Who was that keeper we had years ago in the bad old days (around the Tait era) who couldnt always play because he worked in a steel factory or something? Quite short bloke.

Paul O' Connor, worked at Wilkinson Sword, odd job for a keeper, making razor sharp whatnots

Cheers. Looking for him in my Century of Poolies and was thinking he had been left out. Forgot he had an "O" in middle of his name!

Didn't he come from Bedlington Terriers

Aye

I'm sure he missed a Tuesday night game because he couldn't get the time off.

I think it was during a period when we had about 4 keepers in less than a dozen games. I think Lance Key and Kelvin Davies might have been two of the other ones?

Looking at ITMC, it would seem that last line is bollocks. O'Connor took over from Stephen Pears.

We definitely had a period when we had loads of keepers in a short spell. Harper may have been one of the others?

Some foreign guy on loan from Wolves too?

Andy De Bont you'll be thinking of and it sounds right.

He might be foreign but he's more likely to have been brought up in Walsall!

ben roberts from borer
lance keys
brian horne

I thought Horne was earlier than this, nearer 94-95 as he played (for a few minutes!) in the Arsenal match.

Brian Simon Horne
Date of Birth 5th October 1967
Birthplace Billericay
Nationality (main) England
Debut 13/08/1994 v Gillingham (A), 0-0
Last Match 06/04/1996 v Gillingham (A), 0-2
Games 81 + 1 = 82 (183rd)
Goals 0
steve jones played the next 2 games
Apr 08 Div 3 1-2 v Wigan (H) 90 -
Apr 13 Div 3 1-5 v Barnet (A) 90

Paul Daniel O'Connor
Date of Birth 17th August 1971
Birthplace Easington
Nationality (main) England
Debut 20/04/1996 v Lincoln (H), 3-0
Last Match 03/05/1997 v Swansea (A), 2-2
Games 33 (427th)
Goals 0

all info taken from madjohns fantastic itmc site

Warren Dobson - He was hopeless

Also that bloke who looked like Stephen Pears that played for the ressies or HUFC A or whatever they were called then. I think he was called Owen Boyd...? Wasn't he just Taits drinking buddy...?

damian - he's in the book too

in fact four diff keepers in four consecutive league games

moverley last game of 88-9m - grimsby a - string vest and hankies game
bowling halifax away - smarty out game
carr - exeter home - injury to simon grayson and his last game
dearden - southend away - friday night shite

after being reminded of that the next to criticise ior is gonna get knacked

eddie edgar

I remember Horne's last game at Gillingham. He had a massive bust-up with Houchen in the dressing room at half time. Houchen despised him and would put anybody in goal rather than Horne, even if it meant having a completely s-hit keeper in there instead. No wonder Houchen hasn't had any more management jobs in football.
I know this happened, cos Horne came and stood on the terraces with us at half time, he was even going to cadge a lift back to Hartlepool with me!! Until we persuaded him to go back with the team, as it would have definitely killed any chance of playing for the club again.
Not that it mattered in the end, Houchen had made his mind up.

As a footnote, Horne's first game for Pools was also Brian Honour's last league match, he limped off with his knee injury again - and I think we all knew at the time that it was one injury too many for Brian.

Me and MonkeyHarris went to that match as well....

Didn't Houchen sub him with Jones?

The have a right go at Jones, to which most of the Pools fans shouted...... It's your fooking fault Houchen, no-one else's!!!!!

Piss poor days indeed

It was a barmy time, Horne was clearly the best at the club at the time but instead we used up loan deals on other keepers as Houchen didn't fancy him.

Keepers, I've seen a few.... but Pears was a waste of time really, spent most of his time at Pools injured and yet we were paying him a high wage by most rumours; O'Connor was better (and at least fit) but when he first came we couldn't offer him enough to make it worth his while giving the job at Wilkinson Sword up - think that changed the following season.

The classic of a lucked-in keeper was someone who never even played for or against us though. It was a guy I think called Paul Smith, and there was a picture of him on the front of the programme when we played Doncaster at Belle View, the season they went down. Talking to the stewards revealed who he was.... the story went that by that time most of their players were part timers, including the regular keeper. After one particularly poor result, Richardson (the owner who got prosecuted for trying to burn the stadium down) decreed that the entire first team must play in a reserve game at Stockport midweek. The keeper couldn't change his shifts, so when they got to Stocky they got this lad Smith in who apparently had played Sunday League for a few years round there. He looked like Monday to Saturday nights were spent in the Pub he played for on the Sunday! As a "punishment" the regular keeper was dropped for the first team game while Smith played instead; he was roundly abused by the Donny fans in the process of conceding three goals in his one and only League appearance, and was never seen again.....