[quote="billinghampoolie1908"]Pre season will be the usual sign 2 players after a few weeks, fans will claim they are fantastic signings, though they will of played 10 games between them in the last 3 year's and probobly come from Halifax reserves.

You cannot blame fans too much as we are all in the same boat as hoping players will come off. Doubt they,d have seen the new signing before he came to pools, but will be taken in by all the bullshit from the club about him and seeing him interviewed in his shiny new kit with new club scarf round his neck. We,ll have no clue whatsoever until we see em play whether they will be the new armstrong or hawkins.

The paper is really worth a read. I don’t quite agree with that conclusion. The analytics can be carried out by someone who isn’t a coach but the parameters, assessment and execution (coaching) has to be done by coaches. Ultimately, you can have the best insights in the world but they’re useless unless you do something with them.

It’s a bit like a 30 year old bloke who spends his waking hours playing some war game on his computer telling the army he can sort everything out and the experienced lads aren’t needed.

Back in league 2.
Should be a couple of highly charged games with sell outs.
Great for football.

Should be interesting on his ‘return’.

snowy..."Should be interesting on his ‘return’."

...im told that there should be some "interesting" flags banners and chants like...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wagn8Wrmzuc

I’d expect nothing less

I wonder if Stopcock will go on a spending spree to take them ‘up where they belong’ after all, their storming up the National League was a close run thing in the end as their momentum stumbled…… but unlike us, they’re owned by a zillionaire from the way they talk, so money should be no problem.
Yet despite talk of money, did Challinor sign anyone of substance for them despite their new owners apparent wealth?

Before you tell me it’s in the past Snowy, can I please just say that Dave Challinor has been the most important person at this football club since Ken Hodcroft. He’s a proven winner, and arguably the best manager in league 2 next season. No matter how you spin it, we needed Challinor more than he needed us.

Oh and watch Stockport utterly romp league 2 next season…. FACTS

Calm down, keep your wig on, I had no intention of referring it being in the past or anything else. I am interested to know if they will go on a spending spree, I find these things intriguing, so don’t jump the gun.

No doubt County will come into this league as probably the highest spending club in the transfer window (Crawley may also be throwing the cash although Crypto
Is on its ass atm). Wrexham if they can get through may also put us and others to shame in the league next season. Its already looking like a much harder league
And i can imagine DC having a lovely budget to spend. Will see alot
More L1 and championship quality for sure next season in this league.

They bought the league though - and it was always coming with DC. They just finally found the correct formula which money always would. I think if i was Wrexham
And didnt get up this season id be throwing the kitchen sink at getting DC in charge.

Hopefully he has an emphatic few months at County and Boro or someone come in for him. The prem no doubt will be his workplace one day thats for sure

Challinor was interviewed on 5 Live yesterday after they won promotion. He admitted that Pools supporters were every bit as good as the fans at Stockport - asked about his "brave" decision to drop back down to the NL, he waffled on a fair bit ("many reasons") but it was clear it came down to having more cash to splash.

Said that as County have won the League outright he'll have more time to spend on player recruitment to make sure they can do well in League 2. I expect that means the County released list will be pretty long.

Francis-Angol was a starter for them yesterday and in the last few games, but I wouldn't say that guarantees he'll be offered a contract for next season.

They will do well next season though I'm not sure they will do as well as maybe they think they will. Much harder league don't care what anyone says and when they did get a tougher spell of fixtures towards the end they suffered a little despite pretty much buying the league.

At least the game should draw a big crowd with them, I just hope we spend some money on our team to at least not roll over before a ball is kicked.

I think the money thing is over-hyped, oh it makes a difference but the right manager is far more important.

Agree, if Challinor gets of to a good start he will move on, money talks, loyalty doesn’t.

FORGET the money, the coaching, the backroom staff and all of that stuff, only one thing matters…..’the fight in the dog’.
You have to want it to get it ….. and once you want to get it, you put in the real work in on the pitch.

he must have installed some fight in the dog as they were struggling in mid table when he took over. shows what you get when you have an under 23 manager in charge as they had and we eventually had. for fans who do not like it he certainly improved pools after he took over with the same bunch of players.

DC is without a doubt one of the best football managers at lower level. If not the best NL manager there is and has been for a long time.

Id like to think Raj can find another like him.

Grayson might shock everyone if hes appointed who knows.

There are other managers out there beside DC, who were we praising before we signed him as manager……?
Trouble is, finding them!

And here we have proof of something I've long theorised

https://mobile.twitter.com/platty1983/s ... 2403402754

I bet 90% of people in that stadium have either worn a city or a United kit

Never mind Stockport, how many do you see round Hartlepool along with the Geordies and the macums strips, very rarely see a Boro top though ?

You don’t see as many Newcastle or Sunderland shirts as you once did.
The Newcastle ones usually look time worn, like the wearers, and probably charity shop bargains. However when the richest club in the world starts buying big name players doubtless sales among the Gumby’s will take off.
Only time I see anything Boro is someone out running for some reason and not a shirt, but a top.

Stockport is closer to the centre of Manchester than any of the other of the fringe footballing towns, even Bury.

On one level, fair play to County for still having decent support at all. Can't have been easy in the years before Money Bags Stott not getting sucked into the vortex of two of the richest football clubs on the planet.

There's going to be a lot more plastic Mags walking around Hartlepool in the next few years. The way their season has turned around is all the proof anyone needs that you can buy success with enough money - as long as you get a decent manager on board too.

The question is where have these extra fans come from and will they stick with the side. Just the same as all the extra poolies there have been at the vic this season. Doubt they have just all been sat at home every saturday for years waiting for the good times to come. Remember there population is over double the hartlepool one with largish towns within a few miles from the ground unlike villages. they are offering something that pools can equally offer if they got their act totally together. cheaper football, players that are approachable and will actually speak to kids. something the mags and the big manchester 2 can never offer.

thats possibly correct about the new 5k fans they have found. its up to the club to attempt to keep em playing winning football to keep em from going back to the dark side.

When the football fades, the klingons fade too. You have to maintain the myth that football’s always about glory and winning and provide the proof to the newbies it’s worth hanging about.
I wondered where the converts came from when IOR took over. One lad I worked with took the piss out of me for going to Pools, but a year down the line he’s a season ticket holder after IOR arrived.

think the convert types are people not over interested in the game but will attend when their local side are doing well and drift away once the bad times come round. its human nature really as i doubt many would go to the pictures either if they didn,t fancy the film on offer. think its the premier league where fans move from club to club to follow success. doubt it happens in div.1 and 2.

I always remember when Blackburn won the first Premiership and I saw a lad in a Blackburn replica shirt on a sunny Saturday morning in June walking down York Road, he could have been from Blackburn, but…….

Stockport board already a wash with just about every decent released Championship player going to them.

I can see them making another Paddy Madden size signing for this league. Be 1
Or 2 stella signings from them for sure

As long as we get a couple of take-no-prisoners Brew Dog types in.

Agreed, But if the person holding their lead is a Liberace tribute act what’s the point?:uhoh: