Anyone at the match? Also are we playing well? I've just got a flash on my BBC App we are one nil up! I'm stuck at a shite birthday doo with my missus!

Fuckerr spoke to soon there, Dom knowles, I've heard people any and rave about him for a few seasons now surprised he has been snapped up.

Stupid free kick to give away going absolutely nowhere then the classic push in the back, then Donaldson who hasn’t won a header all game on their biggest lad at the back post

At least we got a draw against the mighty Harrogate Town.

I'd rather have 2 points than no points! I see Gateshead beat the Mighty Salford started well Gateshead like, How may Harrogate fans where there was the rink end half full? Also good attendance tonight?

Got to quickly learn how to see out games

At home when taking lead twice should be winning personally. And it’s been common of Hartlepool teams in recent years to throw points away at end of game.

Still unbeaten and obviously much better than start to last season but could of done with 2 Home wins early on in season to get that home form turned round a bit

Good game how ever for me he needs to go to 352 it was like a couple of seasons ago were teams just ran thro us but give harrogate some credit they played some decent football

Looked decent at the back and decent up top but bypassed in centre mid. Not sure why Muir who is a prolific goal scorer is playing wide. Think we have the makings of a good side but just not quite executed well.


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I don't do meaningless friendlies so this was the first I've seen of the revamped side. There were several positives to take from tonight i.e. Noble, Muir, Davies and Kioso - until his late gaffe in conceding a needless free-kick from which their centre-back snatched what was probably a deserved equaliser. Their first goal came as a direct result of playing three at the back - wtf is that about - it sounds like a Craig Harrison brainstorm? Packing the midfield doesn't appear to be producing the goods either as someone references above.

Muir may have been struggling a little at the end but Cassidy should have been subbed instead - apart from his admittedly well-taken goal his contribution was poor throughout. Featherstone was very lucky to stay on the pitch as long as he did - going thru the motions I'm afraid. Donaldson switches off too often for my liking and I'm not convinced by the left/wing-back - Bates needs to get the defence sorted PDQ as they still look incapable of keeping a clean sheet when put under any kind of pressure.

There was some promise tonight and I know its very early days, however at first sight this side definitely smacks of 'work in progress'. Harrogate did not look to be a bad side but much tougher tests lay ahead and these are teams that we should be dispatching with a minimum of fuss.

Thought it was a decent game tonight, a draw probably just about a fair result. First half was same old same old, but liked the style in which we took our two goals. James and Noble did really well in setting up Muir, who looks like he is a fox in the six yard box sort of striker , but other than that ….. Cassidy took his goal well too, though I thought he had blew when he let it bounce a couple of times, before lobbing keeper. Think we are always going to concede at least one, so its imperative we learn to finish teams off when 1-0 and 2-1 up. Decent attendance, poor Harrogate turnout of 187

9n

Well said

Well said

You have to remember that Harrogate is not a football town - their fans are following a small football club that is doing well to be playing at this level regardless of who is funding them. In contrast, Hartlepool United is a long-established, professional football club yet on the evidence of tonight's game at least four of the Harrogate players would walk into the Pools side tonight which served to highlight the dearth of quality within the Pools first team even allowing for the four or five decent signings referenced above. I feel sure that Matty Bates knows fine well that he needs to weed out another four, five, six players who have proved inadequate for even this level of English football - unfortunately that is not going to happen overnight.

Also, admittedly I have not visited this board for a while therefore this question may have previously been raised. However with the clubs strong Boro connections in Bates, Higgy etc how is it that a seemingly prolific goalscorer Luke Armstrong has gone on a season-long loan to now part-time Gateshead playing in front of sub-1k crowds rather than coming to Pools who have been crying out for such a talent for the best part of ten years?

Three at the back can work and we have the players to make it work but not 3-4-3.

Wing backs surely work by the spare man in midfield sitting in and covering when the full back bomb on. I’m not sure how that works with only two centre mids. Cassidy did alright but Niko and James just look like a front two to me.

Surely Woods for Cassidy would have been a better pick and more of a 3-5-2 suits our squad. Also Kioso looked a better option at right wing back in the Sunderland friendly than Donaldson tonight then Kioso played left sided centre back when he’s all left foot.

Davies was great a proper centre half, Noble showed showed some great glimpses. Harrogate weren’t bad at all it was a decent match but we should have won that game they weren’t enough of a threat to score twice against us at home, that was down the system a bit for me

I agree, the game was crying out for Woods to enter the fray. I suspect that he has either fallen out with Bates and/or Higgy big time or he is on his way out of the club which might explain his seemingly over-enthusiastic applause of the home fans during his touchline warm-up jaunts. Just a thought.

