I am not normally a person who gets to carried away with a few wins etc and as you know my predictions for the beginning of the season where mid table . Some on here and I am not here to criticise where saying after the likes of the York game we where promotion contenders. I am not knocking anyone’s dreams but imo it was just safety in this division. It’s a strange league this year as I am sure most of you agree.

Chesterfield are more or less dead certs followed by Bromley imo based on what I have seen up to now.

However and this is a big however, in every league every season including ours there is always one team that gathers momentum and comes from no where usually via the playoffs …………,,,,

I am not normally a fan who gets too carried away with the odd win or two. For me up to a few weeks ago was more concerned with relegation to the northern league and potential oblivion.

However, in the last 3 weeks since KP took over and analysing this blokes demeanour in his interviews etc something miraculous seems to be happening. From abject negativity and gloom there seems to be optimism and confidence. Not just from the new players but established ones too. The guy seems to manage like he played. So is it possible ……….

Chesterfield are more or less dead certs followed by Bromley imo based on what I have seen up to now.

However and this is a big however, in every league every season including ours there is always one team that gathers momentum and comes from no where usually via the playoffs …………,,,,[/quote]

Maybe this is proof that if you get the right manager in and back them, you get results…. But getting the right manager is the most important role of all… not easy..but vital.

its not about how good or bad a manager is or was its how they fit into the club they are at. KP seems to fit pools at the moment where people like curle and askey fitted some but not us.

Helps that KP isn't a yes man either. Raj will have to learn to work with that. If he can, happy days. I hope so as we'll get more days like yesterday.

How opinions change so quickly in football, just 3 weeks ago KP was being accused of being the ultimate Raj brown nose after his first couple of interviews?
I would imagine that KP will be reporting in the first instance to the Director of Football rather than Raj. And I seriously doubt that the manager will be pulling Raj strings.

I think because people got the wrong end of the stick. This was not yet another manager being told to suck it up. Raj had indeed let KP do what many previous managers would have loved to have done, sign some proper players. Could be a credit to KP for standing his ground or because Raj is looking at things in a completely new way nowadays or a combination of both. How long it will last, who knows. It certainly works though, but the change in atmosphere that KP has brought will only go so far.

Some believe it,s all about throwing money at it, Without the right gaffa, You might as well pour it down the drain.

true, but he still had time to mention him in his interview after the bromley game. you may think that raj is using KP and the signings he has allowed him to make as some form of increasing his popularity amongst the fans.

He’s probably managing upwards. Raj seems like the kind of man who needs praise and when he gets it laps it up. KP thanking him for letting him sign players will probably lead to him getting more players as Raj loves the limelight.

Ah the old ego massage. Not thick this KP guy.

We are starting to bring players in that have some sort of pedigree, played quite a bit of footy for their teams. Before it was well he has scored 3 times in the last 4 seasons, oh he has been out injured most of last season. Even opposition fans are saying oh got a half decent player their. When was the last time that happened?

Wallace, Mani D?

it can be if you have the manager who is able to spend it. some managers are good cheque book ones whilst others can bring in rough diamonds and improve them but fail on the big money signings. its getting the right man in the position your club is in.

If it works …milk it, nowt spoiling.

Thats 2 in about 30 players though. The last 3 or 4 have all had recent spells playing for their teams at a reasonable level.

Most of them seemed to be recruited before KP was appointed? Perhaps the credit for making the defence look good should go to Monk? I doubt KP had much say in the signings until this week.

KP said, Monk finds them and then passes on the info to KP to sign off.

Monk clearly has an eye for talent. Hopefully he doesn't bugger off

Plenty of times.
Mo Sylla Aldershot fans player of the year..
https://www.theshots.co.uk/2021-22-end- ... 22-awards/
Alex Lacey fans favourite at Notts County..
https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/fo ... ty-4423743
Then there's Umerah top scorer at Wealdstone..
https://www.westlondonsport.com/non-lea ... ker-umerah
And then there was Dan Kemp from MK Dons who came on loan to us when there was a lot of interest in him elsewhere at the time..
ETC ETC

The idea that all we have ever signed over the last couple of years have been players that are pure shite, and that nobody else wanted, is patently just plain nonsense, but unashamedly perpetuated by people with a vile vendetta against the chairman.
The "money supply has been cut off".
For gods sake give it a rest..

