Join Rich Mennear and Robbie Stelling as they discuss all the latest Hartlepool United transfer news on the Poolie Podcast.
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00:00You
00:30Hello and welcome to the latest Pooley podcast, first of the year actually Robbie, we were
00:40waiting until IP&I had played some football but we might be waiting a little while yeah,
00:44so we thought we'd jump on and do a podcast reflecting on the latest picture of Pools
00:51plus any kind of transfer tidbits in and out, contract latest and yeah we'll have a wider
00:57look at Pools ahead of the return to action hopefully at Wheelston away on Saturday the
01:01three o'clock kickoff, Robbie had a slightly easier weekend with the the Barnet game taking
01:06oh sorry the weather taking the Barnet game off the fixer list, are you missing Pools?
01:12Are you gonna get back back at the football? Yeah I think so it's unusual isn't it to have
01:19a break this long actually funnily enough when I first started at the Hartlepool Mail
01:24which was in last March they had a run of I think a couple of weeks without a game my
01:30first game was meant to be Maidenhead and we were just traveling down when that was
01:34called off due to a waterlogged pitch I mean fair play to to Barnet and a lot of the National
01:39League teams actually they made the call early on obviously they were mindful of the fact
01:43that Pools fans and players had a potentially really long journey and the forecast certainly
01:48didn't look good I think when we saw that that inspection was called for Friday morning
01:53it felt fairly inevitable that the game was going to be called off I think only two National
01:57League games in the end survived the weather it does of course mean we will have to travel
02:01to North London at some point potentially on a on a Tuesday night so although I was
02:07pleased to have a quiet weekend I'm sure I'll be kicking and screaming when they drag me
02:12down there on a midweek evening but yeah it's an unusual period for Pools to have not played
02:19but of course it's the same for a lot of teams I think Weldstone who they play this weekend
02:25actually haven't played since Boxing Day so they've had an even longer break it can have
02:30its advantages and disadvantages can't it Rich I think Pools will be potentially they'll
02:35be pleased to have a bit of a break get some rest into their legs that they've got a couple
02:40of injuries as well Adam Campbell obviously he's gonna be edging closer to a return now
02:45having missed limited minutes in terms of football given that Pools haven't played since
02:50New Year's Day but of course there is that you know there is that risk that you may come
02:56back a little bit rusty for Pools in some ways the break probably came at a bad time
03:01given that they've been in really good form and they've certainly started to gather some
03:06momentum we were in Maiden Castle last week and it certainly seems that that good feeling
03:10is still very much alive and well in the camp but obviously having not played for a
03:15couple of weeks it'll be interesting to see how they respond this weekend yeah for sure
03:19so as you say difficult to build any momentum if they're not playing but hopefully National
03:23League winter breaks over shortly and we can get back to it this weekend obviously there
03:28isn't a transfer window in the National League however inevitably there's a knock-on effect
03:33for Pools as clubs look to do some business how do you see overall the transfer picture
03:38at Pools in terms of sort of some of the names that have been linked obviously to Tidy
03:43Bewey last week and also potential interest in the likes of Manny Dee and Joe Gray how
03:50do you see the situation overall for Pools and how as I say obviously they can make signings
03:55beyond February the 3rd when the window closes but how busy do you think they'll be over
03:58the next few weeks I think it'll be pretty quiet to be honest Rich I mean Lenny Lawrence
04:03when we spoke to him last week said he'd like to maybe bring in one new face something
04:08that Pools have done last season that he alluded to in particular is that they've signed loads
04:13of players throughout the season I think they had 14 or 15 loans and that makes it incredibly
04:17difficult to have a settled squad Lenny Lawrence likes to have a settled team he doesn't make
04:23loads of changes to his side especially when things are going well and Pools are winning
04:27so I can't imagine they'll be desperate to bring in too many new faces the squad on paper
04:32certainly looks good they've had touch wood in general pretty good luck with injuries as well
04:37this season obviously Dan Dodds has been out for a bit Jack Hunter missed a couple of months and
04:41Adam Campbell is the latest to be sidelined but in general they certainly have had better
04:45luck than they did last season when they were ravaged by injuries throughout the campaign
04:50I think if they were to bring in one player it would probably be in the wide areas we'll
04:56touch on Tungabure in a second Adam Campbell although not a natural winger is obviously
