Had Halifax in the play offs took barrow to top of league 2. We have won nothing, what we need is someone with some sort of clue.

You are spot on with your assessment Mr K, we need very decent players in those three key positions to stand any chance of making a realistic stab at the play-offs. If LL is actually spinning a yarn that the current squad is ‘Play-Off’ ready to prospective managerial candidates then he is already fuelling the flames for the next sordid episode in the embarrassing Pools hire/fire drama of recent years. The candidates need to be given the facts and a commitment that they will be properly backed in strengthening the squad. Otherwise we may as well bring Sarll back to continue his work.

Yeh agree - i also think a very good GK (we have not had one for years). Vocal, commanding large presence with some experience would be perfect just now.

LB is absolutely top priority to make this team better just now - although i cant see Ferguson getting shifted even if the Next Roberto Carlos was signed on loan.

CM - We again have been massively let down by the signings of Sloggett, Hunter even Sheron. Featherstone is now too old also to operate in there for 90 mins all season. We could do with someone with the technical ability and passing range of Featherstone but the fitness and youth of Sloggett.

ST - yeh i agree with that but also we could just move Grey back next to Mani D and have them scoring goals for fun like they did last season. However what we could do with is either Madine rolling the years back and actually being decent (although i think his injury will see him out for the remainder) or bringing in another fast / strong striker who likes to upset the defenders and is always a handful. Something we dont currently have.

think again it boils down to us needing a good partner for Mancini in the midfield and someone to create something off/with him - Cooke did it countless times last season and he actually played some good football when he could be arsed - his problem just lied with the rest of his game and his fitness unfortunately for us.

I've got the solution!

We play Alty away tomorrow.
Their manager (Phil Parkinson) has done really well, been there about 7 years, couple of promotions and a decent brand of football.

Win/ Lose or Draw- Pools can get him signed on after the game and bring him back on the team coach.

That way if we win, he gets to see our better players perform. Lose/ Draw - he'll see what needs to be worked on, at first hand.

Surely a WIN WIN - and we get a reasonably proven manager with a set way of playing that is surely suited to our best players scoring goals and playing entertaining football.

Only sticking point is a change of location for him. Though surely if the lad has some ambition he'll want to come and prove himself in the Pools (very)HOTseat! Plus he'll be off a week on Saturday, to give him time to get his shit together and settle in.

Come on Raj get that contract ready to take with you on the Bus tomorrow!

Does that mean we get Crawford back Kettering

Would that be a bad thing Leggie? We know he wouldn't take much persuasion! Rhys Oates returned and flourished in the right company- and there wasn't many people too delighted when he reappeared (myself included)!

Can't see us getting anyone who's currently managing at or above our current level. More likely someone who's locally based an assistant or youth team manager from a level above, or someone currently out of work.
Crawford was a far better player than most of our current crop of midfielders.

Sunderland appear on to have appointed a decent coach, Regis Le Bris, he only ever played 90 odd games, no real experience on the management front. Could Pools unearth a similar one albeit who ever appointed Sarl thought they had.

He seems like a quiet confident type of Manager.
Who Dosent talk shite and Dosent play conversion rugby boxing football.

Don't make an easy game hard n your 60% on your way to success.
Other 40% is the players being happy Takeing it on board.

And if 5th division players can't take it on board go and flip burgers.
UTP.

Murty it is then

Was there any possible future manager spotted in the crowd yesterday?

I'll have a go, got us to Champions League on Football Manager. Callum Cooke valued at £150m too!

did see a bloke with a three lions badge on about 2.30 on clarence road crossing over towards the ground. more likely nothing to do with us and a FA observer or a walter mitty pools fan who bought a badge on the net.

Yeah, that's a fella called Southgate, think his first name is Gareth, he lives in York.

Heard he fucked off quite a big job at the FA - when he found out the Pools job was available

Aberdeen have appointed Jimmy Thelin another unknown yes you might say it’s a Mickey Mouse league but he has got Aberdeen to the top of the league above Celtic who have spent a few million quid. There are decent unknowns out there unfortunately someone decided Sarl was one of them.

About to announced he is going to be knighted after he was cleared of issues with tax.

Just think if Pools appointed an unknown with little experience and he failed they would be slated again. The usual cheap option etc.

Knighted for doing what? No doubt he's avoided any charges regarding paying taxes on a technicality.

Achievements in the football world, got England to 2 finals albeit he lost both.

a case of nearly achieving something in football rather than achievments in it. Who ever remembers a runner up or beaten finalist.

with our record of sacking managers an experiment like that would be most unlikely. Those who could do it and succeed are the ones with a better recruitment and retention record than us. we have been forced into a corner by previous mistakes in the recent past and not all under raj.

Pools have appointed unknowns, Neale Cooper first time round was an unknown and brought success to Pools, Turner wasn’t known as a manager unfortunately they are the only 2 I can think about. Clough was known but with no managerial experience, pot luck tbh. Any new manager at Pools nowadays has a shoestring budget to work with relying on free agents as we haven’t had a decent cup run to fund new players.

Hartley possibly the worst unknown

Agree 100%. Sir Alf Ramsey gets knighted for winning the Worl Cup. Southgate gets knighted for winning fook all. Doesn't seem right.

Agree

Yep, society has gone through a transformation since Alf Ramsey's day. Now you get a gold star just for joining in and winning is almost discouraged. Southgate will get a knighthood because he fitted in perfectly with the liberal left agenda. He won nowt but said all the right things.

Cooper had managed nearly 300 games before he came to Pools. Turner had been joint manager of Orient for one season.

Alan Murray and Brian Clough both came to pools with no prior management experience and were two of the best managers we ever had.

Paul Murray, Colin Cooper and Graeme Lee all came in with no prior experience, and with the club in a good position and failed.

There were plenty other first time manager who didn’t succeed either, but as we were a basket case off the field, then they were unlikely to do any better (McPhail, Busby, Houchen, Tait, McCreery, Bates)

Unbelievably, Hartley had managed 399 games before he came to Pools.

Oh yes good old MasterBates.

Does anyone want Neil Ardley Been to two playoff finals and won promotion with Notts County. He struggled at York but don't think that makes him a bad manager because at that time they literally changed players weekly.

As I keep saying most managers get the sack, some numours times it’s an occupational hazzard.

but at a standard where some northern league clubs could play at. surely we would not appoint a manager from that league who has spent years at that standard.

certainly an up grade on sarll but would still be a big gamble as he would not get the financial backing or the time like he had apart from his york months.