For some reason I just cant bring myself to hate Gary Gibson like many do.

It's probably something to do with you being completely tapped in the head.

You call Hodcroft worse than shit, a bloke who has spearheaded IOR's success over the last 10 years. Yet Garry Gibson, a bloke who almost put us out of business......top bloke!!!

I'm a bit confused Grave - you can't bring yourself to hate Gibson but you seem to dislike Ken Hodcroft a great deal...?

you must be fishing here grave... must be!

A reasonable reception for Gary Gibson all things considered however the few hecklers and boo boys were sharply put in their place by Joe Joe Joe Allon in his inimitable way!

Fully deserved his place there last night. OK it went tits up because he gambled too much on getting bigger crowds, which didn't really happen - and then it snowballed out of control. But he did provide the funds and the momentum to help get us up in the first place. Not many other ex Chairmen can say the same.

FFS! Talk about rewriting history!

The bloke was and is a fuck ing shyster.

Its unbelievable isnt it. Gibson came closer than anyone to destroying our club, and then you consider the utter scandalous nonsense thrown at Ken Hodcroft. And there some of you are, celebrating the bloke like some homecoming hero.

I bet Ken wonders why he bothers.

Confuckingconcurring.

Gibson is a wank stain, I was young at the time but remember my dad loathing this bloke with a passion. Since reading around it how anyone can put him on a pedistol is beyond me.

KH is worth 100 Gibsons anyday.

My mam used to work in Northern Electric back in the day and on a Tuesday when we had a night match he regularly used to turn up at five to five with a bag full of money so we could have the floodlights on that night

Got to say he looked well on edge last night, about as comfortable as a fart in a space suit!

Find myself disagreeing with posters I normally agree with on this one.
A family member worked at the club just before and during the Gibson era. I met him on quite a few occasions and anybody who suggests that he didn't care about the club Is talking out of their backside. As one of the posters says above - he took a risk of getting bigger crowds in and it didn't work out - don't think many of you were twisting on when he signed the likes of saville and Emerson.
I am not suggesting for one moment that he didn't make mistakes - but some of the comments on here are way over the top - at the end of the day without him and his own cash a lot of the contributory factors to that promotion winning side would not have happened.

Aye and without him we probably wouldnt have ended up broke. Maybe you should ask him about where the Joe Allon money went, and the others sold during that time. It certainly didnt stay at the club did it?

A few people on here need to get a reality check. Are you soo fickle to forget what this bloke did.

Gambled on higher crowds...........you have got to be pretty foolish or misinformed to believe this.

Mmmm Garry Gibson......Might of took the club in oblivion but it NEVER happened!

Just like it never happened under Vince Barker!

Gibson in today's PC Brigade world would be hated more that Bin Laden However...........He assembled a team that I could only dream of at present.

He did exactly what he said he was doing........ he gambled on crowds with certain signings......... but ran out of money when the Jump on Jonny's did not turn up to support the team....He took on more than he could afford and took a chance & it went tits up.

People who don't take chances in life never usually amount to anything.......... and you can usually here them say when there sat with their pint of stout.....I wish I had took a chance when I was younger.

Do I hate Gibson? NO Not really he gave it a go. And sometimes your best shot is not good enough....FACT!

Opinions eh...

You cant compare the two of them mainly imo due to the fact that Gibson had a direct financial interest in the club and Hodcroft doesnt
Who is taking the biggest risk being chairman of pools?! Hodcroft has nowt to lose yet behaves like an absolute twat to those he has dealings with and his PR skills are non-existant.

Im not saying Garry Gibson was an angel by any means but as I said in my original post I cant bring myself to hate him. I dont beleive he was purely chairman for personal financial gain.

And credit to GG for turning up imo

Twaddle.

For starters you don't know Hodcroft's circumstances you just like any opportunity to have a pop at him. Has he been shagging your lass?

Secondly, Gibson was a thief, a megalomaniac and a cnt. He screwed Pools over to pay for his "lifestyle". I still remember the hilarity when his Jag was repossessed at half-time during a home game.

