Robbie Stelling discusses Hartlepool United's managerial change, transfer and injury latest as well as previewing their trip to Sutton United
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00:30Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Pooley podcast. Now, as you might be
00:38able to tell, I am not Rich Monnier, your usual host. I'm Joe Buck. Richard's suffering
00:42from a couple of technical issues, but I am joined by Robbie Sellen as always today. And
00:48Robbie will, of course, provide all the expert insight and everything you need. So Robbie,
00:52how are you, first of all?
00:53I'm very well, thanks, Joe. Richard never calls me an expert, so we're off to a great
00:58start.
00:59There you go. Say that's what you get from me. So we'll talk about, obviously, Hartlepool
01:03on the pitch matters first, but a little bit of news off the pitch, of course, unexpected,
01:08or from my point of view anyway, unexpected news that Lenny Lawrence and Anthony Dunbrick
01:12are swapping roles. What's your thoughts on that? How it was announced and how that will
01:17impact pools going forward?
01:18Yeah, it was unexpected, I think, Joe. I think it felt that it was always going to be something
01:26that happened at some point, pretty much from the moment that Dunbrick was appointed
01:30as head coach in November. I mean, Lenny Lawrence effectively said that they were considering
01:36an internal appointment as his eventual successor, and that Lenny Lawrence himself would have
01:40a say in how that happens. And of course, importantly, when that happened, Dunbrick
01:47already has plenty of managerial experience under his belt. He's got a really interesting
01:52background in coaching. He's managed Woking, so he's already got some National League experience.
01:58That's important. He's managed the New Saints over in Wales, won the title there, played
02:03European football over there. He had a spell in Gibraltar. He's done a lot of coaching
02:07in the academies of Southampton, West Ham, Peterborough, even had a brief spell with
02:12England under-17. So despite only being 41, he's got plenty of experience and a really
02:17interesting background. And I think it was clear to most fans that he was Lawrence's
02:24successor in waiting. The big surprise really, of course, is the timing of it. I think pretty
02:29much everyone expected that at the earliest, the change would be made in the summer. Of
02:36course, it's happened now with 17 games still to go in the season. And it's going to be
02:42very interesting to see quite what that means for the remainder of the campaign. Pools have
02:47lost a bit of momentum in recent weeks, having had such a strong start to 2025 when they
02:53beat Oldham on New Year's Day, and Oldham side were unbeaten in eight matches prior
02:58to arriving at the Prestige Group Stadium. That felt like a potential springboard that
03:02Pools could use to mount their assault on the playoffs in the second half of the campaign.
03:07They then had an 18-day break. The initial, the scheduled trip to Barnet fell foul of
03:12the weather. Of course, a lot of teams had to deal with that. I think only a couple of
03:16National League games went ahead. Over that weekend, there was the training ground bust
03:21up that leaked online that Pools had to deal with, and that perhaps got even more attention
03:25than it might have done had there been a busy run of matches. And Pools haven't really been
03:32able to pick up from where they left off. They seem to have started to falter somewhat.
03:38A couple of disappointing draws against Wildstone and then against Tenman. Woking, they were
03:43comprehensively beaten by Barnet in midweek. To be honest, particularly in the second half,
03:48they didn't really get near them. It was 2-0, but had it not been for some heroic goalkeeping
03:52by Adam Smith and Pools finishing from Barnet, it probably could have been 3-4 or even 5.
03:58And then again on Saturday, they needed Jamie Mindley, the debutant to score in the 96th
04:03minute wins to rescue a point against relegation-threatened Braintree. Okay, they had plenty of chances,
04:10but obviously a disappointing result. It felt like a game Pools needed to win. So all of a sudden,
04:15we're at a stage, Joe, where playoff hopes are alive, but I would suggest are starting
04:21to slip away. The next few weeks are going to be potentially season-defining. Is this
04:27going to be a season where Pools can really mount an assault on the top seven? Or is this
04:32going to be a campaign a bit like last season, where the final month, month and a half, it
04:37really just peters out and fans and things are just already looking towards the following
04:43campaign? Now, I think some people will look at the fact that this has happened now and
04:47suggest that Lenny Lawrence has perhaps lost hope of finishing in the playoffs. And the
04:53thinking is that Anthony Lindbergh, who was expected to take over in the summer, he can
04:59have three months or whatever to begin to get his ideas across. Obviously, he'll already
05:04be getting his ideas across in his capacity as head coach. But to do that with perhaps
05:09a little more authority, I think he will try and play a slightly more possession-based
05:15style of football. And of course, it gives him a chance to consider next season. It's
05:20important that that consideration of next season, I think, doesn't come at the cost
05:24of this campaign, because there's still what, a third of the season still to be played and
05:29pools are only three points outside the playoffs. Okay, more pessimistic fans might point to
05:34the fact that there's plenty of teams vying for probably only realistically, sixth or
05:39seventh spot. And of course, most of the sides in and around them have at least one game
05:45in hand, Altrincham, Halifax, Rochdale, they've all got multiple games in hand. Rochdale,
05:50who are currently in seventh, have got five games in hand. So it's going to be difficult
05:55for pools. But perhaps Anthony Lindbergh, who is an energetic, strong character, can
06:02be the man to re-energize the playoff campaign. I don't think this should be seen as an appointment
06:08just with an eye on the future. Okay, it's good that pools are planning for the future.
