For me his new position just sums up the joke of a squad we currently have. Couldn't keep himself right when a full time player. Now still picking up a wage and on playing staff yet hasn't played a minute in pre season. Desperate for an experienced centre half yet we actually have one.

I agree.

Bang on. Waste of a wage.


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Indeed and perhaps he might just have to play depending on how bad laings injury is

None of last seasons team should be here , Bates especially. Problem is when Harrison is sacked that fooka will walk into the job, courtesy of his 50% win rate.

Well that's better than Harrison's record at Pools by a few percent.

Not saying he should get the job, I'd be begging Wadsworth to come back. Might not be exciting but he could get a team doing the basics right.

Does the fact that certain players will perform for Bates, not tell you that Bates may be the problem?. How many times does this happen at struggling clubs? players initially work their socks off for one of their mates, then when he gets the job, normal service resumes , and they sink like a stone. Bates would take us down, no doubt about it.

Bates should of gone in the summer, it's his type of 'couldn't care less' attitude that emanates right through the club presently, he's too laid back for me, and I can't forgive him for going missing at key moments in previous seasons which has cost us dear points wise. Something in me say's that this whole debacle is some ex-Boro employees masterplan designed to push our club into oblivion so that Boro can maximise the support benefit's and become a major Premiership club force..........Conspiracy Theory...itis.

To be fair his leg died 2 years ago.

Apparently signed for a team in the Darlo sunday league! Turned out for them last weekend.

Apparently? So you'll have no problem backing this up with some hard evidence then?

Otherwise, thanks for the visit, shame about the Darlo home defeat on Saturday. Not been a great weekend for North East teams, has it?

He is still registered to play with us so he wouldn't be allowed to do that, I believe. Darlington sacked a player for the same thing when they were in the Northern League.

All I know is that one of my players who knows lads in the team he is meant to have played for, said that Bates and Neil Maddison both played last sunday and were meant to be signing on to play in the league.
Yes it was a bad day for us too yesterday. Total over reaction from some on social media as per usual. Cant please everybody all of the time thats for sure.

I don't believe this. Many people had nothing good to say about him when he was playing and now that he isnnt he is still the focus of people's anger. The problems lie much deeper than Matthew Bates - please get a grip!

The player we sacked was Marc Ellison, ex pools I believe?
However he hadn't done anything different to what a load of northern league players do. It was just a stipulation put in place by Gray that any Darlo player was not to play any other football, even if they were non contract. He played one sunday game and was given the boot.
My own sunday team has, or has had, players that play both NL and sunday league.

I agree with the idea that Bates is registered to play for another season and with the central defence in such a mess it would be no bad thing if he did some proper training and tried to get match fit.

That won't be easy. As far as I can see he took no competitive part in pre-season. On the other hand, Harrison has brought in his own assistant manager and even the goalkeeping coach gets billing above Pools' alleged 'first team coach,' so what has Bates got to lose by remembering he's still a footballer?

If Harrison turns things around and is still manager at the end of the season, Bates will get the push from his coaching role - you can quote me on that prediction.

So why did Harrison keep Bates? was it a case of :

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?"

Like Woods, Donnelly and many others, he's under contract for another season.

So hopefully he will be gone when contract is up. In the meantime we just pay him to go through the motions

If Bates definitely still has a players contract with you lot then what I mentioned above really does need looking into.
Its already been raised as a complaint in our league about it but apparently the FA have to get involved.