of the current playing squad, which players deserve the accolade of being classed as club men, whose dedication to HUFC is ? And which ones don't really give a f**k about the club?

My list

True club men

Humphreys
Barron
Nelson
Ben Clark
Joel Porter

Potential future good club men

Gary Liddle
James Brown

the bottom two will never be true club men as they will never be here long enough

It's a tricky one....

I'd add Matty Robson to that list, I think the lad tries his best and really really wants to succeed. If there was any justice things would come good for the lad......

Past good club men, ie ; players who took pride in playing for the club or at least appeared to.

Jim Provett
Chris Westwood
Eifion Williams
Adam Boyd
Paul Arnison
Darrel Clarke
dare I say - Ian Clark

Yes, you dare say Ian Clark, some people called him, but I thought he had a real fighting attitude. Mick Taits obsession with playing him out of position at left back was his downfall.
This left back thing is a real problem here innit....?

i would add tinks to that list also...

I agree with Parmos selection but would add to the potentials
Monkhouse
McCunnie
Both players were going nowhere until we came in for them & looked to be relishing the chance to play for us,once injuries (and manager ?)are out of the way I think we'll see the best of them again.

Adam Boyd?????

I don't understand this to be honest, in another thread you state agreed with the sentiments that we're just a team full of contractors yet you then name a whole load of players (which made up the core of the team from Friday) who you say are 'club men'.

The only players you have left out that featured on Friday are:
ALB- bit unfair to label him after 2 games (one of which he was my MOM in)
Elliot- no arguments there, he is a c*nt.
Nolan- has left now
Moore and Barker- can't fault either of them for effort, it's the managers faults they continually get 90 minutes even when its ineffective.
Boland- he has lost his legs but he is still tough tackling and goes in every tackle with 100%

So which is it? Team of contractors or club men?

Unfortunately footy is quite cut throat now, even in League One. You really can't blame players for wanting to play at a higher level and earning more. If I worked in an industry where I was on two or three year contracts and would be lucky to be working in it when I was 30 I would make sure I earned as much as I could.

True club men for me can be classed as those who turned down the opportunity to earn more, play at a higher level or for a 'bigger' club, and stuck around when the going got tough.

High profile examples that spring to mind are Matt le Tissier, Steve Bull and (gulp) Alan Shearer.

Of the current Pools squad I reckon Humphries, Barron, Nelson and Porter may one day be classed as proper Pools club men. After all, someone could sign any of them tomorrow.

I don't know for sure what kind of offers have come in for Pools players in the past, but gadgies like Keith Nobbs, Brian Honour and Eifion Williams are all up there for me.

What to me makes a "Club Man"....
Willingness to play wherever and whenever asked for the good of the team - without mouthing off about it
Longevity - played at least 100 league games if not more
Desire - showing that they actually care about what happens to the club and will give their best shot. (Note this does not mean suberb performances or even consistency - but that they won't run away and hide even if they're not playing well.)
Fan reaction - do the fans hold them in a high regard and feel that they do actually give a monkey's.

Of the current first team, Humphreys and maybe Nelson fit that category, everyone else is more "wait and see" - Porter is probably closest. Others on the books - Barron obviously. Recent ones - Eifion (often played out of position yet never a word of complaint in public), Tinkler, maybe Darrell Clarke. Boyd maybe, although I think too many didn't fully appreciate his style of play which affects the fan perceptions aspect. Chris Westwood should be.

There will be others I've missed, and others will argue - but I seriously don't think we could field a side with more than three or four "Club Men" or serious candidates for such at the moment, and that's bringing Barron back in....

None. They are all playing to pick up a decent wage. None of them would play for nothing and none of them would turn down a move somewhere else for a bigger pay packet.

Sorry but can't agree with Joel Porter being in this list! Does he really give 100% in every game? Does he f***!!! The last few times I've seen him play he's spent more time on his ar5e complaining to the ref that he should have been awarded a free kick.
Joel has got skill and loads of it.... if he showed half the passion of say Brian Honour he could be one hell of a player.
For me though, he just doesn't try hard enough.

One of the things about leaving is it doesn't necessarily stop them being a "club man". As Chip points out, McKinnon played for us for a good long time, and when he did eventually leave we got a good fee for him and he rightly remains a hero for many Pools fans. I'd say that a bit similar is Tommy Miller - did a great job for us for several seasons, and when he did finally leave we got a hefty fee. Compare with say Dimi, who left on a free transfer meaning we didn't get a button for him. Again Boyd measures up well on that front, as we got a decent fee for him due to him still being under contract.

It's one thing that in a way counts against Nelson - the furore a while back with his agent getting him to hand in a transfer request and then the bid from Hull brought his commitment into question (he was playing poorly at the time too) and it took a while to sort out.

As for whether it means we've got a team of "contractors" - they are professionals, or should be. That means that whether they care about the club or not, they should go out and put the effort in regardless. It's not as simple as the old "professionals can do it even if they don't feel like it" thing, but if this is their job and they're getting paid, there is an expectation that they can do it better than those of us who have never got past playing in the back garden... by most accounts, Friday night was a performance where most people in the crowd thought they could have done better than some of the players.

mckay could be

I didn't say that - Snowy did - get yer facts right!!! And I'm using this point he made to try and ascertain which players ARE club men - so get yer thinking cap on and make sense of it instead of taking the piss!!! I made generalised comments about footballers - however those club men I mentioned almost certainly won't be Pools players in 5 years time, so hence the reason I MAY become disillusioned beyond the point of no return.

here's the proof

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12521&p=137593&hilit=#p137593

I was fully aware that it was Snowy who made the comments but you agreed with his sentiments and you then concluded the state of football could result in you no longer bothering with Pools. I wasn't taking the piss or having a go, I was just trying to understand your statements which came across as contradictory. Hope you can see what I'm trying to say here.

Since Friday I've been so pissed with the way Pools played that I wasn't kidding when I posted that I'd sell my season ticket for the right price.

The way I feel at the moment there is no way that I will buy a season ticket next season.

I even said to the wife this morning that I'm not sure I'll bother going tonight even though it's paid for and I've also thought to myself that if things don't improve then I might stop going to every game out of blind loyalty and start to pick and choose when they deserve my money in future.

A performance tonight like the Tranmere or Crewe games (eg the manager picking a proper football team) could change all that like.