Good to hear that the council are so supportive.

It is horrible to listen to folks having their words gagged and try to extract information.

RH is desperate to not use the "L" word and keeps trying not to refer to the probability of a Phoenix club, but it's apparent that that is where we are going ...

... even if nobody wants it.

How will the council decide who is allowed to use the Vic' in the event of one or more phoenix organisations?

Fantastic to hear that they are supportive.

That's as clear a position the Trust can be without breaking the non-disclosure agreement.

Fantastic

Please don’t even put that idea into certain heads!

Maybe we could be like Inter and AC Milan and share the Vic

For once in all of this you can’t really knock the council and the Towns MP, they seem to be doing everything possible and the reassurance about the Vic is massive. I reckon with that even if the worst happens we’ll be back to this sort of level within a couple of years.

Good move to present an update in that way rather than another statement, I see no way how that can be twisted and portrayed in a negative light.

The Council could only be supportive 6% increase on council tax that is already one of the highest in the country and all that.
I do apreciate that opinions might differ like.

Elections due in May and they aren't dumb enough to not support the club, that would be electoral suicide.

Trust me this will happen 100%.

If shit was to hit the fan I reckon another hartlepool based team will find itself with a large number of new fans n they’ll try n get on the vic

Just a hunch


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I’ve got a hunch that it’s not just a hunch.

Oh God...

I imagine it’s been mentioned before on here, but isn’t that what happened at Scarborough?

I thought some people have said they would not follow a phoenix club

The town can have 15 Hartlepool phoenix variations but my betting would be on the most successful being linked to the Trust on the basis that that would be the one local businessmen or anyone else wanting to putting money in would choose to be linked to. I also reckon the council would go for that option in terms of the Vic as they are already in discussions with them.

We also have, what, 1,000 Trust members? That's around a third of fans currently going to home games.

Worth keeping an eye but not worth panicking about.

If I win Tues euro millions , you will have nowt to worry about. Von Rarnish may have a job, but no doubt hundreds would refuse to go as one of their own took over, because didn't have degree or letters behind name or spoke as thought snooker balls in mouth

You after be joking ... don't reely be long hear ...

Both .... not that long back it was Hartlepools ....United

That will obviously happen, you can't drop down the leagues without losing fans but I wouldn't expect it to be devastating amounts.

I think a lot of people would throw the towel in. I don't see the point in following either one of the phoenix clubs with a fanbase of around 1000 each. There can only be one phoenix club, if it is to work. As for Trust having 1000 members, that has to hit 3000. There has been an increase in membership recently , but not the numbers I would of wished for. The slow take up is alarming.

Another thing is, just cos you have 1000 members it doesn't equate to a 1000 crowds, you may get 1000 crowd if you have 3000 members. My local workmens club has 120 members, but you'll only find 20 people in the bar on a Saturday night.

We had all these scare stories last season. If we go down we will be down to 1500 etc etc. We are averaging 3600 plus with hardly any away support now, despite losing week in week out. We are bound to lose fans but i think people will be shocked how good our crowds would remain if we can somehow get a team to win games.

Look at other trusts. As a percentage of fanbase that are trust members ours is much higher than most according to previous threads/posts on here.

Why would there be 2 clubs with 1k each? Aren't I right in saying that the anti-trust brigade are in very small numbers? Can't imagine them drumming up enough a) cash and b) support or c) knowhow to run a club given the messages they are giving out and their behaviour towards other fans. Additionally, the trust are already, surely, frontrunners with the council and local businesses?

Yep, agreed about 1k members not equalling 1k fans, my daughter for example, is a trust member but doesn't go to games, I would imagine a fair few other mums and dads have signed their kids up too.

I don't see the correlation between us having to have 3k trust members and that equalling bigger crowds. Providing those people are turning up, paying to get in and buying a pie and pint they wouldn't need to be members of the trust. Yes it would be preferable but how many trust run clubs have nearly 100% membership? I would think that's none.

As for people throwing the towel in, who knows? Nobody actually knows until it happens. What do you think these people will do? Go shopping with the Mrs on a Saturday? I can't see it. Our crowds have been very good despite the utter dogshit we've had to watch and relegations. We clearly have a very committed core of fans who will go regardless. I accept this could be the excuse for them to pack it all in but they can't really have a deepseated love for the club then can they?

