yeah, let's get shot

he makes some baffling decisions but so did Cooper and more noteably Turner. All managers seem to want to fix something that doesn't appear to be broken from time to time.

i darent say (say) out mutts or i will be shot down

I've never liked him, but he's doing ok

cant see what else he could've done today...we went for it with a man down, he subbed players who were shagged out

He would do a good job at Leicester City!

Bring in Richard Offiong that's what I say

who the heck is Richard Offiong

iznt hee a bigg blak stryker fink hee uzed two playe four thee magz
cud bee inn jockz leeg eye wil cheque giggle

I think what the Salty one means is taking off a defender at half time to play three at the back and try and match them in midfield

I have concerns - jury is out at present

Can't really draw much of a conclusion from today - special circumstances, but generally we do have problems that need addressing, the defence is poor (except of course Mickey Nelson who seems to have a brilliant game EVERY game - but he can't do it all himself), we are conceding far too many goals. We lack convincing strikers, Barker appears to be struggling, Porter isn't fully up to speed yet, Brown seems frightened to shoot, & Mackay was playing non league football 12 months ago for christ' sake, he needs more time. Main worry for me however is what appears to be a lack of motivation, I have seen all of the home games this season & the majority have been pretty lacklustre, distinct abscence of passion from most of the team, and consequently a distinct lack of entertainment for the fans. We need another inspired loan signing like last season to get things back on track

As to today, it was a poor game, played by two poor teams! Brighton were a disgrace, a cynical attempt to take advantage of our state of mind by going out of their way to wind our players up, I really hope it was the action of individuals rather than a per planned tactic which would have been unsporting in the extreme, the ref was very poor, appearing extremely biased, Bolans should have been sent off, he kicked out at one of their players a) When the ball was dead, and b) when his back was turned - STUPID irrespective of what provocation he had received

Well they are my views anyway

The players did ok in the second half, a man down. They put effort in and nearly got a draw.
But answer this....how many shots on goal did we have the whole match?
How many saves did their keeper need to make?

I must admit that i've always thought he was a bit clueless tactically but i really don't think anyone can argue with the sucess he's had.

Also, today i don't think he could have done anything different during the game, although i wouldn't have picked the same starting line up and only an idiot would say Boland didn't deserve to be sent off.

We need to pick a settled side and stick with it, no dropping McCunnie then moving him to midfield, no switching to 4-3-3, no putting Moore on one wing and Brown on the other, no switching the wingers every 5 minutes, no pointless loan signings.

It can't help defence when we're switching the team every week.

eye hav juste chequed Ricard Offong inn giggle 'n' hez skorin four funn
four thee acciez doant fink hez manaiger mateeriul tho

24 goals in 35 games
some record like

As one of the lads i stand with said we will either be fired up and run riot or we will be flat, its hard for the players to lift themselevs after a week they've had. We also cant blame brighton players for the defeat we've just gotta move onto saturday now.

The jury is out??

pretty much sums it up for me.
We were comfortably placed this time two years ago, on the edges of the play-offs.
Then the away wins stopped after November.
The home wins never came at all, we really must sort out the home form. It did for us last time, we have to get our fair share of home wins, only Oldham has been a comfortable home performance so far.

I hope the lads beat Millwall next week and put my mind at ease for a while!!!

I did mean that, we did have a go at em early doors 2nd half, then they played passy for 15mins, then we had another go late doors

That's what I said

A few things are starting to concern me, maybe he's not as good a we think he is! Easy for him last season, crap league etc. Just seems to be making some funny decisions - like bringing in Cole - what has he brought that we didn't have already? (& better in the form of Jamie McCunnie?)

Coles is here with a view to a permanent signing the Hull manager stated this when he left.

No - you must be kidding me Chip

The long diagonal ball................

luckily, the opposition don't kick long diagonal balls to the left back position

That is what was said, Pools apparently were vulnerable at the back post. The problem now is that Coles is a complete donkey, his passing is attrocious and his posistioning is occasionally suspect. An example of tinkering just for the sake of it. He gives us nothing down the right, we have little to offer down the left because there is no balance with Brown there.

Wilson....? on reflection, he strikes me now as someone treading water, who'll continue with his job in a competent manner till something better comes along. We're in a sort of limbo at present. I just feel as though Hartlepool Utd is a sort of motorway rest area on the way to a better destination for him ....just my opinion.

http://www.pooliebunker.co.uk/newbunker ... 705&hilit=

Name me one team that was successful after constantly changing their manager.

Maybe a few of the following might help:

Leicester
Aston Villa
Darlington
Southampton
Tottenham
Notts County
Newcastle

Or alternatively, the longest serving managers are Wenger & Ferguson

Why?

I can see and agree with that point.

Hence why I offered no comment on him or the team and their prospects based upon Saturday.

Who's basing their appraisal on Saturday..that would be silly. I base my opinion on the previous season and this season. I am not advocating change, I have no meaningful problem with his performance on the field, but I feel he reminds me of a contractor brought into do a job, there appears to be no real passion or interaction with the fans. I'm just stating that when he wants to go...he'll go.

