People keep talking about Marlins physical presence. I have never seen someone so big get knocked off the ball so easily. He is inept at using his bulk. I was gutted he got straight back in the team. For someone with so much top flight experience would like to see him offer a whole lot more.

His goal return is pitiful too. Fenwick should've kept his place. Bet the lad is gutted. Dunno what he has to do to get a run in the side.

I'd say that was true enough before the half a dozen or so games before Mansfield were for me he was putting himself about and looked a right handful to play against.

I thik the absurdity of our plight can be summed up by the following statement;

We need to go on an impressive run of results to drag ourselves into a relegation dogfight.

I think marlins inclusion was very fishy

I think it's pretty obvious from his recent comments that Moore doesn't rate Fenwick. If that's the case and we have new shiny owners why don't we make a fucking signing?

Ah well, thats that then. At 7 points there was a sniff but at 10 it looks a lost cause. Next up is a game against a resurgent Tranmere. I don't see any way back now.

Relegation will not be defined at the best team in the league. We have lots of winnable games left and although it's disappointing it's not unexpected.

Are they really the best team in the league though? It's the manner of the away defeatd which is disheartening, coupled with Tranmere and Carlisle both racking up impressive wins means unless we can defy the odds we are looking at a good humping at Tranmere next week.

Yes they are, Tranmere are nowhere need the 2nd worst either. 50 points would of just about keep us up before the match and will still do now looking at other results although pleasing when they go our way is futile.

Relegation has just about already been defined, let's be realistic here we are 99% gone. While we're still turning up at places like Shrewsbury with players like Franks and Compton in the team we aren't going to go on the type of promotion form run that we now need. For us to have any chance of retaining our football league status we needed to sign five or six quality players this month and even with them it would be a tall order. We'll improve but not significantly enough to get even second bottom worried as things stand. I just hope we're at a point by the end of the season were most people think we have something to build on going forward.

Yeah I agree it looks very likely but the points dropped today won't define it neither will the points picked up by other teams. The damage has been done already. We aren't 99% though.

I agree that it's pretty pointless even looking at other results. We need at least 33 points to have a chance what anyone else is doing especially while we are losing is almost irellavant. It would only become relevant if we won a lot of football matches.

This lot are 99% gone, realiatcally 100% gone but I suppose nothing is impossible. If sufficient quality was recruited (is that likely??) then maybe 80% gone.

My point was this league is much of a muchness. There are no stand out teams at all. We beat them earlier in the season 2-0 under Cooper. It's fucking so annoying that we are so far adrift of everyone else. But that's what you get with zero investment and losing the quality players we had on loan. It doesn't take much to get up this league, that's what riles me.

If you want a comparison, at the same stage in our last football league season we were on 15 points and we were relegated after 40 games. You have a massive task on your hands but you have a manager who will give you a good chance if he can sign the sorts of players he wants. If he is stuck with what he's got then he will have his work cut out sorting out the losing mentality in the current crop of players.

Maybe it is opinion but it's based more in fact than most peoples on here.

I don't see how seeing teams for a 90 minute sample size means you can make informed decisions regarding how good a side is.

Surely it's more likely you make rash assumptions on what you have seen which isn't the full picture.

Just got home.

First half - excellent. Created far more than them. Score and it's a different game but we didn't. You wouldn't have known they were 3rd and we were bottom. We were stronger and looked more likely to score.

Second half - fucking dire. How the fuck Harrison allowed their bloke (Mangan I think) to dribble round him on the touchline before curling it round Flinders into the opposite corner is beyond me. Block the run or concede the corner. After that their heads went again and it was a matter of how many. Same old same old.

Defending - why is it that we allow the opposition SOOO much time in and around our box? Why does nobody close down or get tighter? At times we were just watching them play it around. Or am I just behind the times? Is this the modern style of defending? So many free headers as well. Really bad today.

If only we'd scored when on top. We really looked the part in the first half and really didn't in the second. Of course once they scored normal service was resumed.

So disappointing.

I think we'll get beat at Tranmere. Probably get a bit of a hiding. Forget chasing Tranmere, they're safe. They're doing exactly what we need to be doing. But then we'll beat Plymouth and I think we have a reasonable chance at Pompey and fancy us to beat Northampton and Stevenage. Beyond that, there aren't many games other than Newport away, where I'm thinking we have no chance. Optimism at it's highest.

Despite the piss poor nature of the second half I'm not giving in just yet.

Shilts pretty much nails it.

First half was great- played with high pressure and a tightness at the back whilst creating a few decent chances. Thisbola and Bingham both good again, a definite improvement. Even Franks was getting into some half decent areas.

The second half was dire and will probably be the reason we will go down this season without much of a fight. Shrewsbury disposed of us with ease.

The way we capitulated after the first was nothing short of embarrassing and our captain did very little in bollocking the players who continued to make mistakes. After the first goal half of the team looked completely disinterested. Moore looked raging at full time but his decision to bring Harewood back into the side didn't work out and i'm not sure how that will have made the players on the fringes feel about breaking in. There was a lot of lumbering about the center circle for Harewood doing nothing and the part of the game plan he was supposed to execute, he completely ballsed up.

I fancy us to get a draw at Tranmere but over the long run we are still a fair few decent players short of staying up.

I never said that they are an outstanding team I just said they are the best in the league.

I have seen games this season around half a dozen or so from our league, but like I said I don't think that matters.

My beliefs are based around statistics and the betting market which I have explained on here before and do not wish to elaborate on again.

Maybe it's not fact but it's a more informed opinion than the man on the street.

Pools won't go off a bigger price again all season that's how I know Shrewsbury are the best team!

He probably basing his league 2 opinions on a Asian betting market as usual.

I should have read his last post before posting.

Eh like who?

Dolan, Williams, Burgess ...

It is with a heavy heart that I have now accepted that the possibility of getting 30 plus points is alas unrealistic. One wonders who will go at the end of the season and who will come in to rebuild this team. I hope Moore stays as he clearly has passion and fight. The squad for next season will be (on the whole) HIS squad (and no doubt younger).

Coming out of the ground, walking through the home fans, the first thing I heard was "they played a lot better than a lot of higher-placed teams". He was obviously taking about the first half, but up til then we could have had at least a point.

Shocking defending after the first goal (which came from a spawny heel bounce when the scorer had no idea where it was - the telly doesn't show how jammy it was). Could have been 6 or 7 by the end. We shouldve had 2 or 3 first half, couldn't hit a barn door. I really hope that was the last time I ever see Harewood in a Pools shirt.

First time I've seen this dayglo pink shirt in the flesh. It looks like theyre wearing training bibs; in the second half they probably thought they were.

Funniest bit was 'you're welsh and you know you are' - my lad IS and the look on his face was priceless

Nice place Shrewsbury mind, glad we had an hour or so before catching the train. Some old style boozers which were right up my street.

That pink strip is hideous, we deserve to be relegated just for wearing the bloody eyesore.
Bring back the yellow and green "Norwich" strip, we had a good away record with that one if i remember rightly..
If only it was that easy eh?