Hartlepool United writer Robbie Stelling and Rich Mennear discuss all the latest news from the club as Darren Sarll's side begin their National League campaign by taking ten points from their first seven games. Robbie delivers his verdict on the start to the season, where Pools must improve and the latest injury news.
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00:30Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Pooley podcast with Robbie Stelling and myself
00:39Richie Muneer.
00:40Plenty to talk about Robbie today as we discuss all things Pooles on the back of a quite a
00:45long run of home games, plenty to discuss on and off the field.
00:49How are you first of all?
00:51I'm good thanks Richie and like you say I've been a sort of run of home games and now lots
00:57of travelling this week so I'm looking forward to my first ever visit to Boston tonight,
01:01Tuesday and then a long trip to Ebbsfleet who have just sacked their manager on Saturday
01:06so Pooles will be hoping to avoid the old new manager bounce.
01:09Yeah, it's an interesting week on the road after as I say a run of games at home including
01:14Saturday's draw with Halifax, fourth time in a row Pooles have failed to win at the
01:21newly named Prestige Group Stadium, drawing a blank in three of those games, still unbeaten
01:29on home turf so that's one good thing but fair to say some frustrations amongst the
01:33fan base in terms of lack of wins and style of play in particular and perhaps some of
01:39the subs as well at the weekend, how did you see the game overall and more broadly Pooles
01:43as a start of the season now that we're a good month in?
01:47Yeah look, I mean there are positives and there are negatives, I think you're quite
01:53right you know, it kind of depends how you look at it really, they are winless in four
01:57games at home but equally they're unbeaten in four games at home, only one defeat all
02:02season and that was at Woking when they played the majority of the game with ten men and
02:07even then they almost managed to snatch a point but I think you hit the nail on the
02:12head there when you mentioned the frustration of the fans, I think that was palpable really
02:16for the first time this season on Saturday, the style of play is not everyone's cup of
02:23tea, I mean I would say that the sort of admirable thing about Song is he does have a clear plan
02:30and a clear way of playing and obviously that's helped Pooles become a lot more solid defensively,
02:36they had some well-documented defensive issues, I think only kept four clean sheets in the
02:40entire National League campaign last season, conceded seven at Gateshead, conceded five
02:45at Oxford City and already five clean sheets in their first seven games and a couple of
02:50those clean sheets have been when they've only had ten men on the field so that's been
02:53a really big plus, I think another positive is midfield, last season Pooles were too easy
02:59to play against in midfield and they were too easy to overrun, Song and Joe Monks have
03:04worked really hard to add in central midfield and the new faces, Jack Hunter, Nathan Sher and
03:10Greg Sloggett have all made pretty positive starts and Nicky Featherstone continues to
03:15offer something despite the fact he turns 36 in two weeks, the frustration of course
03:20has been with the lack of goals and I think it's made more frustrating really by the fact
03:24that Pooles have a lot of good attacking players, Manny Disarue scored 23 National League goals
03:31this last season, sorry, but he's cut a really frustrated figure so far this term, just one
03:36goal in seven matches and substituted for the second week running on Saturday and that
03:42drew a smattering of boos from some home fans who were frustrated that Sal didn't opt
03:46to leave Manny Disarue and Gary Medin on the pitch together, especially given Pooles recent
03:52lack of goals and the fact that they were at home and I think supporters were wanting
03:57more of a statement of intent for them to go and try and win the game, what I would
04:00say is in the final half an hour I think Sal's changes did make a positive impact, Luke Charman
04:06came on and he's back from injury much earlier than expected, he looks like he's got the
04:10potential to be a big player for Pooles, Roshan Mathurin who arrived from Crystal Palace
04:15had a pretty decent debut and Medin looked a lot sharper than he did on his competitive
04:19debut the week prior, so there are positives in an attacking sense but it's just about
04:25how you find that balance between continuing to be songied at the back and adding more
04:30goals going forward because as I say they've got plenty of players capable of scoring goals,
04:35Disarue and Medin, their goal scoring records speak for itself, Adam Campbell, he hasn't
04:39really got going yet since arriving at Pooles but won promotion to League One last season,
04:45as I said I think the reintroduction of some width to the side because in Charman's absence
04:50they haven't had a natural left-sided winger, Joe Gray's had to do a lot of the heavy lifting,
04:54he's done it really well I have to say but the team's lacked a little bit of balance
04:58so hopefully moving forward you have another attacking player in the side, a bit more width
05:03and that should lend itself to Manny Disarue's strengths, a lot of his goals last season
05:07came from crosses into the box and this year he hasn't really got in the same sort of goal
05:12scoring position so maybe a slight adjustment in shape, personnel and of course probably
05:17a change in style and I would like to see Pooles, without sacrificing Sal's footballing
05:22philosophy, just get the ball down a little bit more and play to their attacking strengths.
