I have just read about the Bar staff at the Vic working for free on Saturday which is an amazing gesture and shows how much people care about the club but something doesn’t sit well with me again here. Why should these people work for free (and I understand they have probably offered and want to, credit to them) so more cash can be handed over to pay people like a totally needless and incompetent head of recruitment who’s probably on a good screw and Pam Duxbury? It should be them working for free, I’d rather us pay the bar staff double to honest something is all wrong in the World!

Onto another amazing person Rob McKinnon selling his shirts, along with his Scotland shirt with the quote “I love them but I love Pools more” Not only one of the best players to ever play for us but an absolute top bloke.

I really would hate to see this money poured into a black hole given the lengths we’ll intended decent people are going to, to raise it.

Actually looking forward to Saturday, but it's just a ray of sunshine peeping through the rain clouds, after the whistle blows at the end of 90 minutes it's back to the waiting game.

Yeah it’s the first time I’ve been gutted about missing a game it’s felt like a stroke of luck up to now!

Hope this gesture is made known and tips flow freely.

Good idea! they will probably earn more in tips than they would being payed.

Its what ordinary people do isn't it ? think of the war effort , and usually it goes unnoticed and they continue to get fooked over afterwards.

Like PJ, it doesn't sit well with me either , although it is well meaning and honourable , as things stand I could never do it , wiork should be paid , end of.

I think that you're right in this example, but not the general proposition. You've noted this morning that the 'business' mentality is pervading more aspects of everyday life; in other words, we increasingly commodify more areas of life and turn them into financial transactions. I agree, that's a terrible problem, but you've just put all 'work' into this category. Volunteers do many things for reasons other than money, and lots of these are 'work'. Insisting that these all be paid for, turns them into mere transactions. The obvious example is the 'work' of the trust and others engaged in fundraising. I wouldn't say that they should be paid, and it looks very much like work to me.

People have always volunteered, generally in the past , people in retirement etc, but there is a culture in this country now, of abusing volunteering, for example unemployed people are told to volunteer in order to make themselves more employable, maybe sound advice and well intentioned , but abused by some businesses. Some people of working age FFS! , again well intentioned may volunteer to work in their local library in order to keep it from closing, but its jobs we need and by doing that its highly unlikely those jobs will return, Where does it stop? are we going to have volunteer bus or train drivers?. If people don't have money in their pockets , that employment provides, then where do we go as a society?. I know one thing , if supporters don't have money in their pockets,Pools would be fooked.

People just don't get it ! If those working for the club got paid, that money would more than likely boomerang back into Hartlepool's local economy, pubs. restaurants, shops, and the local football club. You cant have people working for nothing, unless of course the rich, the boss and the employer are prepared to do so as well

Surely Sage have already sacked our head of recruitment, after all they have stated no more transfers will be arriving so his job is surplus to requirements.

Probably recruited himself onto a very secure contract and still gets paid regardless. Player recruitment might be over but we still need to find top people like Insolvency Geoff.

I think this is a great gesture by the bar staff at the club. I, too hope they are well tipped.

Being Devil's Advocate here, but won't the bar staff, if offered tips, then probably say put the money into the fund to save the club?

That's up to them.

But it's a fantastic gesture so I think people should get their hands in their pockets and give them that choice.

Head of recruitment might also deal in outbound transfers and have a cut.