As we head into a new season I can see nothing but a shocking points total with some heavy defeats and an occasional goal if lucky. We begin the season with a squad of 25 players of which 6 I would have Flinders, Austin, Monkhouse and Brown. I would want then Liddell and Sweeney on reduced terms. Liddell makes too many mistakes that lead to goals. Possibly a return to midfield sitting deep would see him improve. With a season watching what has gone on in front of him. Sweeney just on his previous form in the middle.

Sweeney got set back when he was asked to play out wide and then at right back. The lad seems to be trying too hard running everywhere but doing nothing, with some coaching him he may get back to a double goal scoring midfielder.

The rest of the main so called pro’s excluding the youth could all do a Jack Ross and return home, blame the lasses homesickness and refuse never to play for the club again. The pre-season results must be sending shockwaves through the northern leagues, one victory is embarrassing and all this talk of the Rochdale result is the one that counts. What do the club take us for? idiots like Turner? Nothing has changed since last season where we conceded at least 2 goals a game and could only score 1. In some games would play for seventy minutes without troubling the keeper.

I cannot believe Turner is still here in any capacity he has removed his assistant from the set up, the man he praised for his previous success at the club and also it seems is current failings at the club! Turner has now mentioned the club needs changes in his two and a half years in charge then brought little. His success in the transfer market is something else he has built a strong squad that has competition across the pitch his words. Then the same eleven start more or less week in week out with the same success…. None!

His lack of connections within the game is evident as he has only made one significant loan signing in O’Donavon. Again he missed his chance to show his eye for a player, this player’s contract was running out and had been to enough clubs then sent back to show he may have signed rather than loan if an agreement with Sunderland could have been reached. Turner bangs on every season about the first 12 games will show how the league will go. After our first 12 I fear it will be over relegation will soon be confirmed not mathematically but inevitable. I will be attending games and will continue in the future. Sorry if a long winded rant but could go on more about individuals in the squad but it’s not them who put them on the pitch that’s Turner and he signed them.

brace yourself!

I agree that (and it's been stated on here many times in the past) there were too many games last season where we did not have a worthwhile shot on goal in 90 mins.

But being ever optimistic (as you have to be as a Pools fan), one hopes that another seasons experience, a lot more commitment and focus from the players, and tactics that suit our squad rather than the text book will see us upset a few of the fancied sides.

Sadly I have to agree with your pessimistic look to the coming season. I went to the Leeds and York games and although I'm far from a football expert, even I can see that we're woefully short of a strike force. After some comments I've seen in the past (newspaper I think it was) about Denis Behan not having a break from playing in Ireland and then straight to Pools, we could expect a bit more from him this season after the summer break. Is this why he didn't play very much in the friendlies? I didn't see any of the others so I don't know how long he played in them, or how well he did, apart from the penalty. With this in mind, I'm crossing fingers and toes that he will give a good contibution to the goal tally.
Anyone know why he let Power go? He didn't get much of a chance, and I didn't think he looked too bad when he was on.

Does anyone have Joel's phone number? Give him a ring and see if he wants to come back and help.

Solution: Brown/Boyd

same old tosh, the usual depressing 'analysis', it's like Mystic Meg on a downer.. oh dear, oh dear, ...oh dear.
I really do believe some people are gonna be really p***ed off if this season doesn't go tits up.

I'd like to thank the original poster and TCN for those new insights.

As Snowy said, what will people say if we start like a train on Saturday and win, I can see us letting a goal in but agree with Mr I if we start with Brown / Boyd we will cause them a lot of problems.

Am I the only one who thinks that this line up could be usefull:

Boyd Brown
Monkhouse Yantorno (McSweeney / Sweeney)
Gamble
Horwood liddle Collins Austin
Flinders

think boyd struggling with knee injury

We are going to win the league

FACT!



See positive and I said fact so its gonna happen now.

New season new hope lets give Turner a chance to prove me and others wrong this season with some results starting Saturday.
Come on CT win me over to your side.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more..."

We were fairly rubbish last season and managed to stay in the league. The team Compo stated would be my starting 11 too and it's not a bad looking side. There no reason we can't pick up as least as many points as last season as the players who left were not instrumental last season.
I can't see all 24 teams not being effected by admin either (not Pools hopefully) so that also may help us (I'm not wishing ill on any team, but it's just a fact of life)

Either way what we have, is what we have so lets get behind the team and go for 5 straight years in this league

i don't understand this quote. Last season with a very similar first choice XI we were nowhere near a 'shocking points total' and only had one 'heavy' defeat.

I would agree we will be in a relegation battle, but talk of shocking points totals and being relegated by Easter etc are over the top IMO.

small issue........liddle is banned.

So, that didn't stop him playing last season

Browny still does not look fit and sharp. I fear he will never get back ti half of his capability and he wil struggle. I hope i am wrong as we need him to do well!

There no reason we can't pick up as least as many points as last season as the players who left were not instrumental last season.

Sorry I thought Donovan scored the odd goal thay kept us up. 5-0 at Rochdale is not so far fetched.Flinders will have back ache

That's all we need. Another administrative cock-up.