05:27Do you think Sal will do that though or do you think, because to be fair when he came
05:31in the summer he was, as you mentioned and alluded to there, he was very clear in terms
05:35of his style of play and what fans should expect, do you think he will change that up
05:39a little bit, especially in the attacking, no doubt they're more defensively resilient
05:43but as you say they're not getting the best out of the attacking options at the minute
05:46and the lack of width and crosses has obviously been an issue, do you think he would actually
05:50change it or do you think he's a bit more of a, I'm going to stick to my guns and grind
05:56down the edge with this?
05:57I think a bit of both Rich, I don't think he's going to abandon his footballing philosophy
06:02because of a smattering of boos on Saturday or frustration among some section of fans.
06:08One thing that always strikes me about Sal is he's very much his own man, he is relatively
06:12unfazed by the noise that goes on around him but also he's a pragmatist and I think most
06:18good managers have to be adaptable, he's got a lot of experience in the game both as a
06:25coach and a manager so he won't be blind to the fact that Pooles have not looked particularly
06:31threatening in the final third.
06:34I think there will be some adaptability, I mean we saw Pooles get three red cards in
06:38the first six matches and he has discussed in the last couple of weeks that he is determined
06:42that his players will reign it in, we saw on Saturday that they were much more mindful
06:47of their discipline, I think only a couple of yellow cards which was a marked contrast
06:51to some of the previous games where they've been steaming into challenges left, right
06:55and centre and they've got five, six, seven yellow cards and obviously a handful of reds
07:00as well so I think we did see a change in the mindset there and that suggests to me
07:05that there will be some adaptability, I think Sal would justifiably say he has been a bit
07:10hamstrung by the fact that he hasn't had a left winger and not only has that meant that
07:15they don't have that natural width, it's meant that an Adam Catmull and Anthony Mancini has
07:20had to move to the left side so you've lost their influence in the middle and obviously
07:24in terms of what they can create and also that's another body that's not going to be
07:28in and around Manny Disrui and if you're playing direct football the one thing you
07:32want is bodies around that so-called target man in order to latch onto the flick-ons that
07:38he wins and we haven't really seen that so far so I think Sal will be willing to adapt
07:43and like I say I think the return of some important personnel will really help him in
07:48doing that and we'll still see Pools be pretty resolute defensively, pretty pragmatic in
07:53their approach but we saw for 20 minutes at Woking that they were almost unplayable
07:58going forward, that they looked absolutely fantastic, they scored two goals in the first
08:0120 minutes and it could have been more so this side does have it in them and I think
08:05we will see it as the season progresses.
08:08Yeah, I suppose the four, I mean it can be difficult to watch if we're just being blunt
08:15about it for fans especially, if you win fans will take that every day of the week but then
08:21when you're not winning against some of the maybe so-called lesser teams and that's probably
08:25where the frustration lies and it's unusual that they've had four Saturday home games
08:29on the spin, I can't recall, you might know better than me with your stats but I can't
08:33recall the last time that happened so then if you're watching it every Saturday it might
08:37get a bit monotonous so yeah there is certainly an element of fan frustration but hopefully
08:42a more positive week on the road to come.
08:45How do you assess that and do you think Sal will make another change in that department
08:53this week or do you think you'll keep faith with Smith for the time being?
08:57I think you'll keep faith with Smith to be honest Rich, I was a bit surprised actually
09:02to see Smith get the nod ahead of Brad Young, obviously we know a bit about Young given
09:07that he started his career at Pools, came through the academy side and then earned his
09:11first pro deal, signed it in 2019 I think under Craig Hignett before he got that big
09:16move to Leicester, he's progressed through the youth teams at Leicester without really
09:20threatening to break into the first team, had a loan spell at Notts County I think his
09:25game time was limited there so presumably Leicester have sent him back to Pools with
09:31the expectation that he's going to get plenty of first team football.