If I started making a list of the dross we have signed I would still be typing next week. Quite a few of them were signed by your bezza Hartley. With your logic, you'd think NOTHING needs to change at the club. It most clearly DOES. I hope it does because I want more days like yesterday.

What's needed to change has been on the pitch and in the dressing room. Looks as if that might have happened, hopefully it continues.

Post his playing career he has gained considerable experience in coaching and latterly in Club Management which has now given him the opportunity to show his talents with our Club.

And the factors which affect that go right to the top of the club. Budget, recruitment, club philosophy... all of it. You can't give Raj credit for doing the right things which filter down onto the pitch ( like yesterday) and then shield him from blame when it has been crap.

Doesn't matter who the owner is if the manager can't get the best out of players and the players play as if they don't give a shit though does it?
And I'm not giving Raj credit or pelters for anything as I don't believe he's recruited any players, picked any sides, made any substitutions, gave any team talks, etc etc during any part if his tenure in charge.

Sylla and umerah were decent last year, Lacey was and is fucking shite

Aye gave his ring piece a quick shine post match but didn’t bother me funnily enough after a win

You're kidding right? So Chesterfield are running away with it JUST because they have a good manager?

Funnily enough KP is thanking Raj in his interview. So that's just BS then. KP knows full well its only down to him. Adds weight to the argument that he's just massaging Rajs ego then.

[/color]Well we've won 2 games in a row and the expectation levels have gone into turbo mode.
It's promotion nailed on now next season or this.

Raj showed a bit of ambition to DC in non league then totally turned off the penny's tap. Resulting in a ultra quick slide into oblivion.
So way to Early for a few fans and KP to sing the praises.
Redemption is an open book even after the takeover debacle.
Mixed views for sure. That's the Bunker.
UTP.

I'm not getting started again about budgets and investment because I, like you are simply guessing. Likewise this bizarre statement that KP is here to massage Raj's ego rather than progress his own managerial and coaching career is based purely and simply on blind hatred of Raj.
The bottom line is we dont know a thing at all about budgets, discussions between the chairman and senior staff around the ckub. Clearly its difficult for you to apply any footballing logic whatsoever otherwise you'd realise that manager appointment is absolutely key to having a successful football club - would Hartley, Harrison,Lee, Askey, havevdone as well as DC with the same budget?

Then bloody quit with the nonsense. What happens on the pitch is far far far more nuanced than who the first team manager is. You mention logic? So could Jurgen Klopp achieve exactly the same at Hartlepool under Raj? By your logic he could. Why is DC achieving more under a chairman other than Raj? This is cold hard emotionless logic at work by the way.

Because DC has a much bigger budget I’d imagine….can we stop using DC as the benchmark all the time and move on please.
A ship that tries to move forward with its anchor down gets no where, pull it up, move on.

I'm just using him in the sense of A.N. Manager. Your issue not mine. However, Bingo Snowy.

Leicester City won the PL with a tiny budget compared to the likes of Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, etc
Jamie Vardy was signed from non league Fleetwood and went on to be PL player of the season, Golden Boot winner, and won England caps.
Man City despite their budget didn't gain any consistency until Pep was appointed , manager.
So money alone is not the silver bullet, you need good recruitment, the right manager, the right players to suit the manager, and a huge slice of good luck at all levels of the game.
Chelsea and Man Utd must be among the biggest spenders but are not challenging for the PL title.
We have shown at the start of this season and in the last couple of games we can be competitive with the squad we have, have we clicked with the right manager at the right time now? Will we bring in more players to give us a real push for the rest of the season and into next? Has our luck turned - certainly seems that way as earlier in the season every defensive slip and every scramble in our box seemed to result in a goal against?

Have you just seriously mentioned Wealdstone and Aldershot and got a bit excited their by signings? Look were 90 percent of our players are now going or heading too you have to laugh your even trying to justify it. You are a total mug.

Have you not watched the last seasons? What would you describe the players as? Excellent?

He went into hiding after Hartley. He was creaming himself over the high quality players from scotland,who were out on loan in the scottish championship, where have they gone back too? He names some players there Umerah playing near the bottom of the conference, we cant give him away now, sylla near the bottom of the conference, didnt he down tools and not want to play, lacey well i will give him that one utter class that lad.

So on that basis nothing whatsoever stopping us winning the premier league? Phillips just needs to get it right on the pitch?