06:12That's really important. You look at the signings of Jamie Mindley, Sam Flaherty and so on,
06:17that suggests that they are beginning to consider what's going to come next. And that's a pleasing
06:23departure from what we've seen in previous years. But I think pools will still be thinking
06:27they can they can have a crack at it. This season, they go to Sutton on Saturday, that's
06:32going to be difficult. Sutton, one of their promotion rivals, they're banging form at
06:35the minute. Then they've got three home games in seven days. Two of those are against Maidenhead
06:40and Tamworth, two sides in the bottom 10. And then Altrincham, who are another of their
06:45direct rivals, if they could take seven points, get a point at Sutton, take seven points from
06:51those three home games, and all of a sudden, they're going to be right back in the mix.
06:56So slightly surprised by the timing of the appointment, Joe, but pleased to see that
07:00pools are planning for the future. I'm a big fan of Anthony Lindbergh. I think Lenny Lawrence
07:05has done a good job as well. But I'm a real big fan of Anthony Lindbergh. And while there
07:10is an eye on the future, in the here and now, pools will be hoping that Lindbergh is the
07:14man to re-energise and revitalise their playoff push.
07:18Absolutely. As you say, only time will tell whether that was the right decision at the
07:22right time. But sometimes it just takes a new face. Of course, he's not a new face.
07:27He's been at the club just to re-energise. And as you said, you mentioned him before,
07:31Jamie Miley, of course, joined pools. Now that's someone I know quite well from my work
07:35at Newcastle. What have you made of his debut? Of course, very limited time on the pitch.
07:41And so how has he performed at the weekend? Obviously, he scored the goal. And what do
07:46you think his signing Sam Folarin, as you mentioned, and all that sort of everything
07:50they've done so far, of course, no transfer windows, how does that sort of set them up
07:54to really attack the next sort of 15, 16 games of the season?
07:58Yeah, it definitely bodes well. I think if you look at the pools squad, the average age,
08:05they must be one of the oldest squads in the National League. That can have advantages.
08:10Obviously, it's good to have plenty of experience in and around the squad. But if you look at
08:16Nicky Featherstone's 36, Gary Medin's 34, Luke Waterfall's 34, Tom Parks is 32, David
08:22Ferguson's 30, Adam Campbell's 30, Adam Smith is 32, Manny Disarue is 29. It's a really,
08:30really experienced squad. And I think there have been some heavy legs in recent weeks.
08:35In truth, if you look at someone like Nicky Featherstone, who made his 445th appearance
08:39on Saturday, becoming the club's outright third highest appearance maker of all time.
08:45He's played in all but two of the National League games this season, when in truth,
08:48he was expected to having taken on that player, coach role, player, a far less significant
08:54role on the pitch. And that's obviously testament to his quality and longevity, but is perhaps
09:00also an indication that things haven't quite turned out as pools might initially have planned.
09:06So I think they certainly need some young blood. I think fans will agree that it's positive
09:11to see that pools were prepared to go out and sign new players in January, albeit as
09:18you say, there's actually no National League transfer window, but obviously the movement
09:23from clubs above them tends to facilitate some business at National League level. I
09:30think it's pleasing, pools might have been, they might have considered thinking, well,
09:38the playoffs are potentially beyond our reach, let's just ride out the rest of the season
09:41and go again in the summer. But clearly, that's not what they're doing. I think the signings
09:46of Jamie Manley, Sam Flaherty and Reyes Cleary do suggest that the club are serious about
09:53ending the season on a high and potentially challenging for a place in the top seven.