09:36Obviously it was a real blow for Joel Dixon because he's really improved so it was a disappointment
09:41for him to get injured because he knows that he's going to have to fight for the shirt
09:45more than ever after the arrival of Young, Smith filled in for an hour after Dixon went
09:50down injured against Braintree and then as you said he got the nod on Saturday, Sal said
09:55it was more than anything it was a matter of Smith has been at the club longer, Sal's
09:59quite big on meritocracy, I think there is a pecking order in terms of form and performance
10:04so it's up to Young to prove in training that he is a better bet than Smith, he's got to
10:09earn the shirt if you like, I don't think Sal will give out these shirts easily and
10:15Smith did perfectly well on Saturday, wasn't overly tested too many times, he made one
10:20really good reaction save in the first half after Adam George's shot deflected off Billy
10:25Sass-Davies' boot and he did well to get a palm to it, he's got a big kick as well which
10:32Sal likes, again Pools fans might not be too delighted to hear that Adam Smith's kicking
10:38or the way he uses the ball with his feet was a factor in the decision but that's something
10:44that Sal said, he does have a really big booming kick, there were one or two nervous moments
10:48if I'm honest Rich, I haven't yet been absolutely 100% convinced but everyone knows I think
10:53that it's very difficult, especially when you're a goalkeeper, you're thrown into the
10:57team relatively unexpectedly, it can take a little bit of time to settle before we absolutely
11:03see the best of them and with that in mind I certainly don't think Sal will change it,
11:09certainly not for tonight's game against Boston, I think it's a case of either Young will have
11:13to earn the shirt or maybe on the other hand Smith would have to lose it and make a couple
11:17of costly mistakes but a little bit of a surprise but they've got plenty of competition for
11:22places in goal and that can only be a good thing.
11:24Yeah, very true, not always been the case either over the last couple of years so yeah
11:28that's certainly true, I meant to mention just when we talk about the attacking options
11:32Gary Medin as well, obviously you know, been out of football for a long time, I think with
11:35Yaroslav wasn't it with injury, a couple of sub appearances for Poole so far, how do you
11:41kind of see his role within the team, do you think Sal maybe might actually go to up top
11:46with him and Mane or do you think the pair of them will just sort of dovetail and play
11:51one game each and yeah how did you assess his sort of appearances so far and his kind
11:58of overall sort of match fitness?
12:01Yeah, it's such an interesting one Rich isn't it because suddenly you have two really sort
12:06of impressive talismanic strikers rather than the one that Poole's had for the entirety
12:11of last season pretty much and it almost seems like it's caused more problems than it's solved
12:17so far, obviously Mane Di has cut a really frustrated figure at being substituted in
12:20the last two matches, he said last season multiple times that one of the things he's
12:25really relished, one of the things he thinks has got the best out of him is the fact that
12:28he's playing not just every game but he's playing every minute of every game, strikers
12:31love to play those last half an hour, 20 minutes because that's when the defences get tired,
12:37that's when most goals are scored so they feel like they're putting in all the hard
12:40yards to soften up the defence and then they're having to come off, you can certainly understand
12:44why he would be frustrated, Medin yeah I think no competitive game in 16 months prior to
12:50his Poole's debut a couple of weeks ago and he looked quite somewhere off pace but this
12:56weekend or last weekend just gone sorry, he looked much sharper against Halifax, had
13:01a half chance to, well more than a half chance actually to win it later on after a nice run
13:06just peeled off the back post, it's a bit of a conundrum I think, Sal probably won't
13:11see it that way, again managers love to have competition for places and the one thing you
13:15would say is the squad is looking much better now as players return from injury, they've
13:19obviously had a few loan signings and then that marquee arrival of someone like Medin
13:25so the squad looks much better, there's a lot more Sal can do in terms of bringing players
13:29off the bench but it's going to be a balancing act, I asked him about the possibility of
13:32playing two up front, whether that was from the start or whether that was leaving two
13:36up front, obviously that was what the fans really wanted on Saturday, he didn't rule
13:40it out but he was a little bit reluctant, I mean they've trained all summer and they've
13:44played all season so far in either a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3, they've got wide players now
13:50back in their side, Joe Gray has been excellent, Chalmers had a lively start, Mathurin looked
13:55good on his debut, obviously his argument would be if he was to go two up front he would
14:00have to change the shape, whether that's a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2, so it would mean adapting
14:06not just for the two front men but for the entire team and I think that's something he's
14:09a little bit reluctant to do because for all pools might not have been thrilling going
14:14forward, they're incredibly well drilled and well organised and that's obviously something
14:17they've worked really hard on, on the training ground and maybe something Sal is less than
14:21willing to sacrifice. I think like a lot of supporters, if you're not going to start two
14:27up front, which I do understand, if you're chasing a game or if you're looking to win
14:32a game at home I don't see that there's any harm in partnering the two of them, 20 minutes
14:37to go or whatnot because that's going to keep Manny Disarue happy, it's going to keep Medin
14:42involved and Medin probably by his own admission is not fit to play a full 90 minutes, yet
14:47and as he gets further towards full fitness it's going to be an increasingly difficult
14:52balancing act. I think Disarue has to be regarded as the main man, for all Medin has done in
14:57his career, Disarue has a fantastic record in the North East with pools but of course
15:03there is going to be pressure on him increasingly now that Medin is getting back to full fitness,
15:08he is going to have to start scoring goals but to do that, pools have got to play more
15:12to his strengths.
