Has given an interview with the Mail in which he explains his sudden departure from Pools. Also discusses his time with Pools, discusses the sale of the club, Raj, JA, the fans and is very complimentary of all.
Good read.

Finally read it, very interesting and threw some light on what happened.
He was certainly very amicable about things.
Shame about his daughter though.

I read this article. Makes one think. About lots of things.

Yes it put’s things into perspective, family first.

Not just that though. The guy didn't have to sympathise with Raj. He chose to.

Might sound daft but that point never caught my eye it was the news about his daughter, must admit though I was expecting him to say the opposite of what he said about Raj.

Of course yeah, the important message was the decisions a good man and a good father has to make and he definitely made them. I've been there myself and his story resonates with me.

All ok now I hope.

Yeah mate. All good thanks.

You would like to think a guy thats employed you when your previous reputation wasnt that great, then let the guy leave to be closer to home you would have kind words to say about him. Im sure raj aint a terrible individual, think he puts a hell of a lot of money into charity, ukraine etc. Not everything is bad about the man, just not sure running football clubs is his thing.

Trouble is, no one else wanted to know and after Coxall I think that was the closest we’ve ever been to oblivion.
In many ways it’s a bit like Gibson, but Gibson kept spending and did put a decent team together, but if he’d been less keen to achieve a decent team he might have been seen in a different light because I suspect he overspent, when with a bit of patience he’d have achieved his target.
Sometimes it’s not how much you spend, but what you spend it on.
Success is easy for the sugar daddy owners ( but not always) they just bury their mistakes, running a football club like a normal business is a lot tougher.

Its not gone so well at York so far with their minted owners has it?

It hasnt but you get the impression they can still buy their way out of trouble.

Really, we made them look like lazy schoolkids yesterday. Their supporters are actually kicking off about the players they've brought in since the takeover, spending money doesn't guarantee points on the board, never has never will.

It guarantees nothing but with 10 games to go and their level on points with oxford city and they havent a penny to scratch their arses with and york can pull out 200k to sign a striker, who do you think would have the better chance to stay up? Its funny all the teams in the premiership spend millions and all the teams in the conference spend peanuts so money does in some ways buy success, stockport and wrexham were shit until money came their way.

And as sure as eggs is eggs the money fountain at Stockport and Wrexham will dry up.
You say all the teams in the prem spend millions but the hard fact is three of them will get relegated.
Now you've also finally realised all the teams in the conference spend peanuts you might stop criticising Raj for running Pools in the same way as the others.
Now we've got the comments from an ex employee without an axe to grind, maybe you'll think before attacking the only man willing to keep us going, even though he is being hounded out and it may be too late to stop him walking.
You are right to say Wrexham and Stockport were shit before money came their way and, by the same token, we were heading for the knackers yard before Raj came our way.

The ‘money’ factor is important, but again it’s how you spend your money and getting a manager to co-ordinate it all in budget and Raj did it with Challinor, no big money to back him but he pulled it together….even Challinor with a silly budget at Stockport was pushed to get his target.
Money guarantees nowt, it certainly helps, but even with IOR’s backing we never took off quickly.

Man Utd one of the biggest spending clubs in the PL yet the likes of lower spending Villa and Brighton better performing and better to watch.
Spend as much as you like, but if you don't spend it wisely you're in trouble.

Hard facts are they would still be 3 promotions above us so lets not get oh money doesnt make any difference of course it does. So in your thinking because wrexham and stockports money has to end one day, are you saying you never want money behind your football club to progress? What happens if wrexham end in the championship and get taken over by more wealthy backers?

Only in Hartlepool


Darren kelly well i was looking after the sale of the club? Do you think the price was putting anyone off? Im not sure. Or words to that effect.

I could swear down raj said in an interview their was no price set to anyone.

Hust i think the price was putting people off.

So whos telling a few porkies?

It’s all about ‘attitude’…..a talented player without the right attitude is doing himself no favours…nor the club and fans either.

Clubs with money though eventually rise to the top, how many times have villa or brighton finished above man u? Money buys these top clubs success. Wouldnt it be nice to see man u competing on the bones of thier arse for once.

[quote="billinghampoolie1908"]Hard facts are they would still be 3 promotions above us so lets not get oh money doesnt make any difference of course it does. So in your thinking because wrexham and stockports money has to end one day, are you saying you never want money behind your football club to progress? What happens if wrexham end in the championship and get taken over by more wealthy backers?

its rare to get two good wealthy owners on the bounce the same as it is getting two good managers like that as well. every dog has its day and they,d better enjoy the day at stockport and wrexham like we did once.

The further up they go the more likely they will get them two good owners in a row though. Who would of thought steve gibson would be at boro for 25 years or whatever, he has laid the foundations for more decent owners when he eventually leaves.

