There's no way the Doomies will do that, Snowy. They're alright spouting anti Raj or anti club rhetoric on here but putting their money down or presenting themselves in protest is a bit too much for them. That's another difference between us old timers and the dissatisfied fans of today. All hot air and no trousers.
EEEEE those were the days. Long hair, platform shoes and flairs marching down Clarence Road.

Blimey shoet memories on here about how embarrassingly wrong you were about last summer. If I had scorned, belittled and sneered at those who felt something was deeply wrong last summer and had turned out to be ABSOLUTELY RIGHT you wouldn't see me next summer doing exactly the same bloody thing again.

Caught me off guard there, I found myself nodding approvingly. Think I'm getting old

I'm not sure if it has any effect or not by voicing concerns on here once again towards the club, they do read this board though its obvious by certain comments made, but if we all just say how great the club are doing in giving us national league football once again, we will continue to get the club we deserve. Maybe just maybe this season they might say we will show them and give them a team to be proud of while shoving a finger at us doom mongers, not sure we can be called that though when we said exactly what would happen, from pre season 2 seasons ago.

I find it a little strange though that we are basically told not to criticise the chairman or he may put us in admin, but then the same fans telling us to stand outside Clarence Road shouting insults 70s style. Maybe if fans voiced there concerns a bit more loudly before the Crawley game we wouldn't be where we are now? Who knows

I beg your pardon. All people were asking of you last year was to substantiate your wild claims.
You operated on guesswork about Raj and were politely asked to provide proof which you never did.
And you are still doing it. So you ARE doing the same thing two years running.
The only thing you ever got back was consistently along the lines of until someone is willing to take over from Raj, he is all we've got and that is still the case. How many times did Snowy suggest you putting yer cash up. You were telling Raj how to spend his money, which you are not entitled to do.
There is no doubt the job could have been done better and Raj could have spent more money but nobody is entitled to tell him to do that.
I don't get involved in guesswork and speculation. I operate on facts.
The same Doomies are starting to speculate on next season. They may be right again but on the other hand they may be wrong. As usual I'll start looking how the first ten games pan out, so I'm singing with a fact or two and not a guess or two.
Even after all the crowing you Doomies are doing you were nearly wrong don't forget. We could still be in the EFL, so it wasn't that nailed on. The big catastrophe last season was Hartley and his idea of a good EFL side. When he was appointed there wasn't a big backlash. If Raj had ignored his advisors and say appointed Askey, we would still be in the EFL. It was as close as that.
So once again I'll wait and see. Recruitment, balance of squad, gelling of squad and how we fare in the first ten games are my golden rules. We have a further advantage next season in that we can recruit without windows. That is a big big factor. Above all a slice or two of luck is required when it comes to injuries and suspensions but the lack of the window enables the odd loanee to fill gaps.
I think a bit more positivity is required.
You can do it you know, just put your mind to it.

Proof? Bollocks. People talk football all the time, nobody asks them to do footnotes with references. There were people spouting all sorts of nonsense which was eaten up as gospel by those who were of the same mind, not questioned at all. Even now people are banging on about Raj said this and Raj said that as if its written in the scriptures.

There were PLENTY of signs there for everybody to see that all was not well. You didn't have to have insider information but it was convenient to accuse people of falsely claiming of having such information to discredit their views. Very very handy.

On a positive note (as requested) I like the two signings we've made. Also I recall that its pretty typical in the National League for clubs to leave it very late doing their transfer business. I recall Halifax not having enough players one season then all of a sudden, after a flurry of activity they were ready and had a decent season. I don't think its ideal and I would really like to do better than 'decent' but it can be done.

Good for you…..difference is, if I’d have been right I wouldn’t have made the post above because I get no pleasure from pointing out people’s mistakes.
At least I admitted I was wrong and certain posters on here actually welcomed Hartley’s appointment but then changed their minds like the Vicar of Bray
As for sneering …..there was lot worse said from the mystics …..in fact I see little difference in attitudes from last close season.
It must be because I am old and you are young and clever……

Fair enough Snowy. All but the last line

No one is saying that the club is great for giving us national league football, that is made up supposition and is exactly my point. So why do you suggest that when you know it is simply not true.

