Agree about Menayese,Sterry,but when has Featherstone ever toughened up the midfield.

You can't have been paying attention - Feaths was a bit of a bottler when he first joined Pools but over the years he has developed a nasty streak.

It’s not about toughening up the midfield. Featherstone would have held his position unlike Crawford and Sylla. Watch the first Carlisle goal. Crawford under no pressure heads it straight to their guy who breaks a half hearted tackle and runs fifteen yards before passing to the guy who scored. He then took it another ten yards before scoring from 25 yards. Where was Sylla? Featherstone would not have been as far out of position.

I’m still amazed that when the back four get criticised on this forum at every opportunity Ferguson seems immune from any of it. His defending isn’t great and don’t get me started on his dead ball delivery.

The subs added nothing. Why does Grey never get on? Ndjoli was dreadful when he replaced Hamilton. After Hamilton went off Umerah had no support whatsoever and We couldn’t hold the ball up. My optimism for Cooke looks misplaced.

The wingers were poor. Odour needs to man up at this level. Neither him nor McDonald help out the full backs and, come to think of it, they didn’t really help out the strikers either.

It was a tough watch in that second half and it’ll be a long season.

We obviously have a big problem but the most obvious part of that is the word we.
There is the club, the management, the players and us. Together we go down or together we stay up or go forward. It is as simple as that.

Unless Sterry and menase get back quick we are in big trouble.
Can’t see us picking up too many points with Murray and tumilty in back 4.

pools were due to lose a game eventually after that little unbeaten run. no one wants to lose any game but in the bigger picture a defeat at harrogate will be far worse. we cannot just say well we,ll be ok when we get two lads back as in the modern game we,ll likely have two others missing then.

but he is always there to receive a pass from someone in the positions he gets himself in without the ball going all the way back to defenders. we have no other player on the books to do that.

Your answer Snowy:
Last 22 div 4 fixtures =1 win

Can’t argue with that.

We just need a sneaky win from somewhere. We all know this will be a tough watch this season. We just need to stay up somehow.

We need strong physical players , Curle will know that true, won’t be prett but we have no room for the weak players as they are nt bringing anything else to the table
By Jan it needs to be bye bye to
Murray
Lacey
Patterson
Tumilty
Crawford
Ndjoing
Hastie
Shelton
Crawford
The kid from Sunderland
Grey

I’m terms of being near the 1st team…doesn’t leave us with much

Looking at that list, there’s a lot of blandness there, no one to excite.

11 players on that list. Only 1 is on loan. What do you propose to do with the other 10, cancel their contracts? Some of them signed 2 year deals only this summer. Where's Raj supposed to find the money to replace half the squad after paying them all off?

Are you part of one of those fantasy football leagues or something?

You make a very good point, but sadly in football sometimes fantasy takes precedence over facts.
The ‘fact’ being it would, in practical terms, be a nightmare for most clubs.

With a bit of luck we might be able to send some out on loan more so the ones from north of border who might relish a return up there. Of course is there a budget to bring in new players in during the transfer window ?
I had another thought, probably get ridiculed for it, there must be some decent players in the Northern Leagues who can’t afford to pack there job in and play full time football. Could Pools not bring in a few part timers from those divisions to try and bolster the squad ?

The clip of our squad staying up is fantasy football league. We basically a national league North team operating in the EFL.

We approaching the January window a bit like last season. Trying to Offload the dross.
Maybe some Decent Rec or Grayfields players can help us stay in the EFL.
What a mess

I’m afraid there has to be a budget in the transfer window unless this team can be brought into line, but even then we need cover, so the cash has to be splashed.
I think you suggestion about the Northern league is something that should be monitored and pursued on a year round basis, so I’m not gonna criticise you over it Mr J

You gonna do the voice for me on my new lyrics song on the survival post.

We need a scout like Tommy Millers Father who lives in the north east and is familiar with the northern leagues to identify potential players.

not just the northern leagues but all of the country. surely there are ex players and those who know something about the game still with a love for pools living far and wide who would do the job even on a part time basis for expenses only if they were asked. imagine all managers and coaches as well still have loads of contacts in the game who they trust. back to basics in a system tried and tested over time before the tippy tappy brigade came into being.

I'm sure there would be takers for the likes of Murray, Hastie and Tumulty back in Scotland but they came south to the Tees Riviera for better money than they could get up there. Cancel contracts or subsidize loan deals - it's still going to cost money.

Not saying it wouldn't be worth it - but it's not my money.

I don’t think people realise the gap between the Northern League and league football. Again who in league football has part time players.

I think we’re talking selective prospects, not for to go straight into the team.

