December

[PoolieTom]

Port Vale FA Cup (A) - Loss
Cambridge (H) - Win
Portsmouth (A) - Loss
Blackpool (H) - Loss
Morecambe (H) - Win

Prediction: Billy Paynter starts against Port Vale (former club an' all tha'), we lose but he manages to lift himself off the floor and wins a few headers so our fans start wetting themselves at the thought of our leader back in the team. He plays against Cambridge, we ride on the crest of the Paytner-inspired-wave and scrape a 1-0 win. He plays against Pompey where he is rubbish, Higgy perseveres with him to keep our fans happy at home, but he is rubbish again, and we lose. Higgy realises his mistake just in time for Morecambe where he drops Paynter to the bench, and we win again.

 

[hellogregory]

Port Vale FA Cup (A) - Loss
Cambridge (H) - Win
Portsmouth (A) - Loss
Blackpool (H) - Loss
Morecambe (H) - Win

Prediction: Billy Paynter starts against Port Vale (former club an' all tha'), we lose but he manages to lift himself off the floor and wins a few headers so our fans start wetting themselves at the thought of our leader back in the team. He plays against Cambridge, we ride on the crest of the Paytner-inspired-wave and scrape a 1-0 win. He plays against Pompey where he is rubbish, Higgy perseveres with him to keep our fans happy at home, but he is rubbish again, and we lose. Higgy realises his mistake just in time for Morecambe where he drops Paynter to the bench, and we win again.

I thought all you poolies loved Billy "he scores when he wants" Paynter...

 

[Chief Rocka]

It really says it all when some of our fans despite the first eleven being utter dog shit and playing like guano, still manage to slag off Paynter, despite him not starting a game since September and barely had a sniff of the pitch from the bench, nobody dislikes Paynter, he got injured early in the season and Hignett in his wisdom has decided to not play him since, I'd start him every week, PoolieTom wouldn't, opinions.

Sticking on topic.

Port Vale A FA Cup: Loss
Cambridge H: Loss
Portsmouth A: Loss
Blackpool H: Loss
Morecambe H: Win

Hignett hanging on by his pubic region.

 

[valefan16]

It really says it all when some of our fans despite the first eleven being utter dog shit and playing like guano, still manage to slag off Paynter, despite him not starting a game since September and barely had a sniff of the pitch from the bench, nobody dislikes Paynter, he got injured early in the season and Hignett in his wisdom has decided to not play him since, I'd start him every week, PoolieTom wouldn't, opinions.

Sticking on topic.

Port Vale A FA Cup: Loss
Cambridge H: Loss
Portsmouth A: Loss
Blackpool H: Loss
Morecambe H: Win

Hignett hanging on by his pubic region.

Although we've hit you for six in the past two cup meetings between us, it wont happen this time. We are missing:

Anthony Grant
Kjell Knopps
Sam Hart
Sam Foley
Anton Forrester
Ben Purkiss
Jerome Thomas (may make it but unlikely)

All seven are probably in our strongest XI so are very much down to our bare bones at the minute.

 

[Chief Rocka]

You could play a team of diabetic over 50's and turn us over.

 

[hellogregory]

It really says it all when some of our fans despite the first eleven being utter dog shit and playing like guano, still manage to slag off Paynter, despite him not starting a game since September and barely had a sniff of the pitch from the bench, nobody dislikes Paynter, he got injured early in the season and Hignett in his wisdom has decided to not play him since, I'd start him every week, PoolieTom wouldn't, opinions.

Sticking on topic.

Port Vale A FA Cup: Loss
Cambridge H: Loss
Portsmouth A: Loss
Blackpool H: Loss
Morecambe H: Win

Hignett hanging on by his pubic region.

I think you lot need to sack him, probably should have been weeks ago but the sooner the better.

He comes across as a deluded, clueless moron in his interviews and his results over the past 10 months suggest so too. He has some decent players to work with, but obviously has no idea how to mould them into a team. It could be a case of getting a new manager in and getting a couple of additions in January to push you up towards the playoffs... but not if Hignett is still in charge, I wouldn't put it past him to get you relegated.

 

[Soup Ladle]

Might have something far bigger to worry about than sacking Hignett any time soon.

I'll still give him time, I'll excuse yet another poor campaign but won't excuse less than 20th as we're better than that. If we are in the bottom 2 in Jan, I'd act. I don't think he's going to work out but we've chopped and changed a lot in recent years and hasn't got us anywhere. If in 6 weeks time, we're still lower mid table, I'll not be on his back, but remain critical in a not very vocal way. I'd let him have some of next season if say we finish 18th or so this year. but with a couple of experienced additions, this squad should be in or around the top half. Fine lines.

