Reffed him today at Jarrow, i know it's a totally different standard of football but he really was a different class. Grabbed a hat-trick and set up 2 more and if his teammates were a little better to take advantage of his quality positions that he took up he could have had another 5!!!

what level is that at then?
I hope the man is enjoying it ,I can't believe that he can't play at least at conference level.I've watched exeter and torquay this season and the standard is shocking.

I think Jarrow are in the Northern League division 2 arn't they?.. of which division 1 is a feeder to the Unibond League.

How old is he? Surely he's better than that... im sure he could do a job for Durham or even Gateshead if he wants to stay in the area.

I'm over the moon for Effion, deserves to be playing at a higher level but if he's enjoying his football then fair play. Love to see him back at pools one day in some capacity

We should ask Jarrow if they fancy doing a swap. We will have Williams and they can have Foley

They aint gonna take Foley!!

Well from what i can gather his agent is chairman of jarrow. Funilly enough he is also registered to play for Athletic Rugby on a sunday morning, as is Micky Barron, will probs only see them in the national cups though!

Darlo would not take foley!

Seriously, off all the players over the years who we have debated about whether they will 'make it' at league level, without doubt foley is the player who generates the most unanimous verdict amongst the supporters. We all know he just isnt going to do it as a pro footballer. Everytime he comes off the bench my heart sinks (as it did yesterday) as you just know we are throwing a match away. It cant be a coincidence that we seem to be conceding late goals these days despite apparantly having a 'fit' team.

At the Gordon Watson talk-in in March, Watson talked about the lack of hunger that Efo has got for the game. Could playing at such a low level be another example of this?

No, he 'retired' from professional football due to injury - his body couldn't cope with the full-time training.

Yes, but why did he drop so many levels so quickly?

Because he wanted to???

What a great reply.

Might I suggest that not for the first time, Mr Watson was talking out of his arse!

Effion is one of the hardest working players I've ever seen at Pools.

I'd still have both of them in our squad!!!

I don't think he was arguing that, he was just suggesting he didn't have the hunger to develop himself further.

It certainly seems strange that a player who could obviously play at a reasonable level (a proper reasonable level!) seems content playing at such a low level

If he's disillusioned I'd hazard a guess that its more down to the apalling treatment he got from Pools at the end of his last season.

What did you want?

He has stated he's not really bothered either way about playing football, why go digging for answer which you won't find (or won't like)?

Mr John, can you tell the uninformed about Eifions goal record, and stuff. He is a nice man, he ran about a lot, but the odd spectacular apart, he couldn't score for toffee.

Demonstrable bollocks!

http://www.inthemadcrowd.co.uk/cgi-bin/ ... sp?oid=948

Next thing we know, you'll be telling us it's safe to drink the milk in China................

56 goals in 239 is a half decent return and theres some outstanding goals amongst that lot but of all the times i saw him i remember him missing alot of chances and being pretty poor tbh.

You obviosly weren't at Cardiff or Darlo then, to name but two.....

Oh, well if he put in two good performances then this is great!!!

Load of bollocks! He was completely gutless and no way in this world was he hardworking! He was a bit of a chicken shit and could not be arsed once the opposition got stuck in. Most supporters would wear the shirt with a lot more pride than effion ever did. He did score some great goals but was mediocre the rest of the time. Ask Wrexham supporters!

Biggest load of nonsense i've ever read!! That man got kicked piller to post every week and still got up and always got stuck in, he would always chase down balls and always put 110% in. He was treated appaulingly by pools and i really would still have him in the squad now.

Hang your head in shame, you're obviously a t1t

I was at cardiff and as i said he did score some great goals but was largely anonymous, i unfortunately wasnt at darlo however

and your bordering on being one too!

if ANYONE here would still have Williams in our squad now then it shows how little they know about football. He was a good league 2 player who (when he could be arsed) was a good addition to the squad. there were several games he couldn't be arsed and several where he did look up for it. i would probably put it at 50/50.

A striker who's record (in league 1) was poor, so poor in fact he was moved onto the wing, where he was average at best.

