The Poolie Bunker

After watching another insipid performance yesterday was thinking about where it went wrong for us, if it that is even true. After all, perhaps the halcyon days of the early-mid 00’s was more of a golden era. Even so, I’ve came to a conclusion that if we were to point to one season it would probably be 08/09.

Obviously we had that horrific post-Cardiff season, 05/06, but that seemed be an aberration. We got relegated by 2 points, scoring just 44 goals, Boyd and Porter playing just 22 and 8 games each. You have to think if either had been fit for even a couple more games we might have been able to scrape by. The next season we romped back to L1, could’ve even won the title, before having a reasonable, if unspectacular 15th place finish in 07/08.

In December 08 we sacked Danny Wilson sat 13th in L1 with 26 points from 20 games, a reasonable improvement from the previous season (1.3 points per game), though we had drawn 3 and lost 3 in the previous 6. Post-Danny with Turner back in, we got 24 points from the remaining 26. If we were to average the points over a whole season it would be 59 for Danny (14th), and 42 for Turner (23rd).

We still had what should have been a solid spine, what with the likes of Nelson, Sweeney, Monkhouse, Humphreys, Liddle and obviously Porter, who saved probably his best season for last. And of course we had James Brown, who was playing really well before getting injured, and definitely was a big loss, especially under Turner. What I remember most from that season, even as a youngster, though, was just us being absolutely hapless at the back. The thought of getting a clean sheet physically repulsed Arran Lee-Barratt and co. I do also remember Jermaine Beckford scoring against us for Leeds, some of their fans jumping into the Mill House and one getting absolutely clocked. We saw one sat in the back of an ambulance in the car park looking like his nose had exploded. A bright spot on an otherwise typically shite day.

After that season, though, things just seemed to gradually decline, and that’s where I’d like to get some thoughts from some of the elder statesmen here. We lost Porter in the summer of 09, that was inevitable, he was set on going back home, even if he later said he regretted it. We haven’t really replaced him since, certainly not with a player of his calibre. Brown was obviously hampered by the major injuries he suffered. But things just… never seemed to get better. Languished in the lower bottom half and circled the drain for a few years before getting sent packing to L2, and then immediately being relegation threatened again in the lower division.

I’m not saying that keeping Danny Wilson back then would mean we’d be in L1 right now, but it seemed that we were at least on the right track to re-establishing ourselves back in the division under him. Our recruitment that season and the following ones was mostly horrific (especially in attack: Behan, Larkin, Nish, Boyd and Steve Howard for second stints, take your pick on failed strikers we wanted to replace the Aussie)… And we certainly took a punt on a few managers, even bringing back the great Neale Cooper for a stint. But, even then, we never built on what we started up again following promotion in 07. Was that IOR losing interest (or the finances needed to push on)? A string of bad managerial decisions?

Even though there were plenty of moments between now and then that could’ve prevented our position now (Dave Jones, the Challinor budget fiasco, Paul Hartley to name a few), it feels like from my perspective the 08/09 season was perhaps where the wheels started to fall off a bit. Am I right? Wrong? A nutter? (possibly).

Fuck, it’s 3am, I need to get to bed…

I reckon what happened was IOR were packing their bags, the ‘romance’ was breaking up and we were approaching the end of the relationship…. It didn’t happen quickly but you could sense the end was coming for quite a while…we had a golden opportunity but blew it….did we get the right manager from the outset…?

That seems possible. I remember in that period our recruitment was very lacklustre, frees, washed up higher league players, and loans… so many loans. Some better than others. I think we had clearly chosen some decent managers in the earlier days, Newell, Turner (first time), Cooper, Wilson. After though, not so much (though maybe that was partly again down to a lack of investment and/or ambition - you can only work with what you’ve got).

Our real benefactor during the glory years was the Norwegian oil tycoon Berge Larsen - IOR was just the conduit for his investment in the club. Sure you alll remember when his company DNO's logo was on the Pools' strip? Think Larsen and Hodcroft were at university in Newcasstle together.

Allegedly Larsen's investment in Pools was mostly a tax write off. At some point Larsen started to be investigated by the Norwegian authorities for tax fraud and the money for Pools dried up - that would have been about 2007/2008?

In 2013 Larsen's case went to trial and he was convicted of defrauding his own company and tax evasion to protect his riches of around $106 million. He was convicted - but acquitted on appeal three years later and got his money back!

This is him: https://www.upstreamonline.com/epaper/j ... -1-1141874

Thanks for this i did not know that.

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/undergraduate/fee ... gineering/

Both of them funding Chemical Engineering Scholarships at Newcastle University.

I think I posted a reunion photo on the Bunker a while back.

Thanks, I also did not know this, and seems to line up when things started take a turn for the worse. Have a couple of those DNO shirts myself, beauties they were… Crazy he managed to reclaim his fortune as well.

