonkers and we are in absolute shambles once again

I heard a few weeks ago now that Bates and Paynter had already been told they were getter by released so it's fairly bonkers now that they're joint managers! A good opportunity for them I suppose.

He is right, a lot of what he says in (http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/ ... f_respect/) that article is right.

But what he doesn't say is why we've gone backwards, why the players are no longer playing for him and his coaches. I'm sick and tired of sacking managers, but we had no hope of getting another point with Jones in charge, no matter what he says.

I imagine there will be a lot more fight from our players on Saturday now, it most probably will still not be enough to avoid relegation, but something had to give.

Bizarrely it could lead them to getting player coaching/managing contracts next season. Also would probably be a cheaper alternative for Coxall than bringing in a proven manager & coaches at hopefully L2 level.

I expect Newport to win on Saturday sadly

I very much doubt it. This looks like the last word in short-termism. If by some miracle Pools stayed up, they'd deserve some consideration, but realistically their job is to at least see to it that the team goes down fighting. And after last Saturday even that's a tall order!

Rightly or wrongly I'm afraid that's football at almost every club and level. As soon as a team are near the bottom of their league the manager gets the boot. How many times does a manager gets promotion then gets the sack the following season. I think Wigan was an example this season and closer to home Boro.

I don't think Coxall had a choice than to put someone in temporary charge. Someone new wouldn't have had the time to get their feet under the table before the decisive week and a half was up. Thats if you could get someone in. As for proven managers, well few disagreed with Dave Jones appointment.

Personally I would have liked to see Sam Collins in, perhaps with Ronnie Moore. RM has proven time and time again that he's a master of instant impact on a failing team although longer term he doesn't always work out.

He's a part of the problem, but removing him doesn't solve anything. We may get a short term boost from the players but that's it.

No one can tell me that a manager of his experience came in January and having just seen 3 first team regulars sold then loaning out countless fringe players and was happy with what he has. That decision surely had to come from above, mind you, why he decided to do the job knowing the constraints also opens up a whole load more questions in my mind.


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I really don't get this clamour for Sam Collins.

Like many other supporters I was excited by Jones' arrival but performances on the pitch have become woeful to say the least ! He's dead right when he mentions previous managers names and a common denominator; there's a malaise deep within Hartlepool United.
Sadly, perhaps it's our time to have a spell in the conference league and the club has a full overhaul on the playing side and a culture change at the very least throughout!

Makes some excellent points. HOWEVER, you can not justify taking a job on and doing a very noticeably worse job than your predecesor and expect to be given time. It is plain to see that the players either don't believe in him or won't work for him and this is a fundamental part of the job whether the players are the ones you've chosen to work with or not.

Think what you like in private Mr Jones or between you and your coaches but to the players faces, they're fucking world beaters.

As for managers not getting any time....there has to be progress of some sort. I'd take relegation if there was a longer term plan but for a man of his supposed calibre to come in to a struggling fourth division club and actually do a worse job is pretty staggering for me, clearly something very, very wrong in what he's doing.

This bus drives itself


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Excellent record as a caretaker, he knows the squad inside out, knows the division, the players work for him, we have 2 games left and need someone with his knowledge of the squad.

He also said something a while ago that is very, very true. It was along the lines of putting the ball carrier under pressure because in this division they can't cope with it.

If the appointment of Bates/Paynter/Parnaby happens, which no doubt it will, it's another massive gamble when Collins offers a much better option for the reasons stated.

Interesting in his parting shots the amount of times he used the words me and I, barely able to construct a sentence without the use of.

Total Narcissist.

Grandiose, Inflexible Behaviour, Egocentric, The Centre of his own world and Lacks responsibility whilst always blaming others.

Good Riddance and Thanks for Nothing.

Sam has been offered positions elsewhere according to his Twitter account so why would he come back for two matches to a club that just sacked him?

