The Poolie Bunker

Instead of berating the Pools playing squad and/or management team for the club not securing a play-off place this season (barring a sequence of unlikely results), maybe we should be applauding those involved for securing sufficient points to keep us well clear of the relegation melee? Granted the side has put in tremendous performances against the likes of Rochdale, York, Carlisle but I don't think anyone would argue that the current squad is lacking in quality and depth.. It has over achieved in what is a poor NL but is still nowhere near consistent enough nor of sufficient quality to secure a play-off place. The rebuild may be rather more of a challenge than many of us had envisaged.

That’s what I am concerned about . The majority of the squad needs replacing . It’s all about how much the new owner is going to be serious . Lots of loans like Raj and it could be a rinse and repeat season. Anyhow I shouldn’t be so negative at this stage . It’s only the football at the moment I’m interested in and for the most part it’s been poor . Truro played us of the park in the first half. What does everyone think about the Caton Reid partnership? Surprised Featherstone went for when he is so against that formation . I thought for first time so so but early days .

I'd disagree, I'm sure we can all look back and think of only we'd been a bit bolder we'd already be sat in a play off place. How many teams have looked a level above us?
I thought Reid was too isolated as usual with Caton playing too wide for most of the game.
The squad is under-achieving when you look at the good performances they've put on against some of the top teams, and especially when you consider how poor we've been against the poorer teams, including Gainsborough and Anstey (our worst result in our entire history).

The answer lies somewhere in the middle…we can’t really judge what players are capable of when they are lumbered with this bizarre obsession based on defence at all costs.

Dull, safe, boring in the image of NF as a player? Or is it in the image of LLs tenure in charge, is the dinosaur too involved in team matters?

We've majorly underachievied yet again.
New era from May surely to God.
The current situation is well beyond boring.

Lets have it Smithy.
Your the Kiddy.
UTP.

No matter who the manager is we are still miles short of a good team. I think we need to look back this season on some of the embarassing results we have had. This close season im afraid has no more excuses left in it. We need major major investment in the playing squad a new manager and backroom staff who actually know what players can get you out of this league. Im not convinced much of this is going to happen yet judging by whats gone on so far, but lets see.

we have a team thats about as good as our league position shows. the good days have the bad ones of similar numbers. would 3 or 4 really good signings transform this team into one that easily makes the play offs next season. a better manager and back room staff will help but they will not be the magic bullet a lot seem. pick any manager in this league you want would they have made the difference needed with the same players at their disposal.

All about opinions, by my reckoning (and maths isn't my strong suit) we've taken 35 points from the last 69 available under Fev. I reckon he's been out-thought by most of the lower team managers we've faced in that time, so I'd say yes I think a lot of managers would have got more out of the squad points-wise, I think my missus would probably have done so too.

23 games since NF took over, including interim period, P23 W10 D6 L7 Pts36

Which over the course of a season would put Pools on 72 points.
Not a bad haul I reckon for a team not quite good enough for the play off places at the moment.

Up until that point, we had P14 W4 D6 L4 Pts 18

Which projecting over a full season (albeit with a small sample), would put Pools on 59 points.

So at the moment NF's record is not bad at all, however considering our style of play and the rather too many defeats at home, there is certainly room for improvement.

Whether NF as a manager can eek out this extra improvement remains to be seen, at the moment we are a team which will finish outside the play offs this season. Next season if we are to mount a serious challenge for top spot, I would recommened an experienced manager who knows the NL well and even better proven in the football league and of course quite a few changes in the playing squad.

Pools have improved somewhat under NF, but not enough!

all true like most comments are regarding him and the future. it just makes my head spin as we must have tried every type of manager over the years and only one fitted and worked. just what is our way forward and the future. i,d hate to be sat here in 12 months time with the same debate going on about league positions and the team manager. we have no god given right to be promoted and find a top manager like the rest who we will be facing next season. gates only count for a small part of it as york again could find before may is out.

The team had a purple patch in November that got us to 8th but have stalled ever since. Obviously Nicky Featherstone has to take his share of responsibility for this and has failed his audition.

Frankly, so has the new owner and the recruitment team. They've had 3 months to put a stronger squad together but have fannied around spending very little money.

I'm hanging onto the idea that the big push for promotion comes in the summer, but how big remains to be seen. As Landon Smith has said, we won't be doing a Wrexham - but will we even try doing a York and splashing the cash like the Ugglas? On present evidence, no chance!

