Bring back this fella as trainer!


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We had a really ugly team back then!

Not the best but they put everything into it and gave their all.

I bought my Adidas Santiago's so I could be John Coyne!

I'd just love to see them run out on Saturday....trouble is the youngest ones would be in their seventies...... so no problem then.

Malcom Dawes comes to most homes games had a few good chats with him. Bobby Smith was not long with us but he is one of my all time favourites skilful midfielder who was hard as nails. Reminds me of our present midfielders how can I joke at a time like this!

They possess one thing we aren't seeing now, commitment and not so much an aggression, but a willingness to impose themselves on the opposition.... Yeah aggression it is, on second thoughts and I like to see that.

Spot on Geoff.

Bobby Smith a very good family friend did well in management now living in Swansea happily retired

Great picture Mr I - that's the year I started going, or maybe the year before. We were sunk, lost at the bottom but Ashurst & Toms got them playing and they put a great string of results together. It was stirring stuff and its why I'm still a Pools fan now. If only we could rekindle that fight and spirit now...

Remember the 71/72 season well. Rock bottom and 7 points behind on 18 March 1972. Beat Colchester U 3-2 and took 18 points from last 13 games (2 points for a win back then). That was the original great escape. Remember being congratulated by some Millwall fans on a tube station in London about Pools in the days of get kicked in for no reason. (Another story - won't bore you).

I was 9 at the time of those great days. It was the first time I ever got excited about Pools and I vaguely remember a lot of night games. Did we play a lot on Friday night?

I do remember it was easier to get over the wall on a night match!

They were still sh*te , but I would back them to beat Barnet this Saturday, even as 65 year olds.

Please bore us ! Peaceful Millwall fans in 1972 , that's worth hearing ! or was it something else?.

Hey Horden this is gospel. Living in Peterlee at the time and posted to Woolwich Arsenal with the army. You will remember they were the days when fans wore those stupid silk type scarves wrapped around their wrist. I had a Pools one and was up in central London somewhere some Saturday wearing one like you do, or did. I happened to run into a mob of Milwall fans coming back from some London derby and when they confronted me I thought that was it. But some enlightened one of their number said words to the effect of Your Hartlepool they've escaped and he even mentioned Pools exploits at the bottom of dvision four. "Good on yer mate" he said and they left me alone. Never understood that one but thankful anyway. Point of the story is though that despite being shite the lads had some pride and fight. Difficult to see where its coming from at this late hour but we live in hope as we always have done. Great music back then as well!

Thanks for that insight. Yes being a Pools supporter has some perks, the fact we are generally crap has saved me from a kicking many a time, bit cringeworthy when opposing supporters take pity on you, my dad always said no one hates us , because we have never upset any teams in the past by beating them regularly or denying them honours. In the grand scheme of things we were nothing then and still aren't.

A few older lads I know from Blackhall went to Millwall with Sunderland in 1974 and amongst around 1000 away supporters 90% of them must of sustained some sort of injury , whether just a black eye or a good kicking, so count yourself very lucky

PS. I had one of those silk scarves, got in from the souvenir shop that used to be behind the Rink End .

Thanks Horden and agree, that's probably what saved me. Lost count of the number of times I have endured abuse and still do but then in the same breath they mention Jeff Stelling. Never had him in our day but I always counter with Brian Clough, Neil Warnock, Willie Waddel, King Keith Houchen et al. Wouldn't be the same if we were suddenly successful in a new stadium at Rift House and lost amongst 20,000 plastic glory fans. Prefer it as it is now. No ambition and no money but for fuck sake Pools, beat Barnet on Saturday, grind out a draw in Gloucestershire and wipe the smirk off Marquis Coppinger and those Donny fuckers. Good luck to them in Division 3 and enjoy your champion's party but our need is greater.

I'm getting a bit old for a good kicking these days, but would still trade one in for a title win or a cup giantkilling at a Premiershite club, though it would probably be their reserve side these days. We live in hope ...

Watling-Potter-Dawes -Green-Goad was a very decent defence. With a couple of proper goalscorers that team could have been comfortably top half of the table.

Great photo in that borrowed Man City kit after the fire. I think that was the season after the great escape as Johnny Coyne and Honour are in the team.

That 1972 great escape season was my second season and still the greatest for support I have witnessed. We need the 1972 'Poolie roar' on Saturday. Remember those 5,000 and 6,000 crowds at the end of that season. The crowd scared the opposition.

This posting is full of 'Rose Tinted' glasses. The team was terrible until that Colchester game. Here is my nostalgia in '72 we had Willie Waddell fast forward to 2017 can we read Nathan Thomas over the next 3 games. You know the song we got Nathan, Nathan Thomas on the wing, on the wing ............... ! Add in some good old fashioned bog roll thrown onto the pitch too as at Orient on Monday then we may not crumble!

Nothing left for supporters now other than to stand united in support of the players.

