Correct me if I'm wrong, but under Bates in the last 9 games we have taken 15 points.

In the last 7 we have taken 13.

This is play-off form. With a bunch of previously worse-than-shit players who have been on a downward spiral for years in some cases.

The Guisely and Solihull games were horror shows, but overall you can't argue with the change he has made.

With about 14/15 available players at best.

It probably highlights how awful this standard of Football is but it also gives us hope going into next season that it’s not that hard to in and around the top three.

Aye! I don't know if he is the answer or not, but if we were say Woking, we'd be eyeing him jealously.

Awful game tonight, Orient probably had 70% of the play, some real last gasp defending from Laing and Magnay, who were Pools' two best players by a street.

On the other hand, Pools got into shape when they lost the ball, which was over and over again, never stopped battling and even dished out a fair amount of clog.

A few people seem to have forgotten what an absolute certainty relegation looked to be in February. I'm never a pessimist but was convinced then that we were going down, if we didn't go bust first. It's a hell of a turnaround .Bates has a win percentage including the 2 games last season, of over 40%.

We have new owners and a director of football and I'm not going to waste time second guessing what they will do when the season is over. There are very few players in this squad who are worth retaining and Hignett will have his work cut out putting a decent National League squad together. Bates, on the other hand, has done all that he was asked to do.

Fair summation.

Surely whoever came in , was going to be an improvement on Harrison. Bates has completed the job asked of him, keeping us up, and for that should be congratulated, but manager full time Noooooooo!!!

What if he had a shave? Would you fancy him then?

Who would you go for? It’s easy to say no and just dismiss someone, let’s have your alternative.

I wouldn’t say I’d back him for the job but he’s done enough to be in the running in my view. I still think the new manager will be Hignett though. Now we’re safe and once the white smoke goes up for the takeover things might start to become more clear. The shaping of the new Pools needs to start now.

I'm not going to get myself excited about next season but Hignett did seem to bring in some reasonable players on a budget and Bates seems to be able to get results. I suppose a lot depends on which players our head of recruitment handed out 2 year deals to.

Haway PJ, you know me better than that, I'm always throwing names into the ring. I don't criticise unless I have an alternative. I have said many times, this is more than just about having a good manager, the club needs to be run properly off the field first. At the moment we could have Guardiola in charge and we would struggle. Whoever comes in will find it difficult , but to answer your question, I would like to see a player manager in charge. I mentioned not long ago, what Clough and O'Neill achieved at Burton and Wycombe. I don't know if Stuart Downing or Danny Collins want to be a player manager, but someone like that. Failing that an up and coming non league manager like the manager of Harrogate, Gateshead or Blyth. Then there are the experienced types like Gary Johnson, Still and Coleman, but I doubt we could attract them. So there you have it , my alternatives, but as I say, the club has to be put in order first, a vision, a plan, scouting systems, revenue streams, recruitment etc.

I fully get if you dont want bates in charge thats fine, but to throw stu downing as a player/manager alternative would be suicide, he has less experience at this level than bates, i doubt he has even got his badges yet and the last interview i read with him when he was getting frozen out at boro he said he fancied finishing up in america. He's probably on about 30k a week at boro too so he'd have to take a 99% pay cut.

I dont have the answers to what manager i want, bates has proved capable of getting a bunch of terrible players performing to a level that gets results, if he can do that with this lot maybe he can do more with a few better players hignett can help him bring in?

We've had that many managers over the last few years we've pretty much had every type, the old guy in moore, the young lads in murrey, bates harrison and yogi.

If bates wants it, if he has plans, if he can work with hignett and singh then i'd give him a shot.

Apart from Danny Collins non of your alternatives are realistic, and I don’t see why Collins are even more bizarrely Downing would be better than Bates, do either even have aspirations to be managers? Do player managers ever work out? It’s a strange dynamic for me, especially in modern football. Do either even have any attributes that make them management material? To suggest them because you think they’d do a job as a player is bonkers.

As I say I still make Hignett our man anyway, with Bates first team coach.

Why are they not realistic? isnt that why we are were we are? because we have had no ambition in the past, always going for the cheap, easy option.

