With just 12 days to go before the season kicks off is this week the crutial week for pools. We need to add three more players to the squad (we all know which positions) if we aquire the players in the squad we will be ok, if not I can fear the worst.

I have faith in turner with what he has done already to the squad but the clock is ticking

I think the large scale changes are responsible for the indifferent form, only time and games will sort it out and make them gel.

Nah we have plenty of time, we can use loans or wait til January for some of the positions. the one position we NEED filling NOW is left back.

Left back is more than priority, loan or permanent, something needs to happen quickly.

Has Boland actually been given a contract i'm not sure if i missed anything on that?

Also, the Norwegian leagues end their season in November, could be a time when many of their players are out of contract, we may see some of their players coming over around that time

My guess is that we'll have signed nobody by the end of a week. Just a hunch like.

I have heard a rumour, i can not reveal my source...

Today pools will officially sign...

No one!!

Keep this on the down low, my source is high profile and if i named him, that would be the end.

When i am proved right you will all be shown to be wankers and i will get hoisted on the shoulders of the victory team and i'll be the hero of the world cos my source is no.1

i would laugh if we signed somebody today

I would never listen to my source again, and i'd shuffle off into the sunset.

According to the Mail, CT, is very close to sighning a Left Back. But knowing the Mail they've probably read it in one of the Morning Papers,

According to the Mail, CT, is very close to sighning a Left Back. But knowing the Mail they've probably read it in one of the Morning Papers,

I think we needed more faces being brought into the squad but as someone stated above this can be disrupting for a while as players learn to gel (and in this case the manager decides what his best 11 is) during pre-season.

Maybe part of our problem is that I don't think we have bought anyone apart from the keeper as a definitive starter in a certain position yet (in Turner's mind at least) apart from Austin RB. McSweeney almost certainly RW but was described as able to play full back and centre, Freidreikson (I'll spell it right one time) brought in a competition for the LW and looking like being primed for CM, Hartley it seems could be CB or LB, Behan "to bring something different in some games". I feel like I've forgotten someone..... .

Anyhow the point is until the starting 11 takes shape in Turner's mind for me it will continue to be slightly disjointed as the players get used to each other and their role in the team. Someone else stated Turner's play off season where we also got a lot of new faces and were bottom in October before clicking and looking like world beaters for the rest of the season. I'm not that optimistic this season though.

Back on main thread it would be nice to get a LB, CB and CM for me but not just any old squad player for the sake of it apart from LB where we have no-one

Thankfully there is still a month or so till the transfer deadline - so all is not lost if we can't sign quality before the season starts, it would be nice to get a solid start to the campaign though.....

I think it's fairly nailed on that Adam Boyd will start up front, but I do take your point that most others seem to be utility players in at least two positions.

It depends how you look at that with Ben Clark being temporarily crocked. For all the panic there's still a couple of players who can drop in there and it can't possibly be as bad as last season.

Can it?

I don't see how it can be anything but as bad as last season unless we strengthen further. We finished the season poorly and we won't be starting with the likes of Clark, Joel, Jones, Skarz and Nardiello who were the few players to take any credit from last season. That defence doesn't look much stronger to me, the midfield possibly is albeit at the expense of Jones and we could be waiting a while for the forwards to come together. Since Clarky got injured that defence worries the shit out of me. If we brought in a left back and a new centre half I would feel so much more confident about next season as I think the rest of the players can compete well at this standard.

"I think it's fairly nailed on that Adam Boyd will start up front, but I do take your point that most others seem to be utility players in at least two positions."

Do you know I knew I had forgotten one of our signings when I wrote the previous piece (how could I, arguably my favourite ever Pools player based on that 18 month form over those 2 seasons).

Funnily enough I was wondering about the strike force and today's mail suggests the players expect Behan to play and the others to fight for the places to play around him so maybe Boydy isn't nailed on particularly when Browny fit (then again it could be great political paper talk from Boydy)