In Hodcrofts Switch of Play podcast he said IOR could no longer fund Pools due to the drop in the oil price, here it is for anyone who never watched it before,
https://youtu.be/mliugJG0tZk?si=knriYDJp7lXfD6Bj

the defeat by sheff.wed was the turning point. if we had won that game god knows where we might have been now and how the vic would look like.

Hodcroft said on the Switch of Play vlog they had plans for ‘massive’ investment planned for Pools if they had got promoted ?

Bought the ground surely….? That was Uncle Ken’s grouse.

So Hodcroft said he had plans for massive investment at the same time saying how he could no longer fund Pools. Sounds a bit contradictory to me. Not like Jamie to post anything contradictory.
I blame Farage.

Rumour has it Farage under the name Finetime Fontaine was going to pump millions into the club and turn the Vic into a 250,000 seater …. and I heard that from my mate Ethelred Avocado from a phone call at his time share apartment on Fantasy Island and he heard it from his neighbour Jamie Tolpuddle who was a bit of a Martyr.

Watch the vlog Derwent before making any sarcastic comments, Pools played in Cardiff 2005, at the time they were well funded and could afford investment, IOR sold Pools 10 years later in 2015, that’s when they said they could no longer afford to fund Pools.

farage was seen in the feethams as a 13 year old and blamed darlo fans dor his views on the worls.

My comment was intended to gee you up to explaining that properly because I was surprised that you didn't make the distinction, hence my comment it wasn't your regular behaviour. You are constantly picking on me, Snowy, PTID and anybody else who challenges what you say. What do you call it, ah yes, constant sniping.

I thought you being a life long Pools fan you would know that Derwent, me constantly picking on posters, yep no one ever picks on me then ? I do challenge posters but posters challenge me, don’t I have the right to reply ? I might not always be factually correct but also other posters are the same, it’s a discussion boards about debate.

I did know it Jamie but as I said if you read my reply I was surprised you didn't explain it better. Maybe you didn't realise that putting the two together in the same thread would cause some people to be confused but on the other hand confusing people is your forte, so it is expected.
People taking the time to put you right on your zealous promotion of the left and fanatical crucifixion of the right is not to be interpreted as picking on you but to be seen as an attempt on improving your knowledge and perception of politics and current affairs. We'll keep you right old bean, never worry.
You have a total misinterpretation of the concept of debate. Brainwashing people in favour of left wing zealous ideology and digging the dirt on people you are afraid of and whom you consider to be far right and describing it as debate is a permanent insult to the word itself. tut tut.
It is however light entertainment of sorts as well as being fascinating to read the absolute tripe you write, and quote from other tripe pedlars, on a a scale not normally befitting a lone individual, which is why people are more and more being convinced that there are more than one person behind the facade of Jamie 52, giving the popular suggestion of being at least five of you.

Quite a rant there Derwent, I can assure you there is only one Jamie whilst I do have many colleagues who support my views, they don’t post on message boards. Tripe, that’s only your opinion because you don’t agree with what I post, most of the stuff I post is copied and pasted from the MSM both right and left wing outlets.i am certainly not afraid of anyone and would and have done ‘aired’ my opinions and views in public to many people. Me brainwashing people on a message board Derwent, don’t most people form their own opinions although the MSM do brainwash people.

Don't do ranting Jamie, not good for the old ticker.
First of all you say MOST of your posts are copied and pasted from the MSM and then say the MSM brainwash people, whilst denying your involvement in brainwashing. Fascinating and classic example of your contradictory behaviour, which Snowy keeps pointing out to you and which you describe as sniping.
These people who support "your views", do they know they're not all your views but that most of the views are copied and pasted from the MSM.

You can’t let go Derwent can you, the people who have the same views as me follow the MSM like everyone else does, where else do we get our information from ? does MSM brainwash people and certainly not many are going to be influenced by what Jamie 1952 says on The Bunker, people are influenced by MSM, in general MSM decide who wins elections, currently Farage is the front page news, he influenced the Brexit vote but very rarely mentions it now.
What if I have contradictory behaviour, isn’t it allowed to change your opinions, the world evolves day by day, live and let live Derwent.
Snowy is just a wind up merchant, he does it with everyone not just me, no way does it bother me, I used to work with people like Snowy, there loads of ‘Snowys’ we had some great banter on the sites.

Do you mean can't let go as in you can't let go of Farage.

The MSM won’t let go Derwent about Farage racist rants at Dulwich College, why doesn’t he just admit he made the comments instead of digging a hole for himself by denying them then turn on the BBC by saying they were broadcasting racist programmes at the time, none of them ever made jokes about Jews and the gas chambers. Tice
tried to intervene the other day but made the situation worse by basically calling the people over 28 of them liars,

well i can remember quite a number of commedians telling jokes abour jews and gas chambers as well as in pubs where someone said have you heard this one and it was a joke either about levi, little black sambo or or the patel family. thats before paddy and the pope came into it. i,d guess most over retiring age have listened. laughed and then told there own one. nobody got hurt and we still shopped at tesco. used the corner shop and and in my case used a garage owned by a lad from kingston jamaica.