DW has his faults - downright obstinate when it comes to players he has invested his faith in, like Barker, Moore, Coles and Gibb. But last season was brilliant and we have been around the playoffs most of this season. He makes better substitutions than Chrissy Turner ever managed, and I don't think his tactics are ever far off. May be Coops had the natural character to be a better motivator. But, overall DW has a better record at Pools than Coops, and Saturday's game was not typical for all sorts of reasons. Is he treading water and does he want to leave? If he gets us in the play offs at the end of the season, he will certainly get better offers and then we'll find out. But if he treads water, then it doesn't do his prospects much good.

I don't reckon Coles is the answer to anything. If we are going to have an experimental right back, I'd rather see Antwi in there because he is far quicker and more athletic and a better passer. But I'd stick with Nelse and Ben in the middle - it usually works out well for us - and with McCunnie at RB who looked very sound to me, even with the long diagonal ball. The big defect in my view with DW remains that he didn't buy a left back, which forces him to play Humps there. Humps is better now than he used to be at LB, but he is still not the real deal and he would be better off giving us some composure in midfield which Boland never offered. Up front, yes we need a £ million centre forward to complete the team, but let's get real. I wonder whether mobility with Mackay/Moore and Porter, backed by Monkey and Brown might be tried now and again? After all, Porter and Boyd scored a lot of goals working to a different system. It is not ordained by the gods that you have to have a beefy centre forward and always lump the ball up to him in this division.

But I've been entertained enough in the games I've seen this year - even Saturday had its dramas. Pity most of them went against us, but I saw plenty of effort in the second half. The first half less so, but then there were a few players in tears in the first half and it took them a while to get going.

Thanks Chip. I waste way too much time on Rivals because some of those guys really are out of order and someone has to tell them. I find the company in the Bunker much more sensible and also wittier. Keep it going, chaps. My posts are intermittent because I have to go away on business quite often.

I think we did get a bit carried away at the start of the season. With Leeds, Swansea, and Forest in this Division and a half decent manager at each, there are likely to be only three spots left for teams with our kind of resources, though who knows with the way Forest have carried on for the last few years. But having seen most home and some away games (including Leeds and Forest), we should be nearer the top than the bottom. This side has more quality in depth than the last Div 1 play off crew. Where we are weaker is without Boydy up front - don't get me started.... But Jimmy Brown is a real bonus and could be better even than Boydy once he can last the full 90. Has his Mum heard of Weetabix? I hope Ant Sweeney now comes in for Boland and he and Lidds play off each other. But as I said in the last post, if they were playing alongside Humps as playmaker instead of wasting him at the back, there'd be much better cohesion all round.

He did, Robbie Elliott, who failed and was reluctantly replaced, by Ritchie, and now seems to have disappeared.

Fair point Leicester. I'd forgotten about Elliott. Not impressive in the first few games. Doesn't turn out for the reserves - presumably beneath his dignity. Is he still around?

Chip, I'd hope Elliott is mainly on appearance money. Otherwise, he is a very bad signing. Hence, Danny doesn't seem to want him back in a hurry - and with one yellow and one red in five (?) matches, you can understand his doubts.

I'd put McCunnie back at RB and leave Coles to make the half-time tea before catching the train back to Hull. With McCunnie, you have a much greater chance of building from the back.

On your question, I regret that the footballing prowess of the Sisters does not match the fine record of the brothers...

Liddle is one of my concerns, although I have only seen him (them) twice this season,
so I can't really say too much.
He looks to have all the assets of a fine footballer, he has skill a plenty, is a good athlete,
can tackle, can shoot, he seems to be reasonably comfortable with both feet, but he doesn't
seem to be able to put it all together.
In the games I've seen him there are periods where he seems to disappear from the game.

I don't think last season really helped him to develop, he was played in midfield, right back, left
back, centre back. Come on, this is a young lad in his first season of regular first team football.
Yes, he's good, but what is he. A defender, a defensive midfielder or the next Tommy Miller, who
is going to get us a regular supply of goals from midfield.

The same seems to be happening this season, despite all the pre-season hype about signing
defensive cover, so that he wouldn't need to be pulled out of midfield, he's still been moved back to
right back on a number of occasions.

Stick him in midfield with a regular partner (Boland or Sweeney, not McCunnie, he's the right back),
in a settled team and left him develop. Encourage him to get forward and get him shooting. He seems
to stop, when he gets to the opposition 18 yard line, as if he's not supposed to be there.

Rant over

Have to admit some of his tactics and team choices baffle me.
He also doesnt really seem to be gettin the best out of players at the minute but you cant fault his succes so far (bar a couple recent games) and he needs a fair crack of the whip in this leage IMO.

consolidation will suffice for me

i said in another thread we need to build from the back and that we needed a decent left back - with humphreys' incosistency giving him a 1 in 3 ratio of poor games, i think DW signed Elliott as either cover or first choice - to date he has proved to be little of either - robson i do not see as a left back but i like the way he gets forward (just not the way he defends).

left backs are thin on the ground in this division and we need one....

I always get the impression that Wilson will get it right eventually, but it seems to be done the hard way.Last season we were desperately inconsistent until the emergence of the Clark/Nelson partnership and Liddle/Boland partnership. Then came Monkhouse, Brown found a niche on the right and bingo!!!
I think he'll get it right in about two months time, but that will be too late for promotion contention this season. By getting it right, I mean he needs to sort out the defence as a priority. The possession football is good at times, and the cutting edge will come eventually, but the back line is a worry - plus it's never been a settled line up in an area of the pitch where that aspect is more important than anywhere else. Leaking two goals a game is asking for trouble.