Well "Steve" or whoever you were who rang into Radio Tees after the match today, I hope that you read this as I need to say that you speak the most rubbish I have have ever heard come from the mouth of someone who is apparently a Pools fan.

I should have realised that the tone had been set for the rest of your comments when you started with "IOR are bigging up the fact that it is ten years they have been here but what have they done, they need to start pushing on now".

The rest of the interview, for anyone who didn't here it, went on to pretty much say that IOR have sat on their backsides and not been particularly bothered about what happens on the pitch so long as they are collecting their dosh each week.

Lack of investment was the next dig at IOR, lack of investment indeed! Quickly followed up by the comment "I want to see us go out and spend 100K on one player just like Darlo did with Abbott to show some ambition" before going onto say he was upset that all of our summer signings were on a free, yeah I'm really upset that we got McCunnie for nowt and that all we need be bothered with is wages.

Next was the comment about how the fans are not with IOR and we are scared because we are all calling for investment and want to push on for promotion but IOR don't want to so he was asking IOR to allow us to push on as all the fans see is an unambitious board. Sorry Steve, but were you stereotyping us fans there as I and many others certainly don't see an unambitious board, far from it actually.

Now let me say this slowly Steve, look at where we were before IOR and look at what we are doing now. Its just like spot the difference, see if you notice anything different compared to 10 years ago. Once you have done that, go to the game on Tuesday night and take a look around, look at the stands, look at the facilities, look at the pitch and finally take a look at the players. Go on I dare you, man for man have a look at the quality of our players now and make a comparison between these lot and the pre-IOR team. Now when you have done all that, come back and see if you still want to talk about lack of ambition and a club that has "gone nowhere" in the last 10 years.

Poolie Girl

amen to that. Some people have not got a clue, talk about reacting badly to a defeat.

Only one criticism of that Poolie Girl. He was called Sven, believe it or not. The Tees gadgie asked him if he was from Sweden, and he said "No, Hartlepool!"

Those players could not have cut it where we are now

One thing I am a little disturbed about is the Danny Wilson interview and a couple of comments from the Ken Hodcoft interview (which wasn't played) along the lines of we are disappointed with the attendance and the ones who are turning up are not making enough noise to spur the players on. I always find it disappointing that a poor atmosphere is used as an excuse for a poor performance, a little chicken and egg I think.

In relation to fans coming through the gate, I'm sure somebody posted this a few weeks back, but 4700 home fans is actually a very high % of the town population (approx 75-80k) particularly a town with no catchment area for fans like ours. I'm not sure what the club expect in terms of a gate every week but comparably the gates now are very high and we have a bedrock of support that has probably more than doubled in the 10 years that IOR have been in charge (in our Chris Turner/Newell promotion season a crowd of circa 3800 was a decent/good crowd for example). If the club continue to see this kind of growth it will be fantastic in anyones definition of the word.

Quick note on todays game/generally this season, I think we have the best overall footballing team we have ever had. I think McCunnie/Boland/Liddle are outstanding passers of the ball and readers of the game and Monkhouse and Brown offer something different from the norm on the wings. I do think we are lacking something up front which may stop us being right up there this season because we can be shut out. For me Antwi, whilst a fine talent, makes too many mistakes on a regular basis and Ben Clark is exceptionally unlucky not to be in the team. To finish on a positive I think big Jan in goal is actually gaining in confidence and stature every week and is becoming pretty solid in nets.

Amen Mad John, I totally agree with your comments, very sensible post as usual and you are right DW is always quick to praise the fans normally.

On the crowd noise and this may be obvious/banal to suggest but I think the atmosphere always perks up in the winter when it gets dark second half and obviously when we attack the town ened second half. Ironically one of the best atmospheres for many a year I thought was Walsall at home last season, the whole ground was bouncing, one of those occassions when you truly know you are blessed to attend this daft game of ours!!!

It was a bit ironic when the Walsall fans started singing 'Your not singing anymore' when they scored - in fact we hadn't been singing at all! DW was right in his comments - in the past the crowd would have given the players a lift.

i and countless others can confirm that benny benvis aint the sanest

when somebody makes sweeping statements which you know for a fact ain't true - but the person making them states that it is a fact - it's best to terminate conversation and any pleasantries and move away from said person. He comes under this category.

[qv - arsehole]

As a shop steward for the co-op I had to represent his Mam once or twice,he takes after her

simon aldershot

Benvin Remember at school once. He reckoned his gran buried a flask of coffee in the back garden, dug it up 3 years later and it was still hot

he had his uses tho - ie when groovy wouldnt drive a tranny van!!