15:14Another man who has got a remarkable record at pools is Nicky Featherstone and we touched
15:18upon him earlier but obviously he moved into more of a player coach role this season initially
15:23but as the weeks have gone on, Sal has like many pools managers before him, have come
15:28to rely on Featherstone again, obviously he brought him off the bench a couple of times
15:31and things weren't going quite right at half-time and he remains an integral member of the team
15:36doesn't he, Nicky Featherstone, it's quite remarkable his longevity at pools.
15:40It is remarkable Rich, you're right, it feels like every summer we hear the same kind of
15:45noises that oh Nicky Featherstone, it's his last season or we're not going to see as much
15:49of him this season, of course two summers ago he was let go by the club, later turned
15:55to a misunderstanding, it's still not quite clear what happened there and they missed
15:58him so much that they brought him back in October and similarly this summer you have
16:02that player coach deal and there was the sense that we were going to see less of him in a
16:07pool shirt but he had a really good pre-season, he looks fit, I mean he's never been blessed
16:12with pace, he's never the type of midfielder that's going to cover loads of ground but
16:16what he does offer is something that none of the other pools midfielders, I think none
16:20of the other pools players indeed can offer in terms of his calmness, composure, his football
16:24intelligence and for pools fans wanting their side to get the ball down on the deck a little
16:28bit more, Featherstone is absolutely the man that's going to help them do that and I think
16:32what's worked his advantage this season is in Sharon, Sloggett and Hunter, they've got
16:37midfielders who are a lot more mobile than Featherstone so he's asked to be less dynamic,
16:43he's able to sort of sit in the centre of the park and pick the ball up and keep pools
16:48ticking over whereas last season when he was playing with the likes of Callum Cook and
16:51Tom Crawford who maybe didn't have the energy and dynamism of some of the summer recruits,
16:57Featherstone was asked to do a job that he wasn't really suited to and so pools playing
17:01to his strengths, he's continued to impress really, you're right to say it is remarkable
17:06and incredible longevity, I often think he's an underrated player, Rich, you look at some
17:12of the successes he's been part of, of course there's been a lot of difficult times as well
17:17but he was an integral part of that side that won promotion in 2021 and for the most part
17:22pools have actually looked a better side when Featherstone's been in it this season and
17:27that's massive credit to the character of the man, you just can't keep him out of the
17:33side and Sal said it in the summer, he's often written off, Sal's a big fan of his
17:37and I think has a good working relationship with him but he keeps coming back and again
17:41he looks like he's going to have another pretty important campaign for pools.
17:43Yeah, it does, it's fair to say, you know, he too, I think that's always the case when
17:48players are at a club a long time but you know he does divide the fan base a little
17:52bit doesn't he in terms of some love him, some probably think it's time for pools to
17:56move on but you've got to respect his, yeah, his quality and his longevity at the club
18:00and he's obviously got the club at heart, absolutely, so yeah, interesting to see how
18:05much of a key role he plays this season.
18:08Just on the transfer front, obviously pools signed a couple of players post-transfer window
18:11elsewhere, no transfer window in the National League of course, do you anticipate or has
18:15Sal given many hints or tips as to whether pools will still be active in the coming weeks?
18:22Obviously there's an aim to be less reliant on the loan window isn't there but that's
18:25I guess inevitable in this division that pools will use that.
18:30So yeah, do you expect any more transfer business over the coming weeks and if so what kind
18:35of areas are still left to strengthen, it's a reasonably strong squad overall isn't it?
