Chrissy Bell @cmbell310 ?

Hartlepool United’s belated and thin retained list epitomises everything about the club at present: blindness, needless stubbornness and failure of bravery. Releasing just one of the first team regulars – Evan Horwood – of the catastrophic relegation season and renewing the contract (or soon to be renewed in the case of Sam Collins, Andy Monkhouse [...]

Hartlepool United’s players have been auditioning for roles in the Great Escape in recent weeks, earning rave reviews from critics. Now they have one final, big push to claim their place in football folklore. A win against Oldham at Boundary Park tomorrow is a must. If not the curtain on their League One existence could be [...]

This was the kind of convincing win that Hartlepool United had been waiting for since last season. A win that oozed confidence and purpose, a kind of victory that we haven’t seen from a Hartlepool side for several painful months. It was a game that ticked a cliche’s statement. If you press the ball, you win the [...]

As fans of Hartlepool United will agree – new manager John Hughes faces a helluva task to save their season. After another hammering (5-0 home defeat to Coventry) – the side’s fourth time this season they’ve (without fight) shipped five goals or more – the probability scale of remaining in League One has ticked from “improbable” to “impossible”. [...]

In 16 years of owning Hartlepool United, on-the-pitch matters have never been more important than this for owners IOR. In the wake of Neale Cooper’s sad resignation last week, IOR, and especially chairman Ken Hodcroft, must act decisively and make the correct appointment to replace the likable Scot. By that it has be a manager who can shake [...]

Hartlepool United chairman Ken Hodcroft lambasted the club’s poor cup runs last season. Therefore, there was pressure for Pools to improve on their first round exits in all three competitions this season. Unfortunately, the man at the top is left seething again this term. League Cup: first round 5-0 defeat to Crewe amid an inept display littered [...]

If you ever wanted proof at how unpredictable sport is, and how quickly the course of a game of football can change, look no further that Saturday’s game between Hartlepool and Carlisle. In a summer where sport-thirsty fans have been left with their jaws dropping at shock results at the Euros, Olympics and Paralympics, at Victoria [...]

Just what the doctor ordered, the doctor being Hartlepool United manager Neale Cooper. After a miserable opening month for Pools and a double dosing of lambasted performances, Cooper’s men finally got their season going with a convincing 2-0 victory over Scunthorpe. It could have even been three if Steve Howard’s spot kick wasn’t repelled by Scunny [...]

Hartlepool United’s opening game of the season – a Capital One Cup first round tie at Crewe – involved them being the recipients of a romping, and watching an exhibition of football played in front of them. However good Crewe were, Pools were poor. Scratch that, diabolical is a better word. The front two of Max [...]

You know the pre-season optimism drill by now: confidence, hope and a fair few mutterings of the P-word. Whether your team has spent heavily or has been more approached and restricted in its spending, everyone loves the start of the season and dons their rose-tinted glasses. For Hartlepool United fans, it’s no different. Adam Boyd, James [...]

On Saturday, Hartlepool United fans travelled south to London to watch their team to take on League One Champions Charlton Athletic. Football FanCast blogger Chrissy Bell was part of a contingent of 170 smurfs who made global headlines. Here he tells the story of a day the Poolies will never forget: It’s not every day you dress [...]

With a catalogue of Football League managers losing their jobs in the past month, why is this the case and what benefits do the clubs reap from this? Whether the club are striving for promotion (Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday in League One) or battling to remain in the league (Tranmere of League One and Hereford in [...]