Indeed but depends who sacked him. I'm guessing Jones which if I'm right would surely change things.

He was at the club for nearly ten years, we got relegated twice and never finished in the top half of the division. They aren't going bring back someone who got sacked a few weeks ago. All anyone is going to get for the last two games is a bit more spirit and togetherness I think these four can bring that. They all know the squad as well. You've seen how much someone like Buster is hurting in recent weeks they will try and get the team going I don't see it as a massive gamble the likelihood is now that we are down, if we are we need to start again and I don't see Sam Collins as the man to get us out of the Conference he's never played a single game at that level.

I'm guessing Pam probably sacked him. She would have sorted out terms, gagging order etc. Jones would have been too busy sorting out team shape and tactics!

Our being relegated not finishing in the top half has, to be fair Mr PJ, got nothing to do with Collins' ability to manage the side.

I accept 2 games is nothing but appointing current players to take charge is a gamble however the only thing they have going for them is it's pretty fucking obvious what needs to happen. But assuming Bates plays himself, who is going to decide on tactical changes? Parnaby? Gallagher? Paynter? They aren't necessarily all going to agree with each other are they? Who makes the final decision? Bates....even though he's on the pitch? And they have fuck all time to sort it out.

No I wouldn't necessarily want Collins in the Conference...depends on a number of things. I'd sooner have someone proven at that level but there won't be many of them available will there? or one willing to come to a club that is seemingly run by thieving cowboys.

If only he had lol

But realistically you can't bring back someone who's just been sacked for two weeks then after that say he's surplus to requirements again. You can't treat people like that.

No that's right...in the real world, but this is football where you can do what you like

I'd probably look to offer him his old job back as coach, caretaker manager for the last two games and take it from there....if we go down we look at options with Collins retained as coach as a minimum and if we stay up he definitely gets the job full time.

Love Craig Hopes tweet about how Jones turned up to first interview in scruffy clothes and sat eating a sausage butty during it!

I also understand from an entirely convincing source that Paynter was offered player/manager before Jones was appointed but turned it down. This club is nuts.

It's a valid point. He couldn't motivate them, Hignett gave up and Ronnie Moore gave the same reason, maybe there is a common denominator.
See how they respond now.
We need a stable regime, it's a long time since we had one.

His comments were interesting . Jones possibly came in and tried , maybe too quickly to turn things around , and the players, used to easy street ,maybe resented it. That doesn't excuse Jones for his awful team selections and formations like. But as most of us will remember or know, these things happen, just like at school when a teacher the kids could tie in knots, got moved on and was replaced by a disciplinarian , or a soft gaffer at work, who let you get away with murder was replaced by a ba*tard, people don't like it, and its a struggle to win people over. Maybe this wasn't the case, but it makes you wonder, and seems to be what Jones is alluding to, a club with poor leadership and standards, on a downward slide, making the same mistakes time and time again.

It looks like Jones had no friends at HUFC except the two mates he brought with him. What he said about Jeff Stelling I have to agree with, although Stelling is good in terms of publicity for the club, what he did was bad craic and says a lot about the club, that a sacking could follow, the humiliation of a bloke in front of millions on TV.

My worry is a couple of good results and we could see after a pitch invasion and the players getting carried aloft, Bates and or Paynter offered the job, and 7 or 8 players offered new contracts, it could only happen at HUFC.

Yes, Pools have been through too many managers in recent seasons. Yes, they weren't his players.

But you only get longevity as a manager and a chance to do your own retained list, make new signings and have a pre-season if results have been at least minimally acceptable.

Dave Jones isn't a kid, he knows that. He was allowed to bring in 2 coaches of his own choosing and still managed to make Pools look like a bad Northern League side.

As for Jeff Stelling - I take his 'rant' to be indicative of the fact that he knows there's a hell of a lot going wrong at the Vic and has been bottling up his feelings about the situation for months. Tough seagull droppings for Dave Jones that he was in the firing line.