I don't even think luke James would be in my top 50 pools players of all time! Also Kevin Poole should be in the goalkeeper choices along with Harper, even Carson was much better than flinders! No Paul Dalton on the list is also criminal, he was fantastic. Too many good players missing from those choices.

Which fuckwit put that list together?

No James Brown either.

The most naturally gifted player ever at pools.

No Hodge or Roberston , I'm sorry, I'm out

You could almost make a team out of lads who had their careers cut short before they'd achieved their full potential.

Boydy, Mark Lawrence, Simon Grayson, James Brown ... not forgetting Michael Maidens and Dave Wiggett, the lad who died in Bob Newton's car crash. Another good prospect.

What about John Mcgovern surely he should be in the x1?

Denis Behan?

Here's a handy team of players who don't figure among the choices.

Jim Provett
Jack Ross / Chris Westwood / Bill Green / Shuggie Robertson
Ron Young / John Sheridan / George Luke
Ernie Phythian / Ritchie Barker / Eifion Williams

Are you putting Provett above Poole, Hodge and Harper?

This is the strongest argument yet I would say, a Pools player who went on to win the 1st Division and European Cup

Interesting some of the views on Boydy, I'm in the camp with Yloop on this one. There's this common misconception that Boydy was lazy and only played when he could be arsed because of his languid style (he was never quick).

But for a season and a half (after his Boston loan spell) he was consistently outstanding I would say nearly every game and I genuinely got excited about going to see what he would do next before each game in a way I've never done before with any other player. We should not forget he scored 28 goals and had highest number of assists in the league that year and on the question of what his team mates thought of him he was voted Players Player of the Year. Pretty clear.

He got knackered when he shattered his kneecap against Yeovil, was told to run it off by Scotty, it then got infected with with blood poisoning and then he was brought back early against medical advice by Scotty. He was never the same again as a player

Joel Porter is one of my all time favourite players too, but I think he came to prominence later as a stand out as Boydy at his pomp out shined him. That's not to detract from Porter's brilliance it's to highlight how good Boydy was

He definitely looked lazy but you don't score 20+ goals without trying unless you're in Scotland.
He may not have run himself into the ground but that was never his game. Makes me think of a poor man's Berbatov.

Kean came in because Flinders got injured and returned to Blackburn as soon as he was fit again.

In his first few seasons in League One Flinders consistently looked like a good keeper.

I always thought he went back pretty much as soon as Flinders got fully fit (he might have been on the bench a couple of times when he first came back to training but it was only a few games) because we also had Rafferty at the time. I think Kean might have actually originally signed as cover because Rafferty got an injury but got a chance when Flinders got injured.

He was excellent to be fair and probably played more games than Pedersen who is included. It's a surprise his career has gone a bit backwards to be honest.

I would put Les Green above the lot of them, and "trapper" Drysdale ahead of Robertson at left full back, otherwise not a bad team.

Drysdale is on the Echo's shortlist, otherwise he'd haven been in my team of non-shortlisters in a flash.
I didn't sayit was a best XI, just a handy one — and one I'd have been bloody grateful for at Pools over the last 5-6 years.

Brian Honour!!!!!

Andy Saville?

Brian Honour is on the Echo's list. And on my selection.

Results in. Team was

Dimi
Barron McPhail Nelson Mckinnon
Honour Miller Humphreys
Allon Porter Boyd

Some team that, voted for an entirely different midfield but each to their own I guess.

Flinders inclusion in the voting still makes me laugh though.

Yeah its some team. Would of possibly put Tinkler and Watson in myself , in place of whom though? not telling , not starting a riot today.

Of the front three I think I'd replace Allon for Watson. Joe was at his best playing on the shoulder of the last defender off a target man and this is front three, purely tactical I'm not saying he shouldn't be included! Imagine having Porter, Boyd and Watson on the pitch at the same time!?

It's a good team but it's like all things not a reflection of our greatest ever team because people can only vote for players they've seen.

Depends on age etc. as well I guess. I have fond memories of Allon and think Paul Dalton is one of the best players in the world but I was between 8 and 11 at the time they were at their best for us, hardly a good understanding of football.

I was aware enough to know that Steve Tupling was shite though.

There isn't actually a proper midfielder in that three.