09:58Obviously Cleary and Flaherty, I think pools were clearly lacking some pace in the side,
10:04especially after Joe Gray and Anthony Mancini, who we might talk about later, were ruled
10:10out through injury. I mean, if you looked at particularly the Wildstone game, they were
10:19really one paced. Other than Luke Charman, who had a quiet game that afternoon, they
10:25really lacked a bit of dynamism in forward areas. They had Manny Disarue and Gary Medin
10:29up front, obviously really good players in their own right, but they're at their best
10:33if they have some speed in and around them to make the most of those balls that they
10:37win in the flick ons and and the such like Kazengan Luangwa, who struggled, to be honest,
10:42in his time at Pools. And there's another one who is 34, turned 34 in December. He didn't
10:48really have the desired effect. So Pools clearly needed some pace out widening. Jamie Manley,
10:53I think that's another player who represents the fact that Pools are looking for the future.
10:59But also he's here for the here and now as well, as he proved on on Saturday, obviously
11:05very limited senior experience, played eight times at Newport in the first half of the
11:09season, had a few injuries that certainly didn't help. It's never easy for a young man
11:14to be far from home as well. I think that's a challenge, especially at short notice. But
11:19he's come in and made a really positive start. He's got some great midfielders to learn from
11:25Nicky Featherstone, as we mentioned, foremost among them. I think one of the things Pools
11:29have lacked, though, in midfield is a little bit of quality on the ball. They've got six
11:35central midfielders on their books. Nicky Featherstone clearly is a talented technician.
11:39But if you look at the others, Nathan Sharon, he's played every game this season. He's been
11:43absolutely excellent, but he is far more renowned for his destructive abilities than than his
11:49ball playing prowess. Jack Hunter, Greg Selgate, Kieran Wallace, are similar types of midfielders.
11:55But they have probably lacked someone who can see a pass, play through the lines. When
12:00Pools played Woking and Woking had 10 men for more than an hour, they really lacked
12:03someone to play that killer pass. And we hope that Miley is going to be the man. It's going
12:08to take him some time to adjust to National League football. We've had quite a bit of
12:13discussion about the quality of pitches, not least the one at the Prestige Group Stadium
12:16recently. That's obviously going to be a bit of a culture shock coming from a setup like
12:20Newcastle and having to adjust particularly as a ball playing midfielder. He's quite diminutive
12:27in stature as well, but he backs himself technically to be able to maybe just be half a step ahead
12:33of some of his opponents. And he showed that on Saturday. It took a while to grow into
12:38the game, came on at a slightly difficult time. I think it's never easy for a central
12:42midfielder like especially a sort of number six type player to come on when a game is
12:48relatively end-to-end. Pools had plenty of chances, but so did Braintree. But after getting
12:53his first few touches, he really grew in stature. He played one lovely through ball that unlocked
12:58the Braintree defence to Reyes Cleary. And of course, he's not necessarily been signed
13:03for his goals, but he took his goal really well. And it was a crucial goal for Pools
13:07because although it was a disappointing point, it was at least a point it was far better
13:11than returning to the North East empty handed. So I've been really impressed by him. I've
13:16been impressed with the general tone and direction of the transfer business that Pools
13:21have made as well. Hopefully, those players are going to have a real impact this season
13:24and Fong-Haron and Miley, who are obviously here on permanent deals, are going to be going
13:29to help Pools achieve success in the future as well.
13:31Absolutely. I mean, as I said, I'm really interested to see how Miley gets on at Hartlepool.
13:37Now, before we touch on Saturday's game and another long trip for you, Robbie, I bet you
13:42love being on the road. As you mentioned, just give us an update on the injuries that
13:46Pools are facing and when they can be expected back in action. And yeah, just a quick news
13:51update on the injuries from you, please.
13:53Yes. So Joe Gray and Anthony Mancini, you mentioned them two fairly high profile absentees.