05:01one of those attacking players who plays in that that front three and he's out for another couple
05:08of weeks it would seem so you've got Joe Gray, Luke Charman having to do a lot of the heavy
05:13lifting Anthony Mancini's had a few really good performances of late started the last three games
05:18first time he's done that under Lenny Lawrence was mad at the match I think against Oldham on
05:23New Year's Day scored the winner he can play in that central role that that Campbell favours all
05:27he can play out wide a position that we've seen him do increasingly well in recent weeks they do
05:34have options and then of course there's Kazenga Nwamalewa who signed in November it was a really
05:38interesting exciting signing at the time given his really impressive pedigree more than 150
05:44appearances for Brighton once it won two promotions with them went from League One to the Premier League
05:49played for Newcastle in the Premier League as well but he is 34 now and he hasn't really made much of
05:57an impact in truth five substitute appearances he looked well off the pace on New Year's Day when he
06:02came on against Oldham his only start was in the FA trophy when he missed a penalty in the shootout
06:09and didn't really make much of an impression on the game other than that his contract is up at the
06:14end of this month it'll be interesting to see whether Poole's renew his deal or whether they look
06:20elsewhere Tyler Bury as you said Rich is obviously the name that is on the lips of a lot of
06:24Poole's fans he had a fantastic loan spell the year after they won promotion back to
06:31football league he only played seven times in the end he had plenty of yet he had a fairly serious
06:36injury and such was his form that when it came to January Millwall were keen to
06:40recall him he ended up playing 15 times in the championship in the second half of that
06:45season but he was really impressive sort of played as a second striker a lot of the time
06:50but I think he's probably best suited to playing out wide I think he's the type of winger that
06:56Poole's wouldn't like he's nice and direct like Luke Charm and and Joe Gray he's got plenty of
07:03pace I mean the question mark about him is he hasn't had a particularly successful time of
07:08it over the last couple of years he he played plenty of Millwall in the championship for a
07:12season and a half then he got a move to to Denmark with Obi Adenz didn't work out from there I think
07:18he played just six times came back signed on loan for Oxford again only played five times in six
07:24months and since then has spent a bit of time at Carlisle but Carlisle have confirmed that he's
07:29going to be released from his contract or rather they won't offer him a new deal to his initial
07:34short-term contract that expires this weekend so he's going to become a free agent Lenny Lawrence
07:40said he could neither confirm nor deny whether Poole's were looking at Bury specifically make of
07:45that what you will I think he'd be a popular position for Poole's I think he's the type of
07:50player that Poole's need I mean personally I would be really interested to see him back at the
07:55prestige group stadium okay he's had a couple of difficult years but he's only just turned 24 and
08:01if he can get back to even half of the levels in truth that Poole's fans saw and produced in the
08:06summer of 2021 then I think Poole's would have a real player on their on their hands certainly
08:14another of their priorities Rich as you say will be keeping hold of Manny Disrui and Joe Gray I
08:19would think that that might be a saga that rumbles on both of them have been offered new deals neither
08:25have signed them yet that's equally neither have outright rejected the contracts Lenny Lawrence
08:31said himself it's just the nature of modern football that players will tend to bide their
08:37time when they've got less than six months on their contract and they are ostensibly able to negotiate
08:42with other clubs as well they will perhaps see what's out there and if a move to a football
08:48league club came knocking it would potentially be very difficult to stand in their way especially
08:54given that they only have six months on their contracts obviously Poole's fans would really
08:58like to see them stay Manny Disrui's had a fantastic 18 months Joe Gray's been at the
09:02club now for more than five years played over 100 games and both of them are integral to
09:09Poole's and Lenny Lawrence's way of playing it would be a real blow to lose them my gut Rich
09:17feels fairly confident that they will end up signing I hope this doesn't come back to bite me
09:23I think they're both really happy in the northeast they both are held in incredibly high regard with
09:28the fans they have a really good relationship with the supporters they both can be pretty
09:32confident that they're going to be one of the first names on the team's yet I know they had
09:36a couple of weeks under Darren Searle where they were left out but in general they're pretty much
09:42regulars if a really fantastic move came in then I think it would be difficult to begrudge them
09:49that but I think all the signs suggest that Poole's can feel pretty confident of keeping
