Wait and see.

Remember Danny Wilson's start at Pools? He had a better squad than this but still wasn't making much headway in D2.
Then a couple of January signings and Bob's your uncle. Not that I'm seriously expecting Bob to get us out of trouble this time round.

When Cyril Knowles was apointed manager he knew exactly what was needed and he immediately signed 4 seasoned professionals and the team was transformed. That is what we needed when Hughes was appointed but it seems that ,like Cooper before him, he has few contacts in the English game.

I am sure that if the manager was given permission, and the funds, to sign four seasoned professionals, he would find them.
The problem is not with finding them, it is with being encouraged to find them.
Until there is a way or a will around this salary cap, we will eventually find our level commensurate with our income.
That is the reality and I think we need to get used to that.
The real paying fan base ( ie those prepared to pay top dollar) associated with Pools needs to be significantly higher, the revenue generated by the club's commercial activities needs to be greater, the cash generated from the sale of home grown talent needs to improve etc etc etc. Then there is the amount the owners are prepared to contribute.
It seems to me that the football authorities are attempting to associate a club's position in the football hierarchy simply on their ability to pay and operate within the financial constraints so, unless we dramatically improve our sources of revenue, we are destined to operate lower than we are currently used to, with the odd surge of "punching above our weight".
Realism and realistic expectations is what I think it's called.
The big question is how many of our fan base are prepared to accept that.

I don't think we will improve the team by signing trainee's from neighbouring clubs. I appreciate their generosity but I don't see the sense in giving experience to players who will not benefit us in the long term. There are probably many experienced players out there who are available and could do us a good job. I know there is the vexatious problem of the salary cap but very few people seem to understand how it works. I suspect that I.O.R. are using it as an excuse not to improve the team.

Why do you think they would need an excuse Mr Flag?

Montpoolier, I am only speculating because that is all we can do. Getting information from I.O.R. is like getting the proverbial blood from a stone. looking at the way the team has performed over the last 15 months there does not appear to be any serious effort to halt the slide. Once a club goes into freefall who knows when or where it will land. That is a real worry.

Well, what information do you want??

Has it occured to everyone that the wage cap in League Two will be to our advantage?? Have you seen the attendances down there?

I am reliably informed that Ken Hodcroft is a 30W28L and Russ Green is an XXL.

If he doesn't want to come, he doesn't want to come, end of. If he isn't willing, what's the point of wasting time chasing him, thanks, but no thanks.

Aye, we don't want any of them tantric fuckers at the Vic.

I know Matty fairly well and he isn't your usual thick as mince footballer he has a head on him so if he is avoiding Pools then I've no doubt it's because he thinks it's what is best for his career at this moment. Equally though when I spoke to him the other week he seemed keen on coming to Pools so I'm guessing that the reason we haven't got him (at least yet anyway) is due to the fact we haven't offloaded anyone.

of course it could mean, he was keen to come to Pools, but then he trained with the club, and reailsied it wasnt what it was cracked up to be.

Well it happens at junior level, so I am sure it could happen at the first team level as well.

And if he is a bright as you so, and I know him vaguely, through Golf, he will be having great doubts about joining Pools with our coaching staff.

Gone to Yeovil

Do Yeovil and Boro have some sort of connection. That's Dolan and Grounds they have had from Boro, they wanted Franks aswell.

They had Franks on loan there too.

So a Hartlepool lad born and bread, would rather go to the other end of the country to side, size wise, not dissimilar to Pools. Tells us something about what he thinks of Pools at present doesnt it?

It's pretty normal for clubs to send players out on loan to the other end if the country.

Helps them mature, live by themselves, grow up a bit n get away from their mates n away from bad habits like nights out.

Welbeck said he went to Sunderland on loan a boy n came back to Man U as a man.

Makes more sense IMO


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To be fair Yeovil have survived in this division on a policy of loaning players in recent seasons. There has been a steady stream of loanees from Tottenham and, more recently, the Boro. Uncle Ken has stated his dislike of the system and our loanees have generally been a desperation measure rather than a development measure plus this season we have brought loanees in and then not played them. Seems a bit of a no-brainer to opt for Yeovil over Pools.

Lets be straight, he's gone to Yeovil as it's a better option, if Boro do get promoted to the Prem they'll have to have a massive clearout of mega proportions to stay there, bringing in lots of world class players no doubt, so we could get him next season.....unless he's developed enough to figure (good luck to him). Next season our club will be looking to storm Lg.2 in the hope of winning some long overdue silverware that our elder-statesman lack from their career c.v's, and we need a good season to celebrate Sweens' also overdue testimonial........unless he doesn't want one maybe......heaven forbid they'd planned it for this season.

Hmmmm. Yes clearly our club are desperate to be a league 1 club after all. They have pulled out all the stops to stay in league 1 this season haven't they.

The chance of us storming the league next year or even being in the top 3 is small.

Sent from my SGS2 using tapatalk. Not from some gay iphone.

I hope that those who think it's a chance to win something next season are not the players who are here this season

Nice idea, but there's a major fundamental flaw in this plan to get the likes of Humphreys and Sweeney a winner's medal



The flaw is the fact that they are pure dogshit - and will, in fact, contribute to being in 24th position in league 2 instead of league 1

Someone in power at the club needs to realise this, and stop it and sign some proper footballers

Makes sense. Why go to a club that's on the slide and then get abuse from some of the "fans"?

