According to the mail

Wonderful journalism from the mail as usual, half the article cut and pasted from the Donelly article, whilst cutting the last sentence down to take out Rodney's name, hits the wrong demarcation point.
Do they not read what they have copied?

Your job is to write stuff down.

The Guiseley goal so good that it never happened?

Do they mean Fylde? Top notch work from the mail.

Full Ninety innit

Rodney - George - Oates

Is there a pools fan out there that would be disappointed at this??

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Off to Salford City according to Nick Loughlin. If ever a player needed a fresh start it's Devante. He'll have to work harder to get into their team next season than he did to get picked for Pools last.

Maybe Salford look at him as a raw young player who needs to be coached. If someone gets hold of him and develops him with his raw attributes I reckon he’ll be another we wish we had kept.

He’s frustrating beyond belief but he’s someone who if scored for a few games you would sell him for a decent money for a club in our position

[quote="chunky1988"]Maybe Salford look at him as a raw young player who needs to be coached. If someone gets hold of him and develops him with his raw attributes I reckon he’ll be another we wish we had kept.

not seen him as much as some on here but an understanding of the off side law might help him no end.

I'd like to have seen how fared under the new regime.

Yes.

I think it always disappointing when a young player with potential decides to leave the club. If you can’t see the attributes he has and why he’s got a chance of making a decent career for himself then you have pickled onions for eyes.

Saying that his departure was inevitable once Hignett returned to the club given who Rodney is being advised by.

Clearly I will be largely on my own here but I really like the lad and genuinely rate him.

For me, you have to look at the flashes of quality, similar to Nathan Thomas (no, not as good before you bloody start booing me), he clearly has it in him to go further. Some will work all day and get no further, if he is able (like Nathan Thomas) to learn when to make what runs and when and what passes to make, he'll do well because his finishing is decent-ish already.

The composure against Donny, the curler against whoever it was towards the end of last season - not just anyone can do those things and it's not about clinging to past glories, it's about giving him the confidence to go and do it more often as well as the proper coaching to enable him to fulfill his potential.

I will be very sad to see him go.

That assist against Gateshead away as well - one pass taking out 4-5 players for Woods to score. Those who say he does not have a football brain watch that again as not many players at this level would have spotted that pass.

Yes he is frustrating in equal measure - quite often though it is a frustrating finish after getting himself into a great position in the first place using strength and footwork which again not many others in our team could have mustered.

However whatever my thoughts are there are plenty of others who just give him dogs abuse at games which means I think he will always struggle with confidence.

He definitely has the potential to be a game changer. I sometimes wonder what people expect at this level. If he was able to produce every week, he wouldn't be playing in the Conference

there are plenty of players who can do it week in week out....at this level. We had 2 or 3 of those at most last season.

I'd much rather have players giving 6 or 7 out of 10 each week than someone who gives 4 or 5 with the occasional 8.

We need consistent reliable players, both in ability and fitness.

Facts are hard to argue with and 2 goals in 42 appearances last season (starting and off the bench) tells it's own story.

I like the lad and won't forget his brace against Doncaster, but he struggled to make an impact in too many of the games I saw him play in the National League.

You misunderstand me Mr 2001, those 'plenty of players who can do it week in week out' are not game changers, if they were, league clubs would snap them up. I am not referring to those average Joes who put in a decent shift every week (although we need those as we don't have enough, but that's a different conversation), I am talking about those players who have flashes of brilliance to win a game, now Rodney isn't there yet, but with the right training/confidence he could become one because he has shown those flashes of brilliance even under much pressure.

Nathan Thomas had many a quiet game but he'd always be in my team. Exciting, skilful, match winner.

Matt Le Tissier is the top level example. Lazy fat bloke. World Class for 10 minutes and wins a game.

How many of those games did he play up front? Played plenty wide.....and how many were from the bench? How long was left when he came on?

Young kid, trained to be a striker, played on the wing whilst not getting paid in a team that underperformed to a man.

We'll regret letting him go I think.

Totally agree

Well, you did ask

Devante Rodney. 42 appearances, 21 starts. 2 goals, 2 assists. He averaged 47 minutes in all his appearances. Funnily enough, both his goals and both his assists came when he was playing wide right.

And just for a comparison -

Rhys Oates. 36 appearances, 25 starts. 7 goals, 3 assists. Averaged 65 minutes in his appearances. Half his goals and assists came when he was playing out wide too.

The idea that Rodney would have scored a bagful for Pools if only he'd played more games and always started up front is a bit tenuous on the evidence, unless you're determined to see what isn't there. That's not to say that him and Oates couldn't have benefited from better coaching and less of a crisis situation than they were faced with last season. Time will tell.

I like the lad and when I saw him play he did better when switched to the right. That said, his last game at Tranmere was a stinker and even I thought not good enough. As above, time will tell. Hope he does alright though. The effort was there.

Given the choice, out of him and Donnelly I would have kept Rodney.

Loads of potential. In a half decent team with half decent coaching he will be a bastard to play against.

I would like Rodney to stay. I would have been happy to see Donnelly stay as well but he's gone now so we move on.
I am concerned a little about the lack of incoming players. I can't help wondering if people might be holding back on ST renewal because of that, although the current ST activity is impressive. The danger is that this activity could hit a brick wall with people waiting to see the shape of the squad.

Haha, I did and thanks

Now I'll quote that stats can be made to fit any argument, but I take your point

I tend to go with my own pickled onions for eyes rather than stats and judge on that basis. I think Oates is a loss. He was one of the 6/7 out of 10 players referred to by someone else that needs to form the absolute minimum of a team that will do well with a couple of those capable of 8/9's for those games that without them end in a draw.

Oates is also further advanced in his development than Rodney so I think it's reasonable, at this stage, to expect Oates to produce a bit more.

Oates is a good example actually of the point I am making. He's a grafter. Week in, week out, he runs his bollocks off and I can imagine him being a lad who just gets on with whatever he's told to do and plays where he's told to play. Football-wise, I think there is a bit more to come from Rodney. There's just that extra bit of quality that we've seen glimpses of, so if he can get to the point where he's a 6/7 nailed on every week, settle in to that, then push on from there with an 8/9 every few weeks, he'll do well.....just look at his physique for his age! The man is a beast!

By the way, any idea how you train a player to be a 6/7 every week? Maybe I could try it with my lad? 'Listen son, I don't want any of that 4/5 bollocks this week, got to be a minimum 6/7'.

I wouldn't worry too much Mr derwent, they're (players we might sign) all on holiday, eating pies and drinking beer before returning looking like Harrison did when we re-signed him the other year.

Talking of chubs, Featherstone has clearly not been shy with the sausage rolls and cake and that was during the season!

The new regime has made it very clear that Pools are not going to be among the National League's big spenders next season and seem to have been outbid already by other clubs for a couple of targets. Meantime Harrison's signings do have decent contracts, and it will be interesting to see if any of the transfer listed six get offered the same or better money to move on. There's probably a better than evens chance that all of them will still be here in August!

The truth is Bates and Hignett have a very tough task to improve the squad and finishing next season in the top half of the table will be a realistic target. I will be renewing my season ticket as a sign of faith in the new set up - and hoping that we have a squad that can make a real challenge for promotion in 2019/2020.

Potential my arse, a knackered clock is right twice a day, he will be a bench warmer wherever he goes, another one who can`t read the game or a book