The Poolie Bunker

Just something to break the doom and gloom around at the moment and to remind us all that we have had some great players over time. If you could make up a Pools team with the best players you have seen play for Pools who would be in, since 1982 when I was 10, mine would be:-

Dimi

Sterry, McPhail, Westwood, McKinnon
Honour, Hutchinson, Pederson, Dalton
Allon, Baker

Subs:
Carson (GK)
Watson
Emerson
McGuckin
Toman

Gabbiadini was past his best by the time he joined HUFC but what a player he was in his prime.

His shooting skills were top notch, he could just pick his spot like a darts player. I saw him do this later too, at a 5 a side competition at Newcastle Arena.

Barry Watling

Rob Smith, Billy Ayre, John Rowlands, Rob McKinnon

Dean Emerson, Ole Pederson, Mark Tinkler

Joel Porter, Bob Newton, Adam Boyd

Subs....Dimi, Monkhouse, Sweeney, Lawrence, Watson, McPhail, Nobbs, Saville.

Something along the lines of

Dimi or Steve Harper

Nobbs Gilchrist Nelson McKinnon

Dalton Miller Pedersen Honour

Allon Baker

Porter, McPhail, M Tinkler, Humphreys, Watson

Missed a load of good players out but this is without properly thinking about it.

Dimi

Sterry, Strodder, Nelson, Shuggy

Monkhouse, Miller, Boland, Paul Smith

Porter, Gordan Watson

Subs- Martin Hodge (GK), Paul Haigh, Mick Smith, Brian Honour, Humpty, Boyd & Allon

Manager- Danny Wilson

. Paul Smith class player made it so easy.
Received the ball from the left wing halfway line
.Ran with ball adjacent with the penalty area or just passed then crossed it at 8 foot high away from the defenders to our attacking players.

Who was our manager then!?

Mark Tinkler also quality.
Forwards Watson Boyd Baker Allon a different generation to today.

Great memories of lots of entertainment games.

Poole.

Sterry McPhail Nelson McKinnon

Honour Emerson Pederson Dalton

Allon Porter

Subs: Dimi, Westwood, Tinkler, Smith, Watson, Boyd, Baker.

Ray Kennedy anyone?

Malcolm Dawes, played for us regular season and then played for New York Cosmos alongside Pele in the summer. Div 4s Bobby Moore.
Andy Linighan, the best and classiest CB I've seen in a Pools shirt.

Kevin Poole

Alan Goad, John Gill (no man shall pass) Bill Green. Rob Mc Kinnon.

Dean Emerson, Jan Ove Pederson, Harry Kirk, Brian Honour.

Joe Allon , Terry Bell.

[/quote]
. Paul Smith class player made it so easy.
Received the ball from the left wing halfway line
.Ran with ball adjacent with the penalty area or just passed then crossed it at 8 foot high away from the defenders to our attacking players.

Who was our manager then!?

[/quote]

I think it was Tubby Turner in charge at that time, if memory serves- Tubby signed him for Sheff Wed the season after. But Smith was absolutely class for Pools

Aye.
That 35 yard rocket shot that wobbled the Rink end post.

. Paul Smith class player made it so easy.
Received the ball from the left wing halfway line
.Ran with ball adjacent with the penalty area or just passed then crossed it at 8 foot high away from the defenders to our attacking players.

Who was our manager then!?

[/quote]

I think it was Tubby Turner in charge at that time, if memory serves- Tubby signed him for Sheff Wed the season after. But Smith was absolutely class for Pools[/quote]

I copied and pasted this from Wikipedia, no idea how true it is as anyone can edit on Wikipedia, if true why didn’t any of the clubs follow up with their interest ?

Smith turned professional in July 1992 with Burnley. He was subject of multimillion-pound bids from Arsenal, West Ham United, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Everton and was widely considered to have the best left foot outside the Premier League.
Smith joined Hartlepool United on a free transfer in November 2001.[1] He quickly settled in as a first team regular

Can anyone remember the mercurial Rune Lange, a former Norwegian International, was at the the club for about a fortnight in 2009, was a Frank Worthington like character, oosed class. Had so much time on the ball could've erected a tent before passing it

Shame we got Lange when he was plagued by injuries, he looked a class act!

Beardsley, although way past his best, was far too good for the Pools side he played in.

its such a difficult thing to do. its hard not choosing players you saw the first few season of watching pools. was lucky starting in 1955 where these players were gods to me. as i got older the teams got worse and once you reach adulthood they do not have the same affect on you. nobody would ever top watty moore doe me but realise we have had better. same with norman oakley because of a physical and facial likeness.

It was blatantly obvious, he was playing at another level with players who couldn’t read a pass/positional opportunity when it was staring them in the face…a bit like putting a Ferrari engine in a Robin Reliant.