As we are now in silly season.. is Nicky Featherstone the first player to be relegated from the EFL to NL twice? Especially going down with the same club - has to be a strong candidate for an unwanted double.

Joins our clubs President with the same accolade.

This guy I good pro and has stood by us. I hope he gets whatever he wants.

I am sure Lewis Allessandra has been relegated 3 times to the NL, with us, York & Notts County.

I’m pretty sure you’re right.
Only other I can think of is Trevor Carson, Cheltenham and Pools.

No and without even thinking Devante Rodney is another.

I would suspect there are dozens more but really cant be bothered.

Okay, so it is a unique double to go out with the same club.

I hope he stays. I know he divides opinion, however think he deserves a testimonial given all the shit he's had to put up with over the years. Several owners and got to be getting close to a couple of dozen managers, and hundreds of players. He knows the club, and still more than good enough for that league. Need a Willie Boland, type player in the middle who takes no shit.Would also love to see an Andy Monkhouse type in the team- we've really missed that blend of skill, pace and general shithousery in the team that he used to have in spades.I would also like a Gary Strodder type at centre half- would have stayed up with him in the team- a proper warrior that fella. Anyway sure Askey will already be speaking to targets- he's our best chance of a relatively swift return- just got to hope he gets the backing he needs to do the job

In Askey we trust!

Feath has also been relegated with Hereford.

so we now know who we can really blame for these relegations. get him out and build a few statues to the other suspects.

Feaths does deserve a nice testemonial from Pools thats a Given - but should he leave this close season for another club then it wont happen.

should he retire which is the rumour ive heard then yeh it should happen and be done just before the season starts to get the crowds in !

i can see him taking up a player /coach role tbh - he showed his class at this level when we got promoted - and i think he would do it again given how poor the NL looks this season coming

that would be ideal for a decent pre season fixture at the vic against top opposition even if they did bring a weakened side. fans would come out for it.

He shouldn't be getting anything based on sentimentality, if JA thinks he's worth keeping then fine he'll get one, if he leaves then thanks and bye.

Not sure if Nicky will have offers on the table ...

maybe a York or Gateshead might try his hand ... id actually like to see him stay and migrate into coaching like Sweens has

Played really well for 18 months in the conference for us, stuck by us when others have jumped ship, will we have the money to bring in someone better? Doubt it we will probobly look at kids again from a blackpool or somewhere.

i hope we keep Finney - he will do a job at NL level for sure

not a replacement for Fevs but definitely a start with him and Cooke (if he stays).

Agree

If ever there was a player who did not deserve to be put in the wheelie bin its Feaths.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O77YMAf5X6c
No sentimentality involved, its just that as a footballer he is technically gifted way above most of the garbage that has been kept on at pools in the last nine years.
Way way way above.
Rarely injured, always gives his best, a leader and he can play. An absolute gem.
https://www.facebook.com/hartlepoolunit ... 800103962/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct8DJ4u8juk
Desperately hope the goat stays for another year.
One more time please captain.

Yet Askey left him out until Sylla spat his dummy out.

One thing Curle got right-Sylla.

When I click the FB link it takes me to my home page ?

Fully agree.

one thing i do hope is that he will not get an offer from the club he has to refuse as after all these seasons it feels like an insult.

Maybe he didn't jump ship because nobody came in for him.
It's funny considering how good he his,he's still here after all these years,while a lot of others players have moved onto better clubs.

Agree, he's been available for about 6 of his seasons with us yet nobody has made a better offer. Doesn't bring much to the team other than slowing things down. Take a look at his stats overall for tackles, creating chances, goalscoring, etc and he doesn't offer much at all. When was the last time you could say he bossed the midfield?

He was v good last time we were I national league but he had 2 runners next to him in Shelton and Holohan
Not sure he’ll get that if we are keeping cooke

Like a lot of players he can be effective if we use him properly, that’s where I think Askey will do well, he knows how he wants to play and whether the players we have will fit or not

He's been a decent enough player over the years at Pools and deserves a testimonial.

Anyone who disagrees is a twat.

Nail on the head, he has been a decent player over the years, but not lately.
Put me in the twat category, nothing against him personally but testimonials for well paid professionals is is something I fundamentally disagree with unless they donate the money to charity. Footballers are well enough paid nowadays that testimonials are a bit of a piss take when people are struggling to stay warm or feed their kids.

its not his fault that the economic situation is bad. fans go on about players not being loyal and would leve for a few bob extra a week. then you have a rarety in todays game of a player being around as long has he has. who was the last one to do this anyway. no matter what people feel about players wages its still an achievement itself even if you do not rate the player. way things are going in the game he could be one of the last to get a testimonial.

If he gets one and he's raising money for charity I'll go, if it's to boost his bank balance I won't.

well its not compulsory to attend anyway. the only surprise is nobody has posted about being in there job for ten years plus and not recieved one either even if they had received offers to move somewhere else. be really interesting to know what he was on when he came to pools and his current wages. again its a total guess without anything to go on, but just wonder if he is near the top of wages earners or well down the list.

Mr PTID any stats available on the longest serving players with one club in the EFL or NL in recent times.??
Might come under stats for loyalty??
I cant find any.
I would be interested to know where Feaths stands in that particular league table.
Thanks in advance.

Check out transfermarkt.co.uk for div 2 longest serving players and he's currently 3rd longest.

I see the Fail's "I follow The Bunker" Joe Garbage is off the pace and at it again, struggling to find his own headlines and ideas to fill in his day.
Try to keep up Joe!

https://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/sport/ ... ool-united

Thanks Mr PTID.
Sorry but any chance of a link to the page?
Struggling to find it.