18:40Yeah, it is a strong squad and I think you're right Rich, we don't want to see pools use
18:44the loan market as much as they did last season, I think it was 13 or 14 loans but the one
18:50thing pools did in terms of using the loan market last year was most of them were sort
18:53of panicked signings that they were players that were brought in to cover for an injury
18:57or because the summer signings hadn't panned out as they might have hoped and obviously
19:02injuries are an inevitable part of football, you can't necessarily help those and if the
19:08pools squad does get more injuries they might look to go back into the loan market but I
19:11think the squad, they've got a strong core of permanent signings which makes adding loans
19:16just that sprinkling of quality, maybe that sprinkling of magic from higher up the pyramid,
19:21it makes it a better thing to do if you like, we saw pools do it really well in that promotion
19:24season under Dave Challener.
19:26I think that there might be room for one more in the squad, Sal said as much on Saturday,
19:30he hinted at it in the week so I asked him post-match on Saturday and he said yes they
19:36are actively still looking for one more, a couple of the loan signings, I think Darren
19:42Robinson's come in from Derby, Roshan Mathurin's come in from Crystal Palace, when you sign
19:46players from those bigger clubs you are in some ways providing them a service by giving
19:51their young players an opportunity to experience first-team football and in turn the bigger
19:57teams are likely to place less financial demands on you in terms of a loan field, in terms
20:03of wages so I think by bringing those two in, in particular Brad Young as well coming
20:08from Leicester, another Premier League club, I imagine that would be something fairly similar,
20:12they've strengthened their squad without necessarily depleting the wage bill so I think there is
20:16room for one more and as I say Sal said as much, they're looking, whether it lands this
20:21week or not, Sal and Monks have been really patient all summer, they've refused to rush
20:26and I think they've got the rewards for that, I mean pools might not be where fans want
20:31them but I think most people would suggest that the signings have improved the squad,
20:34they look a better, more competitive team probably than they did at this stage last
20:39season when a thin squad was already wracked by injuries to important players, in terms
20:43of where they might look to strengthen, well I wonder actually if it might be another forward
20:49player, if it's something that's been in the pipeline for a week or two, Charman was initially
20:53scheduled to come back maybe the end of this month so he's really surprised everyone in
20:57terms of how quickly he's been able to return, given Poole's lack of threat sometimes in
21:04attacking areas, I don't think Sal would say no to another attacking player, maybe not
21:08necessarily a starter but maybe another young player who can come and sprinkle a bit of
21:13magic and add some impetus from the bench, I think if not I think a lot of fans will
21:17be screaming at this and saying another left-sided full-back, David Ferguson is their only left-sided
21:23defender and he's had a couple of difficult weeks, it was his 200th Poole's appearance
21:28on Saturday and it certainly wasn't one of his better ones particularly in the second
21:31half, he had a bit of a difficult afternoon and last season was a tough one for Ferguson
21:36as well wasn't it, he was given the captain's armband, he really seemed to struggle with
21:39it, he had it taken off him, probably much to his relief, I think by learning Lawrence
21:44actually around December, January time and he improved after that but he hasn't had the
21:49best start to the season and fans seem to be fairly critical of him, the one thing I
21:54would say is he has been an ever-present in a back four that's kept five clean sheets
21:59in seven matches so maybe criticism of him is a bit overdone but whether you're a fan
22:05of Ferguson or you're not and I would say I am a fan of Ferguson, I do think he is unfairly
22:09criticised at times, perhaps having that cover in competition would not be a bad thing
22:13because if you've had a difficult game on Saturday, you're then travelling a long trip
22:18on Tuesday like they're doing, tonight you might be mindful of the fact well maybe you'd
22:21want to take him out and give him a rest and so he can come back stronger on Saturday,
22:25Poole's don't really have that option, the only player is Teenage and Louis Stevenson
22:29who missed out on the squad entirely on Saturday but did play at left-back in pre-season a
22:34couple of times though he is naturally right-footed so again that balance to the side with another
22:39left-footed full-back I think might be an area that they look at but so I was a big
22:43fan of Ferguson and he's pretty reliable both in terms of performances, I know maybe he
22:47had a difficult couple of weeks and his injury record as well so either a left full-back
22:52or another attacking player I think and yeah definitely room for one more.