None of us know, who would work out, even me, but I have a good idea who wouldnt , and that is Hignett and or Bates, however I do agree, that if Hignett has to be here, it should be as manager, which begs the question why isnt he being touted for managers job and if he doesnt want it, why is that?. We dont need or cant afford a director of football, whoever it is. That would be the new regimes first mistake.

Player managers, young managers have worked at other clubs, so why not here? It seems whatever we try doesnt work, which is why I continually harp on about the poor infrastructure at the club, that is now almost non existent, and need yet again to be put in place , like it was in our golden period of 1999- 2007

Yubep - Downing was just a name, an example I threw into the hat. I never said he would make a good manager, that would be suicide/bonkers as I don't know the lad , whether he has anything about him, has badges, wants to manage etc, but that is type of person we should be looking at , from similar background. Most 33 year old players don't have badges, but you can see from an early age whether they would make good managers/leaders in the game, that's the sort we need, and someone to help out on the field. I don't get this fear Pools fans have of venturing into the unknown , taking a risk and thinking big.

Still and Johnson are unrealistic because one is 67 the other is 63 and neither have ever really worked outside of the South of England, Still barely outside of London. At the stage of they careers they aren’t going to come here given the downward spiral the club has been on. That is before you even mention that they both have jobs already. Down the experienced route realistically Gary Mills is more feasible.

John Coleman is totally unrealistic why would he drop two divisions and movr from the North West when he’s making headlines for the wonderful job he’s doing at Accrington?

Downing is still playing Championship football and earns about £2 million a year, I have no idea what planet that suggestion is actually coming from.

I’m ambitious about Pools future but you still have to live in the real World.

Is Horden familiar with Football Manager I wonder? If not, he's missing out on hours and hours of harmless amusement.

Someone like Craig Harrison, you mean?

I think from a financial standpoint we will keep Bates. I just wish he would make some effort to be match fit.

He is in that same mould of stand still and not get emotive with his arms folded, now I don`t consider him intelligent enough to be pondering tactical changes as seen from last night, getting battered the last ten minutes with Donaldson blowing out of his arse, Featherweight hobbling and the lack of Rodneys`s defensive skills due to a premature need for a bath!
So instead of bringing Harrison on to shore up the defence when it was needed, he waits until 2 minutes from the end as a time wasting mechanism

You wanted Scott Harrison on the field for a full 10 minutes? Good God man, are you mad?

Quite a large flaw in that comment

I have never understood this need for a ranting lunatic on the sidelines showing “passsion” It makes no difference or has correlation with someone’s management skills, do you think unless they are receiving a specific instruction the players take any notice of the technical area whilst they are in the middle of a match?

We need a Welsh manager really, not one from England who managed there, I dont want a raving loony, just somebody who shows enthusiasm and passive aggressive, maybe a job for you when you have finished daddy daycare?

Why welsh?

It strikes me that Bates has achieved better results than other recent managers and has manged to get the effort out of most of his squad. The players seem to have responded well which is a sign of good man management skills. It's hard to argue against him being given the opportunity but it is a risk and I'm not sure how the relationship with the Director of Football will work. I would offer him a 1 year contract with a 1 year option. We always have Hignett to step in if things go wrong.

JPR?

Passsssssssion as PJ likes to mention at every opportunity

O's manager did a good impression of a ranting lunatic.
His team got beat & he got sent off.

No I don’t I made a valid point unlike the constant personal digs I’m on the receiving end of on this forum from people who don’t know me from Adam. This as some may detected is starting to piss me off. I’m not offended or bothered by them it’s just tedious when they come up in every single thread of varying subjects.

Back to the point about managers I have never been to watch one on the touch line even if I’m right behind the dugout I concentrate on what’s happening on the pitch, how the players are organised and if they are playing for him and judge them mainly on results. There’s no right or wrong formula some succesful managers kick every ball other very succesful managers have a more calm measured approach.

The most important thing for our next manager whoever it is, is that he can actually be given the chance to succeed or fail without outside interference and or off the field turmoil. That they actually have a chance unlike the last couple of incumbents. We’ve had a culture of blaming the manager when most of the time they have been way down the list of our problems during the clubs gradual demise. Even Bates was getting it a week ago which is absurd given the context of this season.

PJ I don't think I've ever met you but I reckon you're a decent bloke.

I think the only reason people give you digs is because you can't resist biting. If you could ignore people more you'd get less chew.

Aye i'd just ignore it like, more people are doing it now cos he bites like a littleun.

