Wasn't really much to shout about was it? We looked sharp for around 15 minutes in the first half when our midfield where firing pacy passes into Muir and him doing well receiving it and bringing other players into play, After Muir's goal i thought we'd easy score maybe 3-4 goals the way we where playing and at least concede one as we always do, But in all Honesty again we could off lost that game in my opinion, Scott Loach AGAIN with some fabulous saves, After half time they just sort off got used to the game and grew Into it more and sussed us out I reckon, I say this every week but Fuck Knows where we would be without Loach, I'd be very surprised if he's still with us in the summer transfer window, If he decides to stay I think he'l give us one more season and go somewhere else if we don't go up that season he's easy to good for this level, He's a league one goalkeeper in my opinion, The only thing he can improve on is his distribution when he catches/retains the ball he always seems to slow us down a little getting up the pitch or maybe it could be our outfield players been lazy, But either way I think he's our best goalkeeper we've had in a long time, Hes our best player for Me to in my opinion he saves us points every week,

Anyway folks what did yous think of today's game?


Ohhhh Yeah and Sunderland First round proper for me home or away!!!!

For me today we played with a back 6 and muir other than that.

Nicky far to slow and sidewards
Noble needs to speed up
Woods if he is our attacking midfielder some one tell him which end their goal is.
James must bet himself how many times he can fall over,offers very little up top

Hignett must see that we need at the very least 2 players and bates needs at least to have tactical change go 433 when we have the ball and 451 when we havent.

So todays game only confirmed what we allready knew and could have been embaressing if not for loach

As a big fan of James i was very disappointed today.

Well said Smithy1. I agree with every word with the exception of the use of the word 'off'.

The team with best scoring chances lost; Loach pulled off some great saves

There appear to be 3 stages to the season.

1. The great start attacking football, conceding too many goals up to the injury of Davies.
2. Anderson comes in and we start winning games and conceding much less going ultra negative as soon as we score.
3. Davies returns, Anderson (our best defender?, is dropped) we are hammered by Salford and we go ultra negative from kick off.

What is Bates doing? The players are decent, we are at worst a top half team. But we have become so obsessed with defence that we offer little threat. Davies is a little slower and no one has the vision of Anderson at the back. I don't get what Bates watches and whilst it is hard to drop any of the 3 perhaps moving Magnay to left back is an option as we have very little attacking force other than set pieces.

James receives the ball either at the corner flag or with his back to a central defender, Muir only looks dangerous when dropping back to midfield as there is always time to place 2 defenders on him.

The problem as in recent seasons is the central midfield, but it looks like most of the game only 1 of the 3 is allowed to attack and show some pace and mobility.

It has become dreary and boring in recent weeks and Bates could do with a chat with Hignett on how to attack or swap roles.

No risk = no reward

I wasn't at the game today (working) but this is a very fair reflection on recent failings. The strengths, of course, start with the fact that the way Pools set up and play means they very rarely get beat.

But picking the first 11, playing 3-5-2 at home against a team 3 leagues below us and only winning 1-0 is fairly pathetic. I do wonder whether there wasn't a three line whip from the Chairman to get through to the next round? It's the pathway to a decent injection of new cash at mid-season, and nobody could blame Raj Singh if he'd like to see Pools get on a cup run for a change.

first 15 we were decent after that we stopped moving and were way too static. As shite as we were, we still could have had at least 5 goals, but it was pretty fucking dire at times

You've summed it up nicely. It was bad, but to some on here it's bad all the time even when it isn't.

didn,t go but a win is a win and in the cup you do not get a bye or guarenteed home game if you hammer someone 9 nil.

I'm all for keeping possession, but there are too many touches on the ball. A few times it was screaming out for Davies to find Kitching in space on the left, but he passed it square to Magnay who then passed forward to Kitching.
And when will Kitching show the confidence to take his man on the outside instead of cutting inside - which is strange considering he only seems to use his left-foot?
MOM for me was Donaldson - he tormented their full back in the first half, but didn't see quite as much of the ball in the second half. He also showed his defensive qualities with some very good tackles. Get him off the transfer list

Agree about Donaldson, in the first half he tortured their full back who was looking at theirmanager for advice as he couldn’t stop Donaldson. In the second half it was as if Donaldson was invisible, he had acres of space yet was ignored. Were these second half tactics down to the manager or players. Instead of getting the ball out quickly to Donaldson it was passed about across the back without making any progress at all. Yes we got the result but the longer the game went the more I could see them nicking one. We pay to be entertained not to watch insipid displays like that.

Not much to add to what's already been said. We won and that's all that matters really. It was only a tenner in, but I did feel as though I'd been robbed, dreadful game.

i`m gonna take a compendium of games on Saturday, anyone up for connect 4?

As long as we win and play dour football, remember we nearly didn`t have a team to complain about!

Connect 4 is that like Tinder or Grinder but for couples?
Not interested mate.

No you don’t. You, like all of us, pay to watch whatever they choose put on display. If any of us don't like what we see remember no one forces us to go.
Having sat through last seasons sh1te it will take a lot more than yesterday’s performance to put me off

Donaldson was in acres of space on the wing and ignored in both halfs. Can no one look up and pass a ball across the pitch?
There was a blockage in our midfield where the ball was passed endlessly in tight little triangles and they seemed to favour four passes where one would have made all the difference. A listless performance.

