The Poolie Bunker

The Shan-ometer of Pools chairmen

Rate the chairmen in your lifetime
(from Mint - Shan as Fuck)-

Sir Harold - 'Mint'
Legend that stepped in, saved the club, redeveloped ground and responsibly passed it on to IOR

Ken Hodcroft - Slightly minty!
Ran a tight ship and a lot more good memories than bad. Cardiff was amazing day (bar the result)
Blotted his copy book by offloading to Asset Strippers TWICE

Vince Barker - (don't really remember - so will go
slightly Shan - handing on to John Smart)

The Rajanator- Shan -
started well enough, stabilised club, won promotion to EFL and then allowed the wheels to fall off

John Smart - Shan -
Came across as quite odious and needlessly took an axe to the old wooden stand- when other clubs kept theirs for years after

Garry (2r's) Gibson - Proper Shan
Promotion season was brilliant under Cyril/ Alan Murray but gambled with the clubs future and almost folded until Sir Harold rescued us

Coxberg - Shan as Fuck, them like!
That crooked- couldn't bend wire the same shape
Should have been jailed

Very fair reviews apart from Vince Barker. I ( just a teenager at the time ) believed he was total shan going by the stuff printed in the fail we used to believe was gospel. Fast forward to my 40s and I was asked if I could arrange a birthday surprise for a friend ( bunker member ) at the request of his misses. She asked if It was possible I could get Bob Newton to come to Hartlepool for a surprise party appearance. I got it sorted and they did a Karaoke duel. He had a magical birthday ( should have seen his eyes light up when Bob walked in ) and we had a wonderful night. A group of us then went to Chesterfield and had a night out with Bob n his misses. During that night Bob got taking about his time
at Pools with various stories. I asked Bob about Barker and he said " he was the nicest most genuine man he had met at Pools " apparently Barker almost bankrupted his farm and kids future due to his love of Pools. He said he spent almost every penny on Pools but still got slated. It turned out he was not liked by the mail editor and it was him who relentlessly pushed him out with lies and jealousy. I believe Bob was totally sincere about Barker and believe he treat him like a son ( his words ). So on reflection it appears he was a good bloke who simply took over the club he loved ( like Hornsey did ) but didn't have deep pockets.

I think that Garry Gibson was the best fat twat who didn't pay his VAT we ever had as our chairman.

I know he was a chubby chancer who'd shag your lass, kick your dog and pinch the bairn's toffee apple - but at the time did anyone really gave a shit as we were dynamite on the pitch.

Yes, his dodgy dealings meant that the rollercoaster ride had to end - but what a fucking ride...!!!

In my opinion, he's the least shan of the shan clan.

Our first promotion ( after the rest got 1968 promotion ) and yes Kenny it was a rollercoaster ride and one we thoroughly enjoyed. What a wonderful time getting promotion but how sad how it ended.

You make Raj sound half decent there...which he's not.
He's just wanted the kudos of owning a Football Club.
He'll be the 1st person in Football History to kill 2 Football Clubs.

It’s true,Barker re- mortgaged his farm to keep Ppols
going,at a time,they couldn’t even afford diesel for a van to take the players training at Peterlee sports centre.

I’ve said it before, his appearance up to that date had provided me with the best football and promotion for which I will be eternally grateful
However it was a roller coaster ride with no brakes and loose tracks and inevitably it ended in tears and disappointment.

liked it back in the days of being a kid with thoughts of a kid when you never knew what a chairman was and your old man or his mates never spoke about that in a conversation about pools. today its owner/chairmen who seem more important than players are everywhere due to how the game has become.

Totally agree Snowy - Garry was a top bloke in many ways and it was a great ride. Had many chats with him and he told some superb stories about the players - and some of his creditors - and I'd happily buy him a beer today and would be delighted to see him return in a (borrowed) Rolls Royce.....

Used to see him in a MG red sports car on the way back from away games. He would literally fly past us at stupid speeds and sometimes over 100mph in his tiny car that was totally lopsided and almost touching the ground on that side. I often wonder how he managed to get that massive unit into such a tiny low level car.

He might go for a hattrick seen has hehasno shame.
Stockton beware.