I also don't think the take up is slow and/or is alarming in any way. We still have a club that, at this precise time, doesn't need the trust to bail it out (yes, we're close and thankfully the trust is doing the necessary work in case the worst happens) so I would think there will be a fair few who are probably burying their heads in the sand and praying for a knight in shining armour to save us. As for alarming, I think that's scaremongering a bit Mr horden. I understand the concern obviously and sentiment behind your words but calm down my friend, the trust is growing and we already have a very decent proportion of fans as members. That can surely only improve?

For me, the main worry is lining the pockets of the twats in charge. They spout the absolute bollocks about how grateful they are to the fans for the fundraising and how lovely and great we all are but they are bending us over at the same time. They are selfish, greedy fuckers who have absolutely zero interest in this club or the town. They are wankers of the highest order.

That's the problem though, one club, two clubs whatever. Getting a team to win games. We must of only won 30 games in the last 6 seasons. We are getting worse year on year, and without any money or knowledgeable people in charge, can't see this changing anytime soon, whatever league we find ourselves in, barring maybe Northern League 1

I expect that when we go into admin the Trust will see a massive jump in membership.

As for someone setting up a different phoenix club from the Trust, where do they expect to play games? How will they fund it?

I thought we had over 1100 members? The shit hasnt totally hit the fan yet, im sure when it does another 200 to 300 will join in a matter of weeks.

Its just how I envisage things panning out, like you say no one knows for sure. People do throw the towel in, look at Darlo, Barrow, Workington , Gateshead crowds. I would have to seriously consider whether I wanted to support a phoenix club in a town were there was another phoenix club. Our crowds in my view, are not big enough to be shared out amongst 2 clubs in the same town. Hopefully that wont happen, and there will be only one phoenix club, that being the one ran by The Trust. We shall just have to wait and see.

At least we'd have two local derbies to look forward to. Every cloud

One club has 3600 fans with a 100 years of history, with away support ranging from 400 to over 2000 for big games. The other team has 50 fans if their lucky playing in the wearside league. I know its silly season but come on do fans honestly believe this could happen.

There are people out there that would put all their efforts into making this happen, and I think most people on here know who they are.

Its not even worth worrying about its not going to happen.

This 2nd Phoenix club
Will Peter Kay be manager for the evening kick offs.



1100+ trust members now is excellent and will ptobably grow to 1500 during the coming months.
I am 99.9% certain that the trust will be part owners with a consortium next season.
Maybe a thought to have discounted Season Tickets for Trust Members for next season.
Theres gunna be a lot of twists n turns on what happens to Pools in the next few days/weeks/months but thats my opinion on the situation as it stands today.

I think when the Loids were setting up their trust, and looking for bigger amounts of cash, they offered long term season tickets, maybe as much as 10 years if I remember correctly.

I think it was five years and it wasn’t when they were setting up it was when they were struggling for cash further down the line. I never think schemes like that are a good idea as it’s just a short term fix which will only see you back to square one further down the line.

I reckon at Pools the vast majority of season ticket holders would renew which would be a great starting point. I think you’d even see a bigger take up given the circumstances. All of this talk of not supporting a pheonix club is completely baffling to me. It’s like cutting your nose off to spite your face. If a team in Blue and White is playing at the Vic on a Saturday that we all call Pools would anyone seriously find an alternative thing to do with their time? Especially people who have supported the club forever. This is through nobody who suppports the clubs fault it’s all down to conmen and hangers on taking what they can. We have to pick up the pieces whatever the outcome, if everyone has that attitude we can come back far stronger and with a far greater identity and pride than ever before. Nobody is telling me Pools with the full Town behind us and the Vic bouncing couldn’t get back in the Football League.

Another thing that I can’t quite get my head around as well is people saying we’ve got to do everything we can now but would walk away if things go tits up. Now whatever anyone thinks they are doing we are powerless to do anything about the outcome of this situation. It has too many layers and involves too many people. Unless you are a multi millionaire you can start as many appeals as you like you are pissing in the wind. The financial black hole is way too deep for fans to plug, that is a fact anyone suggesting otherwise is deluded and out of touch with reality. It’s like putting money in the bin fundraising for asset strippers. We have already put about forty grand in let’s not put in any more eh? If someone comes in and saves us then great, amazing, fantastic if they don’t and we start again everyone can make a difference, have a say and make a positive contribution moving forward. Imagine knowing every penny you put in is helping run the club and not lining the pockets of dodgepots? But you’d not support the former at all!? As I say I’m really struggling with the thought process of anyone who’d walk away when the club has been destroyed, it’s not dieing a natural death here like some smaller clubs have in the past it’s being murdered.

