So will we be going into Saturday with just our transfer listed goalkeeper available? Bit worrying...

Yes I agree. If we have a loanee lined up, rumoured to be an Everton youngster, then the sooner it is announced the better. Or alternatively someone else recruited. Whoever it is he has to be au fait with the defensive set up and his required role in that set up.
Everybody agrees, including the manager, that a capable recruitment between the sticks is a priority, so prioritise it and get one in.

No need to worry.
One of the midfielders can go in goal.
We got the best defenders in nl to carry any goalkeeper.

Maybe the one from Saturday is getting another chance to prove his worth.

I find it hard to believe with only a short time away from the start of the season Pools don’t have a keeper or even a full squad.

We've a month to go and we have a squad that looks a bit thin defensively, and we have a keeper who was at lge 1 level not too long ago and may or may not now figure in Sarlls plans.

Fear not …I’ve been approached and commence training Monday.

Pools' transfer activity has been stop-go this summer. There's been plenty of signings made in the NL in the last couple of weeks - even Rochdale have now got 7 new players in!

Of course we won't know how good the business done by other clubs has been till Pools come up against them. I'm prepared to be pleasantly surprised again by Sarll's next moves in the transfer market - any chance of them being sooner rather than later though?

feel finding a really good keeper at our level is the hardest position to find nowadays if you want to avoid young loanees.

He said he wanted his business done early. So maybe business is done and we once again are going to rely on loans. Still miles away from where we need to be. Looks like were going into a season where we no the defence concedes 2 a game.

Ive never been a fan of a young GK (at this level). Although we had Brad James who was okay and ill always have a soft spot for him for the penalty save but this season i really dont want to be relying on some 22 year old GK or younger. The minute they have a stinker which guaranteed they will, its harder without the experience to get them fired up again and get the best out of them. Its learning and i know it needs to happen but just not here as our No1 in a season where i really think we should be looking to get promoted ! possibly could do as well !

I really thought one of the first bits of business DS would have done would be get Dixon pumped and his replacement in.
or even keep Dixon as the No3 what ever but us have a solid Keeper in by now - there was plenty of good ones released too whom all played at higher level !

Solihull did well last season with a kid in goal.

aww dont get me wrong - there is a plethora of lads from the Prem / Championship on loan keeping clean sheets up and down the divisions. But known Pools' luck we wont be getting the next Buffon or Casillas anytime soon. Sure Carlisle had a kid in goal for their promotion season too ? been a few exceptions to the rule of course just hope DS can find us one !

keepers can make a defence in the same way they can make a keeper look good. we have had a problem at pools over recent years as we have been weak in both positions so its been hard to blame who were the worst.

Squad numbers released Joel Dixon has the number albeit it doesn’t mean a lot, he is still available for transfer but no takers as yet, I assume Pools would like a fee for him although they didn’t anything for him.
https://www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk/kit- ... r-2024-25/
The numbers 9,13,15,17, haven’t been allocated, maybe they are for the new signings maybe only 3, do any players ever wear 13 ?

I would imagine it won't be easy to get shot of Dixon, can't imagine us wanting a fee but would think we're giving him a decent wage considering he came to us from div 1.
My take on him being given the 1 shirt is that he's here for the longer term and he's likely to be in our starting 11 first league game.

He is only there as he has time left on his contract I would think, Pools weren’t prepared to pay him compo to cancel his contract hoping an offer would come along.

We could sign a proper keeper good enough to play in a promotion team. ( that cracks gone quiet now).
If Dixons no. 1 then closing the gap will be the new ambition.
11th it is then.

Problem is he's likely taking up a decent wage while he's here and can we afford to pay 2 keepers a good wage or is it just 1 and a youth, loanee, cheaper option as competition.
Can't blame the player for not moving if it means a wage cut going elsewhere.
If he does start the season we've got to hope we get the Dixon that was getting MoM awards rather than the error prone version.

we,ll end up at best with dixon having the odd more motm awards and the odd less error strewn game. its not as if we will be signing a keeper without obvious errors as they do not exist even with goalkeeper coaching.

After binning the majority of the out of contracters on big bucks the Payroll will be down to the lowest for very long time.
Maybe that's why Sarly got the job with the small squad banter.
St sales been mentioned for this abrupt end to the Recruitment which coincides with our last signing around deadline day.

