To be fair to BP hes nearly almost correct on his predictions. Im sure he wishes he Wasent then that would mean we would be semi successful.

Hes praised Raj for 4 years ago n Promotion.
But you cant live on that accolade eternally especially how rapidly we are declining into oblivion.

I guess it's easy to predict we are going to be rubbish, as we normally are. Last year though was just basic common sense that it was going to be a disaster waiting to happen. Hey I'd love to be proved wrong, we are so predictable though same thing has happened for last 2 years and I dare say similar happens this season. Once again sign 2 players then there be nowt for ages, fans get impatient then an influx of very questionable signings. I'm just hoping with askey that we have more hope this season. I will be shocked if he makes it past December with raj in charge though.

if we had say signed another 5 by now would we have a better squad. in the summer it takes longer to sign players out of contract for the simple reason if they are any good there will be more than one club after them. agents trying to get the best offer for their player and going back and forth between interested clubs to do it. something that could drag on for weeks rather than hours. more interested in who we actually have signed up and shipped out at the back end of july than whats happening at the moment.

Yes fans get impatient but Accrington is just outlining the facts as they are and not looking to knock Raj before we see what is coming in.

Sometimes it appears that if we haven’t a full squad sorted out within a week of the final game it’s doomsday time,

when we do sign somebody i.m sure no matter who the player is someone will say the club lacks ambition and are trying for relegation rather than promotion. raj will have tied askeys hands behind his back, not his signings blah. blah. blah.

Well it's the same shit as the last two pre-seasons and look how they turned out in the long run. Raj just has the excuse he's looking to sell now rather than 'we are trying our best'.

Think JA is going to need to get rid of some of the dead wood to free up funds before we sign any more players and not sure that even the "A" Team could help with that task

No one said the club lacked ambition when we brought Armstrong in. Think virtually everyone said what a good signing that is. Low and behold he turned our season round. Let's see some signings like that now and maybe the fans will give raj and whoever else does the deals the credit they deserve.

A couple of pointers for the season ahead, askey made a statement not long back before we lost the loan players , we don't need to bring many in for this season. Scary comments after witnessing last season. Then the contract to dolan a lad that couldn't even get in the team. Now we all know things can quickly change and there is no denying we appear to have a decent manager but we have heard all this before. Then what's happening with sylla and umerah? If we kept them then that's a start of building a team around them, if they go like everyone thought they would how weak do we look then.

know just looking at 5 games isn,t that good of an indication where the club are going. the last two games of the season without the loan players or those not wanting to stay were a big improvement in the 3 previous ones when they all played a part. does JA think he can make something of whats left on the books with only a few key additions. again its teams that win promotions and not 11 individuals on the pitch and signings coming and going as quickly as the sun sets.

Yeah it was a massive improvement but no way would that team compete at the top of the conference, barrow were on the beach, stockport well that was a pleasant surprise we didn't roll over and die. Obviously at some point there was trouble in the ranks. Probobly why we won't see sylla again, shame because on his day I doubt we will find better. But when it came to the crunch and the team had to win games it was incapable of it, look how poor crawley made us and to think we are possibly going to be a weaker version of that team, if we don't step up the recruitment over the next few weeks.

He was a good signing for the National League based on 10 goals in 17 games for Gateshead two seasons before. He only got 1 in 25 games in League 2 for Salford.

And 'virtually everyone' fell about laughing when Chally re-signed Rhys Oates in pre-season. A good manager and no transfer window is what really made the difference in the promotion season.

“Virtually everybody fell about laughing when Challinor signed Oates” Why not. His record before Pools was poor, his record at Pools was poor, a loan spell at Gateshead was poor and his record at Morcombe was poor. With maturity and Challinor he did turn out a success but just think if Askey brought in a player now with a similar record BP and the doom mongers would have a field day. Oh for hindsight.
I do agree the no transfer window as a great help.