The 5 year season tickets were used to raise funds for the work at Blackwell Meadows, not to solve a cash crisis.

Whatever it was for I don’t think schemes like that are ever a good idea. I suppose it’s was needs must in your situation of being homeless we are very fortunate that whatever happens we won’t be in that position.

surely not the people who have already stated they would not support a phoenix club

This.

Are they really going to say “no, sorry, the Pools that I support has Company Reference number 00098191, not this new team with a different number, who plays under a similar name, same colours and at the same ground”. The only differences between the clubs would be a reference number, a slight change to the name (Hartlepools United?) to meet League regulations, the conmen would be gone and that we would temporarily be playing at a lower level.

I’d obviously much rather not go through the years of getting back up to a decent level, but i’m not really bothered about the company reference number to be honest..

I wonder if any Boro fans abandoned ship in 1986?

we can even apply to have the old name back after a few years.

Totally agree.

When Hartlepools Thistle are banging 5 goals a game against Bog End Town they'll be back. The day we win promotion from Northern league division 2 the Vic will be rocking.

AND there will be no thieving arseholes in sight.

No fat chairman/woman...

and no crooks, robbers, burglars, poachers, pilferers, malfeasants, criminals, villains, turncoats, muggers .... unless they are OUR crooks, robbers, burglars, poachers, pilferers, malfeasants, criminals, villains, turncoats and muggers.

There is a lot of appeal - the future is bright.

5 year season tickets sound to me like a recipe for a utter disaster in the cashflow department.

Wasn't something similar to that what enabled Rangers to get into the mess they were in a few years back?

I really can't believe someone would even contemplate that. If we reform a phoenix club but some other team hijacks the vic. I definitely wouldn't go to see that other team. And tge morons who are even thinking about doing this must be total imbeciles

I don't think I've actually seen anyone mention this!!!!

Me neither, I have seen the odd tongue in cheek comment about people not being surprised if it happened but nothing more. Surely not!?

I sincerely hope that the H.U.F.C. do not fold but if the worst did happen then the Supporters Association , being long standing lease holders of the land upon which the Corner Flag Club stands, will become a pivotal player in the future of the Victoria Park. This is why it is important that supporters continue, or even begin to use the club. It is possible that the S.A. could become the lease holders of the whole ground , if they could afford the rent. Without improved income this would be virtually impossible. Do use the C.F. it could be a lifeline.

Ever since all this bollocks started I have always thought we should put together a direct debit scheme (if we can fan owned). That is, fans paying a monthly amount with varying benefits depending on what the payer can afford.

It wouldn't even need to come at much/any cost to the club. For example, 5 pounds per month means you get yours and your families birthdays announced at half time - this is literally off the top of my head so don't fucking boo me ok? I haven't given it any thought but hopefully you get my drift

It would just need someone to sit down and work out what could be given away based on the monthly payment, eg kit, sponsor a player, sponsor the pitch, free entry to the coroporate boxes, free pie and pint at every game, entry into the lottery...the options are almost limitless. (If loads of people did it you could give away, say, a quarter of the total direct debits - plucking the figures from thin air here - to a monthly member and/or give some to local schools - footballs, kits etc and remind the kids they have a club on their doorstep that wants their support)

Anyway, I reckon this would be a great help. I know I would do it even if I was clearly getting much less out than I was putting in. A monthly lottery where you could win a decent sum might get more people interested maybe?

The only issue is people stopping paying in but you run the same risk with people not turning up on a Saturday

As if by magic hat cam man just has.

Coincidence? Not likely.

Clearly hasn’t bothered to watch the trust video has he?


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To be fair he is the only one who has mentioned it and that is clearly on the back of this thread.

We have just got to trust the trust in what they are doing in the background to help if that happens. They will be best placed to mobilise in what I understand is quite a short turnaround. Nothing to suggest anyone else will try and jeopardise that at this stage, and if they did then I very much doubt they would get very far.

Not if its done correctly and limited to X number of people.