Released from his contract by mutual consent... https://www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk/news/2018/january/310118-jack-blackford-leaves-hartlepool-united/

This makes brilliant sense.

Well done to our head of recruitment once again


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Can't blame the lad. Never got a look in so be better off elsewhere

Can't blame the lad. Never got a look in so be better off elsewhere

Technically if he's going he's not being recruited

Don't worry lads, we've still got lewis hawkins to play on the wing!

Jeeeez, a sniper couldn’t pick them off quicker..... is anyone left? This club is being ground into dust.

Gone from trials at Man City and Rangers to being released with barely a game for us.

Only at Pools.

Don't blame the lad to be fair but don't understand why he wasn't given a chance in the first team.

The panel on Monday night were saying you have to give the younger players a chance to prove whether they can make it or not. He was never given a chance. Good luck to the lad, he's best off out of this mess.

If he changes his agent to full 90 we might sign him back. He'd be a shoe in for the first team then. Obviously not in the right position...

Which management agency is he with????

probably go somewhere like Bristol Rovers and have a good career

Could maybe understand if he was a big earner or something but seems strange.

This is probably to spite Craig Hignett from his comments on Monday

By the end of the day he'll have signed for Bradford City or somebody, ala the goalie who went on the pursue a career outside of football.

Going to the USA by all accounts. Great that young players have this option these days, go to the USA, China, Thailand or Scandinavia. Will earn a good living , maybe see a bit of an interesting country, a sort of working holiday if you like, probably ruin him as a footballer , before coming back after a couple of years and signing for Shildon.

The issue with him was always going to be his size and at this level especially, it's too easy an excuse to not give him a chance. He's been wasted at pools, good luck to lad.

My gut instinct is he'l be a good player in a few years time and like wommers said will probably have a good career.

Sorry state of affairs when I think of the shite who get a run in the team. Really bad management AGAIN.

I only saw him play for 45mins pre-season against Whitley Bay. He looked fast, skillfull and direct. Obviously that wouldn't suit Harrison - or maybe he just had the wrong agent.

Good Luck Jack, better off away from those poisonous bastards.

^This....FACT!!!!^

It’s a bit harsh to talk about monkeybutt and his mate like that they’ve championed the lad since they became family friends.

Jack was a victim of not being one of the lads, didn`t go out drinking, lived a healthy lifestyle and trained hard.

Dave Jones gave him his debut, 30 minutes at home and we lost, think it was Barnet, played well and really tried, travelled down to Orient in the squad and got beat again, on the way home a meeting was called by the players to work out how to get rid of Jones, I cannot divulge the ringleader but his name rhymes with Mates!

Jack did not want to be part of it due to him just getting a break in the team and stayed out of it, Jones gets sacked and Bates/Paynter put in charge, full first team and reserves play a full 90 minutes at Victoria park on the Thursday and Jack was left out and told to train with youth team, no explanation!!

New manager comes in and retains Bates, Jack is sent on loan to Shildon, plays well but nobody ever went to watch him so no progress report, first time he watches him in a game would be the reserves v Rotherham, told Jack he would be in the squad for Wrexham game, turns up really excited and finds out he is not in the squad.

Only so much a young hungry lad can take, he would have played for NOTHING, just pride of playing for his home team, absolutely gutted for him, he DIDN`T want to leave but felt he had to.

This has always been one of your more obvious parody accounts Mr Butt, what seems a little strange to me is the timing. If Woods and Deverdics do go by default the lad would have got a chance surely?

Decided last week before Woods talk about leaving and had interest from America but had to be out of contract.

no idea who CJpoolie is by the way.

Careful you don't breech the protect Pam at all costs social media policy.

Those days have long gone.

Because he’s been surrounded by tactically inept, inferior coaches and allowed to go to waste by a management system that has been paper thin and overwhelmed since day one?

Sorry, but the idea that a young reserve team player would be permanently ostracised for not participating in a players' meeting about the worst manager in Pools' history sounds like the purest dog shit (to use the term of the day). I wish the lad all the best and am sorry it hasn't worked out for him at Pools, but yet more divisive stirring serves nobody well at this time. "Yorkshire Mafia," anyone?

Didnt Hignett give him his debut after signing his contract??

That game, that he was left out of the squad was the Cheltenham game. Must win, on an absolutely dreadful pitch against a physical team. They brought in Conner Simpson from nowhere who’s 6’4” so I think you can maybe see the thinking behind that squad, what type of game it would be and why you wouldn’t take a kid like Blackford to it. Added to that he virtually left the pitch in tears after the Barnet game the week before, was he really ready for a game of that magnitude? You might be right but it seems quite far fetched really. Good luck to him anyway.

Considering how dog shit we've been whilst he's been in the squad, it does seem odd that he's never been given more of a chance but then would you trust the judgement of any of the coaching staff / management.

Or maybe he's just not good enough.

Anyhow, I wish I got the chance to play football in America at his age, what a great opportunity for the lad.

Good luck to him.

Every chance he wouldn't have been good enough, but every promising youngster should be given a chance, not just one game but a run of games , at least half a dozen.

Its happened to how many youngsters at Pools over the last 5 years? dozens I would think.

People cry about us scrapping the youth team, but what's the point of keeping it, if it isn't being used for what it is intended for? that is to feed players into the first team and or sell them on at a profit.

Its criminal what HUFC have done to some of their youth players.

The only good having the youth team at the moment is it keeping 5-6 coaches in jobs.

The youth team squad photo has more coaches than players.

Whilst I agree the youth team has not been anything like the production line it should be I'm not actually sure we've let many slip through the net either. I can't think of a single recent exmple of a player who's came through our youth team, not been given a chance by us then gone onto play at any sort of level. We let that Buddle go and he went on to play at Blyth and Carlisle but the couple of times I saw him he made Marlon Harewood look like Pele. Is it the recruitment and standard of player coming in that's the issue, is it the coaching or is it just systematic of evrything at the club in recent years? It's something that has to be a priority going forward if we can afford one in what ever format that any youth set up has to have a structure and pathway into first team football, it has to be worthwhile.

5 minutes.

Another issue is the constant turnover of first team managers, if you are changing your manager every five minutes and the current incumbent is never more than five minutes from the sack then your never going to see a long term plan including blooding young players, and the manager will be less likely to give them a chance as they see it as a risk. It's a vicious circle, I reckon if Hignett had not had the rug pulled from under him he'd have got more of a chance as would a few others but as well I think if we had loads of fantastically talented young players they'd have played. The truth we probably haven't, we have probably had a few who might have made it.

Why do we need a youth setup at all? Should just scout Boro, Sunderland and Newcastle youth teams and pick up the best 17-19 years that they release. Be a much cheaper way of doing things. Hell, we might even end up with a Hartlepool lad joining seeing as the best from this town seem to end up at the big three

I agree PJ. My point was more to do with , we may of let some potentially good players go, rather than we have let some good players go. As you say , cant think of any who have went on to greater things. Whilst I do think most wouldnt of made the grade anyway, lets face it most of our youngsters have been rejected by other clubs anyway, or thats the way it used to work , I do think we may of destroyed a few to the extent they leave the club thinking they are only good enough for the Northern League etc. Football at that age isnt just about playing and physical ability , but psycology and belief in oneself. I would imagine as a club we would fail miserably on that score. Once they are let go and get a job and play part time in NL their attitude probably changes and they are lost to the game at a higher level. One lad I used to rate , but was another never given a real chance , was Joe Tait now at Spennymoor. To think that he dropped down that far, yet could be facing us next season, or at least we hope.

Flying to America tomorrow.

Enjoy your holiday.