22:56It's usually kind of sort of ten games into the season isn't it that the league table
23:01settles down a little bit and you can kind of see where what kind of level different
23:05teams are probably going to be at for the remainder of the season via obviously remarkable
23:10runs later in the season but generally so it's about ten games isn't it I think it's
23:14usually a time to take a fair assessment, what are we now seven games in at the league
23:18table?
23:19Poole's a tenth, two wins, four draws, just one defeat, it's a real shame they didn't
23:24make more of those home games but that aside how do you kind of assess the National League
23:29this season and do you expect Poole's to kind of almost finish in and around that position
23:34or do you think they'll have it in them to make a playoff surge, I know obviously that's
23:37the club's ambition and I mean Gates sort of had a flying start with Anthony Sweeney
23:42there on the coaching staff but do you feel like it's a weaker National League this season
23:47with some of the big guns gone now or how do you assess the league table this season?
23:52Well I don't know if I would necessarily say weaker to be honest Rich, I mean you're right
23:56that there's no outstanding candidate, I think that's probably the difference between
24:00this year's National League and the National League of the last couple of seasons where
24:05you had Chesterfield dominated last year didn't they, they really looked like they were going
24:09to win the league pretty much from after really they beat Poole's on the bank holiday August
24:14weekend they ran away with it, thereafter Notts County, Wrexham, those big guns, Stockport
24:19even before then with the financial muscle that made them the outstanding candidates
24:24I wouldn't necessarily say it was weaker though because I do think it's a really competitive
24:29league, you look at Gateshead obviously had a really strong season last season and like
24:33you say they've had a flying start, despite losing a couple of players they seem to have
24:36a really shrewd recruitment model, they've signed some exciting young players again the
24:41obvious issue that Gateshead maybe have hanging over them is their issue with the ground that
24:45prevented them from competing in the playoffs, last season they'll have to get that sorted
24:50out because you think if they're looking to add one or two players to bolster their promotion
24:53push as the season progresses well players are probably going to be put off if they feel
24:58like they can win the league but not get promoted so that might be something that potentially
25:03works against them but a lot to like about Gateshead, a team that's been on the up for
25:06a few seasons now, Forest Green I think often spoken about as promotion favourites, certainly
25:13one of the promotion favourites, they obviously got relegated, recruited pretty well, a number
25:20of players with massive football league experience, Ben Tozer who captained Wrexham to win the
25:25national league, Sean Long, Liam Sercombe who were playing league one football with
25:29Cheltenham last year so they're going to be strong, Barnett I think they've had a pretty
25:34decent start, beat Tamworth 7-0 although lost to them on the weekend so that just goes to
25:38show the unpredictability of the national league, from a pool's perspective I mean you
25:43look at a couple of the teams above them, you look at someone like Eastley or Aldershot
25:48you look at their records, they've scored a lot of goals but they've also conceded a
25:52lot of goals, I think Darren Sarr would maybe say well the Hartlepool way of doing things
25:57where you don't concede many goals and hopefully you can add more goals to your game as the
26:02season progresses and you get more settled, that might be more sustainable, I mean you
26:05look at what Aldershot did last season, they had a fantastic campaign and I think they
26:10were fourth with a couple of months to go but they really fell away, it is difficult
26:15to try and outscore your opponents every season so I don't think Pools will be too panicked,
26:21I mean perhaps the concern is you look at with respect the level of opposition that
26:25they've played, they've already played three of the four newly promoted sides, they're
26:28travelling to Boston in midweek, that's going to be the fourth newly promoted side that
26:32they've played, they've played a Southend team that are still sort of feeling the effects
26:36of the financial struggles they've been through, they've played a Halifax side who lost a couple
26:40of key players in the summer and Weldstone who survived on the final day in last season
26:46and Woking, I think Woking actually survived by the skin of their teeth as well so probably
26:52not loads of teams you'd expect to be competing towards the top end so I think Pools would
26:56like to probably have another six or seven points in truth but I do believe that they
27:01will feel they're capable of challenging for the playoffs without a doubt, unlock the goal
27:06scoring potential in this side and they've got a good squad, I think they're pretty well
27:10covered in most areas, they're physically strong, they look bigger and more imposing
27:15than I think any team that they've come up against so far this season, they've got a
27:18bit more pace in the side with the likes of Campbell and Charman and they have got more
27:23attacking options which as we've said has been a little bit of a divisive issue with
27:27the Medin Disirue balancing act but in the long run it certainly has got to be a good
27:31thing so it's a competitive league, I think there'll be plenty of teams, I would think
27:34at least half of the division will be thinking they're capable of challenging for at least
27:39the playoffs and I think Pools have got to be one of those.