They could be looking on from the comfort of the subs bench, as heaven forbid they'd be first team regulars. This said nothing surprises me at Pools now, we are one of the few teams in the league these days who hold onto players long enough to afford them testimonials.......a quicker turnover of staff may have helped us avoid this seasons debacle.....some teams at our level dont have a player who's been there longer than 5 yrs.

Pools couldn't afford his wages, FACT

How do you know this? I it a FACT FACT or has someone told you this is a FACT?

This is a FACT!!
Told by someone who knows him and his family probably better than anyone.
However I find it strange that IF Pools knew what his wages were at the outset, why did Yogi say he would go round to his house. Maybe they thought that Borer were going to pay his wages?

If he's not going to be here next season then I don't really see the point in signing him anyway

Aye there's no point in loaning players in who could keep us up, what a stupid idea that is....

we can't stay up without replacing at least 6 players. Not going to happen!!

You seriously think we could stay up? Have you been drinking?

We should be planning for next season, nothing more nothing less.

If we sacked hughes of course we could a small chance of survival. Were not down yet. As for changing 6 players we could do that anyway but for a mysterious reason it dosnt happen.

I won't give up hope of being relegated until its mathematically impossible for us to stay up...Giving up now isn't what should be happening

I agree with a few of the moans you've had recently, but surely unless you've only been a Pools fan since November it's plain to see that sacking Hughes will achieve nothing but making another Scotsman unemployed.

Hughes isn't the problem.

we dont have 6 good enough replacements in the squad. i meant 6 brand new signings of very good quality.

His decisions during the game are a massive problem and his selections are shit aswell

Ohhhhhh 6 new signings of very good quality. Have you stopped supporting pools for man utd???

what are you on about?

Yes but do you really think another manager trying to get his feet under the table will do better given the same backroom staff and players/wage restrictions to work with?

Yes and no, pointless getting rid of Hughes if Barron stays. Both must go. Then I honestly believe a new manager would give us a glimmer of hope that's currently missing. I'm not for 1 second saying we can survive but without those 2 i think we'd have a fighting ( albeit small) chance.

Give Hughes his own team before judging him.

If the guy wants some success in English football on his CV he needs to bide his time until he can work out who he can trust, to build his team and do it without invoking the displeasure of the caustic cliques within the club.

For us that is sadly going to mean a miserable few months of capitulation and dross, but I'll get my decorating and garden sorted before the Summer holidays.

I have judged him on his selections and decisions during a game. It's very hard for me to accept it's all the players fault when he has the power to change it but for some reason dosnt.

Also I havnt given up hope of surviving hence wanting somebody else in now.

I would like to think that if we can get rid of the high earners who are over the hill then we should be challenging for play offs next season. I think there is too much of a re-build needed to expect us to have a run similar to what was achieved under Danny Wilson.

I know Humphreys has had one or two ok games lately but it's massively because of people like him and Sweeney that we are right in the shite.

I'm all for a manager putting his own spin on things when it comes to formations, but frankly when the most skilful and best distributor of a football in defence (Baldwin) is passed over for two centre halfs who lump the ball anywhere and are quite frankly embarassing at times, then what conclusion do you come to as a supporter? Its some club also that takes its most exciting prospect in years ( Luke James ) and leaves him to rot on the bench, when we're totally adrift at the bottom of the league. It's an absolute disgrace really. Our backroom staff is either the most untalented in the whole of the football league or the most clueless.

Why isn't Baldwin being giving a try out in centre mid where we are desperate for a bit of skill and distribution?

RB - You normally need 50 points to stay up. We have 12. I'd like to know who is going to come in and bring us at least 12 wins from 21 games when we have scraped 2 wins all season? We are now in a position where we can sign players but like has been said it's going to take a major influx of 5 or 6 players to influence the situation to give us a fighting chance.

I would like to see Hughes given time but I also think he should tell those who advised playing long balls to fuck off and he should do things his own way. He's going to have to be a strong bloke because he's surrounded by many difficult characters as we know. It will be difficult (not impossible) to get rid of many of the non performers before the contracts are up so we will probably have to sit and suffer till the summer.

There were encouraging signs in the home games against Oldham and Stevenage and had certain players been more clinical we would have picked up points from those games. Even with Steve Howards lack of mobility up top we still managed to create chances that he should have put away - especially against Stevenage.

The massive disappointment with Hughes for me is that after an apparent footballing lesson off MK we seem to be lumping it again. I'd rather we played football and tried to entertain and create (even if we get stuffed) than watch the horror show of New Years Day again.

The only way Pools can stay up is to sign at least half a dozen high level championship or premiership players. That is not going to happen so Pools are a league 2 club already. Frankly the club might be but the team isn't. If there isn't a good clear out in the summer then division 5 beckons.

this clearout never happens... and if it doesn't happen this time, even after all the shite we've seen this season - then we know who is really running the show

And let's assume that isn't the case - then I wouldn't just like to see Hughes sacked, I'd like to see him shot

Time will tell

Time will tell but you would have to presume that Humphreys, Collins, Sweeney, Austin, Monkhouse and Howard have done all that they can to play themselves out of getting new contracts. Howard probably has another year but I can't see him being here. Ken doesn't strike me as the type of bloke to suffer fools.....

ha quiet funny that jonny

I do not believe for one minute that Sir Galaxia of the Universe won't be here again next year in some capacity, or they year after that, or the year after that... I think he would have to cark it first.
Even then, they'll field a projection of him on a Saturday

Spectre doesn't even begin to describe him, or his Yakker sidekick for that matter

I have no confidence at all, that these people are under any threat of being canned whatsoever