Been asked to post this on here by Chris Birbeck, part of the management team at Hartlepool FC.


Hartlepool F.C. are at home on Saturday 2pm ko, against Stockton Town on Grayfields enclosure. £2 entry.

There is a cafe now open upstairs in the main building selling hot and cold food and drinks at a very good price.
Stockton F.C. are title favorites and are a very good outfit ive seen them play this season and they are worth a look. Hartlepool are under new management and things are going really well on and off the pitch, so if you are at a loose end on Saturday pop along and give FC your support the management and players would love to see you there.
Come and say hello in the cafe before the game or half time.

Or you could go and watch the poor relations Seaton Carew who are trying to rebuild with a very very young squad.

Thats where I will be.

Was having a chat about fc today coincidentally, probably where I'll find myself when it all goes (as if it hasn't already) tits up with Pools. Might well have a gander down for that. Hip flasks and football, how I've longed to be reacquainted.

Think I might try this one as well, got nowt else to do.

I know at least one of the players involved.

Aye could do worse like loyal monkey. Very local side playing at a decent level. A progressive club that has plenty of potential to move up the pyramid.

Should be a good game against Stockton like. Hopefully get a win.

Seaton FC management changed hands again.

Aye. Denis brown has left. Shame because he is a very knowledgeable football man.
Didn't get the support he was promised.

not sure what will happen there now.

Poor Seaton, what went wrong? on a terrible run of results, thrashings not just defeats,that would of been HUFC's fate had IOR not bailed out.

What went wrong? ..

Tell you what went wrong .. I watched them last Saturday as Horden ( who my Son noe plays for) played them.

He used to play for Seaton before all this kicked off.

In the Seaton team on Saturday there was not one player that my son played with back in October..

Thats what went wrong.. They've got no player's anymore.

Aye. They had 5 under 17s playing. And a couple of 19 year olds.

terrible state.

Is it Wearside League both play in?

Yeh. And neither are pulling up any trees.

seaton are just hanging on.

Your lad signed for them in the end then Shame about Seaton, seemed like good lads running them 12 months ago and going places. Don't think there is room for two teams with NL ambitions in Hartlepool, seems like HFC have come out on top. Do you thinks sponsorship had owt to do with it?. Think Seaton had Niramax and HFC now have JDR

Seaton had a lot of players playing who play in division 1 and 2 in the hartlepool sunday league and it showed. Never a wearside standard team but fair play to them all putting the graft in.

Horden are a very good side and they won comfortably without breaking out of 2nd gear

Now now Chunky, there's players in Sunday morning Div Two who can easily play in the Wearside League

You'll get the odd few cos they just want to play with their mates but sure a fair amount all play for same teams on a Sunday so would hope of they were all that good would be performing better

He got MoM too . No its a crying shame what happened at Seaton Carew .. They bad a solid mid table team ( at least) at the start of the season. They'll be lucky to make it out of the season at this rate.

Well you say that, but:

Seaton still have plenty of players signed on, its just that most of them are scared of the challenge of being in a poor team. So would rather not bother.

Seaton have been helped out by Greatham under 17s. And like I said, 5 of last weeks team came from them. These lads love the game, and are mature enough to handle beatings against the good sides. They will beat the lesser teams though. Beacuse they are better players.

The whole situation is odd though, whereas Greatham under 17s have been keen to get involved, Seatons own Under 18 team have been notably absent from helping. A very strange set up.

Numerous sunday league players have played one game over the past few weeks, got beat then disappeared. I think most of them realised they arent as good as they think they are. So would rather not bother.

Its a Hartlepool disease.

Out of Seaton's U18's I think there'd be only a few who would play on a Saturday Afternoon . The problem is they're probably involved in other teams on a Saturday Afternoon ( FC , Horden etc), too hungover, at Pools or doing their hair .

How does that happen though, in a club with a structure and a senior team?

The Senior Team was "parachuted" in . The team then "bailed out" lock stock a barrel to FC for reasons I'm not aware of.

The number of actual Seaton u 18 Players in the team where few even then ( jnr offshore & Ozzy where the only two regulars in tbh)..

Have a word with Bernie he can maybe fill you in if you have a spare hour at the bar one Saturday.

Your lad and one other were the only two that played the first game under Dennis.

But as they are so short of players, its hard to fathom why the under 18 manager didnt help out.

Afterall he appears to have ambitions to take over now.

Think you may have few extra at the weekend Mr Dibbs .. Young Offshore said their where a few at training last night...

Mmmmm lets see who gets the call. The 5 lads from greatham are wondering if they are still wanted. Despite being the ones that turned up to allow the team to survive.