N,Lge to Lge2 a bridge to far , I think.

hope you mean part time wage being paid. there are a lot of part time performers in the league with a few at pools. never ever seen a northern league game but the standard must be no better than other league in the same pyramid group.

there is a certain Marcus Carver ... who is now back playing for said none league club we paid money for him from. (Southport?). It doesnt work - the step up is too big im afraid, there is a reason why they are none league. Last thing we want is a none league unfit CB - no matter how shite Murray is he will be better than any none league CB thats for sure

My sentiments exactly Eiphos. Carver is a prime example.

carver was a prime example of who to stay away from. someone who was a non league player for 10 years and not a young lad who lost his way. colby bishop, dion charles and dean windass all from non league national league north, darlo,s level, and windass from harrogate railway. all signed by money bags accrington and moved on to big league 2 clubs. these players are around but take some finding. they will only be found if pools spread their scouting network far and wide and not concentrate on youtube clips and the north east and more recently jock land.

Non-League gems are few and far between - the proven, better ones usually have very well-paid jobs, and aren't interested in going full time, hence why they are still part-time. Glen Taylor at Spennymoor, and Graeme Armstrong before him are notable examples. Both had numerous offers, and could have easily played EFL, but just wasn't worth it financially. And I'm sorry, but no-one training part-time would be able to cope in the EFL even at pools level, so that idea was a non-starter. You can try and find a younger rough diamond, but these are likely to cost you a fair bit as well and are a gamble - Charman from Darlo cost £40K and hasn't pulled up any trees at Rochdale. And location will be a factor - Bishop and Charles joined Accrington from Southport. Not too far from home. I would hazard a guess that moving to a struggling Hartlepool would have been a more difficult sell. This is probably, in part, the reason Pools have ended up looking at Scottish market. Cheaper than English non-league.

Players have to come from somewhere, most clubs don’t have the luxury of academy’s.

The way of the modern world we live in has a lot to pay for in terms of the way L2 clubs now have to farm / nurture talent. Look at how many players Pools have actually produced over the years who are plying their trade in our starting 11, better still at any League football club altogether. Where is Simpson these days and the lad who went to Fulham ? Blackford was tipped for greater things too.
Also add on top any sniff of a player whos showing potential above his years - the Boro and Sunderland are first in the queue.

Pools many years ago offered lads in the NLN and conference at the time deals - all to be told it wasnt worth their while with the money Pools where offering, due to the their other commitments (and these where local lads too) so times havnt changed much in that sense. Its a shame as i know back then those lads would have excelled at the club at that time and also would of been sold on for alot of cash - It was common knowledge at the time of Adam Boyd coming through that there was 2/3 other lads who where better footballers than him - unfortunately (like myself).. women, beer and tabs where more appealing and the wrong path was chosen ! happens all the time in low income smaller towns.

Pools in my lifetime wont uncover the next Gazza or Vardy - but what i do hope they do is use the academy to all its benefits and hope we do start to produce actual talent and decent players who can be moved into the mens team and perform - even better, sell them on and keep the club well above the water.

They do, it was more the notion you can sweep up a raft of talent from non-league I was querying. Northern League is not the standard it was now that teams have had to accept promotion. So by default, the better players are now playing at a higher standard, and I would guess, being paid better wages for doing so. Plus Non League now has so many hobby clubs that hoover up the better players, and offer wages that can be better at that level than the league in some cases.

Of course no league is not the answer, but….. we can be selective and keep a watching eye out for the odd player it does occasionally throw up.

every single signing is a gamble. is charman league standard or just the wrong club at the wrong time for him. this location thing needs putting to bed. if a player wishes to have a career at clubs a 6p bus ride from his home he either has no ambition or that much of an interest in the game. think pools through hartley looked north of the border because he knew the players there, doubt he ever looked down the non league english line anyway and some english players he might have looked at wanted better terms than the scottish lads and possibly would have been ever worse.

[/quote"thebigdog"]
Why do you only come on after defeats…?[/quote]

Return to Doncaster thread. I was there.[/quote]
My apologies.[/quote]


Good lad[/quote]


No problem young un.

Bye bye to Grey? He needs more physical development, not binning

thing is he will always have a slim frame and there is nothing really he can do as he is just born that way. didn,t stop players like billy bremner getting stuck in during games.

The only comment I've seen from Curle is that Joe Grey and Ellis Taylor need to do more in training to catch his eye. We don't see what goes on during the week so the people who go on Twitter on a match day complaining that he's not in the first 11 are just going off some of the form he showed last season.

That said, Hastie has had more than enough chances to prove his worth as an impact sub and not done it. Curle has nothing to lose by chucking Grey on for 15-20 minutes and seeing what he can bring to a game.

If Grey isnt pulling his weight in training then fair enough - you have to work damn hard as a young pro to catch the experienced eye of a decent manager, if thats Curles assessment then fair one - but i always think he shown enough last season to prove he has what it takes - even an as impact sub - his goal against Blackpool and other cameos he made in them cup games was brilliant, really thought he would be kicking on this season and being either a starter or guaranteed sub off the bench. Either way im shocked that he sees something in training with Wastie, but there again hes only having to attack against Murray and Lacey - i know a few lads off the rec that would do a job on them 2