09:54hold of them and of course given how things have gone the last two or three months Poole's have
09:58gone from a side that are sort of nervously glancing over their shoulder it didn't seem
10:02like a particularly happy camp under Darren Searle to one that seems really positive and
10:06upbeat and are potentially going to challenge for the playoffs in the second half of this season
10:10and that's all going to work in Poole's favour when it comes to Manny Disroey and Joe Gray
10:14thinking about their futures yeah hopefully as you say I suspect that one will rumble on into
10:19the summer so wanting to keep an eye out for sure but positive that Poole's are trying to be
10:24proactive at least and yeah and offer them deals at the very least although understandable that
10:30the players I guess would want to hold off a little while and see how Poole's season progresses
10:35and what other potential offers might be on the table in the summer and there was some contract
10:39news back in the last week and they'd reported on it a week or so prior but Poole's goalkeeper
10:45coach Adam Smith signed a new 18-month contract Poole's confirming that back in the last week
10:50and it feels slightly unusual it's an 18-month contract Poole's fans are probably used to a
10:54lot of loan signings and shorter term deals but promising that that's a longer term deal at least
11:00what did you make of that contract and smart bit of business by Poole's?
11:04Yeah I think that's the big thing isn't it Rich is the fact that it is an 18-month
11:09contract I think in the last few months we're starting to see Poole's plan for the medium to
11:14long term which makes the refreshing change doesn't it I mean when you chop and change managers every
11:20six months you never quite know what you're going to get obviously different managers want
11:23different types of players they want to play a different brand of football and that obviously
11:28affects the recruitment as well it does seem that Poole's are starting to do things differently
11:34obviously they've got Anthony Lindbrick and Gavin Skelton on the coaching staff too young really
11:38promising coaches who have had a really impressive start to their life at Poole's Lindbrick is by
11:45many considered to be Lawrence's successor in waiting and if that's the case then I think that
11:51would be a positive thing you want to see that that that long-term planning you want to see
11:56Lindbrick given the chance to learn off Lenny Lawrence obviously vastly experienced coach almost
12:011,200 games in the dugout I mean you look at someone like a Gateshead say you have had real
12:07success with relatively limited resources over the last couple of years Rob Elliott was promoted
12:13from within done a fantastic job obviously got a move to to Crawley earlier this season
12:18Kyle Magnet has been promoted in and they're continuing to maintain their really
12:23impressive form and they're in the top five still I think that that is a is a real recipe
12:30for success and I think with Adam Smith that that's an that's another suggestion that Poole's
12:34are starting to think longer term he's obviously the first choice goalkeeper now started the last
12:39five games four of those in the National League Poole's have slightly uniquely for a team in the
12:45fifth division five goalkeepers on their books Brad Young played ten or eleven games after
12:49displacing Smith in the side then lost his place to Smith Joel Dixon who started the season
12:55to many people's surprise as as Darren Siles first choice is nearing a return from an ACL
13:02injury be interesting to see what happens when he comes back I would imagine Smith will continue as
13:07the club's number one for the rest of the season Brad Young will certainly be eager to displace him
13:13if he can and obviously it's going to depend somewhat on on Smith's form I think moving
13:18forward I think Poole's may look for a successor to Smith over the summer be that Brad Young Joel
13:24Dixon or someone else Smith of course has the dual responsibility of being goalkeeper and goalkeeper
13:30coach and I think come next season he'll probably be spending more time working as a coach than he
13:37will necessarily as a number one goalkeeper he's certainly proven a safe and solid pair of hands
13:44so far but I think Poole's have for some time now been making noises that they're looking to
13:50recruit and establish a slightly younger goalkeeper Smith is obviously only still in his
13:54early 30s so he could still have plenty of seasons to go as a player he spent some time already
13:59coaching when he was at Morecambe at his previous club and he seems like a really popular member of
14:04the dressing room he's a big character he's a big personality anyone you speak to at Poole speaks
14:08really highly of him as an individual so I think a deal that makes sense for all parties obviously
14:13allows Smith to have that more security which you don't often get at this level and for Poole's
14:19they know that they've got a solid and capable goalkeeper that they can use as they may and they
14:25know that they've got a popular goalkeeping coach now tied down for the next 18 months too.
