And to think the Kevs reckoned Askey wouldn't be allowed to sign any more players till we got rid of a few more. Bang goes another theory!

Two of the new lads (Wallace and Jameson) played a lot of games for League 2 sides last season and two (Dieseruvwe a.k.a. Mani and Chris Wreh) have been nicked from top half of the NL sides. It remains to be seen how good they are in a Pools shirt, but it's hardly shopping in the bargain basement, is it?

As for the possible outgoings, it's clear from Kelly's interview on Facebook that Mo Sylla will be leaving as soon as somebody offers Pools a fee for him, plus he seems to be not wanted around the squad and is not having a pre-season.

According to Gary Liddle, Nicky Featherstone is still willing to sign on for another season but isn't happy with the terms he's been offered. This is a tough one. Personally I think it would be great to have Feaths in the squad but it's clear from last season that he won't be an automatic pick in the manager's eyes. I'm not surprised they're struggling to reach agreement on what a fair offer is. He needs to sign on or get fixed up elsewhere PDQ or he's going to miss all of pre-season too.

Josh Umerah has been training with the other lads from day one and I reckon he will start the season as a Pools player. Whether he's still there at the end of the EFL transfer window is a different question - depends on how many goals he scores in August!

I think most of us would have thought big Josh would have gone by now. Great to see him still here.

Wow.
Bunker down for a while then i get a mention in ya first sentence.
Just glad i didn't get a bbc presenter emoji from ya.


Can we have an update from u Sir on incoming n outgoing players. Transfer fees n monthly wages.

Bunker banter.

Shut the bunker down again as 4 more might come in and some deadwoods stage is waiting for some to go the other way.

[quote="Flying Hogans"]And to think the Kevs reckoned Askey wouldn't be allowed to sign any more players till we got rid of a few more. Bang goes another theory!

Two of the new lads (Wallace and Jameson) played a lot of games for League 2 sides last season and two (Dieseruvwe a.k.a. Mani and Chris Wreh) have been nicked from top half of the NL sides. It remains to be seen how good they are in a Pools shirt, but it's hardly shopping in the bargain basement, is it?

Quite happy with all the signings so far and looking forward to seeing them unlike last season where at the start we got what most expected. Liked mani,s comment about halifax manager being anti football. Should be interesting when we play at the shit.

Where was this,I haven't seen any new player interviews anywhere.

Sorry Kev - I don't do made up shit about the club's finances - that's your department

yeh have you been having chats with him ? missed this interview too

but yeh overall a very tidy window so far - one i would of expected had we still been in the football league. So that being said, i reckon we have a very good team being assembled and one that wouldnt of looked out of place in L2. We require some key positions still being filled though which im sure JA is aware of and working towards. As per Kellys convo with Chandy it all sounds good and he was very transparent in what he was saying which was good. I like how he wants competition for places and wants to get local lads involved with the club. Which tbh is what we need given our neighbours are canny good big teams.

Id say another CB in the mould of Lidds would be perfect - some experience and calmness in the defence.

competition for RWB is a must as we are hell short in that position.

also if Umerah is rumoured to still be away (Barrow latest rumour) then we need another forward who can get us goals at this level. I feel we need to spend all the cash from the sale on him on someone like Dallas whos proven at this level.

again a CM is also top of the shop for me - JA likes fit box to box type. This league needs a ball winning playmaker - Wrexham and Notts both had this and look how successful they where.

a sylla replacement with a better attitude and not a featherstone one if he does not sign. if we have another weak tackling midfield the defence will be tested more and many fans will put all the blame on them when the midfielder gets away scott free.

I think it's likely that Wallace has been brought in as a tough tackling midfielder and replacement for Sylla. Nearly all his games for Mansfield last season were in midfield.

yeh i thought that but maybe also to mop up and control the game like Feaths did.

Finney is yet to be proven in the middle of the park although his CV and cameos last season for me proves he has what it takes to be a key man in that midfield 3 - but if we can bring in somebody who can create and get us goals even better. Crawford needs to do more for me too. We dont currently have any real imapact subs either. Cooke cant get too complacent in thinking hes a first pick every week too - like to see comp for his position also. which i think we will see given Kellys statement.

Midfield has been weak for years and Featherstone has been at the heart of it, not blaming 1 man but even with a 5 we rarely managed to control the game against either a 5 or even a 4 man opposition. I'm sure Askey will make certain that we have a more effective unit both defensively and creatively, plus he'll be looking to get some pace into the team I would imagine. Signings all look decent so far.

Featherstone will only be offered a 1 year contract with possibly a 1 year option at any club due to his age, he can’t expect an increase in his salary as Pools have dropped down a league.
How long does a player have to be at a club before they are granted a testimonial ?

he is surely due one ... id deffo go to it

but yeh our midfield hasnt exactly been brilliant - even in the promotion winning side we really only had those 3 the bench was crap.

the theme which Askey talked about the back end of last year seems to be phsyicality--something all of these signings so far have in common.
All about balance--I am not against Featherstone and Cooke, but i wouldnt really want them in the same midfield mobility wise.

Its a huge ask but if we can somehow get Sylla to put his dummy back in and get him playing it would be a massive plus....more so than Umerah

We still need another 4-5 in at a miniumum across the board, the strikers we currently have in are all pretty similar.

In an ideal world, Hastie, Grey, Murray, Lacey and Crawford wouldn't be too close to the first team

Think Crawford might be decent at this level now that his injuries are behind him and with a full pre-season. He's shown in the past that he can get about the pitch, pick a pass and make things happen, not so sure he's good at breaking things up but he might just surprise a few people if he can stay fit.

Crawford is just so lightweight for me and dwells on the ball /loses it possession so much--not sure what he is--his assist/scoring record for a progressive midfielder is poor and he doesnt do much defensively.
He can definitely play football and maybe one of those who puts on some bulk and looks transformed, but again him and Cooke/Feather in midfield i worry is going to get run over

Yeh a dont think we will be seeing Crawfs as a starter unless he suddenly turns into the none league Busquets.

its a shame we didnt have a full time reserve team as the likes of Hastie and Crawfs years back would of learned their trade there and always been available should we have needed them - teams benefit still from this and not having to send literal fringe players out on loan like we have too.

i think we need a really tidy CF still who maybe can play on the wing - good with the ball at his feet and can beat his man.

Crawford did alright when he first arrived but then was playing carrying injuries, and then missed most of last season so I'd imagine he's one with a point to prove and hopefully he has a good season.

going to be a big season both for crawford and grey. remember crawford isn,t a kid anymore. when he first arrived i thought he could be a featherstone replacement, but just has not pushed on which i suppose all the time out has not helped.