"Sorry" I'm sure we'll get loan signings this season that will feature heavily so I removed that variable for a like to like comparison. I'm pretty sure you're now going to inform me that Jones was outstanding

Thanks i now see the light.

Why would an administrative cock-up benefit us? You'll have to explain that one to me.

Unless my peepers are knackered, where did he say it would benefit us?

Or am I missing some esotric message?

While my expectations of this season are low, it could be a struggle, even Turner is saying it at the end of the day we are about to embark on only our 11th season outside of the bottom division in our history. It’s not all bad.

The venomous negativity is getting absolutely tiresome I‘ve barely posted about Pools all summer as it‘s getting depressing reading the Bunker, I mean FFS ‘doomed’ how over the top can you be? Clubs like Scarborough and Chester have been ‘doomed’ in recent times, we are doomed because our squad doesn’t look like top half League One material!? Get a fooking grip.

The atmosphere inside the Vic last season was the worst I’ve ever experienced. A section of the ‘support’ almost seemed to turn up willing the side to fail because they wanted rid of the manger. Ironic cheers, piss taking, and booing of our own players. Calls for the managers head whilst we are 3-0 up, futile banner unveiling. What the fook must have players in the first season at the club like Neil Austin and Scott Flinders made of this ‘support’? All totally thick and counter productive.

I know I criticised Turner as much as anyone last season, the man and the amount of contradictory shite he came out with boiled my piss molten but the fact is he’s still here. The people who have backed our club brilliantly for 13 years have decided that, I personally think he has a brass neck to complain about lack of funds this summer he was given the scope to rebuild the whole squad only 12 months ago and we didn’t progress, what are we meant to do with all these players he signed and doesn’t think are up to it? Can you blame the owners for not saying ‘go on Chris sign another 10, 2 of them might be half decent?!’

The take over hasn’t come off but we should be still grateful that we have backing and still support a well run League One club. We are a few days away from a new season, what good is predicting awful points totals and relegation!? All we can do is support the players and support the club, we are after all meant to be supporters. I’ve been supporting Pools since 1988, Jesus if this doomed I don’t know what we were then!!

Maybe if the town got behind the club rather than concentrate on pulling it to pieces and writing critical letters to the press and buying ‘big three’ season tickets we wouldn’t be so ‘doomed’……………….

not a bad post that!!!

i think this season, we the fans, could be the difference between the team staying up or not. Thats not to say we are responsible like. But we know when we our on our game and show our support, the players tend to respond.

It would be nice if some of those who chant Turner out and boo a lot would just hold their tongue for the first 3 month or so and instead concentrate on making some proper noise, it might just help our cause.

It would be nice if they could hold their tongue's for the first three minutes, never mind three months!

Oldham have had an encouraging pre season in comparison and signed several new players, with a new manager to boot, I think they may be the surprise package!

well said pj

On behalf of Sussex, I'd like to ask, 'hold their tongue's what?'

[quote="PJ_Poolie"]

.... because they wanted rid of the manger.

...Yes, at times last season it was like watching a Nativity play.

...all the same very good post.

Their tongues flapping?

I'm not trying to give a depressing analysis, it's just how it looks to me. I'll only be p***ed off if we get relegated. I REALLY HOPE WE DO OK THIS SEASON. I agree with the comments about getting behind the team regardless of the situation we may find ourselves in. How bad must the young players and new boys feel when they hear booing and "Turner Out"? We should ALL try cheering them on and drowning out the away support instead of the other way around. Some of the comments around where I sit beggar belief. They give absolutley no credit where it's due and find fault in everything our lads do. Now that's depressing to hear when you're sitting there waiting for a goal.

I posted the comment on here based on what I see at the games and I am hoping for other comments to give me another point of view which might give me a bit more hope. Ultimately I do want Pools to have a good season and I am looking forward to seeing the lads prove me wrong.

Nah, you're just running with the fox and hunting with the hounds, covering all the angles. It's been done to death.
Like every season since time began, we'll just suck it and see.

I'm not running with any hounds. I just have an opinion when Scott fell over the line and got us to the play off final i knew then the next chapter wasn't going to be good. Then when we went down it was evident that the squad was way to good for that and I placed my bet on pools to go up after the macclesfield game away so I can see a team on its merits not off what i read on this or any other site. I also been watching pools since John Bird was in charged so i have also seen some poor teams and players. But in them times the managers have never been given the resources this clown has. I know people like to defend there club and wish our backline could do it half as well but don't mistake loyalty with denial

How could you possibly know we weren't going to win the playoff final, equally, you miraculously predicted glory after the Macclesfield match. .... I might be a bit more 'receptive' if you'd predicted them at the time. Your use of the word 'clown' tells me all I need to know ......
Like Private Fraser off Dads Army, you come along telling us we're all ...'doomed' .....'DOOMED I tell you' .... 'I'm just being a wee realist you understand and hope it all turns oot well, but I have ma doubts' .... oh dear.

That is horrific timing, Mr. MadJohn.

Surely any team that has Sean Gregan as their captain can't be all that, he is one of the worst centre halfs to visit the Vic in the last few years

Horrific?

is that really the right choice of word?

I hadnt opened the link till you said that but i thought someone had died.

Agreed. it was a catastrophic choice of words by POK

A murderous choice of words infact