I care but I don't think they should sign me, Featherstone is exactly what we don't need imo. Too slow, too negative, can't/ won't tackle, and almost certainly unfit and likely overweight again.
Surely we could have brought someone in who had more to offer a team devoid of any creativity or defensive nous?
Sweeney would probably be capable of better than Fev.

Featherstone will not be match so I'm not pinning my hopes on him. Even at his best he would struggle to make a difference to the current team in my view but hey what do I know?

Not gifting the ball to the opposition in bad areas would be a start. And your Sweeney comment is class. He's only 40 and it's only 7 years since he hung up his boots.

Surely now is the time!

Big Stevie, where are you?

Big Stevie is 47 now so its not time yet.

the interesting thing is how many minutes he,ll actually get on the pitch in his debut game. it could take the best half of his month just to get match fit. he has for me never been a natural athlete even though i rated him in the past and will always be one who has to watch what he eats.

No matter how fat unfit slow featherstone is surely he cant be worse than the midfield thats been put out recently. Im no featherstone fan even though i thought he was excellent for 18 months in the conference but surely this guy has got to be better than the garbage already running round like headless chickens. Its a desperate move when we dont seem capable of bringing anyone decent in so what other option does askey have?

Personally don't know why we don't play some of the youth players from the other night. They can't do an worse too and on the plus side they'll have more energy and fitter than Featherstone. Try something new and different.

I think in all honesty, some people don't know how to move forward with the times and are living and stuck in the past. Featherstone is taking a place of someone who could be the next Sweeney, Miller, Hutchinson, Boyd, Brown and the rest of them.

Featherstone had his time and place, he won't do sweet FA for us.

Sure, they'll all be fit as butcher's dogs and run about all night. JA and Sweens were at the game (saw the full 90 rather than 7 minutes of highlights ) and were probably impressed by one or two. Then again, they'll bear in mind that they were playing other 17 and 18 years olds from a team in the division below Pools.

Does anyone on here actually watch the youth team regularly, like Monkeybutt used to do?

Very true indeed, I don't deny that.

However this team was beaten by a bunch of Part timers 5-2 that where 2 division below us last season. So unfortunately that argument is flooded Also the Part time Mighty Dorks beat a bunch of Full Timers, after traveling up on the day.

We have joel grey in the team and lets be honest he has been a dissapointment at times, lets not kid ourselves these youth kids would get torn to shreds at borhaamwood.

Wouldn't do any harm in putting one or two on the bench and giving them a chance, if you're good enough you're old enough.

I seem to recall some of the youngsters were on the bench at times last season. I think one or two played some minutes as well so it is not as of Askey is particularly against the idea. Maybe it is horses for courses. If Boreham Wood is a team of big bastards, the young uns would be kicked all round the pitch.

So, if I'm reading you right, this year's Academy side is a lot better than it was last season, so they should be playing at Boreham Wood tonight One or two or the whole 11?

Maybe they just arent good enough though? Its one thing beating some other kids of other clubs but different ball game playing some of these sides. Its a goodsign they are winning games though and who knows might be some gems in there. I get what people are saying they will run their hearts out, but we got a kid from scarborough and he looks out of his depth now.

Well if I'm reading you correctly, you have no faith in youth players nor future talents. So living in the past, with over the hill players thinking they still good. How do you develop youth players if you never give them a chance to show what they've got.
To be honest, this is a pointless argument

It's a good job the likes of Alex Ferguson, Wenger, Pep don't share the same view otherwise the likes of Owen, Rooney, Fabregas, Foden would have made it as early as they did. In the past we played kids such as Boyd, Brown, the Linighans, to name a few, so having a look at some of the kids wouldn't do any harm at all.

We don't know how good they are in terms of being able to compete in this league and I think that we all agree that playing in the men's world is different to playing against another bunch of kids. However what we do know is that the men that we are putting out at the moment aren't exactly pulling any trees up and are suggesting they currently aren't good enough either. Personally I was impressed with the kids in the highlights I watched but I wouldn't kid myself that they would repeat that in the national league. Blooding in one or two of them might be worth trying but that has its risks, as we all know.
I think we have to worry about other clubs getting their beady eyes on them and poaching a few at this early stage but they certainly look the part.

I don't pick the team and seem to have grown out of the fantasy that 'if only' I was, Pools would be doing better - especially the one of proposing players I know nothing or next to nothing about.

Featherstone is definitely past his best but still a better option that playing Hendrie or Grey or (on Saturday's showing) Agahtise in midfield.

