Keeping The Squad Together | Vital Football

Keeping The Squad Together

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Alfalf2

Vital Reserves Team
We were all hoping that if Pools got back into the FL the promotion winning squad would stay together. From the events so far, this is clearly not going to happen. Armstrong and Johnson already gone to teams prepared to pay higher wages and judging by the story in the Mail, Sterry is more likely to go than stay with four clubs trying to tempt him away. I can only speculate how many clubs are wafting wads of cash in front of Rees Oates. I dont blame the players, their careers are short and precarious so they have every right to earn as much as they can. It is a shame for us fans. It seems the Pools team that kicks off at the Vic on August 7th will bear only a slight resemblance to the one that finished the match at the Vic with Bromley.
 
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You've hit the nail on the head Alf2, money talks and it is inevitable that players will be tempted by lucrative contracts. In that respect they are no different to the rest of us.

My biggest concern is in respect of DC's future, with Wrexham allegedly keen, as with the short time to the start of the new season it would be difficult to recruit a new manager and for him to assemble a competitive squad.
 
Money isn't everything at this level. Didn't Stockport pay £250k for a player resulting in Bennet being loaned to us ? Look where that got them. The key to success in the lower leagues is a good manager, or to be precise a manager who can get moderate players to perform to their best and work well as a team. I'm old enough to remember the master Brian Clough. It looks like DC might have that ability and his future, above all else, is the answer to our hopes and dreams. If he continues to perform well he will be snapped up but I really hope we can keep him for at least the coming season.
 
Just a little bit of good news, DC isn't going to Wrexham, they've appointed Phil Parkinson - onetime Sunderland manager!
 
if I was chairman of a club trying to get out of the NL I would appoint someone who knew his way round the NL not an ex FL manager. Anyway good news for us.
 
Another one of the promotion squad leaves, as Rhys Oates heads for Nigel Clough's Mansfield.
Can't blame the lad, he's got a two year contract no doubt at better than what Pools could offer.

So that's both of last season's strike force moved to clubs in League 2!
 
Yep, a typical Pools set up. Earlier today in the Mail, optimistic hints about two of the out of contract players likely to sign with a picture of Oates above it. Within an hour or so we get the kick in the whats its with Oats gone. No doubt Sterry and Mols will be gone by Monday, leaving us with Killip and Donaldson. Like you OP I am not blaming the players for wanting to get the best deal they can but I am frustrated with the way things have been handled by the club. You know what I mean? Maybe news of a new signing or two to balance the sense that all the younger top quality players are leaving like rats on a sinking ship. I know we all believe in Dave C and we are hoping for the best but, dear me, there doesn't seem much reason for optimism at the moment.
 
In the same article in the Mail, it mentions DC's contract negotiations are on the back burner. This just adds to my feelings of unease!

It could be my pessimism is getting the better of me - but I've been a Pools supporter for too long not to be concerned.
 
Couldn't agree more! If the manager isn't even prepared to commit to the club why would players who have viable offers from elsewhere?
 
I think you are jumping to conclusions. How can you be "frustrated with the way things have been handled by the club." when you don't know what's going on. We'd all like to be kept up-to-date every 10mins but it doesn't work like that. It isn't unreasonable that we don't know because negotiations are always delicate. Oates leaving doesn't seem to have been handled well by the player rather than the club.

Have patience. Maybe DC will be away but that's just the way things are.
 
Block Sands said:
I think you are jumping to conclusions. How can you be "frustrated with the way things have been handled by the club." when you don't know what's going on. We'd all like to be kept up-to-date every 10mins but it doesn't work like that. It isn't unreasonable that we don't know because negotiations are always delicate. Oates leaving doesn't seem to have been handled well by the player rather than the club.

Have patience. Maybe DC will be away but that's just the way things are.
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"Ever ten minutes"? There has been barely a peep out of the club about transfer coming and goings since the last penalty kick in Bristol. So, yes, damn right we don't know what's going on. Armstrong leaves with indecent haste and all we heard was "Well he's a Salford player".... absolutely no mention of Harrogate paying a fee so why didn't we try to sign him? What actually happened? Surely the club owe it to the fans to give some information without breaching any confidentiality. Johnson goes to Port Vale, again we are left to speculate as to why with nothing coming out of the club. The Oates transfer seems to have come as a shock to the club as it has to the rest of us so I am not blaming them in that instance. Soon after the promotion Raj Singh was quoted in the Mail saying how confident he was that DC would sign a new contract but since then nothing apart from in the last couple of days DC saying his contract talks were "on the back burner". There was a wave of Euphoria following the promotion but it has been one heck of a come down and the club are responsible for that. You would think they would want people to be rushing out to buy season tickets by keeping the club in the news but all we have had is a few quotes from existing players some obviously recorded weeks ago. Why dont the club try to give fans reasons to be optimistic instead of saying nothing as the local paper continues to report on our best players leaving. It is very poor in my view.
 
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I think we all secretly hoped that the team would stay together, under the same Manager, but we probably all secretly knew that wouldn't happen. Surely you have to assume that the Club will have offered what they could afford to the players they wanted to keep and also that they will be looking for players to bring in?

I agree it's disappointing so far, but I don't see how knowing why certain players have left would help dispel our disappointment that they've gone.
 
[QUOTE="In the same article in the Mail, it mentions DC's contract negotiations are on the back burner. [/QUOTE]

I don't read the Mail. Is this a quote from DC or from someone at the Club?
 
grabeca said:
[QUOTE="In the same article in the Mail, it mentions DC's contract negotiations are on the back burner.
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I don't read the Mail. Is this a quote from DC or from someone at the Club?[/QUOTE]
It was a slight misquote, the expression "on the back seat" was used rather than "back burner". DC said it presumably to the Mail journalist that published the story on Thursday.
 
grabeca said:
I think we all secretly hoped that the team would stay together, under the same Manager, but we probably all secretly knew that wouldn't happen. Surely you have to assume that the Club will have offered what they could afford to the players they wanted to keep and also that they will be looking for players to bring in?

I agree it's disappointing so far, but I don't see how knowing why certain players have left would help dispel our disappointment that they've gone.
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You are right, knowing why certain players left the club would not dispel the disappointment but it might make supporters feel the club cared enough about them to keep them "in the loop" as it were rather than saying nowt or next to nowt. For example words to the effect that we wish Luke Armstrong well. We would have loved to sign him but we were unable to come to an agreement on wages.
 
it might make supporters feel the club cared enough about them to keep them "in the loop" as it were rather than saying nowt or next to nowt. .[/QUOTE]

Yes, I don't get the impression there's any disrespect for fans, as there seemed to be in K Hodcroft's day but I suppose I agree that it would be good to be given regular press releases of some kind. No-one seems to be in charge of 'communications' any more, which is probably false economy.
 
I imagine the Club are in a sticky position, trying to establish how much money is available for contracts etc. Finding something positive to tell fans will be difficult when it's all 'we can't afford this or that player'.

Obviously, covid hasn't helped. The PM's bonkers plan to free people from all restrictions on the 19th won't help season ticket sales much either. It's Catch 22. People are now free to attend matches but many older or ill fans won't want to do that if there are no distancing/mask-wearing rules.
 
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