Some good things to build on, I hope he plays back a tape and watches their goal at the end, Donaldson had one in front and one behind, half a foot bigger than him

We need to get Donaldson as far away from right wing back as soon as possible. Harrogate look a decent side but were allowed far too much space. Pools downfall tonight was their lack of any idea how to reduce the number of balls raining into our box. If any team, at any level, are able to get 30 plus crosses in , then they are going to score goals. Without Andrew Davies at centre back we would have been murdered. he needs to be kept wrapt in cotton wool.
Pools look a much better prospect than last season and will get better once the new boys bed in, especially if we find a way to keep the back door shut. There is certainly goals in the team.

To play 3 at the back you have to have 3 very good players, who can do all the things you need to be a good defender. If that were the case you have to wonder what they would be doing playing at National League level. The only way you could get by without having 3 good players at the back, is to have a solid midfield across the park, something Noble excepted we don't have. In Noble and Davies we probably have 2 of the best players in their positions in this league, and that could be our saving grace as the season progresses, but the rest of the team are at best average, and that includes the keeper.With only one really good defender amongst the three at the back, then the opposition are always going to try and exploit the narrowness of our formation. Maidstone were disappointed they didn't beat us, Harrogate scored 2 against us, and we are going to come up against a lot better than those two this season. Its 4-4-2 for me.

Not sure on the 3 at the back either, the wing backs just kept getting doubled up on and bypassed. Also thought Kioso had a very nervy game. I'd bring Woods or McLaughlin in for Cassidy and play 3-5-2 hoping to help the wing backs a bit. If not then revert to a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-1-2

On the positive side though, we look fast going forward and Davies is an absolute rock at the back. Magnay's distribution is good too so we have some good balance in defence. Noble is the midfielder we've been needing for ages as well.

Happy to be undefeated so far, and without a pointless foul we'd have won tonight.

Agreed, i think he's putting Cassidy in there for a bit of an out-ball however doesn't seem to stick very well. Would like to see Woods where Muir plays and Muir up top with James. Thought James was class last night the way he shields/holds and turns with the ball for a small lad is quality.

Very fast going forward, that was the highlight for me, seeing balls getting pumped up from back to front in record time, to Muir and James. Accurate passes, with the forwards able to more often than not able to run onto them without falling foul of the offside trap. Whoever is coaching them has got this correct.Obviously as time goes on, teams may work this out, but for now its refreshing to see a Pools side do something they haven't been able to do for god knows how many seasons.

Got to agree with most comments from last night. Pools looked very good going forward but Harrogate were a confident, well organised side and made plenty of chances themselves.

I'm another one who doesn't think Pools can afford the luxury of playing 3 strikers - the midfield was overrun at times and Featherstone can't play to his strengths when he's spending most of his time trying to defend. And Donaldson isn't a wing back!

Shout out for Carl Magnay - I thought he had a really good game and the pass for Cassidy's goal was the icing on the cake.

I think we have to bare in mind the background of the side we just played. I don't think you should look at them as 'little Harrogate'. This is a side who went professional last season and pushed moneybags Salford all the way to winning the division below us. Prior to us they drew against Sutton who finished 3rd in this division last season. Harrogate are clearly no mugs and/or pushovers. Their name should be ignored, they are a team on the up and full of confidence and will be bang up for every game they play, expecially in the early part of the season and for that reason, I am reasonably ok with the result, just gutted with the manner of it.

As for the game itself, I would much sooner watch that every week than the utter bollocks witnessed under Harrison last season. At least we have some genuine forward thrust and look dangerous - our first shot was in under 30 seconds, we've all seen games where we're well into the second half before we've had a shot.

Players-wise, I am really happy with what I saw. The spine of the team is excellent. Just how good is Noble by the way? First genuinely decent central midfielder I have seen in a Pools shirt in years. Muir and James ran their bollocks off and I am massively impressed at how Muir has gone up a division or two and from part time to full time and doesn't look out of place in any way, he looks excellent.

Featherstone did ok but for the position he plays in this pretty vibrant side, he looks like a tired old bloke unfortunately but he's alright and we're not going to have a perfect 11 are we?

Davies played well, lacks pace as you'd expect at his age but that's ok providing he isn't having to chase a forward back towards our goal because what he does off the ball makes up for it. There was one such move I noticed in the first half, Harrogate had possession just inside our half and the lad was about to clip it to their centre forward, just about every player was static for that second or two where the lad was about to play the ball forward, apart from Davies who positioned himself to exactly the position where the ball was about to be played and headed clear. His reading of the game is superb and just what we need at the back.

Kioso was also excellent and I don't blame him for the second goal at all, he's 18 for fucks sake, he's going to make challenges like that and when he does we have to defend them properly.

My only criticism is that we look wide open to the counter attack, sometimes frighteningly so, they also look like they have acres of space a lot of the time, but bare in mind our opposition will have to be better than average to take advantage and at this level, there aren't that many sides who will be able to do this, Harrogate didn't and I could see them having a decent season if they can keep their momentum going and injury free.

My other concern is, Kitching and Donaldson can't beat their man, they are always looking to play it back because they don't have the ability to skin someone with either pace or skill and in this formation, that could be a problem. For the record, I thought Kitching was very good and is a quality crosser of a ball.