Probably start off on 4000 crowds after the feel good factor of England winning tonight.
Then it's a hard task to keep them crowds up especially at £22/23 quid a go.
Well let yous crack on.
The rest of today is all about England.

Will not effect me in the slightest how England get on, With regard to supporting Pools.

but the MSM will be pushing that as if its going to be the same.

I wonder if sarl was manager of man city he would say he wanted a squad of 18 to 21 players. We are now being fed this small squad nonsense by the manager because he knows he has very little wiggle room. We play more games than last season for starters, so to have a tiny squad is a recipe for disaster.

has he operated with small squads at other clubs he has managed or is just telling us what he has to tell us. the truths out there somewhere but we,ll never really know what it is and we,ll have to just make it up with the information we know and where we sit on how the club is being run.

I could be wrong but when DS signed I looked at the Barnet forum and pretty sure the fans complained that he had a huge squad that he wanted but the fans thought was way to big to manage and didn’t know his best 11.Again if memory serves it was 30 players or more. I will have a look again later today and check if this is accurate.

Where, apart from on here has it been said that ST sales has stopped recruitment?

he 100% will only work with a small squad. Regardless of cash available hes said that himself. If thats just smoke and bullsh!t though for i dont have much cash and unfortunately we are where we are with numbers then so be it. No surprise this is Pools under Raj after all. But i do believe he actually does like to only work with a good 20 players like he said he can put his arm round them and have time one to one with smaller numbers. Its just that your smaller numbers all have to be good and fit enough. Can see this season being frustrating with regards to this new subs ruling - it will bite us in the ass and im sure we will be screaming for more loans and players as the season goes on. Just hope DS is still here come xmas. About time we gave a manager longer than a season even if we doing bad.

Give him a 3 year contract like JA then come out with shit like he's better than DC.

Is it still a non excuse season?

It’ll all come out in the wash….expect to be disappointed and you won’t be disappointed….me nan used to say but she talked some twaddle.

What happened to the youth keeper sold I believe to Leicester a coupe of seasons ago?

He’s at Leicester

He went to Leicester but I can’t find no trace of him in their squads even the under 21s.

Don,t mention Twaddle, Not heard from him in a while.

Still knocking one out over his super Kevin Phillips shoot posters

New subs ruling is the same for the other 23 clubs.
7 on bench.
5 allowed to come on.

There's no way that can be manufactured into an Excuse.

Think there'll be teams which will struggle at times to be able to name 7 subs. Hopefully we won't be one of them.

Then them teams should be expelled from non leagues super league for failing to abide by not being run fit n proper..

there has been loads of occasions when league teams last season could not fill the bench and it came as a big shock when they actually won the game. its going to happen next season at league and non league level including possibly pools. not over bothered if the starting 11 are the best players in form and we have a couple on the bench to cover an injury or someone off form.

Quite a few teams put 2 goalkeepers on the bench to make the numbers up. If my memory serves me right Newcastle did.

Think we failed to fill the bench a couple of times under Phillips didn't we?
Don't think it's a rule that you have to fill the bench, there's a maximum number of subs only.

The high pressing tactics will be exhausting.
So imagine all 5 legal subs will have to be used.
5 sub rule should work in our favour for this new style of play.
UTP.

We failed to fill the bench for the 1st game of the season not long back or am i dreaming that?

Yeah ..I remember some people going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and Ona and on and on and on and on and on about it.

the laugh is how many times did we not use all 3 last season and how many times will all 5 be used next before the clock has 85 minutes on it even if we have a decent bench.

I was going to mention that,

without the Reserve team - this new sub ruling is an absolute gift for us in terms of bringing those 3 academy lads on even more. I think they all will have a bright future with Pools if we keep hold of them. Enjoy them whilst they are under contract someone said to me, so guessing we will be seeing more of them now given the bench is bigger.

I expect to see a goalkeeper coming in maybe on a season loan from one of the bigger clubs.

Liverpool Man City or Arsenal or even Spennymoor.

thats the problem if we are unlucky. he,ll be well down that clubs pecking order especially higher up that club is.