Supposedly had his medical with us yesterday.

As i have said before, Don,t hang the Minkey.

again happy with this IF he is a back up to and not a replacement for Mani D

Does seem like we are making an effort with realistic signings and using the budget we saved from getting rid of teh Scottish piss takers

Cheers Gray

Beck hasn’t had a medical yet, deal yet to be agreed between Pools and Solihull. Gateshead keen as well as Pools.

But one slight problem Gateshead have no money and surely cannot pay him the wages we can They also are unable to be promoted at the moment. Think it's safe to rule them out.

Favours a move to pools according to someone on twitter who called the Campbell deal last week.

Exactly, Solihull want competition between Pools and Gateshead so they could negotiate a decent fee but there appears to be little chance of a bidding war with Gateshead who don’t really have the resources to compete with Pools. I think there’s a good chance Beck ends up at Pools, he wants the move.

Rob Law saying Beck has a year left on his contract so a fee will be involved. Hopefully it's another 'nominal' figure otherwise it might not happen.

Thats right a year left on his contract, And back in the NE

There was 100% a player getting a medical either yesterday or Wednesday. My source told me it could be Tinckler from the Heed ?

Also Greg Olley another Heed attacking CM has been talking with the club <<< that would be a good signing. But i think he is wanted by a league club too (Doncaster he reckoned).

it will be very nominal if they want him off their books. question on my mind is why do they feel that way about him as there are far worse about and he,ll not be the worst player who has played for them over the last few years.

Maybe he's just told them he'd prefer to move back to the North-East to be near friends and family and they don't want to keep an unsettled player? Pools have allowed plenty to leave on that basis. Hartley letting Neill Byrne go back to the North-West comes to mind.

If a player wants to be back home in the twilight of his career, Not much point hanging on to him.

I so want one of these to be right but your 'sources' track record is not great (being kind).

Olley would be excellent but would require a fairly large fee and would likely mean Mancini was off, as I can't see him coming in to be back up.

hate this talk about players coming in as back ups or present ones being regarded as second choices before a ball is even kicked in pre season. surely its up to the player themselves to put the effort in the claim the shirt and nobody should be guarenteed a starting spot or place on the bench. however i do feel some players start at an advantage with some managers being its their shirt to lose rather than the other way.

I get this Mr Accrington but realistically you have to keep a squad happy. Olley is captain of Gateshead and starts regularly for them, why would he join a team like us without having (at least initially) guarantees of playing time? On the other hand Mancini is extremely talented and showed when he played last season he is one of the best players in this league. How would he feel if someone came in for his spot in the team, and due to the fee paid and who he was, likely to start over him?
Obviously spots in the team should be given on merit (or as Sarll calls it meritocracy) but there has to be some form of squad planning in that if both Olley and Mancini are fit and on form, you either have to change the game plan or have 1 very unhappy player. I think it's more likely that the next centre mid we bring in will compete with Sheron/Hunter and if Mancini is injured or off form Campbell or Charman will take his place.

one thing that would be nice is seeing players left out next season due to having better players to pick from who might have in previous seasons been guarenteed a starting spot due to no other options and didn,t need to put a good shift in to keep their places. more lads at the club who will battle for their place in the starting line up the better and any sulkers without the battle in them can do one.

Beck is on a decent wage at Solihull but from what I heard he's prepared to see out his deal unless the settlement is right.
He does have back issues so does miss the odd game, or ends up on the bench because of it.

I wouldn,t include Mancini in the squad just yet.

I dont think players want guarantees but usually as the manager 'sells' the club to them he discusses how he wants to play and how they fit in....if he says-you fit in on the bench unless Mancini is fucked then that isnt a great selling point.

An attacking midfielder from Gateshead sounds good though, especially if he was playing when they ripped us a new one

Mancini is back as expected, all rumours about him leaving have been total nonsense.

Just need him to get fit.

Never said a word about Mancini leaving.

The lad is brilliant, Not certain about his mindset.

When Mancini played early last season, we hit top spot with a ropey squad.
The new signings look to be solid proven performers so I am very optimistic that failing injuries, we can be a top five club.
The manager must insist on his requirement for fitness and have the squad numbers to cope effectively with up to five substitutes but I for one am very optimistic despite a penny pinching owner.

Fair assessment!
But if we do go up then

Raj needs to realise paying himself management fees over a period of time is better for both parties than snaffling all the Sky Cup runs n sponsorship moneys ASAP.