27:42Yeah, it's right, you've certainly got more chance of winning if you're not conceding
27:45goals haven't you so if Pools can just improve that side that would relieve a bit of frustration
27:51I think but interesting stuff.
27:53Just finally Robert before I let you leave and head to Boston, just a couple of quick
28:00ones on the players really in terms of who's impressed you this season to date, seven games
28:05in, who needs to do a lot more and who do you think has got the most potential in terms
28:11of the youngsters?
28:12Okay great, well I think probably in terms of who's impressed me the most, I'd give an
28:18honourable mention to Joel Dixon actually, I think he's sort of been the surprise package
28:22so far, obviously picked up an injury which is a real shame for him and I'd maybe put
28:26Charman in that bracket as well, was not one of the signings that arrived with the most
28:30fanfare and obviously has been injured but such was his influence in the first couple
28:33of weeks that Pools have really missed him.
28:37Tom Parks has been outstanding at centre back, a big part of the reason they've kept five
28:43clean sheets, especially given that Luke Waterford's been sent off twice and for the rest of the
28:49season or other than a couple of matches has been serving his suspension so Parks has had
28:53to take over that leadership role, he's a leader in the back line anyway I think that
28:57comes naturally to him but he's been excellent and he's really helped Billy Sastavy, he's
29:00a new signing who if I'm honest I think had a bit of a mixed pre-season but has really
29:05started to come into his own alongside Parks so the two of them have really impressed me.
29:10All the new midfield recruits have done very well, if I had to pick one, Nathan Sheeran
29:14I think has done a bit of everything, Pools fans love that blood and thunder approach
29:19as long as it's carefully managed and Sheeran is such a nice guy off the pitch, we've interviewed
29:24him a couple of times but on the pitch he's like a bull terrier, he is really difficult
29:30to play against and he's really made a bright start to his Pools career and he has a great
29:35reputation for robustness and reliability, he's played all seven matches as well and
29:39has still looked full of running and full of industry. I think if I had to pick an outstanding
29:43performer it's been Joe Gray, been at Pools for a long time now, more than 100 games despite
29:49only being 21. Three goals, all three of his goals have come on the road so Pools will
29:53be hoping he can add another one when they travel to Boston in midweek and absolutely
29:58on the weekend. He's added a bit more, I think he's added a bit more muscle actually and
30:02he's a little bit more robust, he's winning loads of fouls for his side but that hasn't
30:06come at the cost of his pace, directness and goal scoring prowess, he's been outstanding.
30:11In terms of who I'd like to see more from, I think Adam Campbell arrived with a really
30:14big reputation, has maybe fallen victim to the fact that he hasn't been able to play
30:19in his preferred position other than the opening sort of game and a half since signing for
30:24Pools but we'd like to see more from him, he's really struggled to get into games to
30:27be honest, he's been quite a peripheral figure other than a couple of decent free kicks.
30:33Young players, there's plenty of young talent at Pools, obviously Joe Gray has been the
30:38outstanding young player, I like Louis Stevenson, he's had a bit of a mixed start to the season
30:43and missed out entirely on Saturday but you've got to give huge credit to the Academy because
30:49they've got a lot of good players coming through. Campbell Darcy and Max Story obviously gone
30:52out on loan, I think Max Story picked up a nasty injury unfortunately but Joe Angier
30:57was another one who's the latest in the long line of Ian McGuckin's production line
31:01to come through and he had an excellent pre-season before breaking his wrist but I'm hoping
31:04we might see some more from him when he's back in contention because he looks like he
31:09could have a real bright future and add something maybe slightly different in terms of his ball
31:12carrying ability in a forward sense. So lots to like about Pools, still one or two that
31:17we're yet to see the best from but plenty of positives nonetheless.
31:20Good stuff, thank you very much Robbie. Always good to chat over at All Things Pools.
31:25Lots of positive travels this week. Busy weekend for you, busy week for Pools as well on the road.
31:30Hopefully pick up a couple of wins and get the season back up and running.
31:35Head to the Hottentot Mill website for all the latest news throughout the week and obviously
31:40the printed product is out on Thursday as well and we'll be with you in another week
31:44or so, hopefully to reflect on a good couple of weeks for Pools. Thanks Robbie.
31:48Thanks Rich.