Pre season two years ago was pure speculation and nobody forecasted that we would go back to the national league within two seasons. We lost DC and opinion, speculation and guesswork was rife.
Last summer you predicted we would go down and it went to the wire.

The chairman actually threatened that he was not going to tolerate abuse, it didn't come from any of us. What I questioned was given that he had made the threat why would anyone want to tempt him to carry it out. Or even appear to.

The carry on in the 70's was sheer frustration and it boiled over. We were the butt of every comedian's jokes. We were a laughing stock and had very little apparent future. We were convinced that it was only a matter of time before we were kicked out, At that time there was no way back like there is now. Those were desperate times, much more desperate than our current plight. We were young and daft and probably shouldn't have done it but it was done for one reason and one reason only......the love of Pools. To accuse people who have experienced every heartache of the Pools experience of having no ambition is childish, immature, and downright insulting. When you've banged your head against the Pools brick wall as much as the old codgers have you will find out that a tinge of pain appears.
We have the same desires, dreams and ambitions at the start of every season as everyone else and we don't take kindly to constant whingeing about our club. We know what we have been through and we know, in our heart of hearts, what to expect. We just don't need constant reminding of it. The rare titbits of excitement and unexpected joy are what we cherish but we really have seen it all. August will be my seventy first season.

I remember the re-election before 1973 and at the final whistle on the last day of the season I slumped down and sat on the terracing on a pleasant, warm sunny afternoon. Everyone had gone, and I was sick as a dog because then clubs that went out went into the wilderness and stayed out….and I’d just bought Ben Sherman shirt that very day.
A copper approached me and said “I know how you feel son, I support them too, but they’d like to lock up.”….then I realised it wasn’t just me…funny how a chance remark can can change things…we walked to the Mill House side and he said he was hopeful we’d pull it off again.
He was right.

We had friends who voted for us but it didn't stop the pain of the agonising wait for the re election result.
Fourteen times we applied for re election and were successful. Teams like Gateshead, Southport and Workington still haven't got back. Barrow have just got back recently.
The process stopped in 1986 and relegation to the Conference started and an automatic way back was created. I think there was only one up one down then.

Well the way I see it after being a Poolie for mere 50+ years is I am thankful Raj stepped in when others wouldn't or couldn't. Am I thankful that we have a club to support still? Absolutely even in NL.
Now that doesn't mean I've no ambition, I want to see a winning team week in week out, I desperately want to watch Pools at Wembley, I want to see us climb the league's and challenge in every competition we're in.
Hopefully we can rebound faster this time than last, but I'd put money on us finishing nearer the top than the bottom next season.

The nearest I got to Wembley with Pools was when we finished in the last sixteen of the League Cup and my flag was flown over Wembley with the flags of the other fifteen clubs…..better than nowt, but just once would be nice.

its arguable but the last few seasons has seen pools at their lowest ebb. even with that there are clubs and fans who still would swap their position for ours especiaaly the likes of workington and bradford park avenue. ok there are plenty that we,d love to swap for also. everyone wants success from the oldest to the youngest fan but longer you live i do think the more realistic you become on everything. the next season could be a big one for where pools do go and the club is reaching a crossroads. with the possibility of new owners coming in we will see what they are made of eventually. could see a turnaround, a season on and off the pitch of getting the club back on an ever keel or the disaster of even less financial support and another drop. going to be yet another interesting 12 months ahead. would not bet on any of those myself .

suppose the nearest we got was a penalty kick away when rotherham beat us to get there. we have a good chance this season if the draw is kind. surely if gateshead and halifax can do it we could follow. its not as much getting there thats important its winning there that matters as looking back at cardiff losing at wembley would feel ten times worse.

