Dutch Tour finishes under a cloud off the pitch

By Albatross
July 19 2004

Hartlepool United had a couple of useful friendlies in Holland, but it was events off the pitch that overshadowed the tour; Friday in Eindhoven saw some trouble at Half Time between the fans, and then the tragic death of one fan in a road accident. Things then are rather subdued.

The death of Mark Purdy, apparently hit by a coach while crossing a road, is of course the main thing that has cast gloom over the tour. I didn't know him, but plenty of others did and there are already plenty of tributes on other Messageboards - try ITN, Hangem's board and The Monkey Hanger's board. Details of what happened are still a little sketchy, but no-one is in any doubt that it's a tragedy.

The other thing to cast a shadow over the tour was the trouble at the game with FC Eindhoven. It seems that a number of people who'd gone over to see Pools were looking for a bit of bother, and found an opportunity to disgrace themselves and the club on Friday. IOR issued a statement over the weekend after they were contacted by the Dutch press regarding the incident, pledging to do everything possible to identify the perpetrators and make sure they don't get access to the Vic again - and also saying that they would be considering whether to arrange pre-season friendlies in the future.

It's a clear statement of intent from the club that anyone out to cause trouble is not welcome at Pools, and that's exactly how it should be. For all that some may say that the "Blue Order" as they style themselves are amongst the loyalest fans of the club, and most vocal in their support, I find it hard to believe that anyone could defend them. Whether you believe that they were goaded (as some reports suggest) or not, the name of Pools fans everywhere has been sullied by this group, and that has the potential to do damage to our club. How willing will the local authorities be to grant us a licence for bars in the ground when there's news of trouble abroad? How willing will they be to allow us to put some sort of movable barrier in the Mill House to accomodate away fans there? How many more police and/or stewards might we be instructed to have for crowd safety reasons? All this has the potential to cost or lose the club money that could be spent on the playing side. If these people really are fans, they should stop and think about the impact their actions can have on the club. Sadly, the shenanigans with a group consistently refusing to sit down in the Mill House seats last season seems to show that there are a hard core that simply don't think at all.....

On the pitch, Neale Cooper has said that he's happy with how the trip has gone, and although we may not have steamrollered either team in the way we did with TOP Oss last year Coops has probably learnt more about his side as a result. He's already commented on the need to improve defensively, and says he will be working on that in the next few weeks; and some players have had a chance to impress: Steven Istead effectively turned the game against Oss, with Matty Robson getting some plaudits as well, and Joel Porter netted a brace in the victory over Eindhoven. Abrahim Tounkara didn't do enough though to persuade Cooper that he would improve the squad and so he has gone back to France. Chris Lumsdon played a part in both games though, and will be hoping to have a further chance to impress at Billingham Town tomorrow night.

One player who has found a new club is Tony Williams; the former Pools stopper has impressed Russell Slade at Grimsby, and signed a deal with the Mariners. The fans however are less convinced....