I'm fed up of saying we need an alternative to Raj before he's hounded out by you and others and would like someone with financial clout to take us forward. So yes the wealthier the owner the better.
I see you're clinging on to this price tag business but I suppose that's all you've got left. You will have noticed I have not taken part in the nitty gritty of the "club for sale" saga and the "is there or isn't there" a price tag simply because it is all a matter of the handing over of money and the form it takes and as neither you nor I are privy to any conversations between interested parties we can only guess and I can't be arsed one way or the other to get involved in "I said, you said, he said or they said."
Boiling it all down the club will get sold or it won't. Following on from that if it is sold then we have a new owner. If it is not sold then we still have Raj. Then Raj either gives in to the the hounders like you and walks or he ignores you lot and stays. If he walks and he and the others who are owed money ask for it back we're firmly in the shit no question about that. If he stays he will run the club his way until an interested party turns up. The football club is still there and although there are on field problems, off the field we are paying our way with the help of Raj. I have no idea what he is worth but it is painfully obvious he is not prepared to splash what money he has willy nilly on the team to try and buy success. That's his choice and, as I have no chance trying to influence that, I don't even bother trying. I don't bash my head on brick walls cos I've found out that there is very little future there.

For the vast majority of my life Middlesbrough have played in the second tier and that's where they are now, so if Gibson passed on the club tomorrow they would be no better or no worse than they have been for nigh on eighty years. I'm beginning to believe there is a fantasy Island cos you sound just like the average citizen of such a place.

You keep sticking to the three or four on a message board are hounding him out crikey. Im sure he will knock back a few hundread grand so he gets back at 3 or 4 on the bunker.

So are you now saying Gibson has basically done nowt and just took them back to where they are. ?The same middlesbrough that got to a european final, a domestic final played in the premiership for a few years. The club that was at death doors when he took over in league 1. Now got a fan base of around 25k, players that are probobly valued in thier millions. A club that was worth very little, would now need massive money to buy? Seriously he has left middlesbrough in no better or worse place than in the past 80 years? If he left boro tommorow he has left boro in a 100 times better place than they were, not to mention the bloody good times they have had.

If were talking about fantasy island you have just summed it all up in one go.

He had one good spell after he took over and yes they were on the bones of their arse but he's now got them to where they were before they fell on bad times. When Cloughie played for them in the late fifties they were always a top half second tier club which is exactly where they were seventy years ago. They used to churn out England players, how many have they got now. I saw Cyril Knowles make his debut. How many Boro players have been picked for England under Gibson. They are an established second tier club and have been the majority of my lifetime, which is what I said. One short stay in the third tier and some in the first tier. The rest in the second. Look up their record if you doubt what I am saying. 1944 until now. Go on do it.

One good spell? I think to be fair to boro they have had a pretty good spell for the 25 years he has been there for. Reached another quarter final a couple of weeks ago. Had brazillians playing for them a few year back that werent too shabby, an italian called ravenelli he was ok i guess but no english internationals, well guess we can discount robson, im sure when gibson leaves boro fans wont be saying yeah but he has taken us back to the championship? Who knows they might even get promoted this year. If we had a gibson in charge at pools we would be over the bloody moon.

In the next fortnight they have 7 players on international duty.

[quote="billinghampoolie1908"]One good spell? I think to be fair to boro they have had a pretty good spell for the 25 years he has been there for. Reached another quarter final a couple of weeks ago. Had brazillians playing for them a few year back that werent too shabby, an italian called ravenelli he was ok i guess but no english internationals, well guess we can discount robson, im sure when gibson leaves boro fans wont be saying yeah but he has taken us back to the championship? Who knows they might even get promoted this year. If we had a gibson in charge at pools we would be over the bloody moon.[/quote

He became chairman in 1994 when they had just been relegated from the top tier, so were in the second tier. They are in the second tier now.
Similar to Raj in a way, back where he started. Boro have spent two seasons in the third tier in their entire lifetime, the first one in the sixties, second one in the eighties. He might have been on the board when the second one happened.
Earlier on this century they had a bit more success with the prem and cups but of late they have established themselves as a second tier club as they where when he became chairman, which is basically what I'm saying. They don't shop with the big boys anymore. Their signings don't match the headlines that Juninho and Ravanelli made.
In their early days they spent a lot of their time in the top tier. This time 100 years ago they were in their twenty first consecutive season in the top tier.
Gibson will never make them a major force in English football although I'm full of praise for what he has done, which goes to show what difference a rich genuine supporter can do.
To get established at the next level will need more than his riches or so it would appear.

What trophies have they won over the past 25 years.
Gibson is there because he is a fan like us and has the money….but he’s a bit more careful with his money it appears.
Anyway this is bollocks, we are where we are and where where these mythical investors when we needed them …..there was none…so before you start drilling holes in the lifeboat check another one’s close by ……. because you just don’t get the big picture.
I suspect if we pulled of a miracle and ,made the playoffs, you’d still be complaining we should have had Chesterfield’s spot.

But for who.

Probobly gibralter but they got 7.

You wont have a bad word said about raj, but your trying to belittle probobly 25 years of one of the best chairman around, seriously you couldnt make this up.

I said I'm full of praise for what he's done. How is that belittling him.
My first visit to Ayresome Park was in the fifties to see Cloughie. They were in the second tier and getting bigger crowds than they do now. If I went to their next league match lo and behold it would be in the second tier. That is a fact.
I wish we had a supporter like him. For a start it would shut the whingers up or maybe not cos Boro have their share of whingers even with Gibson.

Maybe Raj will get better if allowed to (and he stays). He clearly enjoys owning a football club and would enjoy owning a winning one a lot more.

Let me guess

The Falklands
St Helena
Ascension Island
Jersey
Fiji
Antarctica West
Ward Jackson Park island
Isle of Man

If he goes, he goes, if he stays he stays, but I’d like to jump when I have a parachute…..I’ve grown rather attached to Pools over the years.

under 21,s.