Gateshead Friendly hammering | Vital Football

Gateshead Friendly hammering

Alfalf2

Vital Reserves Team
I know it is only a pre-season friendly but it is a bit worrying we are being hammered 4-1 by a team two divisions below us, especially as we lost to the mighty Spennymoor last Tuesday. Pools fielded a full strength today which is also a bit concerning. DC made plenty of comments in the Mail about how important it was to be in a winning frame of mind. He'll be fuming after today and rightly so.
 
Not to pleased at the moment. It looks like stress free Saturday afternoons could be coming to an end very soon. Squad looks a bit weak for a return to league 2 football. But its Pool's so you never can tell. Hears hoping.
 
Preseason can prove misleading in respect of how teams will perform once the season starts, as Pools fans know only too well.
However, these losses to Spennymoor and Gateshead aren't giving us supporters any confidence ahead of the new season.
My concern is that the lack of time between winning the playoffs means that our core players haven't had any downtime and the management have been hindered in assembling a competitive squad.

Being back in the EFL could prove to be short lived!
 
According to the Hartlepool Mail, DC left Gatesheads ground immediately after the match without talking to the players or the Press!

Doesn't sound good
 
I just wonder how frustrated DC is with the situation at Pools. There's been no agreement of a new contract to reflect the job he did in steering Pools to promotion; both of the strikers who won promotion have moved on. All this whilst he is trying to assemble a squad from "bargain basement " trialists who haven't secured deals elsewhere!
I appreciate Raj is trying to be sensible in not over extending the budget, but on occasion the adage of "penny wise, pound foolish " needs to be viewed critically. If Pools end up being relegated for want of a couple of decent players then the financial consequences will far outweigh the savings made.

I'm seriously concerned by what I perceive , albeit from a great distance, to be happening at Victoria Park.
 
Fair comment OP, although paying transfer fees for couple of decent strikers would most likely bankrupt the club and there is no guarantee we wouldn't get relegated as well as bankrupted if they got injured. We did pay an undisclosed fee for Byrne a centre back from Halifax, so money is available but just not enough pay the wage demands of the likes of Armstrong, Oates or Bennett, I guess. Anyway, the loss yesterday seems to be a result of poor defending as anything else. I guess at this stage you just have to cross your fingers and hope DC sorts it out.
 
Certainly worrying but what would life be like with HUFC if it wasn't worrying ? We do not have mega bucks to buy "proven" players but have spent some cash which is a good sign. Most of these players didn't know one another only a week or two ago so not surprising they are taking time to get to know what to do. DC has proved he can get a team to play well so it's early days. I am expecting a struggle this season but am not despondent..........yet
 
Most certainly too early for being despondent but these early signs are no grounds for optimism which I guess we all want to feel on our return to League football. From Dominic Scurr on the Mail website, it seems Pools were not necessarily outplayed, they just were not taking it seriously enough (still on the beach) and were sloppy in possession, not tracking runners etc. Had Pools been at their very best and still got hammered, that would be a real cause for despondency. Having said that, DC hates losing as we all do, so he would have been expecting far more commitment from his team.
 
Just watched the highlights and there's no way we can play that bad again this coming season. Some serious ass kicking needs to be done and I think DC will give them one hell of a roasting after that.