I think we all agree that these 2 are our most creative players but can we play with both in the team and how can this be done?
I think we definitely need to play them both. We played them both behind Mani against South Shields and beat them 5-0 in a friendly so this could be the way but we would lose out on width if we played a 4321 formation.
I also think Featherstone can’t start games. He is much better coming on at half time as players are more tired by then so his lack of legs isn’t such a problem. He has been most effective off the bench.
Could we play 532 with Campbell up top with Mani and have Mancini in the midfield 3? This would give us width with the wing backs.
The new manager will hopefully find the answer. Hopefully he can get us playing quick football on the floor too.

Problem is that both Mancini and Campbell have tight hamstrings so cant play 90 minutes.

I was at the South Shields game and have come to realise that it's a mistake to read anything into it. South Shields were really poor that day and a long way behind Pools in their levels of fitness. It was the one and only time you could give any credence to Sarll's promise that Pools were going to play with a high press.

For the record, pretty much the entire team changed at half time, so the best that can be said is that formation looked good for 45 minutes.

Go back to the John Askey formation of we’ll just score more than we concede 5-3-2?
Young
Dodds, Waterfall/Sass Davies, Parkes
Asiimwe/Stephenson, Sheron, Ferguson
Campbell, Mancini
Mani D, Grey

Why Dyke House though?

I think I may have stumbled upon how to keep an idiot in suspense.

Why Dyke House?

a real good excuse not to play em together if its actually true.

we have managed to get 2 lovely luxury players for this level - however both coming with faults hence why they with us.

if we can rotate them great but has Mancini actually managed 90 mins yet ?

Again i feel like the midfield this season has been slung together with absolute hope in mind.

Hunter being injured has not helped as i feel he is probably the best one we brought in this summer (Bar Campbell being fully fit but hes more a forward player anyways).

Sheron works hard but again - isnt the really good CM you need to be getting out this league - tbh i thought he looked good as a RWB.

Sloggett - dear me, where on earth did we get this lad from...shows again the levels of football outside the English game are very bad. How can he play in Europa Games for a top Irish side, yet come here and look like a really really average Wearside player.

Feaths i agree needs a good 45 mins in the side to help or change things.

need a manager to suss out how to get this team really performing and who plays where - still think Mani D needs Grey next to him or even try Campbell 2nd half as an impact sub.

didnt see the game or highlights but seemed it didnt work again first half and some players just not upto the standard of this league.

really not looking forwards to playing York/ Barnet / FGR(again). If we dont shape up. Hopefully the new manager can bring in one or 2 more aswell. But we know it will just be short term loans - and kids with 0 experience. Ideally could do with lads from the league above who are not getting the desired game time they want and need the fitness etc...

problem now is clubs in the league above have a limited number of players they can have in their squads due to league regulations. they get injuries as well and need them for cover or the possibility of that happening. more or less you are stuck with kids or players coming back from a long term injury which makes the pool available much smaller than it once was.

yeh i figured that ... shame like as unless we get the next Bellingham on loan for a season these young lads have never really helped us.

I seem to remember that towards the end of last season, Mani D and Gray had formed a very effective partnership and have been disappointed that it has been binned this season. The suggested line-up looks good to me.

I would like to see Joe Gray score at the Greyhound Stadium end!

true, but are we the exception to this or every other club at our level are in the same boat. thing is we,ll never know who say the aldershot number 23 is on saturday. a loanee from gillingham or one of their own. one that did come off was tyler burey who recently was signed on by carlisle on a short term deal. i,d be looking at him again to get his career back on track if it does not work out with the strugglers. apart from his injury his time at pools didn,t do him any harm at all.

on top of that didn,t cooke and mancini also play in the same side which cannot be that dissimilar to mancini and chapman playing at the same time.