Thetownend.com

Is going to be interesting for me in the sense of what goes on at our club..may get shot down for what ime saying but saying it anyway,i understand the club has to be carefull with finances etc but who we get in is vital..last years crop are not good enough on there own,happy with Lucas could be a great signing but i for one want to start getting it right ON the pitch as well as off.....fed up of the same shit season in and season out...with the Cox sale the club should push forward with quality not cast offs from Hartlepool and the likes..with Cox going there isnt a wow factor in the team now...i will be keeping an eye on our signings with interest..think with DW,Shirtliff,Byrne we have a great off field set up now,but i want it right on the pitch now it about time the good times returned.

Agree with a lot of that Leefer, great post.  How the next few weeks go will determine if my optimism continues as high, it has the makings of a great season with the right signings.

i agree with a lot of it also but why the hell is it in general discussion?

whoever we sign wont be good enough in most fans eyes.

last seasons players were good enough. the management wasnt.

I agree with Leefer but the problem with going for quality is that others will be looking to do the same and that means competition with the likes of Leeds, Huddersfield, Franchise etc etc.

Our league position,having to rely on OTJ,Greer and Kanu added to the fact that 13 players have been released is a clear indication last seasons squad was not good enough.

Was going to say pretty much the same thing but couldn't really be bothered. The squad does need improving. I think it's also worth noting that it's only 1st of July tomorrow and the window doesn't actually officially open until then.

Steady on DRS, you're starting to sound like me.

As for HPool cast-offs Leefer...Matty Robson has opted for Carlisle.  I'll wait to see who arrives in the next two weeks, think it's quite clear, we're in for another difficult season.

 Of interest, will be if this forces Wilson into negative tactics, or whether he sticks with his belief in attacking football....as it stands we just don't have the personnel.

Wilson has always played attacking football Reg. To be fair it's what has kept Hartlepool in this league on a crap budget for the last few seasons.

How dare you reg, i am actually confident we will improve on last year.

We should improve if we can make, at least, the 5 quality signings that Wilson speaks of.

 But if we're left with the remaindered bin again...who knows?

Game of wait and see i suppose.

All we can do.

We need to start thinking outside the box a bit.

Someone like Theo Robinson, who has been touted around the lower leagues, then sold by Watford, was always going to get quite a few bidders. He was this years Kevin Betsy.

Where did the signing of Tommy Mooney come from? That is what we need now. Out of the blue. Someone like that who will genuinely excite the fans.

 

SSP?

Parkin has been talked about too much now. I rekon they should have done it at the end of the season.

I wasn't really being too serious. He'd fit the bill you earmarked though.

Not at all. I think Parkin would split the fanbase now.

We need someone with that wow, how did we get him? factor. We are due a signing like that.

Parkin is a free transfer from a conference club. Sign him now and the club could well seem a bit desperate.

To be honest though, I think we are pretty desperate, for a second successive summer.

So far the last 2 summers we have signed only 2 first team players, Timlin and Greer. And they were both on loan to us beforehand.

Like I said, we need to get out there and get some players who are a bit leftfield. Players like OTJ and Robinson who have toured L1 on loan are very obvious targets and certain to attract lots of offers from other clubs.

It's all looking a bit like last season... reality is there are plenty of decent players still out there looking for clubs.

It's not even July yet, give it a couple of weeks and then it will be desperate but not now.

More importantly it's not july 1st yet, no one is officially out of contract until tomorrow, there may well be ones already signed.

Lets not forget we've got a far better and more experienced manager in charge now, which is just as if not more important than a few good signings.

I don't think our squad is that bad at the moment either, other than the fact we're short of at least 2 forwards. If you take the squad at the start of last season, add a decent manager, confidence, luck and remove the stupid mistakes and we'd have ended up near the playoffs.

Adding 5 decent players won't have as big an effect as the confidence and luck - 5 straight wins will often move you from relegation to promotion. I reckon the increased stability at the club and even stupid little things like a decent pitch, the ground being painted and tidied up and the Adidas kit will all help to some degree.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12876_5407347,00.html

Now that would be a fuking good start...like him in our team.

A Leeds fans on another forum reckons he left them cos' they wouldn't meet his wage demands, so I doubt that we can.

Anyway. Wilson reckons 5 new players and I doubt that one of those will be a squad player. That, along with Greer and Lucas means potentially 7 new players in the first team and hopefully each position will be improved upon from last season(except for Cox perhaps).

Sounds good to me, provided it works out as planned that is.