First name on the team sheet v The Heed, After that showing at Barnet.

Lacey didn't play in the Barnet game.

I think that's Mr Gray's point!!

Lacey and Mani O CB with Dodds back to RWB - this Seaman kid is out his depth im afraid !

Crawford out and Dolan in also - i hate the unsettled swapping and changing but get it right early on and we should get some consistency !

Mani D back on the front line and Wreh to come on as a super sub

If Lacey is being touted as a solution as oppose to a problem we are fucked

Not sure with this thing Askey has of playing dodds as a cb, Pruti (who was poor sat) can play the role of bringing ball out of defence and dodds be a lot more effective further up front
I desperate need of another physical cb though which a few of us have been saying for months

I have been pretty critical on Crawford but he did ok sat, the problem was Cooke who did very little apart from moan at the ref and is painfully slow
With Mancini being very green our midfield was walked thru a bit, I think/hope this Wallace bloke will make a big diff when fit

Lacey is a good CB and again people are judging the piss poor and unfit team he was left to defend in as him being the weak link !

his defensive partner at the time was a shambles and the midfield infront of him also !

he has good FL and NL experience and wouldnt have made so many starts for the clubs hes had if he was that shite - hes one of the former scouts picks and tbh all of his picks are either still at the club or have made better moves.

he scored goals and found himself in good positions inside the box - given the game rust he will be a better solid option than both Dodds and Pruti in there !

I said before Lacey is a good defender. Look at our record before he got injured. W 2 D 6 L 9 scored 2 in 17 League games.

If Manayesse never got injured too, think we may have survived the drop in my opinion. He W 4 D 7 L 5 scored 2 in 18 league games.

Unfit squad and piss poor management cost us dearly in first quarter of the season.

I reckon Askey will give them all a second chance and the only change for the Gateshead game, barring injuries, will be Mani D for Chris Wreh (as Mani would have started at Barnet but for the suspension). There'll be changes on the Tuesday night if Pools don't get a result against the Heed.

I would agree we need another CB(proper not fancy pants)
I said Lacey cause he is a CB all out, And can be effective from attacking set pieces.
On saturdays showing i place him ahead of Dodds(should be wing back)
And Pruiti who was invisable.

Think Seamen played most of his games in midfield for Donny
And Crawford, Well spent more time posing with the ball.

Seaman is probably a season or 2 short of being the player he should be - Sterry walked into this side and showed why he had just walked out of an Premiership Academy - i dont have that same feeling about Seaman unfortunately. time will tell but Dodds has to go RWB

I would take Taylor Foran back above Lacey, big lad who got stuck in and Mani O would help him a lot, plus compensate for his lack of pace

Know what you mean, But Aresnal will have seen what he was playing with last season.

I expect more signings as the season progresses. How would the team that got us promoted at Bristol compare to the one we put out at Barnet.
A bit to go yet is my opinion.
Another loanee or two like Cass and Armstrong would do for a start.

Yeh another cb and a wide player for sure

Askey has always preferred 4-3-3 but we don’t have the fwds for that currently

lacey did a job at notts county so has got the experiance of this league. until we can sign better he should be given the chance especially after prutti seemed to have had a horror show. we have all had games like that and the question is will he learn from it or has the ability to learn and perform.

Not sure he has physicality…the amount of crosses we let in need another big lad to take strain off mani O

I mean Lacey is 6'2". He isn't exactly small

I don't get why people don't like Lacey. He has experience at this level for Luton (won title) Notts County (Playoffs) if he leaves and doesn't get replaced, we be left with weak as piss Pruti.

Featherstone, 2 relegations 1 playoff final and everyone was gutted he left after 9 years of nothing in my opinion. Should have been released after the first relegation.

I was even more shocked that some were booing after the first 90+ minutes of the season on Saturday and calling for players heads.

I personally think some fans want us to be unsuccessful and want us in the NLN or further down.

I believe it’s called masochism….defined as……
The tendency to derive orgasmic gratification from an activity that gives them pain or humiliation.
Now that explains a lot

gallows humour has always been around where pools are concerned. as for pruti himself on his day he isn,t bad but is totally irratic and you never know how he is going to perform more than most.

Pruti is a young lad with a lot of potential and a solid background in academy football at Brentford, but he's still very green when it comes to the men's game. Bit like Timi Odusina when he first joined Pools from the Norwich academy. Some patience is required

Can we afford patience?

Agree on Lacey, he's proven at this level and will do well for us.

Pruti on the other hand confuses me. He looks like he should be a good solid defender but always has a mistake in him. The issue is, if he needs time out of the side, the only other left sided option is Burton, another young unproven defender. I would like to see us sign someone like Jonathon Grounds. Old, experienced and solid who shouldn't play every game but can step in and do a job while passing on his knowledge to Pruti and Burton.

his problem could be that he either had another kid along side him or an experianced one like hartley when he first came who was really struggling. lacey could be the one to help him if he himself is comfortable with his game. if not we should look about for someone with experiance at this level. its easier to find another defender than a goalscorer and cheaper.

We dont have any other senior CB as good as Lacey this is fact.

we do however need another regardless if Lacey comes back into the Fold and performs like a 90s Maldini, my theory in this is its such a long season and many games played, at some point we will find ourselves short on CBs and given Lacey will take time to get match fit too - Dodds needs to go RWB although JA himself said he thinks right sided CB is his best position weirdly...but he sees more than us so i trust that judgement.

if thats the case we need Sterrys replacement at RB - a propa solid RWB - maybe that may now be more important than the CB if Lacey can get himself back in the side and performing !

NO

Pruti looks a decent player but yes has a mistake in him and can be inconsistent, I do think given patience he will make the grade though

Surely you are looking for trouble if your centre half has a mistake in him and is inconsistent.

how mamy level 5 defenders never make mistakes unless they hide or blame someone else for it.

True but it’s how often they make mistakes and sadly Pruti’s are quite regular.

think its because he does the hard things quite well but cocks the easy parts of the game up more regularly than most.

The kid did ok in a poor and struggling side last season and after 1 game of the new season he's being slated as not good enough. Unbelievable Jeff!!!!

He's a decent footballer--ceiling much higher than most at teh club once he gets more consistent on the ugly side of the game

PTID- I haven’t read anybody slating Pruti for Saturdays game. What we are saying is that the central defenders as a unit was weak and said of Pruti by one poster “has a mistake in him and is inconsistent” and another “ does the hard things well but cocks the easy parts up more regularly than most” He is young and hopefully will learn but I think most would like to see another strong experienced central defender.

i think Seaman isnt the answer too - Dodds made a meal of being CB too

get him back at RWB galloping up the wing and bring someone else in at CB - Lacey or not

We need the pace and width that Dodds offers as WB more than we need him at CB that's for sure.

No one would argue with that. Dodds imo is not a natural CB but has been there because there was no one else.

Dodds must be used in either full back or midfield he excels moving forward. Totally waisted in bk 3.

I agree can't see JA making wholesale changes on the basis of one game, unless enforced through injuries that may have been picked up in training. So as Mr Hogan's said, reckon Mani D will be the only change with Wreh dropping to the bench.

especially when we are playing at home.