https://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/educat ... up-4604520

Any of the players on Pools books ?

Well done Bedes

Well done to all and good luck in the final.

too young for a kid to me a real martyr.

Nah it’s a fiddle…they got God on their side, foregone conclusion ….three Hail Mary’s a goal is the going rate.

Maybe it’s time for it to be mandatory to send the Pools players to church to pray.

We can replace Raj with Bishop Len Brennan.

wonder if their opponents in the final are sponsored by a local mosque.

They’ve lost then.

The game isn’t until Wednesday the 23rd of May at the Hawthorns.

I remember getting to the Lord Londonderry cup final in 1970
at Lintz cricket ground. Beat some decent teams on the way
including a team from Easington that had England youth prospects
in their team.

remember as a kid that catholic schools provided the hardest opposition no matter what the size of them. did they concentrate more on sports than we non catholics did or something in their DNA.

To answer the question. No. None of the players are on pools books. Striker is at Sunderland, keeper at Carlisle and one of the defenders is currently on trial at Liverpool. No interest from pools at all.

Don’t Pools monitor local school football, my Grandson went to a Birthday Party, the parents had hired a room at Mill House for a footy game. There was an 8 year old kid there running rings round every one, he had already been signed up at Newcastle.

I think they just wait until lads get released from other clubs at 16 or over. They don't have a clue what talent they have on their doorstep. Sad really as they are mostly all pools fans and go to the games.

Two or three times a season dozens of kids of all ages parade around the ground at half time all being coached at Pools. The problem is the best kids are picked up by the big clubs. Who do you go too if a big comes knocking on your door?

really though how many will make it and the cost thats involved. just because a big club signed em as kids does not mean they,ll even end up at pools. however if its the same as in the past pools are not the easiest club to get a chance with as i found out. i,d be surprised if there in nobody on here with a lad not getting a chance with the club or know of somebody. then there will also be ones that have had the chance but a few years later they were playing on the rec.

It always crosses my mind as I watch these kids is that they all want/think they will be professional footballers and the truth is it’ll be lucky if any do. One thing is I could fill a page with the names of local lads who have had a chance in Pools first team.

We don't have the academy for it. Think we have a Cat 4 which is only 16+, either way the academy recruitment guy seems to have done a good job with 4 players having played for the first team from 2 intakes of 7 (?) players

It’s the parents who decide where kids go, not the kids….and they all think their little star is gonna be just that…….so lower league clubs suffer even though they have more chance of achieving success lower down than in the higher club’s processing plant…oop’s …sorry…youth programme.

Hand on heart Snowy what would you do if Pools and Boro offered to sign your son. You can always drop down if it doesn’t work out. If I remember right David Linighan was at Middlesbrough whilst at school but not offered contract and came to Pools Youth.

even crewe who have a good name for their youth set up have players who are not local lads, but ones who have been released from other clubs especially in the liverpool area and then give em a second chance and push them on.

Joe Gray was released by Wallsends Boys Club before signing for Pools.

They won in the final, I can only find a link from X (Twitter), I wonder if anyone from Pools was there ?
https://x.com/official_hufc/status/1793 ... FmWNDSFt3g

Well done lads.

Great Effort boys,

its producing some real good lads that improtech coachin. Im sure one of their lads had a trial at Liverpool recenctly.

2 lads from that school in final year have been taken on by Pools on their FE programme for a chance to get into the actual youth setup.