In the last 2 months Pools have played 8 of the top 10 teams in the final League 2 table. One of them beat us.

Grimsby finished 11th and we beat them 4-1 away.

Screw the might-have-beens, it's all about next season now. In Askey we trust.

Absolutely agree, as long as he is still here I’ll be renewing my season ticket.

Let's hope we find the right owner.

It’s been the wilderness years since Challinor left, let’s hope we hang on to Askey, because you can never take anything at face value at present.

apart from that 3 match blip pools have looked a different side since askey arrived. at least the last couple of games can give some hope for the next season with a few decent signings in the right positions to add to what we have got. ryan johnson back to the vic anybody, he,s contract at stockport is up.

And Z F Angol released by Oldham

What Askey has brought to the team is discipline and a work ethic to replace the wandering aimless attitude we’ve had endure f from players and management.
He should be allowed to get on with the job without interference, there is no other option.

we didn,t want him. stockport didn,t and now oldham. thought he was a decent lad but there must be some problem with him.

Can't recall him having a bad game for us, yet was in and out of the side no matter how well his previous game was. Personally I think Fergy will be 1st choice LB / LWB next season.

As Callum Cooke said post-match, Askey has given the team an identity, something they lacked all season till he came in.

Keith Curle was a massive disappointment in that regard. With all his experience he couldn't even decide on his best 11, let alone how they should play. No wonder the team struggled.

Askey stuck with his best 11 as much as he could and they knew exactly what was expected of them. They've proved that they're better players than the 'National League North standard' jibes some people are so fond of.

I think next season Pools will play with an attacking 4-3-3, as long as him and Darren Kelly can make the right additions to the squad. Should be worth watching!

(No surprise that Dave Challinor is still wedded to his 5-3-2. Does he even have a Plan B? Didn't look like it yesterday.)

Let's not blow too much smoke up this teams arse, they hardly won a game all season and when it mattered against Crawley didn't even turn up. Yes massive improvement under askey but could you rely on them to win 20 games in the conference?

Cooke also referenced not being able to say too much without getting in trouble - re lack of characters in the team - which is fair, because we've bottled big moments throughout the season. Askey suggested Sterry was departing and cited an unhappiness across a few on a number of things this season. It's a shame we are unlikely to see Umerah again at Pools as he would be perfect starting point for a forward line.

Askey is also on the money about a lack of athleticism and pace in our team. That midfield 3 & forward line yesterday distinctively lack pace & ability to go round a player. Fergie is also lacking. Be good to see a 4-3-3 and genuine Nathan Thomas-like threat on either side. I'd say the vast majority of this team has proven themselves to be very much National League, if the league table was based on results from January, we'd still be 17th. There are some edge cases - Sylla, Kemp, Dodds, Umerah, Sterry, Cooke (at a push!) - they could ply their trade in League 2.

Not sure we're in a position to question Dave Challinor & plan B's. The bloke hasn't finished below the top 10 in his career & has a pretty solid cup & play-off record, showing he knows how to win a game when it matters.

Challinor actually changed formation yesterday and they looked much more threatening when Madden came on.
Plan B not changing much isn't the same as not having one.
Curle was an absolute dinosaur in respect of his no plan B, and imo caused more damage this season than even Hartley.

New season, new start.

[quote="billinghampoolie1908"

Let's not blow too much smoke up this teams arse, they hardly won a game all season and when it mattered against Crawley didn't even turn up. Yes massive improvement under askey but could you rely on them to win 20 games in the conference?[/quote]

The team needs strengthening in key areas - that goes without saying. But Pools are dropping down a level and we were in the NL recently enough to know that the overall standard isn't great. Wrexham and Notts County are so far ahead of the average that they got almost double the points of teams in mid-table.

There'll be 6 or 8 decent sides pushing for promotion again next season and the crap teams will put 10 men behind the ball as usual and try to niggle their way to a result. It all depends whether Pools will be Challinor-equipped to deal with that or Hignett-equipped. Askey is a far better manager than the ones who made us look bang average last time around.

Gonna be yet another season where our new arrivals are likely in double figures…as has been mentioned what shit we can ship out will be key

The team needs strengthening in key areas - that goes without saying. But Pools are dropping down a level and we were in the NL recently enough to know that the overall standard isn't great. Wrexham and Notts County are so far ahead of the average that they got almost double the points of teams in mid-table.

There'll be 6 or 8 decent sides pushing for promotion again next season and the crap teams will put 10 men behind the ball as usual and try to niggle their way to a result. It all depends whether Pools will be Challinor-equipped to deal with that or Hignett-equipped. Askey is a far better manager than the ones who made us look bang average last time around.[/quote]


Yeah I think we have hope, which wasn't there few months back. Shame we will probobly lose a ready made 20 goal striker in umerah. But we will need to vastly improve the squad. Especially in defence.

Agree with that. It was a big surprise yesterday that the defence didn't concede a really poor goal like they always do. Ben Killip having the sort of game he must dream about helped.

Killip played like he did cause he’s after a new club.

Think they will be no more than 5-6 coming in.

