http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/ ... jury_news/

Looking at Harrisons injury prone signings so far ,both permanent and on loan, why would we want to make this permanent? Good player , but no good if only plays 15 games a season, Matty Bates mark 2, will we ever learn? no wonder people are p*ssed off with the club and shake their heads in amazement at some of the decision making at HUFC. Wprds fail me

I’d sign him he’s played about 200 games in his career yes he’s had problems since the start of last season but if he can overcome them or manage them he’s shown himself to be a very good player who made an immeidiete impact when he came in.

We know how good he is PJ , but so was Bates and Rob Jones. We are in no position to be taking risks on paying wages to players on the sick. Do you really think he can overcome them or manage them ? I don't. No other club in the country would contemplate this, no wonder we are in the National League. No doubt if we do sign him and he gets injured, he will be offered a coaching job at the end of the season.

The culture has to change.

You keep mentioning Bates he started about 80 games for Pools he’s hardly comparable to Rob Jones he was a borderline pensioner. Watson is 28 and played plenty of games. If he plays as many games as Bates then he’ll be a worthwhile signing.

I give up. Just remember to get back to me in May 2018 , so we can talk about the 20 games Watson played that helped us win the play offs.

So you are suggesting that we shouldn’t sign a good player, who is back in training and close to being available again?

He’s a leader and captain material as well.

Who should we sign? He played 6 games earlier in the season, we won 4.

I agree, but he is injury prone and we are skint. That is why I cant answer your question on who should we sign, because it is pointless, we couldn't either afford him or attract him or both. We have a good young player in Ledger , but Harrison has hardly played him since Watson got injured.

I know of no other club like Pools who sign players who have big question marks over their ability to play week in week out. Its as though its well known throughout football that we are a soft touch, desperate to sign anyone, so players come here for one last payday. If you look at Woods career, its one of managers continually taking a look , but then deciding not to sign. Yet he has part of a struggling team here for nearly 4 years. To be fair to him, he has played over 100 games , albeit not very well.

Mixed feelings on this. I agree what PJ says about if he overcomes his knee problems then he will be a quality player, but those types of underlying injuries never seem to go away.

Another difference between him and Bates though is that Watson is the kind of player where his knees don’t have a huge impact on the kind of defender he is. Bates is not the biggest, but because of his knee injuries you could tell it effected how slowly he turned and pace in general, which didn’t leave him with an awful lot else.

Bates could read the game and his quality on the ball was far above league two standard for a defender. His injuries meant he was almost as slow as Scott Harrison though. I'd stick with Watson purely on the basis we looked infinitely less exposed at the back when he played, we can't predict how many games he'll miss but if he's fit he's the first name I'd put on the teamsheet.

Watson only played 6 games. Hardly enough time to make an assessment. Bates when he was playing was steady away. I'm sure the likes of Macclesfield's Whittaker , Solihull's Carter, and Chester's McCombe , all have to modify the way they play because of old age and injuries picked up during long careers. They still have something to offer though

The big difference is attitude, some want to play on, even if its through the pain barrier, some don't.

We have had our fingers burnt in the past, Watsons last couple of seasons , suggest we will get our fingers burnt again. Why would lady luck suddenly smile on us now? We need to be signing and attracting loan players who can play week in week out, not players who other clubs dont want because they are crocked.

I think I'm agreeing with Horden on this one.

Quality player but no point if he can't give us 35+ games a season.

It's going to divide opinion. I can see both arguments, a quality player who won't play all the games or players that will be available most games but either turn as quickly as a barge or have no ability to judge the flight of a ball.

We've also had our fingers bitten by loanees don't forget, though they generally aren't as expensive and can be sent back in the next available window.

As I said on the other thread, it sounds very much as if Pools will sign him from St. Johnstone as a Hartlepool player in January.

From what Craig Harrison has been saying this week it doesn't sound as if he will have started a game by then, so a 6 month contract with an option on another year ought to be the way to go. Risking 6 months' wages in one thing; a longer deal when he's still got so much to prove fitness wise would make no sense at all.

many players at all levels have played when really they should not have.

it depends on how well our physio department can handle watsons condition
if handled correctly he could play the rest of the season without mishap

also depends on who harrison plays along side watson

and being able to spot when he needs to be subbed
lets say we are winning a game comfortably you could sub him
after an hour of play

also depends how astute the dugout is
i will leave you lot to decide that