Ah last kicking I had was in a bus shelter top of the bank Horden going towards Easington etc. (Don't hold grudges if it was you, all our yesterdays sad old bastard etc). Agree with your sentiments. Looking at younger Pools fans now they wouldn't believe you if you said we ran Manure ragged (albeit before our time), lost 0-1 to Chelsea and matched them (again before our time). Beat Blackburn away in '74 2-1 and took AFC Bournemouth to four games in that cup. Beat Palace 2-1 in 77/78 and again in '93 (Andy Saville) and were the first lowest league team to beat a premiership shite (Palace '93). Stoke City more recently 2-0 and can you remember the face on Pullis? We always play shite against shite and pull it out sometimes against decent opposition. One positive note for me is that a few years back Barnet FC actually said they wanted Pools to remain in the league despite south/north differences when you wouldn't expect it so have a nice holiday Barnet on Saturday and we will supply the buckets and spades from a fine Seaton Carew seaside establishment. One worry though is that big guy who plays for them and scores goals. Sam Akinde?

Hey balltofeet, thanks for your reply post. You are correct. Until that Colchester 3-2 lift off they were shite. Willie Waddle on the wing was a terrace chant hero but don't recall he did much but lives on - probably because of the name! The rose tinted glasses bit is correct on account of being so shite for so long after first promotion in '68 there had to be something to cling on to. Funny but I think of Stephen Halliday as being our last Willie Waddle. I still get annoyed though when I hear Neil Warnock's name mention and receive blank looks when I tell them he played for Pools. This sad old bastard now 63 will always love my adopted Pools and just hope they can do it when it really counts on Saturday. Have no doubts if we don't beat Barnet as sure as eggs are eggs Newport will if they don't get something come Saturday against "who are they" they will beat Notts County at home last game. Scary stuff.

Yes, it's the team photo from the start of season 72-73 (it's written on in biro). The defence was canny but the forwards couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo. We only scored 34 league goals all season and managed to finish 2 places lower than the Great Escape season.

It's not a good choice of year for omens either - Pools were 12th with 8 games left but then D4, L4!

Of course it's full of rose tinted glasses, it just felt at the time slightly better than the shite preceding it. Thing is though, they may have been crap in relative terms, but we're always up for the fight. Sometimes attitude compensates for ability.
Let's keep our memories special, we're in nightmare land now.

Bill Green still goes, sits along from us in CK. A bit grey but still looks more mobile than some centre halfs we have now

Yeah, Man City's Home AND Away Shirts. Even those got destroyed in yet another fire later on that season and we played in Chelsea Shirts (even had their badge on!) for a while. I saw us play at Southport in Hereford United's white shirts too, and at Home Vs Doncaster, when we ran out in the Chelsea shirts and they ran out in "Purple-but-almost-Dark Blue" tops. Referee made US change because it had said on our Team Sheet "Sky Blue". There was at least a 15 minute delayed kick-off while they sorted it. We ended up wearing White shirts that day too. I MUST get to the Library to dig out photos of that.

Sure we won at Aldershot in 1980 wearing Sunderland away strip, we forgot ours and sent someone over to Fulham were Sunderland were playing and asked if we could borrow their strip.

Ah yes, the Vince Barker era, when teams in the Northern league were on a better financial footing than Pools.

Looking at the likes of North and South Shields this season, nothing's changed!

Remember Tranmere (maybe) playing in an inside out away strip at ours due to a kit clash. Was that awful half red half white with black rectangles debacle.

No apologies needed Chip and good on you for what you did despite no thanks. Yeah it was a bit like that up there as I remember. My kicking was a gang of lads in the bus shelter in early '72. Don't do or condone wife beating but would forgive you anyway.

Just spent the morning driving around Horden and Easington, the highlight was a dead cat with a smile on its face at the lime kiln car park near the beach. But, the sun was shining and maybe that's why the cat was smiling.
White one either ginger markings if anyone's interested.

Pretty depressing picture of the collieries, glad I live in Blackhall, the jewel in the crown of the East Durham Riviera LOL. It was all so much more civilised before 1979, HONEST !

Ah yes Blackhall Rocks. Haven't been there for a while but there used to be a good chippy on the junction of the road down to the beach. Remember as a kid men going down there and coming back with loads of edible crabs. Before my time but the photos are still around of some high powered Italian ice cream parlour down on Blackhall beach as well.

My memories of Horden was the bottom of Blackhills road where you find dozens of dogs roaming around and getting stuck with a bitch in heat.
The difference between Blackhall and Horden were a world apart I always found Blackhall people so friendly and family orientated.

My grandparents lived in Horden so spent many school holidays up there.

For some bizzare reason the one memory that sticks in my head most is a Video rental shop (Opposite side of the road to a pub possibly called the Legion?) Used to love going there as they would let me get 18 rated films etc (Predator/Aliens etc not porn) and used to rent loads of Mega Drive games too.

Suppose that fact I was spending time indoors watching films or playing games was my overiding memory of the place says a lot about it.

Actually I used to enjoy going to the Asda nearby and there was a bakers (Sparks?) and used to love their hot stotty buns. Got them home and me Nan would spread shit loads of "best butter" on them.

My dad is a Horden Yakker and I used to go up there on weekends probably once a month. Strange how it seemed a long way and yet its only 4 miles. My over riding memories of it all are warm and fuzzy. All very welcoming and being made a fuss of. I don't have a single bad memory of the place.

Yeah he did. John Coyne was a massive hero of mine as a kid, he had a bit of a swagger about him. Nowhere near as good as Joel like!