The thing about supporting any club is like being a passenger on the Titanic. You’re either unsinkable or not as good as you think you are….and all we can do is look on. Some passengers panic, some foolishly jump overboard, some scream for help, some blame the Captain, some blame the crew….. but when it happens you keep a cool head and look for possibilities because on the big picture of the things you’re howling at the moon, it achieves Jack shot….. and quite frankly no one really cares.

Will somebody start a rumour for pity's sake? This thread has become boring!!

It's not the lack of rumours that's the issue, it's the apparent lack of progress on reshaping the squad. It's over 3 weeks since anyone heard a peep out of John Askey - I'm starting to feel a bit sorry for Ramage at the Mail. He's long since run out of old quotes to recycle.

As they say in the fillums, "It's quiet...too quiet. I don't like it."

All I can say is time is marching on, nothing on the OS about signings or any news of a potential takeover, could a potential take over be the reason Pools haven’t signed anyone in the last week or so ?

Ok… Albert Tally-Wag has been seen at the Vic after getting released by the Met …. and Dave Self-Inflicted has returned from Europe after playing for Bucharest Barbed Wire Factory No..23 Red Star FC ….ex Tranmere….seen in Morrells.

I have no doubt Askey will have been busy but you can't blame players waiting to see if a better offer comes along. It will possibly start getting serious from July 1st.
Then there's the matter of agents.
Players with aspirations of playing in the EFL can always wait knowing that they can sign for a national league side at virtually any time.
What day do they report back? Is it July 1st?

My phone hasn't stopped all morning.

Throston bookies has restricted access due to the dramatic increase in footfall.

I have just been informed that HE is not ready to return yet.

lets not forget - we wont have the money to pay the going rate (we never have tbh). Last chance Saloon Pools is - prepare for maybe 3 or 4 journeymen come the end of the window, specially now we are back playing in the NL

id dare say we need to rely on some super loan deals to get us maybe top 10 at a push. We have to hope we get championship level u23 type players of Burey / Tshibola / Barmby / Daly / Chris Suker (for those who can remember him on loan from Man City back in the day)etc...

There's not much happening at any level to be fair, and as things stand Umeraha and Sylla are still with us even though both were touted as being wanted by other clubs, maybe 1st July will trigger a few comings and goings.
Askey said he wasn't keen on loan signings because a lot of them don't buy into the club they're loaned to.

might start to panic myself if nothing happens in the first two weeks of july. he is correct about loan signings especially younger ones from clubs much higher up. young lads with minds of young lads who think they are bigger and better than they actually are before they grow up to find they are nothing but shelf stackers.

Brodie Paterson is on trial at Raith Rovers so hopefully thats the start of a few outgoings.

this needs to stop. we do not want the vultures coming over the border plucking our stars off us. we are doomed.

He turned down an extension at Celtic before joining Pools, he should have took the extension I think and he will be thinking the same now ?

It’s the Tall Ships, so would the Press Gang be interested in a job lot..,?

Much as I share the concerns about the absence of signings for the coming season I was reminded by a Lincoln supporting friend of the first day of the 2000-2001 season - a Pools win by two Lee FitzPatrick goals but the thing that I remember most about that game was the pre-match chat about the 'big ginger bloke' who the team had picked up at a service station on the way down - and the 'who is that?' questions during the warm ups.

Yep, we left it very late to bring in James Sharp - a trialist who had a trial in the first competitive match of the season! And he turned in two good seasons for us! And wasn't that Tony Lormor's first game too?

So let's not panic yet! Mind, my ST money is staying in my wallet for now.....

yes and just maroon the buggers without any gramaphone records either. they could all sing along in the hold in chains about being part of the 15 men off a dead clubs books and yo ho ho and a bottle of irn brew.

So the latest rumour from the mail reporter is no signings are imminent and were probobly going to have to get rid of players to bring some in. What a total joke they have released 10 since the end of the season, Featherstone sounds like he is off no sign of sylla and it looks like we still can't bring in players in yet.