Overall though and after the disappointing nature of the draw, I am happy with how we set up and play. Such a breath of fresh air and it reminds me of when Hignett was in charge. We really could do with winning soon to keep the belief and confidence flowing.

Fair assessemt Shilts.

I actually think Harrogate will be dark horses in this division, finish in and around the play offs.

Noble is potentially a league 1 player playing for us, as would be Davies if not for his lack of pace, but certainly league 2 standard. There are others who are maybe not good enough to be here , think we know who they are and others like Kioso and Kitching should only get better. So all in all, a mixed bag so far.

Share your concerns about the wing backs , far too narrow at times in defence , not good enough going forward when attacking. Bates does seem to have signed players to fit this system so we are probably stuck with it for now, maybe in time it will become fine tuned. At the end of the day its about players though not formations. Certainly seems to be a better attitude and more energy about the team than this time last year.

I was expecting 4 points out of these two home games, had we won last night a draw wouldn't of been the end of the world on Saturday. Bit of pressure on now, as a draw would'nt be good enough and a defeat would ? well I think you know how that would be received.

[quote="shilts"]I think we have to bare in mind the background of the side we just played. I don't think you should look at them as 'little Harrogate'. This is a side who went professional last season and pushed moneybags Salford all the way to winning the division below us. Prior to us they drew against Sutton who finished 3rd in this division last season. Harrogate are clearly no mugs and/or pushovers. Their name should be ignored, they are a team on the up and full of confidence and will be bang up for every game they play, expecially in the early part of the season and for that reason, I am reasonably ok with the result, just gutted with the manner of it.

we are playing in a modern situation now where clubs with large crowds do not matter anymore. it seems like harrogate and plenty of southern clubs are backed to the hilt financially and their sparce crowds do not matter as much. if gates were owt to go on pools should still be playing stockport county in division 2 and not this non league odd ball set up.

End to end game that was enjoyable to watch and probably a fair result.

Id be tempted to go 3-5-2 and drop Cassidy for an extra midfielder to be honest but the front 3 does seem effective.

Im not quite sure what Donaldson offers that Richardson wouldnt to be honest. Find that one rather bizzare. Shame we dont still have Duckworth as the formation and the team would suit him down to the ground.

Davies solid as a rock, reminded me of a cross between Mirfin and Strodder but even better. Noble an utter 'lovely lovely person' but exactly what we needed and was brilliant throughout. Muir and James both really good.

Kitching was a menace at the back stick but doesnt seem to be timing his headers very well to be honest. Could be a very effective tactic if he can sort that side of his game out in my opinion as he will get chances as the front 3 often occupied their defence and he was sneaking up unnoticed.

Kioso steady away for an 18 year playing in an unnatural position.

For Saturday id be tempted to drop Donaldson for Richardson or move Kioso to right wing back and stick Laing in his place. You would like to think Davies would help Laings game and hopefully keep his mind from wandering etc

Very good point Mr tREE about Duckworth - he would be superb in this formation - wasn't one of the reasons he left down to the position he was being asked to play (he wanted to get forward more but was asked to play strictly as a right back)?

If Pools stick with 3-4-3 they are going to concede plenty and score plenty. I assume Donaldson is getting in the team because of his ability to cross the ball - Richardson is a much better defender but not good going forward. If we're going to continue with 2 in centre midfield Noble has a good range of passes so needs more of a scrapper alongside him than Featherstone - Newton or McLaughlin.

I thought the three up top worked well personally. I thought Cassidy was superb and his work rate and movement was better than anything he produced last year. Kept the two centre backs busy which allowed both James and Muir to find space to drop in or to spin behind. We created more decent chances last night than in any game I can remember last year, and that was largely down to having support up with Cassidy.

I like Cassidy and his work rate, bullies defenders etc but he has his fair share of knockers on the FB Pools page.

The front three worked and looked a threat every time we attacked but we were also overrun in midfield at times, Featherstone can’t play in that system he was a passenger. It’s about finding a balance. Maybe a 4-3-3 could accommodate the three strikers?

I suppose it’s better than one up front that we have became accustomed to in recent years!

You could even play a 5-3-2 with James as the attacking midfielder in behind Cassidy and Muir. I’m not sure how 3-4-3 can work week in week out at this level.

Where?

Its probably because he doesn't score enough, but that's probably due to what Poolie Tom said, in regards to him having had little support up with him up front. He does need to shape up though in front of goal, yet again some of his shooting / finishing last night left a lot to be desired, he did take his goal well though, and hopefully that will be a catalyst for more goals .Also agree with Malcolm Dawes, I reckon there will be teams we smash to bits this season, when luck goes our way, whilst there will be others who do the same to us. Too narrow in a 3-4-3, every team is finding lots of space down our left, saw it at Spennymoor, v Boro and at Maidstone , teams getting into our box at will. Is it really the 3 at the back or just a poor midfield? , Noble excepted.