14:30Yeah just on the goalkeeping situation excuse me Poole's physio Daniel O'Connor
14:34revealed an update on Joel Dixon over the weekend with the keeper expected to be back
14:40in contention next month did he start all six games at the start of the season? Yeah three
14:46successive clean sheets but then sustained a partial tear in his anterior cruciate ligament
14:51and so he's been out for a spell but as you say good news that he's on his way back in the next
14:54month or so so yeah interesting to see how that goalkeeping situation develops at Poole's
15:00so yeah just away from the transfer side of things then how hopefully Poole's will return
15:06to action on Saturday obviously tricky you know in terms of team news a little bit early at the
15:12minute but how do you see that game going at the weekend and chance for Poole's to build on
15:17the New Year's Day win? Yeah definitely I mean Poole's are one of the form sides in the league
15:24and I think if you look at the next couple of months certainly the next month or so they've
15:28got a run of of really winnable games it's it's the sort of 10 matches that they had at the start
15:33of the season under Darren Sarr when fans were really frustrated by their inability to win
15:38matches that on paper they looked like they should have enough to win of course there's going to be a
15:42lot of traveling there's no doubt about that but Poole's have proven themselves pretty capable
15:49away from home they've certainly drawn perhaps too many games for for Manning Lawrence's
15:53liking but they've proved really competitive their only two defeats have come at York obviously
15:59the leaders and Gateshead they were flying certainly had been flying they've obviously
16:03lost a few players already this month but when Poole's played them on Boxing Day they were in
16:07a rich vein of form and obviously have been one of the best teams in the league Poole's will be
16:13hoping I think that they can really string a run of positive results together they're only three
16:18points outside the National League playoff places I think Manning Lawrence and co will be eyeing
16:22potentially to get within that top seven in the next month or so as ever I don't think we'll see
16:28many changes from Manning Lawrence from the team that impressed on Boxing Day he obviously played
16:33two up on New Year's Day sorry he obviously played two up front against Oldham I'd be very surprised
16:38if he continued with that especially away from home I think to some extent his hand was forced
16:44Adam Campbell was obviously out injured Luke Charman was missing through personal reasons
16:50as well I would expect Charman to come back in that could allow Mancini to move into a
16:55more central role or they may stick with Mancini out wide and move Joe Gray back into a into a
17:00central role that's obviously a position that he's keen to prove himself in as well I imagine
17:04Gary Medin will return to the bench other than that expect more of the same I mean it's refreshing
17:10to see Poole's doing so well they've had a load of good results and and they've performed really
17:16well as well I think that's extremely important fans like to see front foot football they like to
17:23see Poole's try and play football as they see it the right way get the ball down on the deck
17:28they've got plenty of capable footballers they've got a number of good technicians in the side
17:33and under Darren Sarr we really never saw the best of them and that was in large part because of
17:37Sarr's way of playing but Manning Lawrence has really changed that I mean you have to give him
17:42huge credit I think when when you look at a manager who is 77 has been in the game for I
17:48think 46 years in management you tend to think that they might have some more old-fashioned
17:54ideas but one of the things that Manny has done really well is he's continued to move with the
17:58times he's shown that he can adapt to how football changes both in terms of his man management
18:04approach and in terms of his footballing approach on the pitch and pools have become a really
18:09attractive side to watch Manny Lawrence has got the best out of a number of his players
18:13crucially by playing them in their best positions and playing to their strengths and
18:17hopefully we're going to see more of that over the coming weeks.
