Time To Stand Alone

The relationship between Hartlepool United and another not very successful club on the other bank of the River Tees has never been a popular one with a lot of us Poolies .

Colin Cooper's allegiance to the place where he spent much of his career is understandable, but now with the return of his valued No 2  to Boro at a moment's notice must surely encoruage him to wake up and smell the cofffee.

We have had a couple of Boro players who helped stabilise the ship when we struggled early doors. But Boro have undoubtedly got more out of it and will continue to do so unless we  stand on our own two feet.

Boro have had Matty Dolan and Luke Williams getting valuable experience, but recalled them quickly to suit their own needs - as they would -with Dolan then sent off elsewhere instead of coming back to his own town club.

Word has it that Burgess's season long loan is not without its own issues re who pays which bit of his wages, and now Craig Hignett has been lured back to the Riverside with just an hour's notice. He wasn't here on loan. He was a staff member at Pools with, no doubt, a contract with all kinds of small writing, clauses and sub clauses in it. It would probably take more than the hour it took him to leave to read it.

This is not a criticsm of Boro who are looking after their best interests. But as Cooper and Hodcroft ponder Hignett's replacement they may well serve the best interests of Hartlepool United if they avoided interviewing anyone who has ever been on any part of the staff at the Riverside.

It's an opportunity to bring in someone with new contacts and new ideas.