14:00Although Pools have made three new signings, I don't think they've necessarily replaced
14:05either of them. I think Joe Gray offers something that perhaps none of the other players do
14:12in that he can play both as a winger or more centrally Luke Chum, and we've seen him do
14:17that on a handful of occasions as well. But Gray's got good pace and he's got real quality
14:24as well. I mean, he's played more than 100 times for Pools and he's still only 21, scored
14:29three goals in seven games prior to getting injured as well. So it sort of came at a bad
14:34time, albeit I understand it was a pre-planned operation. I saw him in November after they
14:40played York and I believe he was struggling a bit then. So he played through the pain
14:43for a couple of months. He's been a big miss, but is expected to return certainly before
14:49the end of the month. We had an update from Lightning Lawrence. Obviously, the headline
14:53news was his decision that he's taking a step back in favour of Anthony Lindbergh. He suggested
15:00Joe Gray would be back in around three months. He's already back on the grass. He returned
15:05to some light running last week. That's going to be a real positive. Anthony Mancini, well,
15:11Lightning Lawrence suggested he could be available as soon as next week when Pools have that
15:16important run of three home games in seven days. I think pretty much everyone connected
15:21with Hartlepool United always tends to hold their breath a bit when we're talking about
15:26Anthony Mancini, an injury, such a talented player, but at this stage so temperamental
15:31physically. And it always seems like just when he's getting back to the peak of his
15:36powers, he's struck down by it by an injury, really frustrating for him because he was
15:40absolutely fantastic on New Year's Day against Oldham, ran the Lattex backline completely
15:45ragged, scored the winning goal. And it was as though he was beginning to replicate the
15:51form that he produced at the start of last season when he briefly became one of the National
15:55League's hottest properties. So Pools will be hoping to have him back. I would suggest
16:00within the next fortnight, you would think given their relative strength in depth now
16:05in attacking areas following the signings of Flaherty and Cleary, they won't rush him
16:11back, albeit, as I say, they're still looking to push for the playoffs. It's important to
16:16manage him carefully. He has proven that he can make an impact off the bench. So I would
16:20suggest we might see him back in the squad rather than the starting 11, perhaps in time
16:24for one of those three home games. Obviously, the other bit of news that we had last night
16:29is that goalkeeper Brad Young has been recalled from his loan by Leicester. A move that I
16:35really liked at the time didn't quite materialise as probably Brad and also Pools fans might
16:43have hoped. Some good signs. I think he certainly proved himself a good shot stopper, but made
16:47a handful of mistakes as well against Altrincham, York, Songahoe, Moors, lost his place to Adam
16:52Smith in December. And Smith has proven a really safe pair of hands. But Joel Dixon
16:57is another long-term absentee and is still probably a few weeks away from a return. He
17:01might be available come the end of February, but it'll be interesting to see what Pools do
17:05in that regard, because I would suggest they're not going to want to spend the next four or five
17:10games with only Adam Smith as their one available goalkeeper. Albeit, they have young Josh
17:15Mosfary who's out on loan at the minute. I don't know whether there's a recall option there. I
17:19would assume potentially that there might be. So that could be something that Pools look to do,
17:25although he's in the midst of a title challenge with Shieldon. So they might not be too keen to
17:30let him go, if at all possible. So Pools might look to do a little bit of business
17:35there in the next week or so, I would think. But positive signs on the injury front,
17:40because both Gray and Mancini, as I say, despite the fact that Pools have signed
17:44cover and different types of players, they haven't quite been able to replace Gray's pace
17:49and willingness to take on his man and get him behind. And Mancini's invention and his ability
17:55to produce something out of nothing, I think they've both been big misses for Pools and they'll
18:00both be very much welcome when they do return. It sounds from a neutral point of view,
18:05it sounds like an exciting future and one that certainly Hartlepool will want to keep an eye on
18:09over the next few weeks. As you say, their playoff push potential starts this weekend with Sutton. So
18:15just a few words on them. What do I expect this weekend? And I'm not going to ask you for a
18:19prediction, but how do you see that match going? Well, I think Pools will take the point, to be
18:24honest, Joe. Sutton are bang in form. I think Pools fans have the feeling at the moment that
18:30every team they play against is bang in form. When they played Woking, I think Woking were on a run
18:37of six games unbeaten, having had a really difficult time before that. Braintree, the
18:41result on Saturday means they're now five games unbeaten. But I think the truth is, unfortunately,
18:48that teams will be looking at Pools and thinking it's a good time to play them. Sutton might well
18:53be looking at the developments that have gone on this week and fearing the so-called new manager
18:58bounce. Although, as you said, it's not quite a new manager, given that Anthony Lindbergh is already
19:03a familiar face, having been around the place for three months. It's going to be interesting to see
19:09whether we see much of a change from Pools. As I say, I think Lindbergh has a natural instinct
19:15towards possession-based attacking football. Not always the easiest thing to do in the National
19:20League. But if you look at the top end of the National League, I think if you look at York,
19:25Gateshead, Barnet, probably three of the four most successful teams in the division this year,
19:31they are probably the three best footballing sides in the division. So it goes to show that
19:36football at this level as well is evolving. Teams are beginning to play a certain way,
19:42as has been pioneered by sides higher up the pyramid and across Europe and the world. But
19:48possession-based football is the way that a lot of teams are going and they're proving that they
19:53can have success with it. As I said, just to touch on Lindbergh, I've got a really favourable opinion
20:00of him. He brings something different to Pools. He's got an interesting background.
