The Poolie Bunker

So lots of people are wanting Featherstone out, but who do we bring in?
We’ve tried the Scottish way Hartley, we’ve gone for experience Curle, Askey, younger managers Phillips, Lee. We got lucky with Challinor who only had experience at Fylde.
It’s a lottery whoever you bring in.
I personally think the new owner is doing the right thing by leaving things as they are to the end of the season.
I would imagine there will be a total restructure throughout the club so I think we should all be patient.
If we sacked Featherstone today who would you bring in.

I would leave things as they are until the end of the season.

No doubt there is some agreement in place when Landon took over from Raj that contracts would be seen out.
Major re-organisation of the club in the summer will surely take place both on and off the pitch.
We will not make the play offs, we will finish well outside of them so all our attentions must be focussed on the re-planning in the summer.

I am sure that Landon is well aware of our inefficiencies and is putting plans into place to not only secure the financial running of the club but to make the required investment into the playing staff, the manager and the coaching side of things.

One thing I would point out to Landon that there is one or two people at the club only interested in what is good for them, rather than the good of HUFC.
However I am confident that Landon will see through this and we will have a strong and selfless team running the club. There are a few people that may be asked to return to the club who would put us in good stead and be welcomed by the fans. Personally the whole off field running of the club, recruitment in particular, needs to be looked at thoroughly. It has not worked nor is it working!

Also Landon should also be putting himself into the pressure pot, he may thrive on it, and build a team on and off the pitch that can get HUFC back into the EFL and do that next season! Anything less and us disgruntled fans will continue to be further disgruntled. Things have to change!

So patience is needed for the rest of this season, I expect great things over the summer, proper investment and a team we can be proud of!
Roll on the 2026/27 season...

But who recommended Liddle a step back, a manager from a struggling lower division club, a backward step, I hope fully the next appointment will be more progressive. No idea who, it’s a lottery, I would prefer a manager from the National League level like we did with Challinor one decision Singh got right.

Totally agree Jamie, I have no idea who should be appointed as Pools next manager but as you say I would prefer a manager from the NL - or maybe an experienced L2 boss who has previous of leading a club out of this Godforsaken league. Unless, as Stocksfield mentions above, an agreement is in place that contracts would be honoured until the end of the season (although I can't understand why Raj would even consider such a requirement), I don't see any reason why NF should not be relieved of his duties at this stage.

Much the same as the situation latterly was with Raj, virtually everyone I know wants to see the back of NF and his negativity - it's getting to the stage where some fans I know won't consider buying season tickets until he is replaced. Also, surely it would be beneficial for a new regime to come in early and play a part in reviewing the current players in competitive action?

The problem is whoever comes in will only be given 8 months before they get sacked, then someone else comes in, has their own ideas, certain players don’t fit that etc, and then we have to start again.

There’s been some awful appointments like Hartley, Sarll who it was obvious that they weren’t going to succeed here. Hartley’s results were awful, Sarll wasn’t so bad results wise at least in the beginning but wasn’t a good fit personality wise for the club.

There’s been some managers who I think while not being perfect weren’t really given a fair whack. Lee, a young manager who though I think was massively carried by a couple of good cup runs, had the support of the fans and wasn’t given long enough to give it a proper go. The next year, Hartley, disaster. But then Curle came in and while the football was dire, results improved, and I remember him coming across as a fairly likeable bloke. The stats show that if we’d average Curle’s PPG for the whole year we would’ve probably stayed up. Askey, another one in a tricky position, didn’t get a full season after going down and it’s always tricky the first year after going down to NL. Phillips, binned for Sarll, similar, wasn’t great but too early to judge.

What absolutely needs to change from the Raj era to the Landon era is sacking 1-2 managers every season. With some of the teams in this league it’s not going to be as simple as getting a new manager in and dominating. Might take time, give someone a couple seasons at least (as long as there are some promising signs).

Grayson worth a mention. He was another who in my opinion wasn't given a fair cracl of the whip. I wonder if something happened behind the scenes in his case? But it is unarguable that sacking two managers a year is no way to escape this league.

Landon may already have a few potential managers/ assistant managers in his head and he will fully appreciate the necessity to ensure that long term plans are put in place, breaking the short term hiring and firing loop over recent years. I would prefer to see NF retained in a coaching role as he's been a great servant to the club as a player - but no way should he be considered as long term managerial material.

My concern is who would is advising Smith, he lives 1000s of miles away and I doubt he followed the lower league divisions in the UK.therefore some one will be advising him, Singh never appointed managers off his own back, was it or Monks who came up with the names ?

A proper manager…simple as that…..Is that you Nicky….?…

especially at the time of his sacking he was hard pushed to get a side on the pitch due to the injury situation at the time. 1 recognised CB available. just the same with askey where the side picked itself without a fit striker to pick. the replacements just got lucky by taking over a bigger squad. how would the replacements for both have done with the teams the [previous managers had. getting a lucky manager might be better than getting a good one who is unlucky.

The above summary only serves to highlight Featherstones failure with a full squad generally available - although admittedly not every week - and with a steady flow of new signings presumably secured with his input - even if Monks and co are still pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Unfortunately the Fev experiment is not working, he's neither a good manager nor is he a lucky one.

Your all still saying sack Featherstone, but no one’s suggesting who we bring in!

Wild, Williamson, would be on my shortlist as would Watson who's got Darlo over-achieving.

He was not given a fair chance, In Fact NF stated when taking over and picking Campbell, That he had been frozen out, Campbell that is.
Think given a decent budget SG would be decent.

Haven't got a clue who Landon should appoint, it's the clubs responsibility to find a manager in the Challinor category, not ours. I'm not adovating Lidds as permanent replacement but I wouldnt be averse to allowing him to take the reins for the remaining weeks of the season should NF be terminated. At least he has previous of managing Pools and didn't do a bad job either, kept us in L2 until crazy Raj intervened.

Only one man for the job as and when Fev departs and that is Darrell 'Trigger' Clarke
He knows the club/ fanbase and has proven quality and had success at this level and the one above with Tit Rovers.
Also currently out of work, unless I've missed him being appointed, recently.
I believe his daughter still lives in the town too- saw them in the Raby Arms having meal about 18 months ago during the close season

Given the new ownership too- reckon he'd snap our hands off- if approached about stepping into the hot seat.

Landon's net may be wider than ex Poolies. You never know, he might recruit from the US with a few good college boys coming in. Probably more likely to follow the Ryan Reynolds method of finding a good League 1 manger.

We've been going through a long phase of decent CV managera n players coming to Pools then they go through a major downside blip.
To say patience n hope will eventually work out must have a timescale.

Well the time is up now
So there must be some major developments going on in the background to end this boring as fuck failures regime.


Come on Smithy.
You can do it.
UTP.

Christ I hope so, this can’t go on.

i,d be looking down to the national league north or south for a young keen manager who has done a good job with a team people expected to struggle. someone who sees pools as a big job and not one just to pay the bills and knows little about this level of football and what it needs.

Neii Warnock has returned to NLS Torquay United on an unpaid basis for the remainder of their season. He's only 77, precisely the same age as our resident geriatric LL who was to be seen swanning around at his beloved Riverside at the weekend. Could Warnock do a job here and finish his illustrious career just about where he started it as a local hero?

Warnock lives on the south coast near Torquay so I can’t see him being interested in coming to Pools unless there was a massive cash incentive.

Sorry Jamie, my post was more than a little tongue in cheek - not that I have a little tongue!