....a Hartlepool United team made up of current and ex-players who were in their prime (not neccessarily with our club) who would you pick? My eleven would be:-

Steve Harper
Dick Malone
Rob McKinnon
Wattie Moore
Billy Ayre
Andy Linighan
Peter Beardsley
Ray Kennedy
Michael Brown
Marco Gabbiadini
Jan Ove Pederson
Subs:- Barry Watling, Kenny Johnson, Joe Allon, Bob Newton,Keith Houchen,Tommy Miller,Dean Emerson.

TBH it's hard to fit em' all in.

ambrose fogarty

Kevin Poole, Don Hutchinson and Gordon Watson could be added to that list!!

stick Joel Porter in there as well

Brian Honour would be in there...

I'd have Humphreys in there, in his prime he was quality.

And Boyd.

Dimi in goal

Dimi v Watling - no contest! Stick with Bazza.

Top three Pools goalies in my lifetime were;

Watling
Poole
Dimi

In that order.

Barry Watling would, without any doubt, be in goal in my all time Pools eleven.

Still the British record holder with seven consecutive competitive penalty saves 1970-71.

Martin Hodge, best keeper to wear a pools shirt imo

Without a shadow of a doubt.

Wot no....
Phythian,Mulvaney and Thompson.

What about John McGovern

Watling
Linacre
McKinnon
Ayre
Rowlands
Dalton
Miller
Emerson
Newton
Houchen
Waddle

Bearing in mind the question included "in their prime not necessarily with Pools" and playing 4-4-2,

Watling
Malone Moore Linighan Drysdale

McGovern Brown ( Michael) Fogarty Luke

Beardsley Johnson ( Ken)



Subs......Les Green ( GK),Tommy McGuigan, Bill Green, Jackie Newton, Bob Newton ( for his muscle when needed) Porter, McKinnon.
Manager. Brian Clough. Asst. Manager. Peter Taylor.

There is no doubt in my mind that that staring eleven would hold their own in the premiership.

How can you state that? you were too young to see Barry Watling. Everyone on here who remembers him has without exception put him ahead of any other since. Watling was a real class act and had no business playing at Pools level.

Ok, fair point.

In all the time I've been watching Pools Martin Hodge is without a shadow of a doubt the best keeper we've had.




Was Watling better than our 1912/13 season goalkeeper?

This makes more sense, if they had been a little older they would agree with others that Barry Watling was far superior

can I just say I wasnt around for the two you mention but how can you overlook steve Harper he has played in the Premier league and is easly the best keep in the Championship.

I can't be arsed to check, but I'd happily wager a tenner with you that Martin Hodge made more top flight appearances than Steve Harper has.

Don Hutchison must get in someones team.

He'd be in mine.

Hutchison and Micky Brown in the middle of midfield would've worked well together.

That's why i put imo. Same as how do you know that Barry Watling was better than all the keepers before you started going.

I don't. There you go you see, I can even defeat my own argument!

Shall we reword the question?

I can only judge on what i've seen mate. Unlike some people who come on here saying players are shyte when they haven't even seen them.

Your phrase was the important difference. You can only judge on players you've seen so it logically follows that the opinion of the older members is more substantially correct than those who have been around for less time.

Mind you, and I'm about to argue myself into defeat again, that would make Headlander right on most things - shit!!!

Who is Headlander????
I've never seen a poster on here called Headlander, well I don't think I have anyway.

EEEEEEEEE I don't half miss a lot me!!!!!!!!!

On Barry Watling.
My dad was watching Pools since before our football league status and he reckoned Watling was our best. So between us we've seen them all since about 1920 when my dad was 10.
Can't vouch for the ones prior to then.
Ninety years is a fair coverage though.
Of the ones I have watched I also rated Les Green, Norman Oakley, Martin Hodge, Steve Harper and Dimi.
TBH any of the ones I've mentioned would do, with Watling shading it.

I have often wondered about jan ove, i remember him being brilliant always had space and could pick a pass out from anywhere. Now I was little and probably memories of him being great might have blinded my view. Was he great because he was that good or becasue we were used to shite.

I mean we used to be dire, have no creativity, playing in a crap division. Would he be at league 1 standard now or a bit higher. What I am asking is would he "shine" as much in our current squad (all playing to their potential and in correct positions) or just look equally as good

I share the same view the only thing I remeber about him was loads of fans dressed as vikings away to Cambridge.

Hodge

R. Cross M. Smith R. Bradley Robertson

Honour Emerson Stephenson P. Smith

Boyd Houchen


Would be my 11 of players who were 'ours'. If you allow fleeting glimpses to make you a Pools player then people like Kevin Poole, Neil Danns, Michael Brown and Jan-Ove to come into play. An I suppose if you are working off players in their pomp but not at Pools then we would all have P. Beardsley and R. Kennedy in there.

Ah Heady!! The bain of many a message board!

Take Grave & Tree, age them by 30 odd years and multiply their negativity by 100 and you will have a Headlander.

He kicked off when Cooper was in charge, suggesting that in the pre-season before we got to the playoff final, we should scatter 10 of the players and get a proper manager in....oh and he complains that none of the players have any pace.

He has said the very same thing every season since i can remeber. This season, scarily enough, he is absolutely spot on!!!!