20:05He's really likeable. He's really charismatic. He has that sort of personal aura about him where
20:10he doesn't have to scream and shout. Although, as fourth officials will tell you, he's certainly
20:16not afraid of making himself heard on the touchline. But he has that natural charisma,
20:22that natural strength of character and personality that I think means players will respect him. While
20:28he's also got a sort of youth and energy that I think will give Pools something different.
20:32So I'm looking forward to seeing how Pools develop over the coming months. Of course,
20:38they've got a clear week. They will be able to work on certain things on the training ground,
20:42having played Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. They haven't had much time to do that
20:47in recent weeks, but it's obviously going to be a gradual process. And whether
20:51Pools have barnstorming success or whether the season fizzles out, I think it's important that
20:56supporters stick with Anthony Lindbergh, as I'm sure the club will do. I'm sure he is very much
21:00the man for next season, at least. I mean, I've been here for less than a year, Joe,
21:04and this is my fourth permanent Pools manager. That's certainly not necessarily a good sign.
21:10I think everyone would love some stability and I'm hoping Lindbergh's the man to give them that.
21:14Sixteen permanent managers in the last decade, that's obviously a sign of how things
21:19have gone. Sutton, another side with a young up-and-coming manager in Steve Morrison,
21:24they had a bit of a mixed start to the season. Obviously, having been renegaded from League 2,
21:29as Pools fans will know, can take a bit of time to adjust. But they've been doing really well
21:35recently. Another side, I think, who will like to try and play football and attack with pace.
21:42I think for Pools, it's just important to try and get a result. They would have probably earmarked
21:48last weekend as one where they were hoping to take all three points. I think a point would be a
21:53really good result, a positive start to yet another new era here at Pools. It certainly
22:00hasn't been easy with all the travelling. I mean, let alone that the players, management and fans
22:04spare a thought, of course, for the poor, poor old journalists who have been to Braintree, been to
22:10Barnet, been to Wealdstone and are set to go to Sutton in the space of three or four weeks.
22:16I think one thing Pools fans would like to see is probably for Pools to try and impose themselves on
22:22the game a little bit more than they have done in recent weeks. It's perhaps been a bit passive,
22:26especially at Barnet. They tried to do that against Braintree. I know Lenny Lawrence felt
22:30that Pools were very dominant and they were in some senses, they had a lot of chances. But I think
22:35in terms of control of the game, that's something that Pools have perhaps been lacking. I think
22:40perhaps at Hartlepool United more than anywhere else, certainly in the North East, the one thing
22:44you've got to do to be a successful team, and I know Pools are going away on Saturday, but in
22:49general, moving forward, you've got to play on the front foot. Fans will not accept passivity,
22:54particularly in this part of the world. And I think Lindbergh will try and get the side
22:58playing on the front foot. Let's hope that can start at Sutton. Pools have been difficult to beat.
23:03They've only lost three of their last 16 games under Lenny Lawrence. But the other side of the
23:07coin is that they've drawn eight of those. That's clearly too many draws to be successful in the
23:12long term. Having said that, Joe, I'd certainly take a point on Saturday, a decent start to the
23:17Anthony Lindbergh era ahead of three massive, massive home games. Well, Robbie, thank you very
23:22much for my debut episode on the Pooley podcast. I hope Rich is back next week and normal service
23:28resumed. But yes, I hope you enjoy your trip on Saturday. And of course, everyone listening,
23:32the best way to stay updated with all the latest Hartlepool United news and updates is, of course,
23:37from Robbie on his social media accounts and the Hartlepool Mail. Thank you for listening.
23:41Until next week, we'll see you then.