My point really. A few people with selective memories have forgotten that Challinor's pre-season signings for the promotion season were nothing to write home about. The best were making Liddle's loan signing permanent, bringing in Ferguson from the NLN and getting Lewis Cass on loan. And Oates came good spectacularly after a poor start. The less said the better about Mason Bloomfield, Claudio Ofosu and Josh MacDonald!

Johnson, Sterry, Armstrong, Bennett - all signed during the season.

People trying to set up John Askey's pre-season signings to fail should be able to remember there's a long way to go yet, Challinor wan't exactly shopping at Fortnum and Mason 3 seasons ago and Askey can bring in new additions right through this coming season, just like Challinor did.

All well and good saying this but we have been shopping at pounland since those heady days.

If we'd signed Messi, Mbappe, and Haaland Hartley and Curle would have played them as Central Defenders.
Hastie came from Rangers and is reputedly on £2600 / week - that team that played CL football last season so hardly Poundland. Lacy is reputedly on a similar wage, and Cooke not far behind. So hardly penny pinching.
Probably the next biggest mistake after appointing Hartley was starting the season with only 3 recognised CBs, meaning Fergy played everywhere across the back line for a lot of games, which did nothing for the defence and ruined his game for the season.

Does anybody actually know what the budget was last season, because without access to the figures it’s just pure speculation.
I haven’t a bleedin clue and seriously doubt anyone else has either.
Figures are conjured up or down to suit the point of view.

Can,t see a single player coming down from scotland without it being worthwhile.

All well and good saying this but we have been shopping at pounland since those heady days.[/quote]

You say that, but Pools got promoted without shelling out anything for transfer fees. In League 2 we paid fees for Bogle, Byrne, Carver and Umerah.

It was obvious we weren't financial heavyweights in the promotion season. Our signings were very much average NL signings, gambling on lower league players or L2 cast offs. It was DC who made the difference.

I think this season will be the same finance wise and therefore signings wise. We'll be looking again for the manager to be the factor that makes a difference. JA might just well be that kind of manager.

the big worry is if JA does not come off at pools. looking at him and his career its all been at low profile clubs who do not throw money around as if its going out of fashion and looks a perfect fit. goodness knows what the next step will be to replace him and who it would be. if ever a team needs a season of stability we do with the foundations being laid for the longer future.

Like I've said previously raj Singh in an interview in the conference days said some players were on 1500 plus and he couldn't believe it, so why a couple months later would he then allow a players for 2600 a week. No way would he pay that for players in the Scottish leagues, and let's be honest who can blame him . If we're signing players for so much money like reported, why did we go into pre season to Portugal with so few players, why every transfer window do we say we're in for such and such prolific striker, yet somehow don't get him but then don't end up with anyone near that standard. Only last week a Scottish club came out and said league 1 and 2 pay double the wages or treble what they can afford. Hastie and whoever else we want rid of will go to even smaller clubs than us shortly and I'm sure to hell they won't be paying big bucks for them.

We are just going to have to stick with the guy no matter what. He can only do so much with what he is given. He proved last year he could get results when previously the team was utter garbage.if he is given a fighting chance, he could do well.

Trouble is Raj is quick to pull the trigger as opposed to IOR who moved exceedingly slowly…how about a path somewhere down the middle.
Although I did approve of Hartley’s quick exit…. I gave him ten games and regret that now.

He wasn't quick enough with the legend (in his own mind) Curle, ultimately if he'd gone 3 or 4 games earlier we may just have survived.

Just stop up and go into 24/25" under proper ownership.
Unless ya believe in fairy tales.

curle could not have had a worst start really. he could only go one way after that 5 nil defeat at the vic. for me they might as well have kept hartley even though he was crap but for me i did think there was a slight improvement in the side at the time he left rather than when he started.

" I gave him ten games and regret that now"

You big softie,lol

Fairy Tales, Well people believe MPs. And still vote for them a clear sign of madness.

just abstain then at least you cannot blame yourself. something i certainly will do.