Long article on the contrast between Wrexham's and Pools' fortunes in The i, with interviews with Jeff Stelling and Buster Gallager. It's behind a paywall so I've copied a few bits.

Jeff confirms that it's "100% true" that the Yanks wanted to buy Pools first - he acted as a go-between to put their representatives in touch with Raj, but Raj was sceptical and the Yanks moved on to Wrexham because it was taking too long to get a deal done with him. “It was a real sliding doors moment for the club” So that's the Raj version of what happened publicly binned!

Jeff also calls Dave Challinor "the best manager the club has ever has ever had." Thought that was Keith Curle

"Stelling hopes to spend more time at the Suit Direct Stadium next season now he is leaving Sky’s popular football Saturday after 25 years. He remains optimistic that hope can be discovered in the wreckage of this season.

“I would say ‘don’t panic’. We’ll see what happens,” he says.

“I know there are a number of groups interested in buying but I’ve been in the position before where I’ve been trying to broker deals or help broker deals and when you ask people to put their money on the table that’s when the crunch comes.”

"Perhaps what has happened at Wrexham may end up benefiting the club in the long-term."

“Surely when people look at the joy those two film stars are getting out of non-league football then hopefully there is someone out there who thinks ‘I wouldn’t mind a bit of that’.”

Did Jeff only start supporting us in 2019? How can he think Challinor is the best manager we’ve ever had? We finished fourth in the Conference and lost was it 6 away games in League two? Neale Cooper got us to the League One play off final! I would have Danny Wilson and Chris Turner ahead of him too. Then there is also Clough, Knowles and Murray from before my time.

Signed an NDA but happy to talk about it publicly now. Hmmmm

My understanding is there was feelers out a few clubs, Wrexham, Hartlepool, Crewe and Bolton to name a few but all to establish interest etc.

You were no more likely to get it irrelevant of what Raj said

Investors such as this come along once in a blue moon and if they don’t get received like saviours and not getting welcomed with open arms, they’ll move on merely because being strangers to the game they’ll take the path of least resistance to get the deal done with anyone.
They may well have contacted us first, but I suspect maybe we were the first on the list of their portfolio not on preferential reasons but merely to assess all possibilities on offer.
To be brutally honest it sounds like a fairytale too good to be true of two Hollywood millionaires turning up to most clubs and after Coxall we’d have been very wary and cynical.
As for best manager ever…… makes Mr Stelling sound like a ‘cling on’ who arrived with IOR and assume the club’s history began then…..

its difficult to say who was our best ever manager as there are different circumstances around when you talk about them. best or most succesfull are also two different things. some have come to pools at the right time and others have not. if askey gets us up on a shoestring it will be a better achievment than if someone comes into the club and bankroles us.

Jeff just showing hes as much a football man as Raj.

Poor poor show if hes been talking like that.

Nobody has mentioned Fred Westgarth as a contender but some of the teams he put out were a match for anybody. Chelsea came to the Vic as Champions and they and the Busby babes got the fright of their lives.
I've witnessed every manager from Westgarth onwards and Challinor would struggle to get in my top five but I didn't start until 1952 so can't judge those who managed before then but I think a guy called Priest was held in high esteem.
Would Challinor be considered as a contender to have a stand named after him, I don't think so.

think who the manager is seems more important now than in the days of fred westgarth. i was 7 before i went to my first game and had no clue who the manager and owner were. now kids know about singh and askey before they know about the players. do not when all this changed. possibly with alf ramsey and englands world cup win with owners getting more high profile after that apart from the household names like bob lord and tommy trinder. the rest were more or less chairmen of a board consisting of other local businessmen.

It’s the old story of people thinking stuff started and ended in their lifetime. The prime example was the ‘player of the century’ nonsense with all of the contenders coming from the past couple of decades.

Was not Wrexham is a good financial shape (fans owned/involved) which would make a takeover cleaner. Please correct me if that was not the case.

It was the case. Wrexham was fan-owned at the time, the club was solvent and so the initial £2 million the Yanks put up went straight in as investment - which was ideal for them really.

I'm sure Mr. Wrexham 1864 can correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks Mr Hogan it's the type of investment you would make. The Darlo issue and the Coxhall may have swayed their decision. It would mine.

Wrexham debt free until Covid and surplus of £500k-1m rainy day fund. Probably technically debt free as of takeover in early 2021 but running at a loss as got no crowd income or state support.