Wtf are you on about anything and everything is possible if all the stars align.
Who'd have thought that Leicester could compete let alone win the PL with a striker signed from non league? Who'd have thought Bournemouth would ever get back to the top level, Carlisle were ever top of the 1st division, Sunderland would win the FA Cup in 73, Ipswich would be playing in Europe, Wimbledon would get into the PL, if everything falls into place at the right time anything is possible, if a single component isn't right then it doesn't work.
Who knows what's around the corner?
If it was as simple as we'll never be competitive as long as we have a certain owner, or manager, or group of players, or run of luck, then I'd have given up on Pools half a century ago.

Bourmmouth was taken over by a mega rich chairman thats why they are top level. Leicester also spent millions to get there. Wrexham, Stockport Notts county and Chesterfield have all basically managed to buy there way out of the national league in the last couple of year, of course it matters who your chairman is.

Of course we can be competitive but if you dont have a chairman with money now you are pretty much pissing in the wind. You have got to be naieve to think any different.

if clubs did not rely on the size of an owners wallet clubs like bury, oldham, rochdale. york and pools would still be league clubs and the forest greens, salfords, harrogates etc. would still be playing at their normal levels. you cannot beat the present system but you can use it.

Only two up in this league mate, Chesterfield Champions then Bromley have to do it via play offs.. with a slight advantage but we have beaten them now.. lets see what happens

You dont see Man u, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham popping down to division 3 very often do you? I wonder why that is? Anything to do with having billionaire owners? The principles are just the same further down, the teams with money tend to get above teams without, obviously always will have exceptions. Its like saying salfords rise up the leagues was down to a good manager.

Don't see Chelsea challenging for the title despite spending more than most either do you?
Big spending is obviously an advantage but you still need the right manager, the right players, and a huge slice of luck, all coming together at the right time. Some view the money spent as being the key and only component. Personally I think its the whole package.
And as an example, when DC left (sorry Snowy, that man again) we were doing ok in the league, did Raj immediately cut the players budget, did he change the entire squad the day he left, or did Graeme Lee have the same squad on the same wages as DC yet he could barely get a league win?

anyways back to post Bromley...

thought that was the best performance Pools have had in years ! Looked like a real L1 club playing an FA cup tie in the NL and giving the side below a thumping. Just what we used to always see when our decent L1 side went to these sorts of places and we showed them up !

new signings and management could of worked any better ! long may it continue and hopefully we see another body in this week as promised !

Confidence and Consistency is key now - plus if we can keep Mancini and Cooke fit we shouldnt be looking over our shoulders anymore at all.
I dont think Playoffs now (unless we go unbeaten) is a reality and id think there is a few wobbles still left to come for us this season. I nice 10th place finish is acceptable given whats gone on as of late and look to get settled a build and even better side for next season.
Be interesting to see who actually comes down as again it will probably be one of the weakest NL campaigns for a long time and a key opportunity for us to do a Chesterfield and smash the league !

I hope history doesn't repeat itself and get a good manager and is tempted swaying another club

I always rated A.N Manager and his team of 84, the Filey Flyers ….and their unbeaten season in the Filey & District League.

I suspect the likes of Barnet might have a big contribution to make to the mix as will Solihull.

I don't disagree with you that having the right manager is very important but you can't compare money in the premier league to lower leagues. At that level every club is loaded, you need club strategy to compete, for example Brighton. In the lower leagues you either need loads of money, a club strategy or a good manager to do well, any combination of them and you're flying. The issue is lots of the better managers at this level will go to clubs with money or a strategy (Pete Wild and Barrow(strategy), DC and Stockport (money and strategy), Mike Williamson to MK (strategy)), so if you don't have the money or the long term plan for the club you're left with gambling on appointments.

Hartlepool United backed by Raj as proven once already do have the funds to get out of this league.

your right in probably saying its the strategies and running of club behind the scenes thats messed us up too. The appointments of managers and probably not having a real CEO or director of football ever in the mix wont have helped either. We just have to hope that Raj wants to maybe have a second pop at it and gives KP all the fighting chance in the world to get us out. Which by going off early doors he has done with results and recruitment.

plus its football and in the lower levels we are dealing in.... should someone like KP take us up...the next up and coming or money bags club with a dream will just be waiting in the wings to pick him up !

It stands to reason that money is the most important factor.
Players and managers are professionals, which means their source of income provides their wives and families with their standard of living. They will offer their services to the clubs that pay most and who can blame them? If the likes of KP and Mancini are successfull at Pools, they won't be here long!