Miller was a box to box player who half the time for pools wasnt in the game.

And the front three should be brown boyd porter.

Brian honour was a winger. Humpreys was a striker turned left mid turned left back.

A fucking stupid team.

And despite the ridiculous hatred of humphreys by the bong eyed haters, his best spell at pools was at left back playing behind monkhouse.

And that's a fact jack.

And his amazing banana shot goal at Accrington was the start of that spell.

Always thought he was steady away at left back, let down by poor players around him , and unfairly singled out for criticism imo. If one man epitomized that good spell between 2000 and 2010, it was Humphreys , he was the club during that period.

Predictably there's no one in there from pre-late 80s. And I mean notably the Fred Westgarth and Gus Simpson eras.
Logical really. Footage of Watty Moore, Ken Johnson, and George Luke is pretty rare. It would be like saying some athlete from Sparta was the greatest Olympian ever.
Similarly I never saw Honour, Mckinnon or McPhail, so they can all do one.

He played very well in that spell and scored some crucial winning goals (Accrington, Boston, Walsall) which were all great strikes but his best season was the first promotion season playing left midfield and central midfield. He was different biscuits. I remember nutmegging someone in front of the Millhouse and waving to the crowd. Class player.

A team to beat (easy) the X1 who were chosen

Hodge

Nobbs A Linighan Gilcrist Robertson

K Dixon D Emerson M Tinkler P Dalton

G Watson A Saville

Humphreys was a better left back than he was striker, which is the position he original joined as.

I'm not having anyone telling me Joel Porter wasn't our best midfielder ever.

Some very good players in that team but Hugh Roberston our best ever left back, really?

I loved Hugh and enjoyed watching him but let's be honest he wasn't a great left back was he? He was pretty unfit, and couldn't really defend. He had a left foot that could blow off a steel door granted by he's not really fit to lace Rob Mckinnon's boots. Your centre backs are good choices though and I can't vouch for Dixon who I never saw but I reckon the chosen team would exploit your weakness at left back

Id have McKinnon over Hugh any day but was picking eleven who didnt make the 11...how Dalton and Gilcrist werent in choices i dont know...mick smith too..dont think weve had many decent left backs...real problem position at times e.g phil chambers...im no humphries fan..he shyed out of tackles..for a start...so hugh is prib second best..though blair adams could be one to remember

I thought Hugh Roberston was a great player. Didn't Humphreys have his best season on left wing , having failed as a forward and before reverting to centre mid, then left back ? Someone mentioned Saville as well, how could we forget him, quality player in short time at Pools.

Saville was an unreal signing..quality player and hard..how he came to us i dint know

The 'Sav' came from Barnsley and we paid money for him! those were the days. On his debut v Darlo he made Kevan Smith look like a dick BGT pressuring him into twatting the ball into his own net. Later he smashed a long range shot against the bar. Then he broke his arm in a daft accident and was out for yonks! Dalton scored a great goal in that game too. Dalton was our Le Tissier in my opinion. Shame we needed the cash and sold him though.

Gibson probably paying well above going rate . Wasn't complaining at the time, that whole 91/93 team had quality throughout , until the wheels came off and Gibson was exposed. You could say it was our brush with a George Reynolds, fortunately unlike Darlo we lived to fight another day

No, the Humphreys seasons was the one before when we got promoted. Mark Robinson played left back for much of that.

I thought he was a good player and loved watching him, he was pretty ropey left back though defensively. Rob McKinnon was almost the complete player in that position, went on to get capped by his country and played top flight football in Europe. It's the easiest position to fill in a best Pools eleven for my money.

Just thought of another player who has completely slipped under the radar. Amby Fogarty. He was way out of his depth but in the other direction. No way he should ever have played in a team of Pools standard at the time of his joining.

It was 2003/04 he played left mid I think

Another not mentioned....Ritchie Barker....came in and done the job!!!!

I wouldn't of said he was up there with Watson/Boyd/Porter though.
Closer to Tony Lormor for me.

Barker took a battering off opposition defenders , during last promotion season. A great player for us, but you're right , not up there with Boyd, Porter , Watson. A much better player than Lormor , at Pools anyway. Lormor was past his best when he signed for us, whereas we got a very year out of Barker.