Sir Jeff's view on Feaths.

Jeff Stelling
@JeffStelling
"All entitled to an opinion but in my view Nicky has been outstanding for years. He takes the ball in positions no one else wants to, never gives it away and has never had the pace to lose any of it. He will be outstanding next season and it would be crazy not to re sign him imo."

well i,m in jeffs camp even if others are not. it must be hard for a player after being at a club over 9 years to still split the fanbase. usually after a few matches fans are in the main for or against a player in large numbers. its not to say the small minority are wrong either as you can name an average player where all the 92 league managers would have different opinions on.

You could also say that if he's been here nearly 9 years then he's been at his level as I doubt we'd be the best payers at the bottom end of div 2 / NL.
For a player to be with us that suggests that other clubs and managers don't rate him otherwise he'd have gone.
I'd prefer to move forward with Dolan as he's a little bit more mobile, versatile positionally, looks forward rather than sideways / backwards, and can accurately deliver long passes to open up play.

"Never gives it away"? Not the experience of the Vic faithful I would suggest. I am not having a go by any means but Feaths losing the ball in crucial areas has cost us goals on more than one occasion.

Jeff was exaggerating of course, then again have you have ever seen a player who didn't lose the ball in bad areas from time to time Featherstone and Cooke are way out in front for passing accuracy for Pools this season.

As it happens, David Ferguson is one of the worst for misplaced passes and Mo Sylla isn't much better - but Mo's strengths are in other areas, winning tackles and ball carrying for instance.

Sorry Mr Oz but I must have missed those.
Can you remember any one game in particular and I'll look back and check it out on ifollow?

Sorry, Mr king, not able to supply the required information. My comment was based on match reports over time reporting that "Featherstone was dispossed in a crucial area" or "Featherstone needlessly gave the ball away."..."Featherstone found himself over-run". That sort of thing. As I said above, I am not having a go because Featherstone has undoubtedly been one of the better players to wear the blue and white in the last decade or so. My point is that he has given the ball away and at times it has cost us. He is not beyond criticism. If he was the Poolie Pirlo no one would criticize him but he has had his share of stick on here and other places. Hope this helps.

By the way, are you in the exalted position of having watched every Pools game involving Featherstone? Just wondering that if you have, can you state with confidence that Featherstone has never given the ball away?

Many thanks for your clarification Mr Oz that you have not personally witnessed Feaths "losing the ball in crucial areas and costing us goals" during this season, or any other of the past nine seasons, and that your comment on behalf of the "Vic faithful" was based solely on what you had read somewhere in the press over time.
Having myself watched Feaths on numerous occasions in person over the last 9 years, I do have to concede that yes he will have given the ball away at some point in some game, and indeed maybe cost us a goal through it, but no game in particular springs to mind.
I think the thing to try and understand is that Sir Jeff perhaps never meant his comment that Feaths "never gives the ball away" to be taken quite literally.
To suggest Feaths had never given the ball away in 380 games over nine seasons would be something that would be a little silly and ridiculous would it not?
I do hope you agree.

But what does he actually bring to the team, he sits deep and passes the ball square or backwards, he can't / won't tackle, doesn't score goals, doesn't provide assists, has no pace, doesn't / won't track back.
So he's supposedly good at not giving the ball away while sitting just in front of the CBs, hardly the qualities we need. For the past couple of years we've had a midfield which have been so deep sitting the forwards have not been given any service at all, with a huge gap between midfield and forwards. Surely we need to change that, can Feb adapt cos Askey must have his doubts, he left him out for most of his games.

Ah, I see you have correctly perceived the point I was making all along but I presume you decided you wanted an argument. I apologize for using the phrase "Vic faithful". I will be sure to ask your permission if there is any danger of me using it in the future. I witnessed the 5-0 hammering at Leyton Orient last season and have a feeling the ball was given away in a crucial area leading to at least one of the Orient goals but cant be certain Featherstone was to blame although I cant be certain it wasnt him either. Equally, when I witnessed the 3-1 reversal against Dagenham and Redbridge in the National League in 2019 I suspect Feaths may have been dispossessed in a crucial area but memory dims over time. Thus, for geographical reasons it is not possible for me to watch every single Pools match unlike your good self and like many others, I rely on highlights and match reports. Despite this, I feel I have some (albeit imperfect ) understanding of what happens when Pools play and am therefore entitled to my opinion. Clearly you have your own agenda. Feaths has been a great servant of the club, and I wish him all the best if he stays or chooses to leave.

I hope you dont mind me agreeing with you Mr Oz that memory does indeed dim with time.
On behalf of the "Vic faithful" here's a little something to help jog your memory along.
Hope this helps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLVLNZz7ykE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1XNiOGwauw

you cannot just blame one single player for this. also find when we are defending the mid field are caught upfield and fail to get back quickly in numbers. he does give the ball away but less than some others that gets ignored by many fans. the anti nicky brigade are quick to jump at any mistake he does make where their favourites mistakes are glossed over. we do need more energy in midfield but could manage with one featherstone type there if not him.

I’m warming to the idea of Keeping Featherstone around the club.

Is that right ?
Short, long, forward, backwards, sideways Feaths can control and pass a ball and make it look simple and easy.
Its called skill.

https://www.bt.com/sport/watch/video/cl ... ter-mix-up

So 3 years ago he made 1 forward pass leading to a goal? His assists and goals scored stats are abysmal as are his tackles and his passing is about average.
He's been the mainstay for 8 seasons and a bit like Richie Humphreys towards the end of his time with us he's past his best imo and the stats support that.
If he's on the pitch for us I'll get behind him but let's see what JA does.