We try to get our Oppositions view of the upcoming game beforehand to see what other fans think, We put the best replies onto our blog with a direct link back to this forum so other Stoke fans can read the whole lot.

For your benefit we have no Strikers for this game as they are now all out injured or suspended. Vincent Pericard will be on the pitch, but he really is no danger to anyone except himself.

How do you feel the season will go from your clubs perspective

Any big news at the club at the moment?

Who are your players to watch?

Any injuries affecting your team selection for the game?

Your Prediction on the score?

Where is the best place for away fans to drink, and what are the places to avoid?

Delilahs Stoke City
http://www.delilahs.co.uk

Q1 - relegation, we will be fighting for bottom spot with Crewe. We'll come with a late run and nick it from them on the last day if we are relying on this squad of players
Q2 - there is no big news - it is all just bad news
Q3 - only one, so if you mark him out of the game we will lose 8-0 instead of 8-2. The keeper is worth watching out for, if you like the Keystone Cops, Laurel and Hardy or Charlie Chaplin and stuff like that
Q4 - yes sadly, and I don't think we'll see him in a Hartlepool shirt again when we get relegated
Q5 - 8-0
Q6 - there are any amounts of pubs in Hartlepool, spoilt for choice isn't the word, all within walking distance of the ground. I'm not sure there are any pubs to avoid these days, even the hooligans can't be arsed with Pools!!!

what he said

We also barely have anyone upfront.

Not gunna be many goals in this games then is there..

silly boy!

there'll be shed loads in our net whoever is in goal




cock fingers or Ah'll Let Bloody loads in and if I dont I'll just give em the ball so they can stick another one in?!

made me laugh out loud that!!!

surely we'll have a different keeper next week

I bloody hope so!!!

Is it true we've bought that cut out lifesize copper in Morrisons to go in goal...?

How do you feel the season will go from your clubs perspective
I think parmopooly is being way too optimistic, we are dropping like a stone and will finish rock bottom.

Any big news at the club at the moment?
We're little old Hartlepool, nothing is big at our club apart from the number of goals we concede.

Who are your players to watch?
Joel Porter, he's probably good enough to play in the Championship or even the Premiership. Am I being too over the top? No not at all, he's scored 6 goals in 4 games for Australia and wants to get back in the national team. He also wants to go home, his wife is apparantly over there and we are shite so who can blame him? The ironic thing is that he's the only player who looks like he wants to play for us.

If it's comedy your after look out for our defence.

Any injuries affecting your team selection for the game?
Joel Porter has two injuries but he's playing on because he's brave. We've got a lot of players with spinal injuries, not many have one. We have our other good player, James Brown, out for the rest of the season. By the time we get relegated he won't be here, he'll be “living in America”.

Your Prediction on the score?
Hartlepool 0 Stoke 8, we can't defend corners (we can't even defend our own corners), we can't defend free kicks, we can't defend throw ins so if you've got anybody who is good at set pieces then we're in trouble. In fact we can't defend full stop.

Where is the best place for away fans to drink, and what are the places to avoid?
Jackson's Wharf is a nice place for away fans as are most bars and pubs in Hartlepool. If you go there between 11am and 1pm you may spot one or two of ours players and I've no doubt you'll see us drowning our sorrows.

His wife was in Asda with him last tuesday

But this is the cup, do you think that your players may 'up' their game a bit, or is that asking too much of them?

even at this level, they are mercenaries getting far too much money in comparison to the average working man. Even at Hartlepool a player can earn anything from £1k to £3k a week.
We need more local lads playing for us again, so the shirt means something. Re-signing Adam Boyd for a start would be the right thing to do for Hartlepool United - whether the people at the club are clever enough to see that, remains to be seen.

Boyd is not the answer!!!

The only manager to get the best out of him is Cooper because he kicked him up the arse.

He's doing now what he done at pools for so long(Play like he can't be bothered) and if it wasn't for Cooper he'd of faded away.

If he came back here i'd do the same

Hey, Delilahs, do you get the impression you've chosen a bad time to ask?

I've seen he's not in the starting eleven what tells me something and he's not injured

And if he does start he's not scoring

(League only)

He's started 21 of their 23 league games plus one as a sub. They have scored only 18 goals in total this season of which Boydy has got 7 of them. Surely the 18 goals tells us that they're not creating much and yet Boydy has managed to score seven times.