The weather was good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewh04w2 ... hNf0YK_arI

I agree about Donaldson. Thought he had a good game and I thought the majority of good play from us the first half came down his side. Why he wasn't used as much in the second half we can only guess.


It's true Loach had to pull of a couple of good saves but I think overall we just about deserved a dour game. Muir should have put us 2-0 up on the brink of half time. It certainly looked like he should have buried that chance.


The biggest disappointment for me was that we didn't boss the game as we should have done. I thought the middle three of Woods, Noble and Featherstone were extremely ordinary and could have shown a bit more ambition with their passing given the amount of space they found themeselves in. In the first half certainly.


But a win's a win as they say. Looking forward to seeing who we get tomorrow.

Maybe they don`t pass to the wing backs as neither looks like they can beat a man?

Monkey butt hasn't been happy all season, its only got worse since PJ stopped reacting to his posts.

Pretty sure monkey butt moaned a lot less last season.

I have yes, before his injury he was playing rather well, although the best performance this season in the first half against Halifax, it was Kioso playing in that position and rather splendid he was too.

He hasn`t reacted to anybodies posts, I miss his crazy ass

We must have the slowest middle 3 in the league to be honest, Noble is incredibly slow and very rarely gets near anyone to be able to put a tackle in (be the main reason why he aint been booked yet) Featherstone has gained half a yard or so from his overweight days but still not very quick, Woods can run but only appears in the game every 10 minutes or so. A middle 3 is doing them all a massive favour - im not sure any of them could manage in a middle 2.

That said theres no chance id drop Featherstone or Noble mind.

Cant remember who said Kitchen cant beat a man but he is 6ft 6 or whatever, I dont expect him to even try to beat people to be honest and imagine he played centre back or left back all his career? He doing a good fist of playing a left wing back imo.

Oh and iv seen Donaldson beat players, in fact he is probably the only player we have who can take a man on in our starting 11? Maybe thats our biggest problem?

Oh I agree about not dropping either of Featherstone or Noble. And moving to a middle 2, IMO, would mean dropping Woods (assuming you keep Noble as the attacking midfielder) which I wouldn't do. So yes keeping things as they are is probably the best option. I thought Noble tried to add a bit more drive to the midfield in the second half and I can only assume he was shattered and Bates thought we'd see the game out. Otherwise I wouldn't have taken him off.

It was I regarding Kitchen, if he is not expected to take on a man, why is he playing wing back

Is the role of a wing back soley to take people on? We use him to add width, have the energy to get up and down and also as a focal point for long balls.

Not every position has to play in the same way and surely you play to your strengths? Beckham played on the wing for example but wasnt asked to take people on?

Which is why we have so few goalscoring opportunities, defence minded, he can win a ball in the air and yet he is on the half way line at our corners

Would that be Kitchings fault? He certainly aint on half way line for all of them? Maybe they left an extra attacker on half way line so we brought an extra defender back? Maybe he has a bit more pace than Magnay for example so we left him back to watch for a counter attack?

I agree we dont score enough or create enough chances, Kitching though is a youngish lad doing a job in a position that im guessing is his 3rd choice position. Am not sure how many 6ft 6 defenders you see whizzing past players but if he indeed could do that then he wouldnt be in the National League.

Kitching - in the first half on Saturday he cut inside virtually every time and goes across the pitch - you don't need to be a good defender because all it does is crowd the middle and make it easy for the defence.
Midfield - nobody wants to run at the opposition - I am not a fan of McLaughlin, but he did it once after he came on and created a problem.

We must be the only club in the history of mankind who play with wing backs , who don't take people on and beat a man.

Kitching is a weak link for me, he isn't even that good in the air. Left back is the only position I can see him suited too. A good lad to have on the bench , but if we are going to continue to play with wing backs we need someone better suited to the role. And Donaldson needs to be used more. At time in the second half on Saturday he may as well came on stood on the Mill House terraces and watched the game with us.

I noticed that on Saturday. The third of the pitch near the Mill House Stand may as well have been taped off in the second half. Donaldson occasionally stepped onto it, but it did look as though they were only passing to him if they really had to. We must start utilizing Donaldson before he goes back into his shell.

Think it was 4 or 5 home games ago when Noble refused to pass to Donaldson that a fan shouted to Donaldson - 'have you upset them or something?' and he turned and responded back smiling. There does seem a reluctance to utilise probably our greatest attacking threat.

It's team tactics and it's been going on all season - high ball from Loach out to the left for Kitching to try to get his nut on when there's no opportunity to play it out from the back.

Noble does occasionally remember to ping a long ball Donaldson's way but that's about it. When you've got 9 Pools outfield players bunched on the left side of the pitch and the opposition matching up, you'd think switching the play more often was the way to go - other teams do it to us often enough.

Actually it wasn't, because despite being told to take my cap, I brushed the advice aside and spent most of the match like a torpedo bomber pilot at Pearl Harbour squinting into the sun.

I'm not sure what his role actually is. Saturday he was getting all the service on his wing, while Donaldson was out in the wilderness with tumbleweeds and herds of roaming transient tundra buffalo for company, that's how remote and ignored he was.
Kitching tumbles down the wing like a startled giraffe, fails to take the ball to the line, he goes so far then the urge to charge towards goal takes control and immediately bumps into a random defender, ball lost, attack over.