Some of the posts on here are fair I would say.

Yes he nearly took us out of business, and yes it all went tits up. But Joe Allon soon said his piece and ripped into Gibson, but also made a statement that was so true.

If it had not been for gibsons backing in the day, we wouldnt have all been sat there last night.

Hodcroft might think why does he bother, fair comment. But when he decides to leave, and we have a celebration season for promotions in 2002/2003 2006/2007 do you think he will turn up

Hodcroft has been a lifeline to Pools and always will be.

Gibson has some bollox for turning up last night but fair play to him

He hardly bought us promotion. He sold us down the river though.

The bloke is an absolute c unt of a human being.

Someone should of lamped him.

You want a piece of info to show the real Garry Gibson. Thn remember the Tottenham testimonial in memory of the deceased Cyril Knowles. The cheque to the bereaved Mrs Knowles bounced.

Joe Allon wants to remember this before he starts spouting crap.

Hitler had his faults but he never tried to ruin Billingham Town.

He did get lamped in the Rink End towards the end of his association with the club.

I really didn't know that, was one of my first games at Pools. Anyone who supports this man needs their head shaking.

Hodcroft is a living legend compared to Gibson.

how has Hodcraft behaved like an absolute twat? he managed to get shot of turner and a few other leeches and contines to sanction loan deals etc, to help were it counts - on the pitch.
Garry Gibson paid himself and his dodgy company a small fortune straight out of the clubs coffers yet he wasnt in it purely for financal gain?
credit to GG for turning up? nah he can fook right off.

Anyone who doesnt thing GG nearly killed Pools is deluded and has a short memory. IOR / KH should be held up as God's in Pools supporters eyes.

Well done for GG for turning up How can people say this its like a drink driver who ran someone over turning up to his hospital bedside when he is on life support.

Compo,

Gibson took a chance why shouldn't he? I did not see anyone else interested at the time.....Although I do remember another Businessman called Barrington or something like that he sort of resembled Gibson I think.

We all appreciate what IOR have done and to be honest you.......you would be mad to think otherwise...but stop defending them as if you life depends on it.

If you ask me since Cardiff I think the club has become somewhat static they have never progressed ........ O'Donovan to one side.....The highlight / best game for me over a recent two season period was a late 2-2 draw with Leeds how much more supportive can an individual be?.

Do you really think any real pools fan would want to see us go the way of Darlo or worse....No chance.

However is it to much to dare debate/dream of a modern day Garry Gibson to turn up & want to take up the realm............ and maybe try to take us to within a whisker of a season or two with the big boys in the Championship??.

Why Fooking not?

IOR or take a chance?.....Take a chance every time!

Just my opinion like.

Regards

it was a guy called 'Bennison' I think, from sunderland I seem to remember he said I have £300k to invest......fooking hell, that would cover what 3 mths wages today

That's him.......wasn't far off

I hated the man with a passion.
I remember at Maidstone away wearing a Gary Gibson out t-shirt.
He very nearly killed the club i love.

Gary Gibson = George Reynolds,

chancers who only have their own interest at heart.

You can't of been at the Brighton or Peterborough games this season if you regard the Leeds match as the highlight of 2 seasons. IOR provided the funds to push on after Cardiff, with fans support Scotty got a chance but he spent money on shite. The club has long since recovered after Scotty with record breaking unbeaten runs and is well on the road to recovery after fat tubby thankfully fukked off so how you can say things are static is beyond me. Crowds are down, the wage bill must be quite high and over the past 10 years we have actually paid transfer fees for players - something virtually unheard of between 92-98.

As for taking a chance - I'd like us to take a chance on youth players and local talent, lets see the next Tommy Miller, Adam Boyd or dare I say Antony Sweeney emerge. Taking a chance by splashing the cash rather than steady progression normally ends in tears....

Onwards & Upwards.

