People are proud of the towns advantages but your missing the point why people dont want to come here is because of the disadvantages. Hartlepool will always be viewed in an Andy Capp-esk style by anyone who hasnt been to the town, mine, ships, flat caps, whippets, pigeon racing, lots of drinking etc.

Like when you say Yeovil or Norwich you instantly think Yokel

Pessimistic or realist, take you baseball cap off its to tight and is restricting the blood flow to your brain.

Yes, but often when we say that now, I think we're just trying to be funny.

But I believe that there is a point where we must put that comedy aside and not let affect our views about other places, especially in today's technology-fulled age.

The days of Andy Capp going home and knocking the wife about are over. Those cartoons had to stop a long time ago because times have changed.

This is 2009. An African-American is in the White House. Change is in the air.

Oh for fucks sake






They haven't, not just in Hartlepool, but everywhere

You are a moron and possibly have some kind of learning difficulty

I think you'll find that my cap fits just right, thank you.

You will be saying "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last." next

Times havent changed in Hartlepool at all, the infostructure might have but its all fur coats and no knickers in my eyes.

It wasn't just a great moment for people of African origin, but for everyone it will hopefully be remembered as a day when the world changed for the better.

It couldn't have come sooner enough in my opinion.

Nearly 20 years ago, there were only 3 sides at the Vic and now there's a media box, learning centre, new club shop etc.

The town's gone from docks to shops and yachts.

I think he means the town, not the club

Sadly, almost anything nice in the town eventually gets 'Hartlepooled'

Church Street, re-developed, went to shite
The Marina, going down the same path

Ruined by a few

I'd be grateful if you didn't quote him as I've got him switched off.

If you can't remember the first goal then it's really difficult for you to have an opinion on it. I'm sorry but after reading your first sentence I lost interest.[/quote] That quote is from Derwent by the way!

Well thank you for that really adult and intelligent response to my post can I conclude you are being deliberately provocative because you can't answer the points I made or are you just a doyle or a child (people go on about rarfism on here.....). I will elaborate my point about the first goal, I do not remember it being Collins fault therefore it can't have been that glaring an error, my memory of it is the ball going across our box from their right hand side, bobbling about a little then being drilled in from the inside left position by their left back. Maybe at some point before this happened Collins could have cleared I do not pick that out in my mind as a blatant cause of that goal. Clear?

.. this, after two games. unbelievable

That quote is from Derwent by the way!

Well thank you for that really adult and intelligent response to my post can I conclude you are being deliberately provocative because you can't answer the points I made or are you just a doyle or a child (people go on about rarfism on here.....). I will elaborate my point about the first goal, I do not remember it being Collins fault therefore it can't have been that glaring an error, my memory of it is the ball going across our box from their right hand side, bobbling about a little then being drilled in from the inside left position by their left back. Maybe at some point before this happened Collins could have cleared I do not pick that out in my mind as a blatant cause of that goal. Clear? [/quote]

In answer to Mr Dalton

The issue is quite clear. You made a statement that you couldn't remember the first goal. You're now trying to elaborate as to what you meant by that. Put the shovel away, before you need a ladder to get out of the hole you are digging.
I am not being provocative or a doyle or a rarf or any other insult you care to throw. You highlighted my post and then proceeded to state that you can't remember the first goal. I really would be a doyle if I tried to debate a point with someone who can't remember what we're supposed to be debating about.
You have an opinion about Collins, so have I. I don't rate him, never have, probably never will. I think he is a liability and I also believe that, were he not under contract, he would have been scattered. He is not going to improve, a point very well put by Chip.
Get rid I say.

I agree, Snowy.

you don't rate him, so blame him for both of the goals, when he wasn't directly at fault for either of them

That's right I don't rate him and I blame him for both the goals. It's called opinion. If you have a problem with that then you will have to deal with it. Sorry if it doesn't fall in line with your opinion but that's life I'm afraid. I believe in opinions and in people's right to express them.

Hear, hear.

'I believe in opinions and in people's right to express them'

But not when they are clearly wrong, idiot!

And what is that if not a matter of opinion.

As Margaret Thatchers father once said " when they start calling you an idiot they are making two points. The first is they have not got an answer to your argument and the second is that they are actually showing you who is actually the idiot"
That of course was just his opinion.

Is that an improvement, having the 3rd largest ship building port in the UK to having a Matalan

Its his opinion and a lot of people agree with him. Against good footballing team collins IS a liability. He has a place against the direct teams in league 2 etc but will struggle a lot of the time in league 1 as we saw last year. Collins was PARTLY at fault for the goals on Tuesday and partly at fault for one of the goals on saturday. He was not completely to blame however as other people did have chance to clear the ball etc but Collins certainly had some liability.

thats all fine and well. But in that case why arent people slagging off liddle and haslam to a similar extent as for the charlton goal they were much more to blame than him.

