Going Forward | Vital Football

Going Forward

Old Poolie

Vital Squad Member
I think anybody who has suffered through this last season, arguably the last 5 or more seasons, will agree that radical change is essential.
First on the agenda, obviously, is the appointment of a manager so that player's status can be resolved, recruitment started and pre-season preparations instigated.

Secondly, and this is related to the first, ticket pricing must be established.
For me this means charging at least £15 for adults per game with only a 5% discount for Season Ticket purchase (I.e. £328 for a ST). Otherwise we can assume Pools will be stating their intent to remain, at best, a mediocre National League team for yet another season!
 
Can't remember what I paid for my season ticket last year, but I resigned myself to it being my last year, if the status quo was maintained i.e. the current (or majority of this) bunch of wasters being retained.

Totally agree the adult price should be lowered and £15 is a decent figure, but to ask season ticket holders to pay 80p less than those who pay on the day is asking a bit much.
Particularly when a struggling team, on occasion, sees the pay on the day admission price lowered to £10 for adults as the club want or indeed need more through the turnstiles.

If this happens two, three or even four times next term, those who pull out their pounds early may be seriously disadvantaged for their willingness to part with their hard earned in advance and in support of any planning the club attempts to make, pre season.

I think if season ticket holders are asked to fork out over £300 next season there will be less season ticket holders than this season.

If the admission price is lowered and something akin to your idea is implemented there may be less season ticket holders and more choosing to pay on the day, this would suit many as fans pick and choose the games they attend, plus the more successful the team are the more through the gates.

A successful season on the field will lead to more through the turnstiles no doubt but to annexe your season ticket holders is not the answer in my opinion.

How are we going to have a successful season?

Get the product right!

Players playing for each other instead of playing to get the manager removed is a decent start. Players showing a bit of resilience and digging in rather than rolling over when the going gets tough might be an improvement.

Management and coaching don't get away with it either, we should be coaching Cassidy to be a striker holding up the ball down the centre bringing the midfield into play, spending more time in the box, as opposed to winning high balls and flicking them on to nobody or picking up scraps out wide and putting the ball into the box this is the job of others he should be the one picking up the flick on's or the one waiting in the box to get on the end of a ball into the area. We're not playing him to his full potential.

There cannot be only me who thinks Adam's is more potent attacking than defending surely. His style is suited, not only, to getting Cassidy to 20 goals but he has the ability to protect the defender too.

Josh Hawkes play him on the left of midfield and waste his talent or play him with a right sided bias or at the front of a diamond and get the best out of him.

Laing and Harrison, bloody hell Bates was a centre half for crying out loud. Harrison may be a lost cause but there is something there with Laing, it just needs coaching to the forefront.

Featherstone: get a confident, winning bunch around him and he is Pools' Butch Wilkins, rest his soul.

Kenton Richardson what a talent before his injury.
Loach, an absolute must, get him to command his box with more confidence and he's league one standard.

Rodney is capable of being a James Coppinger or a Jermaine Easter somewhere, unfortunately I don't think it will be at pools. Donnelly won't stay I don't think. If he does, great.

There's a starting point.

Then again stop losing at home to the likes of Solihull moors or Guiseley or drawing with Torquay at home or even Chester home and away or losing at Halifax. Win those six games and we end up in the pretendy play offs.

:red: