The Poolie Bunker

Last season for me was blighted by a raft of truly awful signings, players (and I used the word loosely) who we carried throughout the season and contributed next to nothing. A quick summary...

Adam Campbell - was a disaster signing right from the start, never looked interested half the time, I actually thought at one point he'd downed tools as a childish response to the stick he was getting.

Brad Walker - where can you start with him, his attitude was.one of a last payday, I attended one home game and he was going through a drill at halftime in front of the NC stand and was missing out half of what the coach was asking him to do, lazy and not committed at all.

Danny Johnson - probably one of the worst signings I've ever witnessed in my time as a Pools fan. Makes the return of Steve Howard to the club look like a masterstroke in comparison. Lazy, pea hearted and won about 3% of every 50/50 he was involved in, possibly less, truly awful. Stole a wage.

Nick Hayes - how he ever made it as a professional baffles me, I watched the Southend home win on YouTube again the other day and his performance was truly woeful, I've seen Sunday league players with a better positional sense, should take up volleyball he parries the ball that much, never behind always back into the danger area, that first Southend goal is comedy gold.

Michael Dacosta - only played a couple of games but I've never seen a footballer wearing their shorts so far down their legs, looked like basketball was his real trait.

Nathan Ferguson - another anonymous player, yet another in for one game out for 5 signing you can't afford to carry.

Gav Holohan - now I'm sure he wanted to do well, and I always liked him but was a mistake to bring him back.

Nathaniel George/Pharrell Brown - won't be too harsh on these two, tried but just couldn't seem to achieve a regular start.

I could pick a few others but they maybe fall into the tried but just weren't good enough category. How we managed to achieve 68 points carrying that lot is baffling really.

If they were cars, they’d be on ArthurDaley’s car lot.

Yes with a sign on the windscreen saying..."good runner".or "cheap tax".

Odd that you started that list with Adam Campbell. It's not saying a great deal, but he was streets ahead of the 'last payday' brigade you also mention. Unlike them, he'll be playing for another National League side next season. Better than Gav Holohan's pitiful last hurrah at the Vic too.

Why is it odd?, he was the one I expected the most of, after all as the media kept saying he'd come from a successful Crawley team who'd just been promoted from Lg.2. I certainly won't lose any sleep over his departure, thought he was a terrible signing myself.

I expected more from Campbell, but we don’t know what goes behind the scenes…particularly as he always had good reviews prior to coming here.

We've a long history of turning decent players into average ones or worse.

Pharrell Brown - I wish he'd have been given more time. He seemed to have potential but did not favour the cautious football we were playing.

As I said, he did better for us last season than everyone else on your list.

Campbell finished the season with 5 goals and 4 assists in 32 appearances. Believe it or not, he was Pools' second top scorer.

Compare that with with Matty Daly - 4 goals and 6 assists in 43 appearances. He's another one who fully deserved scattering.

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team/st ... ool-united

[quote.[/quote]

As I said, he did better for us last season than everyone else on your list.

Campbell finished the season with 5 goals and 4 assists in 32 appearances. Believe it or not, he was Pools' second top scorer.

Compare that with with Matty Daly - 4 goals and 6 assists in 43 appearances. He's another one who fully deserved scattering.

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team/st ... ool-united[/quote]

He didn't have much to beat on that list, maybe it was his combative midfield style, aerial prowess or shooting ability that is maybe clouding your judgement on him....oh wait...

As I said, he did better for us last season than everyone else on your list.

Campbell finished the season with 5 goals and 4 assists in 32 appearances. Believe it or not, he was Pools' second top scorer.

Compare that with with Matty Daly - 4 goals and 6 assists in 43 appearances. He's another one who fully deserved scattering.

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team/st ... ool-united[/quote]

He didn't have much to beat on that list, maybe it was his combative midfield style, aerial prowess or shooting ability that is maybe clouding your judgement on him....oh wait...[/quote]

My judgement of him is that he's a better footballer than the other numpties on your list (excluding the young lads on loan that we didn't see enough of to form a judgement). Opinions eh?

Would love to see us sign someone with real aggression in midfield rather than the lightweights we've had to endure the last few seasons.

well they would be on show in the car lot. his namesake matty would be parked up round the back hiding till no one could see him.

That Carlisle home game was a classic example of how easy it is to be successful.

Problem is you need to back it up with about 20 similar performances (slightly other lower standard performances will still accrue enough points).

We need a structure we're the players know their roles to put a lot more pressure on the opposition goalkeepers.
This manager has done it before at Huddersfield.
All down to the Pot now.
Just hope it's still at that £2 million figure allegedly.

Some think it good and bad.

I reckon it's easily enough to produce the expectations our patience of past seasons requires.

New season only 2 months away.
I fancy a Word Cup Win to inspire us in division 5.

UTP.

I think an ability to change tactics when necessary was missing from Fevs coaching manual. Setting up in the same formation with the same style of football made it far too easy for opposition teams with goalkeepers and defenders pretty much having easy games as we huffed and puffed without any threat.
I'm sure Clark won't be as rigid and defensive in his outlook. Hopefully he's still got some good contacts in the game and can secure a quality keeper and a couple of decent hungry players on season long loans. I think the recent loaner keepers have all been quality and Rochdale had a teenager on loan all season which worked well for them. I'd take Evans or Cartwright for the season.

both were better than our eventual own keeper or actually any of our keepers for years previously. still waiting for a trevor carson replacement.

Amen to that. A mobile ball winner with an eye for a pass and a strong shot on him too.

Sheron and Hunter can both win a tackle or a header but can't seem to do anything when they're on the ball other than a sideways pass. Miley has vision and can tackle but is not particularly mobile...

You make a good point, they did have that habit of winning the tackle but then clueless when it came to distribution…sort of negates the whole point of winning the ball in the first place.

Unless an Argentinian, French, Spanish or German WC win is going to inspire the new age Pools side I can't see this year's overblown razzmatazz comp being of any inspiration. I watched England win the '66 World Cup and my grandad said' 'Make the most of it son as its unlikely that England will ever win it again in your lifetime'.
He's been right so far - and in all of that time I thought that we really were good enough to win it was 1970. Nothing since then has convinced me that the England squad would be capable of winning.

best chance of winning it again is when its played in this country with pet referees and russian linesmen helping.