I was going to slag off Haslam for the Charlton goal but I opted not to simply because I would have got accused of 'writing off' one of the new players etc. I felt I better give him time before it appears that I have come to some conclusion about him. People are probably more tolerant of Liddle because he is effectively playing out of position. Its similar to the way a lot of people turned a blind eye to Ritchie's gaffs last season as he was being played out of position.

The three incidents in question started with Collins and were compounded by others, or weren't corrected by others. Take your pick. Charlton's first goal and Bristol's first goal resulted from Collins deciding not to put the ball in row Z. Now it could be argued that both teams would have scored from the resultant throw ins, but no one is making those arguments probably because the defence would have been more organised to deal with any threat from the throw in. Collins probably surprised his fellow defenders, as they would have expected the row Z option, especially the Bristol goal as no one expected Collins to try and beat a man on the edge of his own box. The reaction from the crowd was one of " what the f*** is he doing?" So, in my opinion, on both of those occasions Collins took the wrong option and, unfortunately, two goals were conceded. As Chip has pointed out Collins has a history where this is concerned. The other goal, it could be argued, that he was following his man out wide but, once again in my opinion, he allowed himself to be dragged out of position and then failed to win the ball.
With his experience, especially as he is the sole survivor of last year's back five AND the captain, he should be setting an example of no nonsense defending.
As I stated earlier, the reason he is the sole survivor is because he is still under contract, but he will eventually be scattered, mark my words.
I have taken time and effort, Mr B, to try and give you my take and opinion on Mr Collins. Hope you can see your way clear to accepting it.

When did it become a yardstick for how good a town is that it has decent 'shops'?

What about when you don't need shops?

Do things like crime rate, cost of living, good schooling etc etc not come into consideration anymore?

No in Pok world the only thing that matters is to have a well stocked Asda a Next and the Tall ships race, everything else can go and swivvel. If there was any proof needed that he is a student this is it all he need to worry about is were his next pencil and microwave meal is coming from.

Although we hear quite some high-profile cases, the crime rate is lower than in the past, schooling is pretty much uniform across the country and the standard of living now compared with the recessions of the past, is in my opinion, way better today than it was in the past.

How has the recession affected you exactly you havent a clue what your on about

BUT YOU DON'T LIVE HERE SO HOW DO YOU KNOW!

To be honest I don't think it's affected me that much financially, but that's because I'm at Uni etc - psychologically it's meant a lot of doom and gloom and sometimes it's been very frustrating, the fact that the recession just seems to get people down all the time.

The sooner we exit recession, the sooner we can cheer ourselves up and move on with our lives.

Your just a soundbyte for the bbc.

The recession hasn't left you frustrated at all, how the hell could it?

You say what you think you have too say, you don't have opinions.

I don't actually copy and paste anything, he just says that I'm doing that to try and make a point.

It's pure fact that you copy from them, i've seen it with my own 2 eyes!!

With all due respect, how can you say that the recesiion hasn't left me frustarted, when you haven't seen how I have reacted psychologically to th recession.

I'm not a soundbyte, I consider myself to be an indepeendent thinker, but I wouldn't say these things unless I thought that there was any truth in it whatsoever.

No, he just paraphrased to try to make the point that he thinks my words sound like what could be written on a Council website as pure spin, and he believes that my opinions are unrealistic of Hartlepool were being totally unrealistic, in which I believe that you could still be positive about the town, but be realistic about it's faults at the same time.

It's not bouts of madness...it's just frustrating for all of us to have to sit there evry night watching the news and hear about constant streams of global terrorism, market meltdown, foreclosure etc, (although there are pleasnt stories as well, Bolt's world records etc).

What sort of thing is that to grow up with?

erm..

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=26475

Taken direct from the bbc.

there is a famous quote thats very fitting with you PoK

"Light travels faster than sound, thats why some people look intelligent before you hear them speak"

Exaplin to me psychologically how you've reacted to the recession then?

Yeah for that I quoted off of there because I thought they were interesting quotes, but not for this.

So that point was just bollocks then like most of everything you say. You have an opinion about things that dont affect or consern you in the slightest so why bother opening your mouth for the barrage of crap to spew out.

In my opinion, there hasn't been a decade of world history so depressingly bad as from September 11, 2001 - November 4th, 2009.

I don't particularly think that it's life that's depressing, just that part of history.

Genuine question: What will the "Noughties" be remembered for? Nothing much positive, apart from Obama and 'Pools success in the last ten years

There are still sometimes, only sometimes, when I wish that the Nineties were back.

Because I take an interest and I have a right to express an opinion.

It's only thought of as crap when you say it is.