You heard it here first-

Hatch may well have gone back to Darlow but we'll soon see the signing of Billy Clarke from Ipswich who is by far the better player

Having seen both play for the majority of the season, I would strongly disagree. Most Darlo fans would have chosen Hatch over Clarke anyday. Clarke flatters to decieve, he obviously has talent but the fact remains he hasn't exactly done the business. Apart from a couple of games he's been pretty average at best.

is Hatch the guy that played for Barnet a few years back? If so, I thought he was decent

Yeah, the very same. Strangely though, the Barnet fans don't seem to rate him. Their loss, is most certainly our gain.

...but you would say that, wouldn't you.

to be fair Snowy, he did say the same thing a few weeks ago at work, although since when did a Darlo fan speak any sense

I wouldn't mind seeing Clarke play along side a quality player like Joel Porter instead of the shite he plays with for Darlo

At the end of the day by the end of the transfer window preferably before Saturday we've got to sign at least one half decent striker.

By the start of next season we've got to sign at least two strikers, perhaps three if Brown struggles to regain his fitness and considering Foley and Mackay are raw and unproven.

Windass used us for a publicity stunt and is a tool (unless he does sign for us in which case he's a very nice guy).

You've got to admit it did sound a bit predictable.... As for me, I don't care where players come from, as long as they can do a job for Pools, I'm happy. I have no hang ups with anyone once playing for Darlo.

The lad might be a decent player but his goalscoring record isn't much better than David Foley's.

I'd hope we'd be looking at better to be honest.

If foley is given a chance up front - he will get goals

Did I just say that...?

Foley will run at defenders more than any striker we have had in a while.
Whether he has the ball or any control or strength is another question but he WILL get us goals given a decent run, which he has to now unless we go into the market

Clarke has scored 14 goals in 95 appearances and 4 of them have came in one game this season, I'd agree that I'd rather give Foley a chance up front than bring in someone with that sort of record. Ideally we'll bring in someone better than them both.

I've only seen the lad a few times and thought he generally plays as part of a front two, the first thing you look at is someones goalscoring record. I'm just not sure he's the type of player we need at the moment he's a bit lightweight for one and do we really a striker who likes to drop off when we already have Porter?

Lightweight for a striker

David Foley weighs a grand total of 8st 9lbs.

Name me a striker or even a footballer who's ever played, who weighs less than that!

And Danny Wilson used to say he was worried about James Brown being able to handle the "physical" side of things as a footballer!

Oh and Foley has an amazing record of 7 goals in 102 games.

Clarke it is

Claridge is a bounder of an arseholes bounder

Whenever he gets the chance he never fails to be snide about Pools

A true bounders bounder

I said he was a bit lightweight, Foley is unbelievably lightweight but Clarke's goalscoring record is still shit whoever you put it beside it's even worse if you take out recent goals in the bottom division. I'm sure the lad is a far better player than David Foley at no stage have I said that otherwise it's just we only have a limited amount of cash available for signings and I'm not sure he's the type of player we need.

Clarke, to be honest you're welcome to him for me.

A vastly, vastly over-rated player with a bit of pace and a trick, but when you need to battle you can't find him.

Personally, I can't understand why so many Darlo fans rate him, and the Ipswich fan that was camped on our board for the duration of Clarke's loan was a bit

His goalscoring record is very poor, although to be fair he played mainly on the wing and as a sub for Ipswich. At Darlo he has played as a forward so has fared better.......25 games, 9 goals. Thats alright, BUT the fact is that he has only scored in 5 out of 25 matches, and while 9 isn't bad for mid season, 4 came in one game and 2 in another.

9 is 9, people say, but I always say 5 in 25 is a striker that doesn't score often. When you're near the top of the league and scoring quite highly you expect your striker to score every other game, or 1 in 3 minimum, because if a forward does not score, he does not affect the game. If Clarke had scored in say 10 games, thats 5 more matches where 0 points would have been 1 or 1 point could have been 3.

He's not a goalscorer I don't think, and is outmuscled easily.

No, no he isn't. Soz.

To be fair this thread is first link I've seen between us and him, but in your opinion could he play right wing? We are obviously in for a couple of strikers but with Brown out on the right is an area he could slot in if we also signed at least one striker.

I've heard the rumours of who we've bid for and that doesn't overly excite me either.

He's a totally different player, Hatch is a very decent fourth division target man. You'd probably find if you did go up that he'd struggle a little, as Barker did for us and that's why nobody outside of the bottom division was interested in the lad. He's the type of forward you could do with to get out of that division. We signed Barker and he served his purpose.

Better player isn't really an argument they are totally different players but in that league Hatch is far more effective.

Foley scored a spectacular goal and had time against a side who gave him time and suddenly his stock has risen. I think quite a few people have donned the rose tinted glasses since the Stoke game.

Leaving aside whether or not the gadgey is good enough, Penney was quoted on Radio Borer this morning as saying that Ipswich didn't want to let him out on loan again & they wanted a fee for him.

Does that not therefore suggest that this rumour has as much credence as 99% of all of the others?

I heard it from someone who would have no reason to start an unfounded rumoour and who knows people in the know at both clubs in question - there is more than a grain of truth in this

and why wouldnt we pay a fee - Penny is hiding his dissapointment over not being able to pursue him, he probably knows hes coming here

Because Hodcroft virtually said as much at the AGM, there's nowt in the coffers.

It IS possible that the recent / future influx of cup money MAY change that position, but there is very little likelihood of IOR informing the fans of that, so we must assume there is nowt, based on available evidence.

Or we can just become like the types of stereotypical idiots who call phone in shows who only ever seem to have one of two solutions for any team's problems, "Spend money" or "sack managers"

Based on what evidence?

Who?

Jermaine Beckford.

i heard from my sauce that we have put a bid in for that young david foley. Should form a great partnership with david kelly

Who's your sauce?

daddys

Or Daddies?

You can go on about 9 in 25 all you like, he isn't a goalscorer. Tell you what, sign him and find out.

FACT, he has only scored in FIVE of his 25 games.

You need your striker to hit the net every other or every third game. Because it is those regular goals that save and gain points throughout the season.

I think that is fair comment.

OK, I heard it here first. Now where will I hear it last?