oz..."it is just the way things are with a club like Pools. We are left with journeymen pros, former stars who are on the wane, loan players and youngsters trying to launch their careers. That's what comprises our current team and it will be no different next season though the individuals will have changed."

nah...once upon a time......

poole nobbs bennyworth mcphail mckinnon honour olsson tupling dalton allon baker

konstantopoulos barron nelson westwood humphreys tinkler sweeney williams daly porter boyd

Byrne is on a 2 year contract .

think if any of the relegated teams have the odd decent player in their side they,d jump at the chance of staying in league football with pools. all teams usually have a couple of decent lads in the side no matter how poor their results have been.

Good to know.

I would be very disappointed if our management team aren't already trying to tap up their targets at other clubs. A lot of players move on at the end of their contracts. We have to be able to offer competitive deals and if so life at a club like Pools should be attractive to players in the north of England. I bet Richie Bennett is spending more on housing than he ever has before.

But the majority of those players were with us in the golden days when IOR were flashing the cash. If I remember rightly it was also in the days before financial fair play came in. Unfortunately, we are in a very different financial climate to those golden days. Fortunately, thanks to Raj the financial situation is now steady and we know we have a club to support "every Saturday". Of course we all want to be top of League One but we have to be realistic in my view.

bennett or anyone else from down there could not buy a run down slum for what they,d spend on a decent detached property in hartlepool. there food bill would also be less.

lets not forget that almost all of the playing squad dont actually live in Hartlepool - They rent in the likes of Yarm / Ingleby. Not so long back Pools had a house in Wynyard which a few of them rented. The areas in which they could choose to live/rent are absolutely bang on.

Bouzanis no doubt get offered new terms hes a cracking GK at this level - would definitely take him at Pools. As for Bennett no doubt end up back in the NW with a NL side or a struggling Oldham depending where they finish this year. Again, id have him back at Pools up top with Bogle no problem.

There is some right Gems in the teams going down / at the bottom that are out of contract tbh - Piagianni at Oldham is one. Who also we tried to sign in Jan by all accounts. Even Scunny have 1 or 2 who id think Pools isnt too far of commute for them either. Im sure Mr Lee has his feelers out

Correction, the second team where under IOR , the previous team were assembled under Gary Gibson’s ownership.

Just out of interest re attracting players to this area, 15 of the players above were either north east lads or based in north east.

True, but I did say the majority. Poole was was a loan player and Some would argue Tupling doesnt belong in either list.

Nice try..... but I’m not swallowing that, if they played in the team, they were our player for that period.
Tupling was totally underrated by the terrace gobshites, who took offence at his hairstyle, “fucking hippy” a popular comment from the middle aged Mill House terrace rent a brain’s.

There have been plenty of southerners who've uprooted to come & play here in recent seasons.
How do you know Bennett couldn't wait to go to Sutton,maybe they were the only club who came in for him.
Stockport didn't want him & even though he had a successful spell here,Challinor wasn't interested in a permanent deal for him.

I'm going to be really pissed off if we end up losing players to direct competitors. Remember, even in the Scottish Prem, there are clubs who have similar budgets to English lower league clubs so players leaving in that direction would also irritate me. Having said that, who could object to a lad who has bust a gut for us from playing at a higher level?

But

We aren't there yet. Nobody has left. We still have time to put the right offers in place. We'll see.

Removed

How does FFP work? Beeb reporting today that Salford Lose 91k per week, pretty sure likes of Harrogate will be in a similar boat. I thought FFP was supposed to prevent this sort of behaviour

Obviously they aren’t (I hope!) but it seems ‘hobby’ clubs are exempt, because they can’t possibly be economically viable in the traditional sense as their crowds alone consist of two blokes and a bored dog ( and where do these new fans emerge from?)

sponsorship is included in revenue gained like gate money and transfer fees you receive. imagine some dodgy sponsorship deals going on at the hobby clubs.

Kevin Poole was a Middlesbro player who played 12 games for Pools. Tyler Burey is a Millwall player who played 7 games for Pools. I cant see how they can be described as Pools players because their loyalties lie elsewhere. But hey, who am I to challenge your opinions. The point I was making several post above was that a club like ours will field a team of journeymen professionals, former stars on the wane, youngsters starting out and loan players. Players who do well for us like Mols, Odusina and Ferguson, will leave for better things as soon as the contract permits. Twas ever thus except in the halcyon days of IOR's at their peak. Most Poolies know this in their hearts but like all footy fans we like to dream of glory. Thats my view, take it or leave it.

oz.."Twas ever thus"...

yes... of course we will never be able to keep all our best young players..on the rare occasions we have any..but that shouldn't mean we are inevitably always and forever consigned to be the complete bag of shite you describe...."journeymen professionals, former stars on the wane, youngsters starting out and loan players"... "take it or leave it" ?