Think there's quite a lot amiss with the coaching too. But like I say we might have other more serious concerns to contend with.

 

[Chief Rocka]

Yup, get the impression we're currently living month to month, Hignett trying to pimp out our cash cow Thomas before he got crocked, then bigging up Laurent for a move a few weeks later.

 

[E10rifle]

Tough month to predict. I'll plump for:

Accrington (H) - Lose
Wycombe (A) - Lose
Crawley (H) - Lose
Cambridge (H) - Lose

 

[Glasshalffullpools]

I've been under the impression we were playing Notts Co on boxing day .....never mind , it's still us v them

 

[PoolieTom]

I thought all you poolies loved Billy "he scores when he wants" Paynter...

It's a strange one. Without him in the team we try and play football. We've managed to dominate games against the likes of yourselves and Plymouth, but our weaknesses in defence have led to us conceding stupid goals. Coupled with Hignett's reluctance to make subs or tactical changes in the second half of matches, it's led to a lot of goals conceded and points dropped.

However, the solution to this problem according to our fans is to play Paynter upfront. Seriously.

The man who plays with 45 tons of lead in his boots. Who we would lump the ball up to, who would then fall on the floor and shout at the ref.

For reasons beyond my knowledge, our fans want this.

Like Chief Rocka says, it's all opinions, and I am in the minority of Pools fans who don't want the ball lumped up to a target man. I like the way Hignett sets us up (apart from at Wycombe this weekend) to play football.

 

[NolansOrient]

Tough month to predict. I'll plump for:

Accrington (H) - Lose
Wycombe (A) - Lose
Crawley (H) - Lose
Cambridge (H) - Lose

Never. It's time to start breathing some optimism back into the club now that Edwards has replaced Cavasin, bechetti is away from the UK over Xmas, and we have Kelly set to return to fitness before 2017.

If the fans can't get behind Edwards then frankly we deserve the conference.

 

[AmbiguousBon]

Hignett will be gone soon, no doubt - Hartlepool are the lower league Sunderland. Start shit, sack manager, stay up - repeat ad infinitum.

 

[PoolieTom]

Nah, no chance he will go. He's trying to do the right thing. 2 or 3 additions in January, and if the league is still this tight, I'm pretty sure we'll be at the top of the pile in the middle. Our fans are just impatient and demand we go from bottom to top in the space of one transfer window. From the shite Ronnie Moore served up, it's been like watching Brazil this season, although you wouldn't think it if you heard some of the imbeciles in our terraces.

 

[Chief Rocka]

They won't sack him because I don't think they can afford to, Hignett has had one of the best budgets a Pools manager has had in years, his big signings were all freebies but Toto/Amond/Alessandra will be the top earners at Pools, he frittered the rest on kids who've not had a lick between them, he also has one of the worst records in recent memory just above his mate Colin Cooper, fans have been and still are incredibly patient considering the crap we've been served up, Wadsworth and Hughes were sacked with better records.

I also don't see where we're getting the dough for 2-3 signings, we haven't a pot to piss in, which is pretty obvious considering the two winding up petitions over unpaid tax we've had in the past 6 months, the only way we're going to sign anyone in January is if they cash in on an injured Thomas or manage to flog someone else.

 

[shoddycollins]

I think eventually, if you find a manager you trust, who you think has the right ideas, you need to stick with them for a couple of seasons even if the football is uninspiring, because it takes that long for a manager to see out all of the two year contracts the previous bloke had been signing players on, and just hope that in his third season the loyalty bears fruit.

It was only the summer just gone that Curle managed to offload the final batch of Kavanagh's signings. Sometimes you can get one or two of them off your books earlier than expected though if you can hoodwink the club down the road into taking over the contract of a fat but highly paid waste of space and thinking their getting a good deal out of it.

 

[hellogregory]

It was only the summer just gone that Curle managed to offload the final batch of Kavanagh's signings.

Not quite. There's still one Kavanagh signing very much still in our squad

 

[MrGloverLover]

Looks like we're starting December as we did in November and October - unbeaten. That's 8 league games without defeat and 12 in all comps other than on penalties.

 

[shoddycollins]

Not quite. There's still one Kavanagh signing very much still in our squad

OK I hadn't forgotten him just needed to add the word 'unwanted' before that.