I don't hate Gibson but I wouldn't like him or anyone like him anywhere near my club.
He is the only man who has ever incensed me enough to get me to write to a newspaper.
People who use football clubs to boost their own egos and have no regard for the most important part of any club which, as far as I'm concerned, are the fans, don't warrant any respect from me but hate is too strong a word.
Unfortunately owning football clubs seems to be an attractive way of satisfying the egos of these people and, at the end of the day, we are the ones left with the heartache.
Time is a great healer but my memories of Gibson aren't ones which fill me with any warmth.
One of the nastiest people ever to sit in the Chairman's seat at Pools was Ernie Ord but I remember him as the man who sold the ground to the council which, in my opinion, is the biggest single factor why we still play at the Vic.
Would the Vic have been safe with Gibson owning it......................now there is a good question.

After reading the comments about Gibson and Hodcroft, I've decided that being chairman of Pools is not gonna beone of my life priorities anymore.

the bloke ripped the club off, bounced a check to one of our greatest ever managers widows and generally leeched off the club.

I hope he has a miserbale life and rots.
The fact he was allowed anywhere near a night like that shows how many utter numpties support my club.

I wish the man nothing but ill luck and misery!!

Can i ask why was he invited if people hate him so much??

From what I've read today, he invited himself!

Errr..theres one common denominator here..Goffy.

Some might suggest that they make a pair of qunts.

I wouldn't though. Obviously.

One of them might rather be associated with cock than qunt, like them Catholic priests do, who knows.

In fact, one of them might be a pufter and hate even thinking about qunt never mind being associated with it.

But I wouldn't dream about suggesting that.

Strange how Mike Gough (Senior) is one of the nicest blokes you could ever wish to meet, and yet...............

Gibsons 'stewardhip' can be best described as a rollercoaster ride where the chairman had sold the brakes, exciting, but bound to end in a crash. Can I therefore take it you were either twinkle in your dads eye, a foetus or still toddling around in a sagging disposable during his glorious reign ... because that would offer the only feasible excuse for you failing to comprehend the 'journey of discovery' that was the Gibson years.

people may call him a twat yes id agree,but till he messed up it was great times at pools and no one can say it wasnt...

Whoa, isn't that like someone getting a massive loan off the bank, spending it on 'good times' and reminiscing about it while living in a skip because you're now totally skint and owe the bank a forune ... it doesn't work like that.

Gibson is a tvvat......I genuinely hope only bad things happen to him

Fook me Jonny,

We have come up with 4 games in three seasons between us.....To be fair I was not really talking about the current season I should of explained myself better.

Put it this way I will be there when all the fookers have gone providing I'm still alive..

Talking about this season ....Do you not think we need a striker?......... But we cant have one... because we have spent our budget on poor strikers...So is that it like? Accepted until all our poor strikers have collected their monies via their lucrative contracts & then leave on a free.

Again Static........ a BETTER striker would make all the difference it does not matter now who signed the poor ones ..... those individuals are long gone..... and yes we are left with them.... but they are not good enough FACT as we all know ........(not including a fit Brown or a Boyd who is half interested ).

So are we again going to see out the season wondering what might of been if IOR had spent a little more than what they do every season for this club on a better striker.

Until something happens the crowds will remain as they are poor in attendance & quiet...and we will remain as we are...... always wondering what might of been again.

I also feel its becoming the norm at HOME games not to sing..I think the lads behind the goal feel a little embarrassed at times?? they try because they know its what should / used to happen..... but no song seem to last to its entirety ever !.....something else that's static.

As I mentioned earlier I will always go to Pools whatever level they play....I just feel this is it now..... this is as good as it will ever get under IOR, and if that is the case fine...... other than discuss it on here ......I cant do anything about it. Its safe and good business practice...... But it's not a great advert for the younger generation to want to be involved in and it's showing.

What I'm trying to say is I would love to have that excitement of having a good go at getting that 7th Spot...Am I asking too much? I feel IOR & the PC Brigade on here think I am, why don't they join the Conservative Party and they can cut spending as much as they like...... I only want a Striker FFS.

I think you need to re-read Trees post - "Can i ask why was he invited if people hate him so much??"

To me it suggests that Tree is asking why Gibson was invited.

But dont let that stop the usual sheep on here jumping all over somebody who may have an opinion of his own.