The Poolie Bunker

I know we have a retained, So how about “What we need list”
I will start.


Manager

Keeper + butterfingers

LB and at least 2 competent CBs +Benn, Mcnally and Max

4 Midfielders + Miley (Keep Hunter(bench) cause he adds cover elsewhere), Sheron (bench), Daley (bench)

3 at least forwards + Josh Donaldson and Reid at a push

Preferably at least league2 competence
And a competent bench

Around 30ish Players at least.

Time to loosen those purse strings.

Good effort!

I would go with this menu/wish list;
* An experienced, tactically aware manager with a good pedigree/track record.
* A commanding, physically strong No1 keeper.
* 1x LB (left footed)
*2x mobile CB's
*2x goalscoring midfielders with trickery and pace
* A 'proper' physical No. 9 with pace, capable of holding up the ball and laying it off - also an aerial threat.
* A long throw expert - a tactic that is very much back in vogue.
* A set piece coach - potentially on a part time basis may suffice.

Whilst I agree with the rest of your post- these two are absolutely essential for me.

Can't remember the last time we had a player with a dangerously long throw- probably James Sharp about 20 years ago!

We are shockingly shit at set pieces and dead ball situations. The amount of times we fail to beat the first man at corners and free kicks is embarrassing. Meaning they are pretty much a complete waste of time.
I do think we are better when Miley takes them, and Sinclair (if we can sign him permanently) also has quality- like his strike at Solihull.

Also would like defenders that aggressively attack corners and set pieces in the opposition box.

no point having someone with a long throw when we have not the players in the side to cause havoc from them. same with set pieces. fine some are not great but some are but we always seem to be second to the ball. having a set piece coach is a waste of money if players are unable to put a 30 odd yard ball into the box with accuracy. once this was a basic of being a pro footballer but now seems a job of an expert.

Beckham never had a set piece coach, he stopped back after training and practiced, how many of the Pools stop back and practice additional skills ?

The last time I looked, this thread was about new additions whom we may assume to be (but not bank on) players of sufficient quality being recruited who can get on the end of set piece play whether it be long throw, free kick or corner. In addition to better quality deliveries, in an ideal world a decent quality player could also be a long throw 'expert`. I'm not advocating introducing an expert' who has been purely signed for being able to take a throw in - this isn't Subbuteo.

Judging by the poor quality of such additional skills I would think very few of them - unless they are not practicing anywhere near enough to be able to bend it like Beckham which is of course the other end of the football scale that the Pools players operate. Personally I would rather see a dedicated set piece coach signed up who could actually make a difference than yet another journeyman who gets a game once a month or an invisible backroom staff member who is announced but then never mentioned again.

if they did it would be dark by the time they finished to show even the slightest improvement. bend it like beckham would have a pools version. slice it like sheron.

Indoor bars with something to stand your pint/grub on would be nice.

In reply to the title …our first priority is a manager…get it right, then the rest follows.

Some players who actually belong to us, at times this season 4 or 5 of our starting 11 have been loan players.

For years we've used loan players to stop gap injuries.
Let's sign some decent players who don't get injured and forwards who keep on scoring in a Pools shirt.

Maybe that's the future from May.
Otherwise nothing will change for the better.
UTP.

You are putting a lot of faith in what will happen after May, Kev.
I sincerely hope you are right, old son. I really do.

I'm in the Last chance saloon bar.

Not literally got to go to work

The only successful way forward is to have a full (quality) squad of our own, With some quality loans who have efl experience.
Success won,t be achieved on the cheap.

We will alll soon see the level of intent from the club.

I hasten to mention that I obviously have no experience of building a promotion-chasing professional football squad. However in layman's terms I would have thought that the process could be simplified as follows;

1. Decide which existing players are strong, talented and committed enough to feature in plans for a REALISTIC promotion push next season, not just scraping into a low play-off position and hoping for the best.
2. Offer improved/extended deals to those players who are approaching or are already out of contract but require to be retained.
3. Release players who are out of contract and are not required.
4. Inform the players who are still under contract but not part of requirements that they do not feature in the clubs future plans. Offer to help them find alternative clubs.
5. Recruit replacement players who are as equally strong, talented and committed to those being retained to replace those players who are being released.
6. Recruit new players who are considerably better than those extant in order to improve the squad and fill key positions ie goalkeeper, centre back, centre mid, centre forward, l/r wingers.

The elephant in the room is of course having a benefactor able (and willing) to provide adequate finance in order to facilitate the above.

Simples eh?

We looked as if we may have assembled a team and manager capable of achieving a top 4 or 5 position this season after our best start in ages, injuries proved that although our best team was decent but the squad wasn't up to it (or the manager wasn't).
McNally's injuries have played a significant part, but I wonder where we'd be if we'd managed to hold onto either Cartwright or Evans?

Look …just get the right mam in as manager and the rest falls into place
A manager plus competent, disciplined players with a team spirit/esprit de corps with self belief is required, end of story.

I bit like them teams above us who are comfortably Gunna secure a play off space without throwing lots of dosh at it.

A manager who can stop cracks n divisions in the dressing room.

Dosent help when a crank manager publically tells them they ain't good enough.

What a silly statement that shit was.

And repeatedly tells us that he doesn't know why the poor performances keep happening, it's his job to figure it out and put it right. If it was a one-off fair enough, but we can predict that we're not going to string together 2 or 3 consistently good performances, why can't he see them coming?

Think if Cartwright had stayed with us and injury free(McNally), We would have around 10 pts more.
And that is what its about having/signing good competent players.
Also think SG was given a rough deal.

Think we are all putting faith in the new owner.
At least we now have genuine hope……………..Maybe

And of course it could be a lot worse.

Dangerous statement him saying that, Also a bit thick.
As i have said before, If you are going down the 1 up top route then your first priority is sign a player capable of playing that roll, And Reid is not.
Think NF is blagging.