The Poolie Bunker

We scored 1, missed 2 sitters, hit the bar, had at least 1 blatant penalty turned down (foul on Matty Robson last 5 mins) What looked like another for handball (bout 15 mins to go)
They scored 1 from a dubious corner, but who doesn't, and missed 1 sitter, not much else from them apart from the long ball over the top to chase.
We didn't do too bad did we

We didn't win against a very poor team.

We, despite having what I thought was the majority of possession,
despite the official 55 - 45 figures, didn't create that many goal scoring
opportunities, in the first half. Surely an indication that we ought to change things,
but no our 'supremo' waits for an hour before putting on another attacking option
and then, with them on the back foot, 80 odd minutes before adding a second.

He (DW) has lost the plot and the fans.
I for one wishes he would admit that fact and welcome to the board.

Do you mind rephrasing that please? He may have lost you but not all the fans

Wilson made changes which everybody cried out for and there is still 1 fickle who cannot be happy, A point away from home is good and we will take that into fridays game.

Accept it we are going to have an AVERAGE season.. no promotion no play offs and no relegation... you would think some of you thought we supported Man utd

I think you'll find, that I am not a minority of one.

I support (and always have) Hartlepool United,
but they are not united at the moment.

I don't expect promotion or play offs, season after season,
but I do expect us to get the best out of the squad we have
and improve on that squad, each season.

I'm sorry if you don't agree, but I don't think the current manager is doing that.

We are not united? could that be cos the fans have turned on there own?
Who have we brought in that isn't an improvement on what we had, excluding Dimi.
Which players has he let go that are proving to be wrong?
Which players that aren't getting a game are being chased by all these other bigger more succesful clubs?

I think DW has lost the plot too. There are many who agree.

Butdz is not as good Jim Provett.
Robbie Elliott is not as good as Ritchie Humphreys at left back.
Antwi is not as good as Ben Clark.

Unless you mean the players that we've lost...in which case they on the whole are an improvement on the players we released.

I will preface this, by saying I don't see as many matches as most on this board
and rely to some extent on the opinions expressed on the board.

I don't believe the team are united, that 'Never Say Die' spirit, doesn't seem to be there
(maybe some of them don't think the best team is being played each week)
As has already been mentioned, I don't believe Elliott or Antwi have strengthened the squad.
Moore seems to be winning people over and I must admit I was more impressed with him yesterday, than at Forest or Sheff Wed.
McCunnie is a good addition to the squad, when played in the right position.
Coles should never have been brought in, waste of a loan signing.
Ali Gibb has done nothing to convince me he was a good signing.
Boyd should have been signed if he was available as has been suggested.

Yes, he has got rid of the dross that Scotty signed, but his big problem is that he is
too stubborn to admit that his selections are not working
(Antwi, Gibb, reluctance to play Clark, Porter, Monkhouse)
It has taken him 22 league matches to give Lee-Barratt a second game, when it was clear
for all to see that there were problems with Budtz and the defence

Ever considered changing your name to 'Chemical Poolie'....

It has taken him 22 league matches to give Lee-Barratt a second game, when it was clear
for all to see that there were problems with Budtz and the defence[/quote]

My first post 2 months ago was that Budtz was the main reason for our dodgy defence, whilst all around were blaming Elliott, Barker, Moore, Antwi and anyone else DW had brought brought in, and I got a good slagging off off everyone, not one message of support!
Now as you suggest it was clear for all to see

i am with leicester on this one, no one in their right mind could say overall DW has got us playing football at any where near the level we are capable of
he has persisted with barker and it is not working as it stifles our play no one is benefiting from his battering ram style other than the opposition
we have only played good football in very brief periods and we are still not safe from the drop

