The Poolie Bunker

Any news, rumours or whisper's on goalies

Heard Harrison Male getting mentioned again, no idea if there's any truth in it. Seems for weeks that Kit Margetson was nailed on. I'd guess one of those two.

It's been suggested on X that Margetson has injured his knee. Don't know if there's any truth in that either but he still hasn't signed for Man U. Will he ever?

It's past time Pools sorted this out.

In the interview with Red after the spenny game, lee Clark was asked about it and said it was in hand, and they're waiting to get the right man in. He didn't seem concerned, I'm sure by the recruitment so far we'll have a decent keeper coming in.

I think they’ve got it sorted but they can’t get him til just before the start of the season like with Cartwright last season. I’m more worried about the midfield. Sheron and Miley weren’t up to much when played together last season so we need at least one new centre mid to come in. Rumours have all stopped and I haven’t heard if we are still looking to bring players in.

CM wasn't the issue in itself, the way we set up and played was. Winning the ball but having nothing up front or out wide as an out ball didn't help. I think we'll be playing a much more expansive game under Clarke.
Sheron looked extremely limited last season whereas the season before he was one of our better performers. Miley is imo one of our best players with his ability to deliver decent set pieces, and defence splitting passes.

Bad tactics can stifle players ability.
I'm confident Clarky has/will end that problem.

Looks like a masterstroke from Smithy replacing the crab with Clarky.
You can now see why he initially held the purse strings back.

UTP.

We've built Recruited the new team from front to back so I don’t think we have to worry about the keeper situation.
It will all be sorted for the Barrow game with a bouncing Vic to start the season off.

UTP

we have got to remember defence is as important as attack even though it should not be the reason the game is being played. its just as annoying seeing a team out scored in a high scoring game as never look like scoring in one. ask the french fans last saturday about scoring 4 and losing.

Noticed Harrison Male playing for the pfa pre season squad last night at Hednesford.

thought he was off to carlisle. there must be a problem somewhere with him as his record on paper looks fine and the right age as well.

If rumours are true on Male's salary demands, then he is destined to be sat on the sidelines for a considerable time, surely he will want to be playing.
We need a goalkeeper, the lads who we have had on trail haven't really impressed.
I am sure that the backroom lads have contingency plans and we will get someone soon, I would hate to see all the positive signings go to waste if we keep silly goals because we haven't secured a consistent goalkeeper.

Sutton have gone down the Rochdale path of last season. Taken the youth team goalkeeper from last season at Manchester City. No guarantee he is as good as Whatmuff was at Rochdale but similar pedigree.

If Male prices himself out that seems the best option. We have plenty of talented young goalkeepers on loan in the past Just the fates against us with Cartwright and Millwall not really wanting Evans out on loan so long.

Some people on here are determined to pretend that everything is going to plan because Lee Clark says it is, but there's an obvious rabbit away on this one.

There isn't an endless supply of good keepers for our level and plenty have got themselves new contracts or loan deals sorted out in the last 6 weeks.

If we haven't got a new keeper in for Saturday's friendly there'll be one opportunity left for Pools' new keeper and back four to get used to playing as a unit in a game situation before the season starts on 8th August.

Cartwright signed the night before the season started didn't he?
There'll be clubs looking to get 3rd, 4th choices and young keepers out on loan to gain experience, I'm sure there'll be at least 2 or 3 targets identified.

Cartwright was announced on the Thursday, 2 days before the first game. Not ideal, i agree, but it didn’t stop him doing very well.

I am surprised that it hasn’t been sorted by now, but given the quality that we have signed in all other positions, there must be a good reason for the delay, and there must be a plan in place. There is no way that we have Beech and Maxwell putting in all the hard work to fill 10 positions and forgetting that we need a goalkeeper, especially as Maxwell used to be one!

There are quite a few keepers who are of the right age, and who have played regularly at a higher standard still available as free agents, as well as others still available for loan (including Harvey Cartwright himself).

https://www.transfermarkt.com/spieler/v ... e&yt0=Show

Nobody is suggesting that it's been forgotten, but there's clearly been a glitch somewhere along the line otherwise we'd have a first-choice keeper in by now.

Cartwright was great till he got crocked again, but it was a calculated risk signing him that didn't come off. Those 13 games for Pools are all he's got to show for the last two seasons.

I think what it does show is the value of having two decent keepers competing for one spot. We’d obviously lined up Margetson and had everything sorted out, waiting for the paperwork to complete when he picked up the injury and we’ve been left trying to find a replacement of a similar standard.

If this had been during the season, we’d either need to play Smith or just take the first keeper offered. We can afford to be picky just now, we can’t afford to drop silly points due to things like this when the season is underway.

Are we fretting over nothing……?
I’’ve got fat that our present manager will come up with the goods eventually, but we go through this looking for a lifeboat place on The Titanic routine over certain positions every since I first walked into the Vic as a seven year old.

prefer a last minute signing prior to the barrow game as long as he is the one the club want. they could sign someone today if they wanted any old keeper. nothing to panic about just yet.

Harrison Male a trialist at Tranmere

Hopes answered!

Confirmed that Kit Margetson was the original target for Pools by Rob Law at Radio Tees:

"Understand Pools had been monitoring Kit Margeston, but an injury scuppered that deal, meaning the club had to pivot… and what a pivot it was.
Merrick has been on the bench for Champions League / FA Cup games at Chelsea.
Credit to the recruitment team."

Looks like a decent signing and straight into today's game.

See Harvey Cartwright has signed a season long loan with Grimsby - his second spell with them.

Hope for his sake he manages to avoid another long-term injury - he didn't in his first spell with them, nor with Pools. He has the ability to play at a much higher level, if only he can stay fit!