It's obviously a 2 way debate with plenty of evidence from both sides.
Otherwise we wudent be back in division 5
Hey

the thing is we had an excellent starting 11 at the outset last season but a frayed rope to back that up. i,m optimistic if only we have very few injuries as i feel we still need more bodies through the door as i do not trust loanees or signing players without clubs in late september or october like we have done.

Would've expected to see a few more in by now. First couple of weeks will be mostly about fitness than team structure and tactics so not desperate by any means but we need more through the door soon.

Looks like we going down the route of quality rather than quantity for a change which equates to about the same budget.
Well that's my theory.
Slight upgrades so far I'd say on previous summers and the right age group.
Surely this method improves the results.
UTP.

We will see if " slight upgrade" is right, But agree steady away is better.

Beck is in talks with Gateshead right now, So lets hope hes not playing us and them.

Beck is a professional football player and has every right to negotiate the best terms for himself. It is we supporters who are welded tight to HUFC, not players!

tough

Beck is in his twilight, I would imagine hes been comfortable for some time, Given his pedigree.

standard really isnt it - see who offers me the best money and the longest contract. 30 year old will want to see at least a good 2 year contract even 3 if he can. No one wants a 33/34 year old striker with a bad back these days so has to make hay whilst sun shines and all that. No doubt end up at Pools when hes 36 and wants one last pay day

If Beck is talking to Gateshead after speaking to us I would tell him not to bother coming back. There won't be a big difference in salary after tax and we want commitment not last payday players

Slightly concerning the manager said he would be happy to start the season with the squad as it is now. Id of thought we were still miles away, but if he thinks that good luck to him.

Yeh a keeper, another midfielder and a wide fwd at minimum as well as cover for mani D

Not too worrying the keeper situation just yet but could do with the outfield players arriving before he starts working on style of play rather than fitness.

Squads nowhere near up to starting a promotion campaign.
But you got to remember Sarly is Gunna say all the right things after being unemployed for as long as he was.
Imagine the good budget includes a good bonus for promotion if he can work a minor miracle.
UTP.

suppose we could start with what we have got if other signings did come in after the seasons starts. was a little worried when he said he likes a small squad. its not as if that hasn,t bit us on the arse before.

doubt it would make him a better or worse a player having talks with another club. he,s not exactly a life long poolie getting his head turned.

Because as we all know we will probobly pick up 2 to 3 injuries before the season even starts.

He,s not keen on a large squad, Said so himself.

Doesnt he realize how many injuries we get (for reasons no one understands)? We could easily end up with five or six players on the treatment bench by October. A small squad is a madness.

You have to hold back some cards for the unexpected, for example look at the issues we had last season at central defence, it was unprecedented, started the season with Pruti, Dodds and Onariase, then Lacey came in for Pruti, then we lost Dodds, then Hendrie came in for the injured Lacey, Patterson came in so Ferguson could move central, then Lacey returned for Patterson, then Burton replaced Lacey, then Lacey replaced Burton, Zak Johnson then replaced an injured Lacey, then Seaman got injured replaced by Lacey again.

This all happened before the start of October btw.

Even assuming we get a goalkeeper this s has is at the very least 3 or 4 players light of a serious stab at promotion

We could well be up shit creek by October especially with this run until you drop playing style he claims he wants

Well if that’s the case, you’ll have saved on your season ticket by not buying one….when it all implodes in October.
So it’s not all bad news.

Why would he drop the playing style We haven't even played one minute under this new manager and you want him to change the way we play.

I'm pretty sure Sarll said that to big up what he's already got. Can't have meant it literally as the goalkeeping situation is still 100% up in the air.

I reckon we'll get another 3 or 4 in before the start of the season - maybe a loan or two including a keeper.

Sarll said in his interview that he was planning on signing 4 more players, a keeper, centre mid, winger and backup for Mani D.

He also said he could start the season with what he's got, which takes the pressure off us panicking and signing a load of dross like in the past.

If we played this Sat he could field a team of

Dixon
Dodds
Fergy
Parkes
Waterfall
Sheron
Hunter
Mancini
Grey
Armstrong
Mani D

Which is a strong 11 with the likes of Mani O, Fev, Wallace, Burton, Stephenson and Charman on the bench.

No where near enough depth to get through a season but enough to get started assuming all those players are fit.

We are playing this Saturday

Dodds said himself he won't be playing full pre season games to start with so it's unlikely he'll start the 1st friendly. Would imagine his 1st public run out will be the last 15 mins of a friendly when he does appear.