I know Mr Gremmlin, I realise we are not playing anything like we were earlier in the season (everyone said versus Leeds was the best we have ever played, same squad as now, Barker included) but we can only play with what we've got and for people to keep harping on about Porter, what's up with them, he's been injured for 2 years, no-one would like to see a fit Porter back more than me, and I'm sure if he was ripping everyone to pieces in training and for the reserves he'd be playing.
People were slagging Monkhouse off earlier in season for going thru the motions, now they're screaming for him back.
No-one wanted Moore, all still pining for Effion, different now!
Antwi was different class everyone said after first 2 games, different now!
Humphreys was finished earlier in the season according to majority of posters, different now!
Budtz was a good un' different now!
We are what we are and that's Hartlepool not Liverpool and that's how I like it

early season play has not been replicated and we are going backwards look at the teams we came up with
when you say we can only play with what we have then tell me why when both ben and nelse were fit ben never got a look in the back bone of the team that got us promoted sacrficed for what?
i dont remember anyone slagging off monky for going through the motions but dw has had options when he could see that barker was not going to get us goals at this level
imo Antwi could go back to liverpool now as he is stil very raw at times school boys wait for the ball to bounce not pros and on his showing here he will be very lucky to make it at the other pool
butz has had a dip in form so needed dropping
elliot must be laughing up his sleeve to get a contract on his showing
if the club think DW is doing a good job then expect some high profile signings but if they think he is not as i do then i think the plug will be pulled on his purse and he will have to make do
why would they thow money at a failing team with little prospect other than escaping relegation
save the money for the new man coming in
as for the quote it is because the fans are not behind him then has to win the fans back and i don't see him doing that

well said, that man

Your last line sums it up, you have a 'know your place' attitude, lack ambition and an excuse for every setback, with a deferential attitude to the manager and the mysteries of his team selection. You may be happy with dross and banal tactical slight of hand, but I stopped accepting second best, got up off my knees and expected a lot more from my team. Not perfection, but progress...we're treading water but the 'current' is taking us backwards.

Ben was left out probably cos of a lack of pace, he got his chance and done ok, but got injured, remember
Can't remember anyone saying Elliott was a bad signing at the time, more the opposite, he hasn't done as well anyone had hoped but has been playing better with each game lately.
What are all these options he's had up front? not the old Porter thing again, he hasn't been and still isn't fit for fooks sake.
Monkhouse not going thru' the motions? were you not at Forest and any game since, now fair enough if he's been carrying an injury
When everyones fit this squad is more than capable of going on a long unbeaten run.
As for me being happy for accepting what we've got, that couldn't be more wrong, My money at the beginning of the season was on us winning the league!
We have not had the rub of the green this season, we have suffered with injuries and the 'fans?' have been too quick to turn on the manager and team

Porter has featured about 25 times this season, he should have started more. Nelson and Ben Clark play well together, you can't deny that splitting them up was a daft idea. I like Antwi, he's going to be a good player but splitting up Nelson and Clark was just plain radged.

I also have a lot of time for Danny Wilson but this season to date has been extremely frustrating as with the players we have we shouldn't be a couple of defeats away from the bottom four.

I'm not as doom and gloom as some but peoples frustrations are completely understandable, don't sell us short we are a good little club with some cracking players we really should be doing better.

WINNING THE LEAGUE ......there's optimism and there's 'optimism'............. there was never a cat in hells chance of that.

Aye Mr Snowy, me 50 snots have well and truly gone now
But I did think we could have done it if we'd got a dood start, but like I keep harping on about I think we were a little unlucky at important times in games, starting with Luton's goals

We were the better team against, Luton, Leeds, Swansea, Carlisle, Orient yet only got 3 points out of 15 and I can't remember the number of times I sent texts at half time during away games this season saying nowt to beat we're the better team should win!

You make your own luck....people make the mistake of confusing it with chance... we lack that drive and killer instinct to make the pretty stuff productive and as long as that's tha case we'll be a misfiring stop go team.

My sentiments on our attacking side of the game.

He's had one or two ok games, but two ok games does not make a season.

And he hasn't been getting better with each game because he was shite against Carlisle and well off the pace yesterday. He was getting teared apart down their right wing.

I can't remember who it was, but I was basically ridiculed about two months ago for suggesting a large turnover of players in the summer will be required to allow the squad to be increased in sufficient quality to sustain League One football for longer than a year or two. I think the person used a religious phrase to reinforce their ridicule of the point I was trying to make.
This same squad next season would struggle in League One. The players Chip mentions in the last post would need to go - plus those who have had long enough to prove themselves but can't hold down a first team place, because they can't be relied upon week after week after week (eg Robson, Foley).
It might mean another season of those players gelling and another season of mid-table football, but the long term outlook would hopefully be a lot brighter with quality rather than quantity, as we seem to have at the moment.