The thing is Harrogate aren't better things though, maybe slightly more ambitious with money. Choosing them over us be like going to Watford instead of man u.

This is how i see it too - we are a club that is fortunately surrounded by big big clubs. We have a great talent pool within the North East and Cumbria and even better (at times) Youth setup to call upon for loanees to help us in our struggles. Pools unless bought by some sugar daddy multi millionaire (and im talking real real money bags type) will forever be a League club. The local seasoned pros will always find their way back, some not always as good as others but thats part of being a team at this level.
Then we will always have that one Joe Grey / Boydy that will come through whom we cash in and keep going. Its a love affair im afraid you have to deal with supporting a club like ours. Im sure we will see the day again when we have a team of promotion pushing stars who are contracted and stay the duration, when this will be is anyones guess as atm we are in a rebuilding phase of the club. We must concentrate on getting that star 11 back (as we had last season) - but making sure they are all our players, only propt up by the nice to have loanee players. Thankfully due to our cup runs and attendances we are probably in the best stead we have been in since those IOR days - build on it and keep making signings like Bogle - Sterry - Byrne... plus pick up the odd uncut gem like Timi and Fergie and we are well on our way to L1 status again !

Spike today quoted as saying some of the players demands are unrealistic in terms of the fresh contract talks - this is exactly how you go about leaving a club knowing fine well you have suitors ready to pay those demands. Player leaves making the club look like they couldnt afford them. Again a frustrating thing about supporting a team like Pools - loosing some of your best players in crap circumstances like this.

billyboy....."maybe slightly more ambitious with money"....no... harrogate's owner has multi millions..bought the club as a toy for his son to manage...ambition has nothing to do with it....players go there because they get more money...same reason they go to stockport...same reason they go to FGR...if saudis took us over they would come to us....but you know that..still we "maid a profit" this year and we get good crowds this year ...so why not us ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPTmwTpgzu4

While they’re playing for us, albeit on loan, I hope they do their best for us , as any goals scored still count for us like goals saved. Of course I know we don’t own them, but while they’re playing for us I see them as our player on our team.
If you want to challenge my opinion, water off a ducks back to me... it’s all about opinions, so challenge away, I really don’t mind, you have your opinion and I have mine ...... or this would become a bleeding knitting circle if we all agreed.

oz......"I cant see how they can be described as Pools players because their loyalties lie elsewhere."

...whats all this shite about loan players exactly ?...best player to ever play for us and a loan... jan ove pedersen.....what are we saying ?.....we cant include him and kevin poole in any of the best ever pools teams ?...."loyalties lie elsewhere" ??.... ffs..... "take it or leave it" ?....left it thanks....garbage...

You used the expression "bag of shit", I didnt. The combination of players I describe can sometimes bring a little bit of success, because some the journeymen are decent solid pros and the youngsters and loan players may have real talent, it is just that success will not be a regular occurrence and being "steady" will be the most likely default position. I am just trying to be realistic. It is my view, you clearly have a different view and you are entitled to it. I am not trying to start an argument. Surely there is room for different opinions on here?

Exactly, Snowy. No one wants an echo chamber.

uh oh.....you thought mols and fergie leaving was bad news...but it gets worse.....cook to be offered a new deal .....from 6.58.......dont bloody believe it... that really is taking the piss....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfXZIKjQsK0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVAX166QwrU

So Harrogates owner isn't ambitious? If he isn't ambitious how come he has spent fortunes on the team. I've heard it all now.

One thing is true, I've never known so many of our decent players be out of contract. I do get the feeling that there is a reluctance to speculate on decent deals and we are going to pay for that. Hopefully that lesson has been learned.

Lee reckons he’s been trying since February to tie players down and some are asking for unrealistic figures. To me there is only Mols, odusini and Ferguson worth arguing with. The rest imo will struggle to get a better club and I’m sure we can attract better.

If Harrogate’s sugar daddy owner was really ambitious he wouldn’t have bought Harrogate.
If they were successful they’d need a new ground as their present ground is incapable of expansion, but despite the cash pumped in the punter’s aren’t beating a path to the Workmen’s huts Stadium.....when the interest goes, the life support machine will be turned off.