18:20Yeah and I think you can see some of Lenny's energy can't you on some of the social media
18:24clips that the club put out very much there on the training ground leading from the front so
18:29we'll see how the weekend goes. Just one of the couple of bits of transfer news I meant to mention
18:32was Lenny Lawrence confirming last week that Matthew Bourne's well in Kizengelo Aloha's
18:37contracts due to expire at the end of this month just obviously signed short-term deals
18:41following the spell of training with the club earlier in the year. Lenny says he's hopeful
18:46they'll both be staying at the Prestige Group Stadium beyond January. Would you like to see
18:51the pair stay or do you think those kind of money for wages could be better spent elsewhere?
18:58Well I think Moua Moua despite arriving with a really big reputation look he's got nothing to
19:03prove. He's had an absolutely fantastic career but it certainly seems as though some of his
19:07pace has deserted him and that's proven difficult. It's never easy when you come off the bench to
19:12make an impact sometimes especially when you're trying to protect and lead as a forward thinking
19:16player that can be difficult but we haven't seen the best of him. I think if pools are to look for
19:22a winger someone like Taimou Mbiri then that could put Moua Moua's position in the squad.
19:29Risk but it remains to be seen. I mean he is clearly an experienced head. He looks like he's
19:33someone that's good to have around. That's something that Lenny Lawrence certainly values.
19:38I mean Lenny when we spoke to him said he wanted to see them you know given a chance to prove that
19:47he can go and say to the chairman look I want to give these guys another contract until the end of
19:52the season or whenever that may be. Of course especially with the Barnet game now having been
19:57postponed they've only got two more games between now and the end of January when presumably their
20:01contract comes to an end. So the opportunities are going to be pretty limited if the jury is
20:06still out on either of them. Matthew Bondswell's had even fewer opportunities than Kazenka Luang
20:11Luang. One late cameo in the league against Songer Helmorse when actually he looked pretty bright to
20:17be fair and then he had he started the FA Trophy game against Tamworth when he did well enough. He
20:22sort of went under the radar. He wasn't hugely effective at either end of the pitch but certainly
20:28he was solid albeit a bit unspectacular. So he's really had limited opportunities. That's thanks in
20:35large part to the impressive form of David Ferguson who's played in 27 out of his 28
20:44games this season. He had a difficult start to the season but has really improved since
20:49Lenny Lawrence took over and I think there are some people that might say that he's benefited
20:53from the competition that Bondswell provides and of course Pools, if they were to let Bondswell go,
20:59would not have another natural left back option. They do have Louis Stevenson who can play both
21:03sides to that bit in pre-season. Lenny Lawrence seems pretty reluctant to put much faith in him.
21:08He's obviously had a couple of lone spells as well. The one game when Ferguson was suspended
21:13which was even when he was enduring a bit of a difficult time, Darren Sahl switched to three at
21:18the back and Luke Charman played as a left wing back and that really didn't work at all. They were
21:23beaten 3-0 by Rochdale. So I think Pools will be keen to retain some cover in that area. Bondswell
21:29has had limited opportunities but hasn't really done anything wrong. So certainly I could see him
21:35signing a new contract. Lua Lua, it remains to be seen. I think Pools fans will feel he needs to show
21:42a bit more if he's going to do enough to earn a new deal and he's going to have to do that
21:46pretty quickly if that's the case. Good stuff. Thank you very much Robbie for that insight from
21:51the Vic. We'll be back. We'll try and make this a weekly podcast. Pools as I say away at
21:57Wilston this weekend so hopefully we'll be back next week discussing another positive trip on the
22:01road. Thanks for your time Robbie. Thank you Rich. The printed version of the mail is out every
22:06Thursday and obviously head to the Heart of Cornwall website seven days a week for the latest
22:10Heart of Cornwall news and we'll see you next time. Thanks.