How many pens???

And he WASN'T injured he was dropped

He has played in 22 out of 23 league games including one as sub.

for every one person who stopped going - there would be 100 who would come back - a great increase on attendances. Plus he WOULD play well for Hartlepool, he is one player of his ilk who would pull his puddings out for Pools.
Plus - this "can't be arsed" attitude he is supposed to have riles me - a good player doesn't have to run himself into the ground for 90 minutes, he paces himself and comes to life when there is a real chance he can make something happen - not run for the sake of it a la Proctor and tire himself out needlessly.
Mr United you obviously like to watch the same kind of players as Martin Scott and Danny Wilson, fair enough, but most of us would rather see Boyd play for us at his best

I was reading the Orient message board the other week after the rumours started that he was on his way back to the Vic. Even though it was a on a day they'd lost 2-1 at home to Cheltenham the comments were that he was the only player to emerge with any credit and that he's been a brilliant signing. He scored 17 last season, nobody has scored that many for Pools in a season...... since Adam Boyd.

As for the old 'how many pens' chestnut

how many people would lick their lips at the prospect of Steve Howard plus Adam Boyd up front next season?
Dimi in goals?
Tommy Miller in centre mid?
James Brown back to fitness?

I'm getting carried away now aren't I?

I had to ask at some point, but I honestly didn't realise it was that bad at your place.

Seven he's scored Not good enough

Were about as positive about the immediate future as an HR Manager in the pot banks!!

[quote="United[/quote]
7 in the league, 10 in total.

I think a Howard/Boyd partnership would be horrible!

I'd be over the moon to see Boydy come back in January.

And Dimi too.

Those 2 would give us a realistic chance of staying up even if we didn't sign anybody else.

Anybody whining is either a moron or a loid.

For fooks sake, I'd sign Mr J. Iscariat right now if it gave us a chance of staying up, or the devil and his son if it guaranteed it.

how many people would lick their lips at the prospect of Steve Howard plus Adam Boyd up front next season?
Dimi in goals?
Tommy Miller in centre mid?
James Brown back to fitness?

I'm getting carried away now aren't I?

Can I add Mick Brown to the wish list, he is not getting many starts at Wigan and I for one would love him to come home and play for us again.

based on those stats for Orient, come on Mr United - admit you're wrong!!! Boyd has class and his record is very good. Come on, admit it!!!!

Opposition view is now on Delilahs blog

http://delilahs.co.uk/wordpress/?p=462

re: Boydy: how many are pens? Quite a lot

A quick look shows 5 have been pens and at least one was a rebound from a saved pen

Mr United, are you really Jonathon Tones??

Sp 'pens' don't count then??


Sweet baby Jepus....

Two things i'd like to add!

1) There has never been any problem with Boydy's "attitude"

2) He plays a different striking role at Orient to the one he played at Pools and is still their top scorer.

Hey come on now, this is the Bunker. If we can't be contentious where's the fun?

Ok he's a good player but i just don't think its right for him to come back. Can't see it working HAPPY NOW MICK?

You don't think it's the right time for him to come back!!?

Kyle has gone back to the donkey sanctuary, Brown is out for the season and Barker's gone to Rotherham which leaves us with Joel and................? Oh yeah Mackay and Foley who are honest enough lads but in terms of quality non league players. Their has never been a better time for him to come back!!!!!!!!

We can get better forwards than him

Boydy has scored 93 career goals in 200 starts, but I'm sure you could find a realistic transfer target (who wouldn't cost much baring in mind we got £500,000 for him) with a better record

United is right. The likes of Matty Fryatt, Steve Howard and Eubanks-Blake are far superior to Boyd.

And where do you propose that we get them from? The centre forward tree at the bottom of the garden?

Or shall we look down the back of the couch incase one has fallen out of somebody's pocket?

So we just buy a forward for the sake of it?

Wait hang on he can score pens so lets get him

Dear me I'm going to have to shout now;

FFS MAN WE HAVE ONE FOOKING FORWARD!! ONE, SO BUYING ANOTHER IS A FOOKING MUST NOT 'FOR THE SAKE OF IT'.

Have you ever thought that you've won the Spanish lottery?

I better shut up now people are shouting

Who is better than Boyd for the money we could probably get Boyd for?
Answer = no fu-cker in this country

If Boyd signed for Pools I would do cartwheels and forward rolls in the front street