We may need to wait for 2 automatic promotion places to the FL plus 1 from the traditional play off system to stand a realistic chance of getting promoted.
I am sure York will want that as well. Finishing 2nd and not getting promoted is a travesty under the current rules.

You could always organise a petition to humbly request the blessed return of our previous benefactor…?
Personally I’ll see what turns up.

Landon has no experience of running a business in the UK, no experience of football, no experience of the National League. I guess he's working out how to improve the club off-field and working out who to trust with his money on-field. Can't say I blame him being cautious. However, come the end of this season he'll be judged on the decisions he makes.

Think
LS has a lot more knowledge then people give him credit for.
Act dumb while you sus people out, Also has been spending a lot of time watching football in the UK.
Would think he has numerous contacts.

Yeah, me too, that's why I said "I'm hanging onto the idea that the big push for promotion comes in the summer"

Or next summer, or the one after........................

Even we need to develop a sense of positivity, BUT……that comes from the top down and we can only work with what’s put before us.
In effect we are the one constant of this club, but generally, the rest, from owners down to players are just in all honesty, passing through the club.
We enjoy them or curse them for the brief periods they are here…but that’s football.
So we watch from the sidelines in hope, because we’re serving either a life sentence or a long marriage we can’t get out of..or want to…we would just like to be cheered up now and then.
It’s not difficult with the right recruitment.

2 contrasting views about our squad.

Our new Keeper :
On signing :This squad is full of Quality players and we will make the top 7.

Fevs:
Don't expect this group of players to go on a winning run.
Which for me killed off any play off dreams and will end his employment with Pools probably on the Monday after Boston away which could of been 2000 Poolies celebrating.

Looks like Halifax or Southend for 7th who I don't believe have a better team than us.

We all thought we had the correct Manager in Grayson after a great start.

Main problem at Pools is this non stop Home Sickness in front of oversupported crowds.

Away form is top 7 material.

My view a major upgrade in Recruitment needed.
And that's now onto Smithy.

I would add a very serious proviso to the above and that is stressing the dependence on who is driving the recruitment and who is managing the recruitees after they enter our squad.

To attract decent players you need a high profile manager, unfortunately much as NF might be a nice fella most players will never have heard of him or vaguely know him. With LS in charge agents know there could be more money available for players wages and could be making higher demands. I would like to think LS is receiving good advice on what the expectations of players salaries are in the NL, I would also write into their contracts an attractive end of season bonus if Pools got promoted.

No you don’t, you just need the right manager…we’ve had a stream of former ‘high profile’ managers who achieved nothing.
Challinor was not an high profile manager, he got us promoted.
You really don’t have to throw buckets of cash about, just get the managers job right and the rest follows.

And if you make it happen at Pools it's an excellent item on your cv.
As DC knows.
If Smithy can find anutha gem like that then don't try n keep him on the cheap unless a massive club like Stockport who pay 769k a week wages. gazumped. Come sniffing.

For a decent future we need to find decent players and not allow them sideways moves mostly in the same division for a few Xtra quid.

Smithy can learn a lot if he studies Sings relentless failures and learns from them.

It Dosent cost millions to get back to the EFL and stay there.

For me some instamatic decisions need to be made from May onwards or I'm afraid we all Takeing Non league shit to the boneyard and that's what Pools were never meant to be.

No more false dawns.
Shit or bust time surety.
UTP.

IORs first permanent manager was Turner who wasn't high profile as a manager or coach. They also brought in Cooper likewise.

The difference was IOR backed the managers with cash, Singh never, whilst I doubt Challinor would have stayed but maybe if a bit more cash was thrown at him he might have done, everybody has a price.

Well Singh tried a few, maybe dispersed some of them too soon, the first thing a modern day manager would ask is how much cash is available to sign players, Singh didn’t throw cash about, Pools relied on free transfers and out of contract players with odd cash transfer.

That Turner appointment turned out to be a master stroke.
The start of the years we were spoilt rotten.
But a bit of decent backing helps.

Would like to think our younger generation of fans can see some of that again.

Us older fans had to endure a bit of shit before that so maybe anutha good cycle on the way.

The Foundations are there for an upsurge be it gradually.

Footballs unpredictable.
A great part of life when success comes around.
UTP.

No, they were crap…..a disappointment, as it quickly became obvious.
Past ‘glory’s are as good the next appointment, they all failed…apart from Challinor.