and we have been second best in them all. We are going to struggle again this season if we don,t get some better players in. We need two wingers asap and play 442. Just my own opinion like.

Agree

I would suggest a nasty bastard midfielder who will get stuck in and break up play, we are too soft and 1 dimensional and Fenwick needs a kick in the bollox for losing that ball and going 3-2 down

Keep playing 433 and these 8/900 pay on the day fans will soon decide to stay in the pub.

This mite seem harsh but time for Ronnie to address the situation instead of blaming the players.The vast majority are 4th division and non-league freebies not higher division players who can adapt to continental formations.

3 in midfield wont work unless they are all big lads who aren't afraid to put some fair hard tackles in.
Its obvious our lot aren't(apart from Magnay)

The system rarely creates any quality balls going into the oppositions box and puts constant pressure on our back four.
We rode our luck and got away with it first four games mainly down to Bartlett pulling off good saves and poor finishing from the opposition.

Hindsight is great but surely 442 has to be the way forward!
opinions opinions eh

I don,t know where Simon Walton is these days but I would have him back in a flash, he would put his foot in and work his socks off even though he had his doubters we have nobody in this squad that can or will do that.

Well no Bank Holiday Monday off for the team today Ronnie's got them training up at Maiden Castle

He's at Crawley.

My memory of him isn't his immense work rate and putting his foot in where it hurts, more playing infront of the back 4, barely crossing the half way line and knocking hollywood passes out of play then shouting at his colleagues.

Having said that I'd rather have him in the squad than Bates.

Worrying thing is that we've now lost 3 off the spin and with games against Sheff Utd, and away at Wycombe and Exeter we could be looking at 6 straight defeats if we keep playing 4-3-3 with this group of players who clearly don't suit playing this way.

I heard Ronnie on the radio on the way to the game on Saturday saying that he knew we were light in midfield. He had been trying to bring in an experienced player but after ringing round no luck - he did say there were plenty of younger, untried midfielders available but that's not really what we need. After Saturday his search will have become even more urgent.

My memory of Simon Walton is also him shouting a lot to hide the fact that he wasn't very good at football.

If Ronnie's into that sort of stuff then I'm very available.

Why anyone would want Walton back is beyond me.

The fist pumping, you're over-looking that vital contribution.

When some people hit even the smallest of setbacks they hark back to the good old days ...which in Waltons case were never that good and not that long enough ago to qualify as old.

We need a strong character and somebody from the old days who can help us, lets bring back Chris Llewellyn.

Whats Willie Boland doing these days?

Get Humphreys back to sit in midfield. He was about as much use as Walton.

Humps would be a good loan signing

3 Home wins now..Nice to beat Blyth Spartans as well.

Do they have the internet in the non-league???

Darlo had a good start up to 3rd top and in the Fa Cup 1st qualifying round.
Good luck to them on the hope that we draw them in the 1st round proper.
Derbies with York n Carlisle just dont have the same rivalry!

That's the spirit Mr KPG..

I suppose your so-called designer clothes wouldn't come under much scrutiny with that lot ,Chip?

Darlo play Hyde first qualifying game. Not sure if they could of got a much harder game at that stage. Win promotion this year and there just one league away from where they went bust from. Some achievement after many said we will never play or see them again. Personally I hope they do it even though I grew up hating them. We deserve to have our rivals back.

Darlo haven't figured in my life suporting Pools for a long long time. Playing them again is an irrelevance, a distraction, my season was never built around the two fixtures a season that seemed to totally dominate most people's mindset and exclude everything else. I don't wish them ill yet don't wish them good, they're history now. I think hoping for them to return to the league is a sign of something unhealthy.

Yeah id much rather play Yeovil, Dagenham, Barnet morcambe, Fleetwood in front of 100 away fans with zero atmosphere. Than have a game where 7500 come too where the atmosphere is red hot. Not sure how playing darlo is a distraction but each to their own I guess its possibly one of the biggest games in the bottom division on its day you can rarely say that about most games where involved in.

When did we last get 7500 against Darlo?

7458 28th October 2006

A hatred derby that rivals celtic / rangers.

The sooner they back on the better.

Darlos attendance the same season 9958 and sold out with 3700 away fans

Was waiting for that lol.

I think its fair to say darlos travelling support to pools has always been pretty poor yet they tend to turn up in fairly decent numbers at home. Not sure why they have always struggeld to bring more than 1000 to us and yet can get 1700 for a game at bishop Auckland.

Like KPG I would love to have the derby games back!

Reading the reports in the Echo they don't get anywhere near that at Bishop Auckland apart from when they play a local team.

Some would call it bitterness,pj.

Not at all just stating fact the crowds seem to be 800-1000 these days which are still very impressive seen as it's not even in Darlington to watch a team managed by Martin Gray. I admire the people who go at end of day they are the same as us.

I go to watch the football, you appear to be Darlo dependent.

'Hatred'...? I want to watch a game of football, not indulge in tribal antics.

The Rangers v Celtic rivalry is one of the worst things in World sport. Horrible.

Yet it has become far less relevant as one of the incumbents has sunk without trace to the footballing doldrums...

Rangers have too

Maybe it's a coincidence, but your Darlo posts seem to bring out the best in Darlo,and the worst in Pools..

And i like to thank you and Pj personally for reaching my 7000 post.

Congrats on the achievement brother and another three points today for the juggernaut

You worried then ,Chip ?

Would the Conference allow them in with a 2000 capacity at Bishop Auckland.
Moving back to Darlo with a large enough ground to go above PUB football seems a million miles away!

Looking back Redevelopment of FEETHAMS could of been the best option.

Looking like the next Derby can only happen in the FA Cup!

Sorting out some cd's in a box and found the Goffy wind up tapes and remembered the one with George Reynolds was on where they posed as a football agent trying to flog Stan Collymore to him... he'd never heard of Collymore by the way. He had a few mick takes about Pools and how well Darlo were doing. How ironic.

i was looking on ebay for them a while ago, used to have me in stitches on the way to work. Im guessing they not as funny as I remember them?

Slightly dated but still funny, especially the Sunderland fan who'd done a commentary and thought he was getting a job with Sky Sport.
If you want it you can have it.

I will let you know cheers, had a family member who was supposed to be sending me them but must have forgotten, il chase him up.

Thanks