Agree 100%

Fergy to Harrogate is still just a rumour, nothing more, nothing less. If it turns out to be true, it seems highly likely Harrogate have offered a better deal than Pools so Fergy is going for the money rather than the prospect of promotion and huge crowds chanting his name as might be the case if he went to a bigger club than Pools. He still has some years left in him though he is no longer a youngster. If he is on his way, I bear him no ill will, he has given us some fantastic moments and no one would begrudge him the chance to better provide for his family.

Are they really asking for Unrealistic Wages or is the club being under generous?
Like Boydy said uping their wages is easier than trying to find replacements.
We not buckled but we aint skint.
Suppose it boils down to Ambition.
Hopefully them 3 can be kept on.
UTP.

Yep these players are known quantities. Not a gamble and I'm sure they would prefer to stay where they are while being rewarded for their success. We are all about to see how much ambition the owner has for the club. Surely he must know that these crowds can't be sustained if he shows none? He aint daft.

Mainly due to the fact that Odusina and Molyneux were not part players under previous management and only got offered a one year contract to bill out the squad.

Ferguson is the only stand out one but he was given a 2 year contract initially.

If any of them leave I don’t really think it’s a lack of effort from Pools side. I also don’t blame any of them for moving on even if I disagree with why. I would take the money if it was offered so why shouldn’t they?

jon....."If any of them leave I don’t really think it’s a lack of effort from Pools side. I also don’t blame any of them for moving on even if I disagree with why. I would take the money if it was offered so why shouldn’t they?"

...sadly totally agree....the reality is we just cant compete financially with clubs like stockport wrexham and harrogate... and now crawley etc etc...whose owners have multi millions and a bottomless pit of money..and players like managers are just contractors who just follow the money...unless there are good reasons why not like family ties to a particular area.....the idea they think about "crowds and their name being chanted" when making a choice about contracts is for kiddies and roy of the rovers comics...

pity clubs do not realise that as well. every new signing is a gamble and the devil you know etc. no fan minds players going up leagues but not doing sideways moves for possibly a few quid a week more. sounds as if its the money where the problem lies and not lengths of contract the club is willing to hand out. think pools have ambition but not at any price.

[quote="poolie1"]uh oh.....you thought mols and fergie leaving was bad news...but it gets worse.....cook to be offered a new deal .....from 6.58.......dont bloody believe it... that really is taking the piss....

expected something like that a few days earlier on april 1st.

accrington..."expected something like that a few days earlier on april 1st"..

....just beyond a joke....and to be announcing it at a time when the few decent players he has are voting with their feet says it all...clueless....think its nailed on now hell be signing his mate morris.... another fkin crock..

"He might be somebody who can offer us something if we get him fit" is a fair way short of a promise of a new deal.

Agree though that Raj needs to tell Spike that there's no chance he's going to waste a wage on another Luke Williams situation.

Well if this happens i shirt sponsor next season could be BUPA or Vitality Healthcare.

cant be wasting what cash we do have on crocked players next season - we have seen how the league works and know that every body counts especially if we have another cup run. Mols and Timi where bit part players absolutely and now have become first names on the sheet... funny owld game the way it works out.

Crawley look to now be another force in this league when it comes to finances - along with Stockport and potentially a Wrexham or Notts county we need to make hay while the sun shines as there will be alot of big dogs in this league next year taking the pickings of the best out of contract players !

I gather sometimes players ask for unrealistic wages they know they wont get in order to engineer a move. I dont know anything about the Mols contract negotiations but you wonder if this is the case with him.

Yeah you are spot on poolie 1. Pro football at League 2 level is no different from working at the pipe mill.

It's not that long ago that Molyneux was talking about wanting to stay at Pools. Pity the club didn't strike while the iron was hot. Or, more likely, his agent made him see the error of his ways

like those copy of the rest interviews when players and managers arrive at the club with the bright and shiny new kit on and a club scarf round their necks. The usual, its a great club with a great set of fans being spewed out with the move being in the pipeline for months and they cannot wait to get started. my football hero would be one who said that they are here for the money and its the best their agent could come up with.

hogans...."Or, more likely, his agent made him see the error of his ways"

...probably....caa base ltd...mols agent..say they have a "commitment to honesty"..

https://caabase.com/

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/luke-mo ... ler/419331

crock boy cook is with new era global....bet they struggle to "keep a straight face" during forthcoming negotiations with razor sharp spike...

https://neweraglobalsports.com/

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordan- ... eler/61646

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc5JncTtu3k