Takeover cleaner? I wouldn't say that. Trust members had to vote deal through. Been highly embarrassing if they come out about the deal and we rejected it.

Thanks for info. Mr W

We'll never know if Wrexham were simply second choice (and nobody is ever going to let that slip to Wrexham fans that they were second fiddle) but in the end their situation (not having a Raj to contend with) made them a better choice.

Raj and HBC.


https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/20244 ... -purchase/


"Ryan Reynolds@VancityReynolds So happy for the entire @Wrexham_AFC community. The importance of the club owning its own stadium can’t be understated. #WxmAFC"

If we go into Administration then having a council owned ground will rapidly speed up the recovery.

Lots of ifs n buts.
UTP.

I’m a bit wary of selling grounds at our level.
The Hollywood saviours have turned up, pumped the money in and enjoyed the adoration of an adoring fan base, but being new to the business will they be happy when they confront the reality of rising up the league because the glory days feeling will be a bit harder to come by.
The sale of the ground would be a bit like losing the life raft, because hype apart are these people really at Wrexham for the long run or till it loses its thrill and fades away.
It’s great will it lasts, but how long will it last? The road to hell is paved with saviours.
Call me a cynic.

Spot on Snowy, if Wrexham go on a losing streak the crowds drop off etc the adulation will soon disappear, success at that level means spending loads of money, are the fillum stars in it for the long haul ?

Chris Musgrave might be able to buy Pools with all the millions he has made/making on the old British Steel site according ing to various articles. It first appeared in Private Eye, I can’t find the link about dealings that were made over the sale of the land.
The Plant Hire firm owned by his son could be Pools sponsor they have the contracts on the site to supply the plant ?
Then again do we want some one like that to be involved with Pools ?

Any club can go on a losing streak, but you have to ask yourself do you want to be getting relegated and playing the likes of dorking? Or do we fancy getting to the top of league 2 winning most weeks and probobly going to fa cup 5th round knocking out a few big clubs on the way with major backers?

The wrexham thing might end in disaster one day, but that day looks a hell of a long way off or you can have raj Singh looking after affairs, can't keep staff, players don't really wanna play for us, losing most weeks, unable to compete with clubs in league 2, losing one of your better players to South shields and now possibly another one. Fans told to shut up or we will basically be put into administration was pretty much the threat.

So anyone with money has got to be better than what we are putting up with now, reality will probobly hit home once again this pre season, when we bring in players from lower league football.

would be delighted to bring in a few more dan dodds from lower leagues and a couple of jjosh umerah,s also. its how they play and not where they come from.

[quote="Snowy"]I’m a bit wary of selling grounds at our level.

The sale of the ground would be a bit like losing the life raft, because hype apart are these people really at Wrexham for the long run or till it loses its thrill and fades
the only sale i,d be happy with if the council sold the vic to the fans and that could be fan owned with the club responsible for its upkeep. the vic is adequate in its present form for where we are and we know the rink end will get little use next season. new stands etc. are a thing for the distant future.

Not to mention Mo Sylla.

It stands to reason that Askey will be recruiting mainly from non-league and academy sides. In general, highly rated players from EFL sides don't take the drop into the NL unless they are being offered the sort of wages that Salford, Stockport and Wrexham have been able to stump up in recent seasons. This side of a dream takeover Pools aren't in that position.

Askey's recruitment is bound to be judged a failure before a ball has been kicked by fans with unrealistic expectations. That's the one prediction for next season I fell confident about

never a truer word has been written. its askey out if we dare sign anyone from scarborough, dorking or even worse ilkeston town.

Can’t disagree, but lower league players picked by the right person may not necessarily be a negative…..other league clubs do it why shouldn’t we until our knight in shining armour with cash turns up our choices are limited, so you make the best of what you get.

Well we did say that guy from cove rangers was signing shite from the Scottish leagues. That's not unrealistic expectations it was league 2 suicide.

No one can argue that you can find gems the thing is our policy has mainly been sign anyone we can from the lower leagues, having a team full of lads who aren't up to league 2 standards doesn't end well as we have seen.

All of Pools' permanent signings in January were League 2 players except Dodds and Pruti and Dodds was the best of the lot. That's not to deny that recruitment in our two year spell back in the EFL was nowhere near good enough for that standard of football.

On the other hand, the players who got us promotion out of the NFL under Challinor were football league cast-offs, loans and non-league players. Sterry wasn't even in the NLN!

Sorry, forgot our marquee signing from the Indian premier league Easily done!

like the has been bradford signed from overthere on past reputations.