They aren’t the be all and end all, I think the thing Pools need to get in order before everything next season is the right manager and the right first team squad. Strip back everything we need to elsewhere.

It strikes me that both Accrington and Macclesfield both played at home today sit top of League Two and the National League respectively and both could have been promoted with a win, they will have to wait drawing 1-1 but they also both attracted crowds of just 3,100. I’d love to see what they have both spent on wages this season compared to Pools.

A clear out and good recruitment has never been more important at Pools but what clubs like the two mentioned show is that anything is possible if you get that right.

Well that's what I've been saying for a long as you like. It doesn't happen overnight though , certainly not in one close season. Get the manager wrong and you may as well forget about the rest. Thing is you need to get the right people behind the scenes in order to choose the right manager, so you could argue getting the right chairman or CEO is the most important step.

I'm sure Macclesfield have always been run prudently, maybe that's why they lost their league status, I'm sure they would struggle in div 2 again though.

Accrington , its been steady improvement over last 5 or 6 years, not overnight, great man at the helm in Coleman.

Forest Green could emulate Accrington, struggling at first but gradually building things up season by season.

It is the way forward at this level for all except the real big boys like Tranmere or Luton who can buy the big players. I think with us, getting crowds of 3500 rather than 1000 has made us a bit complacent , and in a sort of no mans land between the likes of Tranmere and Macclesfield , not that big but not small either, so not sure which course to follow. Hopefully that will change in future, and we will build solid foundations on and off the field, rather than just building a completely new team of no hopers, journeymen and chancers season after season.

Macclesfield getting promoted will save them from going out of business so they aren’t being ran that well or prudently. Just getting a solid consistent team together has saved them. This league is so poor I think it can happen over one summer if you get things right, Cheltenham did it a couple of years ago.

Our scouting is diabolical as well, do we even have scouts?

A couple of decent no nonsense centre backs will probably guarantee top 7 alone in the National League. I’d look for an old head like David Mirfin next to a loan signing in the Burgess/Jackson mould.

Another thing I noticed after today’s results was that it looks fairly certain that Wimbledon will be playing in a division higher than MK Dons next season. That’s not taken long really has it!?

It helps that both Accrington and Macclesfield have about 20 league clubs within a commutable radius so its easier for them to attract players without incentives for moving etc. Teams in this neck of the woods have to pay over the odds to attract players from the same clubs.

Poetic justice!!

That is a fair point but most of the lower league clubs in that area like Rochdale and Bury are as perennially shite as Pools and Darlo. I think Accrington and Macclesfield have good managers, that is absolutely crucial, like Rochdale as well Keith Hill does a great job there I’d back them to stay up on recent form considering they were bottom when they played Spurs in the cup. Bury on the other hand went into the the season with a big budget but gave Lee Clark the managers job. They were the first club in the Football League to be relegated today.

I mentioned it another thread but another great day for Martin Gray as well, I clicked on the reaction to York’s result on Twitter and it’s fair to say you could describe him as unpopular at Bootham Crescent. What were they doing sacking someone like Gary Mills so early in the season?

There are players at Pools paid more than their quality and too much for a club in our league and certainly our position. How long their contracts are is the question.

Apparently things werent great under Mills either but it seems the chairman believed in the hype over Gray. He's managed to take a team in the top 5, revamp it and make it worse. They are very much a one man team and take Parkin out of the line up and they are bang average. You want to hope my prediction earlier this week doesnt come true!

Parkin is bang average he’s as fat as butter he got chased by Newport.

This sort level of football is garbage in general. It’s one of life’s myths ‘watch non league it’s far more honest people playing for the love of the game’ I reckon you encounter; worse referees, more cheating, far more dirty players, more bellend managers and shitter grounds. Pretending this shite is alright isn’t for me.

This I agree with.

But you don't get to chose!

Hes bang average but he also bangs the goals in, his record can't be argued with. Without him York are toothless.
As for the non league football comment, don't forget the closer you get to the football league the more the game is still about money and players who are more concerned about their pay packet. Having seen us rise from the depths you can tell the difference in attitude even at National North. Until you actually experience it then its easy to have the view you hold, I used to think the same. Fair enough we were winning most weeks but travelling to some obscure grounds around the country was actually more enjoyable than yet another trip to Rochdale or Bury!

As good as that is , it still means there is a team in the league by default taking up a space that should be filled by a proper team

Agree PJ, It can happen, certainly in this league. Take Whittaker out of Macc team and they would struggle to make play offs, and he's about 38 for god sake. Think they would struggle in league 2. I'm talking about going up with a strong squad, capable of not just staying up, but maybe kicking on towards league 1 after couple season in 2. Don't ever want to become a Yo-Yo club between league 2 and National League.

Of course, but i think in this league, an old warhorse would be more important in midfield and a 20 goal striker up front. I think you can wing it at the back in this league. Dover, Sutton etc dont have anyone of note, just big , fit , powerful , hungry young defenders. Why not take a look at a couple from Gateshead? and the best of Blyth, Spennymoor, Harrogate?. Think its going to be difficult to attract a Mirfin or a Danny Collins type unless as player manager.

You are correct, but we can't use that as an excuse, we had all those coal mines for years, they didn't.. Mind you us and your lot were still shite even then

What narks me is we don't make the best of what we have, pinching the best players from our non league sides ( fook thats us now ) and getting decent players on loan from the so called big 3. Yes there have been a couple like Jackson, Burgess etc but there have been lots of shite, or they were at the time, Donaldson, Jones, Noble, etc. The best players from the big 3 tend to go elsewhere, though now were in non league we couldnt attract that sort of player now, if we had 3 or 4 season ago, we might not of been in this position. Though I have to ask the question why players like Wyke can be poor to average for us , then become a big strong goal scoring machine at other clubs.