We supposedly have a good manager for this level im sure if he thought we had lads good enough they would be in. We have spent the last 2 months looking for kids from other clubs, brought a couple in so he obviously feels we dont yet have any rooneys etc out there. In 25 years how many really good young kids have we produced? Throwing a few in might be the making of us but then again it would most likely help get askey the sack, risky hame for him doing it.

well surely he could risk a couple in the fa cup. could not give a toss about the competition as we are not going to win it or see our budget for players increasing if we had a run either.

Fa trophy perhaps mr accrington. Dont know bout you but ive lost all faith in the season i honestly think were going down.

do not think we,ll go down but so much has happened to suck the interest out of me since the chesterfield result. no one persons fault but failure does get tedious with no light at the end of the tunnel.

No danger - unless Raj hits the panic button to be seen to be doing something and gives Askey the sack.

He'd do far better spend the equivalent of forking out now for 3 years wages on a new player who runs at defences at pace and puts the fear of God into full backs. Most of the teams we've played seem to have at least one - we don't since Dodds and Mancini got injured.

Having players who can run at defences and take a man on tend to get butchered at this level and referees don't look after them. Seaman did it when he first arrived but isn't too keen at the moment. Crawford got the treatment last night when he tried it. There's too many teams going around kicking everything above grass. It's nice to have these tricky attacking players as long as you can keep them out of the treatment room. The tackle that did for Dodds happened right in front of the referee and he didn't even blow for a foul.

You have a point. Nobody ever gets scythed down by Fergie or Seaman, maybe that's another of our weaknesses Hendrie is a different kettle of fish - his display last night reminded me that his best performances for us 2 seasons ago were at right back. He gets stuck in.

Hendrie > Seaman is a good decision under circumstances

As I said before Seaman in front of him in a 4-4-2 may have been a plan but you cant do that with Featherstone as one of your two midfielders

Its a good job Featherstone was in midfield, Allowing Crawford a more forward role.
And Featherstone was the only one having a right go at the ref for not dissallowing the goal.
He recieved a yellow for the Refs mistake.

Where was everyone else, Too f--king soft.

On the highlights, James is having a go at the ref about the push but they didn't show Feaths protest.

I watched the match, He was screaming at the ref. Hence the yellow.
Johnson never got one.

You can see it in the highlights.

Not saying you didn't see Featherstone having a go too, but Pools' only yellow card of the night was Jameson, who ran straight to the ref when he allowed the goal and gave him a mouthful (you can check the cards on the BBC Sport website).

I stand corrected

what annoyed me was only jameson being bothered to confront the ref for his non decision. i blame johnson as much as the ref as he should have gone down as if a sniper had got him holding his face. if you cannot beat em you have to join em. i,d prefer us to get the reputation of being a shit house team by others as long as if it puts more points for us. could not give a flying one what nondescript clubs and fans think of us who cannot get even a thousand fans into the ground.

Hats off to Featherstone for yesterday's performance, not MoM for me, that was Grey by a mile. But good to see Featherstone having a good all round game rather than just sitting in front of the CBs and passing back or sideways. Probably his best game for 3 seasons, wonder if a contract to the end of the season has been dangled in front of him?

you would think so but it could be interesting what does happen when his month is up. i,ll believe stuff when he puts pen to paper and nothing else.

He will put pen to paper if offered, he doesn’t have any other options, need an income, I think the NL is more suited to him than League proper.

only problem is we have put him in the shop window for others to see and another club might come sniffing around.

He should never have been allowed to leave.

agree. without knowing the full facts i have a feeling it could have been handled much better.

We’ll whoever’s right, he’s made a difference and that’s what matters.

His choice to leave wasn't it, turned down an offer to stay.

Well it looks like he changed his mind and Pools took him back.
Seems to have worked out.
I thought it was time to go when he left, but looks like I was wrong, funny old world innit.

Might not have got Mancini if he'd stayed

Well we haven’t got Mancini now have we, so that’s probably why Featherstone’s back, but……. I very much doubt it having any effect on Mancini’s signing.

I was of the same opinion Snowy but he is proving me wrong aswell. Even stranger considering his lack of playing etc seems to be playing better than ever

According to Jeff stelling on twitter he has offered to pay Nicky's wages to keep him at pools.

That is a great gesture from Sir Jeffrey of Rift House.

10 years 10 consecutive seasons he deserves a testimonial

spot on. even those who do not rate him must agree with that.