Saying all of that i had a lot of time for him and was glad he played for us. some great memories.

But all this shite about 'the club treat him badly' is bollocks. He wasn't good enough so we got shot, end of. there is little place for sentiment in football.

No you are the tit. To say he got stuck in week efter week is the biggest load of tripe which I have ever read. Go get yourself some psychiatric help you wanker.

Oh, and he was not treated appalingly, the fact is that he was not good enough hence he got released. There is no place for sentiment in football these days. yes he was a nice bloke and yes he did score some lovely goals but he WAS gutless and the majority would agree. (however the majority of folk on this forum wont dare to criticise pools/its players so they will just sit quietly on the fence as per usual).

Jesus Christ MisterB, what has happened to you??? you are starting to talk sense. I agree totally.

in that case...... i would have Effion back now in a swap with Brown & Porter. The club should be ashamed of the way the treated Lord Effion

What the fucks happened to MisterB??

Couldnt agree more.

And to who ever said Effion got stuck in?

I've got one question for the people above....

Who....yesterday....would you have liked to have seen come onto the Pitch as a Sub....Foley or Williams????

And that is on the wing or forward!!!!

I know who I'd pick every time....and his name doesn't rhyme with Roly Poly!!!! :

I would sooner have effion on the but its a case of the lesser of two evils to be honest. Foley is completely bobbins, Effion was mediocre.

This is a lifetime first for me. On this occasion I don't think that Grave and Tree aren't talking their usual garbage. Williams was pea-hearted. He spent more time on the deck than he did stood up. He had to be used on the wing in later years due to his lack of heart and fight. He scored 18 goals in his last 85 games.

Even Micky Barron - who as a rule is diplomatic - said publicly upon Eiffion's retirement that he wasn't suprised he was retiring early. Barron described him as a 'chocolate soldier' who melted away in the heat of battle and who had little appetite for the game.

Don't get me wrong, he had a fair level of talent. He scored some very good goals. If you haven't watched the second goal at Darlington forwards, backwards and in slow motion a couple of hundred times then you're not a poolie.

I just think that the reason many fans, me included, were ambivalent about him was the fact that he plainly didn't love the game. He had less 'never say die' spirit about him than any player in recent years. Fans as a rule would rather have players like Darren Knowles -of much lesser talent but who give everything they've got. I think this is because as fans we recognise ourselves in a lower level of talent but whole-hearted love of the game. I think fans only feel bewilderment when they see players like Eiffion who have a good level of talent but little love of the game.

And no, I don't think he was remotely hard done by in being released. The club, as ever, dispassionately assessed whether he was good enough. The real screw up from the club would have been to offer him a contract based on the wave of sentiment after he scored the two great goals at Darlo.

good post

Very good post and spot on.

I know one of effs mates quiet well, and he has said he was never really that bothered about football, a shelf stacking job in the asda would have done him.

If he had his talent i certainly wouldn't have been 'not arsed' about football, if the guy just had a bit more appetite in the game he could have played at a much higher level.

By the time he got to about 30 i think he was just a bit sick of travelling to sh!t football grounds around, spending loads of his life on a bus and missing his family.

When and where?

i have to agree with them two. however much it pains me to do so. i liked effion but think we are much better off with him off the wage structure. however we DO need a right winger and right back as a matter of priority.

What i have failed to understand since he has left is the mass comments from people of how he was badly treated.

His contract simply was not renewed.

The same as Elliot, Gibb, Allison etc.

How is that badly treated?

Eifion was the precursor to Michael McKay wasn't he. Scoring goals in non-league football like they were going out of fashion but very, very lightweight in the big men's game.

I think he was more than good enough at this level, just didn't love the game enough to go further.

Efion Williams gave us two of the best moments in the entire history of Hartlepool United. for that alone we should be grateful.

ffs! change the record!
Im sure we're all in agreement about that but it doesn't change the fact that more often than not, he was piss poor.

How is that a fact? its subjective.

my apologies, it was meant as a figure of speech.