Just ignore it n calm down a bit.

I have been ignoring it for about six months, but it’s almost every single thread from some posters. I’m perfectly calm thanks, you have an incredibly condescending tone when you post like this by the way, I also said that calmly. I’d call bringing my family situation into threads on here overly personal and the only ‘littleuns’ are grown men who post on the Internet to get bites. I’ve said my bit, it’s a polite request for it to stop that’s all.

No set pattern or magic formula in finding the right manager. As has been said, we have tried more or less every type. At this level a good manager who could find 3 good players and we could be flying. A manager been able to sign 3 players he wanted would be a good start, as I honestly believe the last 4 or 5 managers haven't necessarily been able to sign the players that they would of wanted. I think a player manager would be a good fit for us at the moment. , also 2 jobs for the price of one so good value. It could be someone like a Downing or a lower league player like an Ellison. There are many examples of this having failed, likewise many examples of it working. It just never seems to work for us, what and whoever we try. It has to be the club. It makes you wonder if someone like Colin Cooper or Hignett would of succeeded elsewhere , and someone like Coleman or Eddie Howe would of failed here.

The last couple of games will be interesting, will the players be on the beach , thinking of their holidays or looking for new clubs ( Rodney obviously couldn't wait to get started ) or whether Bates can motivate them to finish the season on a high, thus making a good case for him to get the job permanently. If he can get 4 points out of last 6, then I would say give him it, he would of earned it. Its the little things like this that make the difference, attitude and professionalism. or do they go to Tranmere , get beat 3-0 and then meet for a good pi*s up at the Castle Eden Inn the next day.

Maybe your just biting and throwing your toys out the pram more cos you spend a lot more time on here since you haven’t found a job yet?

As I see it Raj Singh’s No.1 priority has to be to retain the remaing fanbase and get the ‘missing’ 500-1000 regular Poolies to buy into his vision for the club - whatever that may turn out to be. Persuading 3.5k fans to invest hard cash in season tickets to continue to follow the car crash of a football club that is HUFC at present is going to represent a massive PR exercise.

Singh’s decision in respect of the next managerial appointment will directly influence many pundits. From the comments posted on this board (which probably provides as good a cross-section of opinion as anywhere) it would appear that a Higgy-Bates combination would be acceptable to many fans - at least in the short-term. However a more controversial choice such as Martin Gray, Stuart Downing etc would undoubtedly result in serious objections/reservations from the fanbase. We all know that those directly involved in the club, players and officials alike pay a keen interest in what is being posted here so how about setting up a poll involving three or four potential candidates in order to convey our views? This could presumably be restricted to existing members in order to avoid sad loids and other riff-raff joining in - apart from the more sensible regular loids of course.

As it appears that Bates is already pushing Singh for an early discussion regarding his future this would need to be instigated soonest. Just a thought.

I'd agree with this but I would be told I am bullying him. Being thousands of miles away in Japan must be taking its toll to be fair.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

You do it in a group of three usually and round on certain posters. It’s continuing in this thread with Trees comments which I have politely asked to stop. He has no idea about my personal circumstances or me and I’d like such comments to stop.

How would you describe it?

I don’t think you are bullying me I am a grown man and not that precious but it could be seen as a form of cyber bullying by some and it’s been mentioned several times before as a reason why more people don’t post on here. You’re in reality trying to be funny, and being smart arses but it’s comes across as fairly obnoxious at times. You probably just need to grow up a bit to be honest as it’s fairly disrespectful to continue when someone has asked you stop. Crack on though.

I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about tokyopoolie.

So sensitive ffs.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

Hilarious bants.

I’m not at all a sensitive person in the slightest I’ve just got a bit fed up with reading the same shit for months, if you choose to continue to do it it’s up to you but it’s not me it’s reflects badly on.

I shall have a word with myself then, also the word bants is for people under the age of 25. The term for our generation is japes.

Hth.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

My apologies it felt wrong typing it to be honest.

Isn't it lolz in this context?

You cant say that anymore as lostprophets singer used to, he kinda ruined it.

I've had to bin all my cds, just in case they turn out to be recorded by paedos.

Bin all CD'S, records etc..

Download Spotify and listen to easy 90's. Pedo free (so far).

Best playlist in the world.

Woosh.