Right. The seasons over, we have a new manager with promise, so can we concentrate our minds on the coming season and bury the remains of the past two years and move on, because there’s that or self pity.
Because going into the new season brooding over what ifs and what could have beens is like sailing a ship with the anchor still on the bottom, hard going.

i,ll go with that and rather have 5 or 6 quality signings than just numbers hoping they,ll be as good as those who have left. 4 musts are down the centre of the team, a keeper, a central defender, a defensive midfielder and someone up front. all must be well over 6ft and physical with a bit of nohow to get the decisions out of officials. the shithouse types in the modern game that fans hate if they are in our opponents side. no point playing so called nice football where the result is a draw at best.

Id like to think we sign a couple more than that - i know most prefer quality over quantity due to last summers recruitment but we need a few more than that - 2 new GKs alone leaves for a mere 4 further outfield players - and by the looks and sounds we are needing 2 new front men and at least 2 new defenders and id say 3 across the midfield should Feaths depart

yes, especially if we could get johnson back playing alongside him. looked a different player then than he does now.

at least our hands will not be tied by the transfer windows. if we cannot get our first targets in there is no rush now just to get any bodies in just to make up the numbers by the end of august. that was our problem since we got back into the league with challinor and hartley.

Fans always want a big clear-out at the end of a disappointing season. You'd think last season might have taught a few to be careful what they wish for.

Hopefully we'll be signing quality not quantity in the areas where they're most needed - keeper, a commanding centre back, a midfield dynamo, a couple of strikers and a pacy winger. Getting the right men in those positions will be hard enough!

If we have 12 contracted for next season (as reported in the Mail) we need at least double figures to fill the squad.
Askey likes to sign players he’s managed before so wouldn’t be shocked to see Pete Jameson and Max Kouogun who’re both out of contract at Harrogate and York.

big clearouts are fine if you can guarentee bringing in better players than the ones you get rid of. History at pools and other clubs show that this is not always the case.

Surely we couldn't get worse than, Niang, Hastie, Paterson, Ndjoli, etc - do any worse professional footballers exist?

Surely you would have to have a big clear out when your team hardly wins all season? Would make sense. I'd dread to think we started next season with similar to what we have left now.

well a lot of harrisons signings were as bad and who could forget one of the biggest jokes to wear a pools shirt, fondop. When a club employee, alex chandy, takes the piss on a player you know you have a problem.

Getting those 4 off the books would be brilliant but no club will pay the wages they are on at Pools.

Paterson hardly played at Cove and must have fallen out with Hartley or been injured. Ndjoli only scored once for Radcliffe and was an unused substitute in their victory in the Manchester Premier Cup Final! Pools did their best to forget all about them but like bad pennies they will be coming back for pre-season.

Paying them all off might be the only option.

Add Murray and Lacey to that list, if those two are starting at the beginning of next season you know we are fucked

Mike Fondop, Not one of Dave Challinors best signings.

Cant argue with that but worth mentioning he's scored a few for Oldham in the NL.

Sidney Schmekts until after the fist 10 minutes he was on?

One minute we are paying low wages and the next no one will take our players owing to the wages they are on.

Supposedly Hastie is on over £2k/wk and Cooke is not far short so that would suggest wages available are competitive, it's more shit players than shit wages that's the issue

Fixed that for you.

I don’t think it was ever about the budget, but the choices made by so called managers.
Plenty of clubs with competent managers do well without breaking the bank, it really is about getting a manger who knows his job.

is that 2k a week the going rate for a player in league 2. when he was signed even hartley didn,t know he,d be crap. the figure being paid sounds far worse when you live in a low paid area for normal jobs but go to other parts of the country and it does not sound too excessive. the reason why southend are always in the brown stuff financially with decent gates is players excessive wage demands. if cooke was our highest paid player on the pitch last sunday i can imagine all the stockport players being on more.

I imagine Stockport are not short of a bob or two so can attract quality players. I dont think any of the Pools players on show last Monday would get into the Stockport team.

Yeah we don't seem to have much problem getting rid of players. I'd be surprised if many were still here next season.

we can only hope!

well we offloaded players when Curle came in who where contracted and im sure we can do it again - albeit Tumilty had somewhere lined up.

id imagine their being clauses in some of these contracts where by we can scatter them for either free or a small amount given we have been relegated - Naughty things some of these football contracts these days - hence the need for an agent.

Lets just hope having the likes of Hastie and Niang on the books isnt going to hamper us actually bringing in some quality as we all know the NL is full of decent sides and players now and isnt the push over league we all expected it to be that first time round !

Curle didn’t offload players, he sent them out on loan, they are still on Pools books.

But we’re Harrison’s ‘signings’ really his signings in the first place?

totally agree with that but at the end of the day we held them to a draw at their place. could they have actually had a better team without throwing all the cash they have had on wages and a few transfer fees. sometimes players reputations are over and underated for some reason. i,d not like to see pools spend like they have without anything at this moment of time to show for it.

As I said previously we have at least 36 players on the books according to the OS that means we need to off load 24 players ?

I’ve just had a look and 6 are on loan (not including Dolan), 4 are youth team, Letherans retired, Missilou left in January. Then you have Sylla and McDonald who are off and another 6 who I know are out of contract (Killip, Boyes, Sterry, Hartley, Featherstone, Jennings). So we’re down to 16 with potentially Finney and Kiernan out of contract too based on their deadline day arrival.

So not too far off getting rid of those 24. The worst part is left in that 16 are Paterson, Hastie, Ndjoli and Niang…