You start off with….’the latest rumour from the Mail reporter is….’ ….and take it as fact.
He’s really had his finger on the pulse so far hasn’t he…..

Well we will soon find out, facts are no sign of Featherstone or sylla, no players have been brought in for weeks, paterson out on trial leaves us with 14 players and it's now just 5 weeks from kick off. Two seasons ago we made a massive deal about having no time after the play offs to get everything sorted. We are putting ourselves in the same situation for the third year running.

Second year running ..after the delay caused by the playoffs we were always gonna be at a loss…signings are a bit difficult to sort out till you know if you’d have league status ot National league status so late in the day.
Last season’s planing should have started immediately after Lee’s departure, God knows who suggested Hartley then waited like dummy’s at a bus stop for a bus that never came…..

We had no plans in place for after the play offs, most forward thinking clubs would of had an either or option it appears we didn't. But if the play offs put us at such a disadvantage why haven't we learned from it? We now have less time to basically change a full team around than we did, when we were promoted and let's be honest what was left after play offs are in a different league to some of the garbage we have now.

Plenty of fans keep saying yeah but other clubs haven't done much business, the thing is most other clubs didn'tget relegated and left with a load of players we don't want. Most clubs need tweaks we need an overhaul.

again most signings happen from july 1st onwards. there is as you say no excuse this season but at the moment i,m not bothered. we have 2 in already but i might join you if there is no new players in by two weeks next monday. by new players i mean ones that will improve the side and not like for like poor ones or kids for the future.

Considering its ST early bird day tomorrow and zero ambition to get the sales going its looking like you gunna be disappointed.
I Dident believe this promotion budget shit weeks ago and still dont.

Im sure this thread will run for a while with mixed opinions from the Doomies n messiah cranks.

Only 1500 STs sold tells it the Poolies av had enuf of this shit.

1600 now but it does look like most fans won't be fooled again.

Until we sign some players nought going to change.

fans and the club are all init together by just going round in circles. even if true having a promotion budget does not guarentee promotion no matter who the manager is. fans who have not bought or reneuwed their ticket know that there is a good chance of seeing the deadwood on the team sheet next season with a mid table finish at the best. why splash out on the unknown is beyond me. in the end the gang of 1600 might have got it right but if i lived nearer i,d still be waiting and see.

Play off budget is what exactly? Could spend a fortune and be relegated or spend little and be promoted. It's the best teams that do well not the best individuals at the end of the day. We saw that with the way we improved under JA with the same players that Curle couldn't get a tune out of.
I'm not renewing this season simply because I don't think it's very good value considering the league we're in and the fact that if we're not playing decent football I won't be going to every game particularly if the weather's bad.
Not too concerned about lack of signings just yet, lots of contracts run until end of June.

So the 1600 ST supporters will help keep the club going until we look as if we are a decent team then fair weather supporters will return.

Never been a fair weather supporter mate, I was there on a wet Tuesday night when Len Ashurst was manager and we had a crowd of 780 ish.
Getting a bit long in the tooth now though to be going out in the pissing rain and biting cold to watch a bunch of misfits playing 5th division football. I've more than paid my dues by means of STs anyway having bought for years when I knew I'd get to maybe 60% of games.
It's not rocket science though anyway, more people will turn out more regularly in their numbers if the team is doing well.

everyone will be back if there is a decent team to watch and the club gets good results even if they grind out results. you do not need a season ticket to support and watch pools and never did. there will be other older gits who possibly didn,t even know what they were and somehow the clubs managed to survive and some prosper without the numbers sold as they are now.

Exactly people turn out when we are doing well. Fair weather supporters. By the way I started in 1949 and I’ve seen worst teams than this lot by a long way. I also appreciate not everybody can afford ST.

If people not buying season tickets are fair weather, I suppose those that do are happy clappers.

I've caved and renewed my ST today. Looking forward to the play-off games already Anyway, Up The Pools.