Money Money Money - something funny?

By Albatross
July 23 2004

With Hartlepool United still not active on the Transfer front, some people seem to be questioning the ambition of our owners. At the root of it all is, of course, money - why aren't we splashing the cash to strengthen the squad?

While Cooper and his squad are preparing for tonight's friendly against Ross County in Dingwall, all the talk on the messageboards is of the lack of signings and the prospect of a hard season as a result. This particular debate has been given an extra twist following an article in the Hartlepool Mail (unfortunately not yet available online) that claims that Cooper is operating on a very tight budget, and from what's been reported wonders whether Poolies should be expecting more given the income we received last season - and the increased ticket prices for 2004/5.

Debate seems to be polarising, with some claiming that IOR are showing a lack of ambition - and that Neale Cooper is unlikely to want to stay too long somewhere that won't match his ambition. Others though are firmly in the "half full" camp, instead preferring to look at the fact that we have retained essentially the same squad that reached the playoffs last season, and that the Wage Capping that's now in force makes major signings that bit more difficult to justify.

For what it's worth, I'm more of a "half full" type myself, and I don't believe the outlook is as bleak as some seem to believe. We obtained more points in the second half of the season than we did in the first - and the teams promoted are those that we got a grand total of one point from in six games. MkFranchise, Bradford and Walsall look unlikely to provide the same sort of challenge. The players we have lost have not really been ones that were regular first teamers - and in compensation we have further signs that our Youth Setup is producing players that are capable of making an impact at senior level.

The issue of the Salary Cap is a key one as far as Pools are concerned. The club have to set a budget, and a maximum of 60% of the club's turnover can be spent on Player Wages. This is the first season that it's properly applied to Division 2, and for all of our success last season - and the income it brought - Pools average attendance was still not too far above 5000, and we were well under halfway in the attendance table. Even with other sources of income taken into account, that means that our budget for players is considerably lower than many others in the division; and for all the talk of how much money we made from our Cup and Playoff exploits last season, we are not allowed to count them for Wage Cap purposes. Similarly, the only way IOR can put money into the club and use it for wages is to make it a one-way thing - in practice, by issuing and buying shares, which they have already announced that they're doing for this year. It's not as straightforward as Cooper asking for more money to spend....

Under the circumstances, Pools look in pretty good shape. We've brought in Ross to fill one of our real problem positions on the right of midfield, and with players such as Porter and McCann getting in a full pre-season with the club we can expect them to make more of an impact this season than last. For all the talk of a tall striker, we scored plenty last season without one - and with Boyd, Williams and Porter already in the picture, anyone that comes in would need to be a considerable step up to do more than compete for a slot on the bench. We've got plenty of competition in midfield, and it's only really in defence where we maybe look a bit light. Even there Coops has been looking at options, with an albeit small bid for Rhys Day and the trial handed to Abrahim Tounkara. While we may not be about to bring a star name in, Cooper is looking at options.

Of course a few good signings would be nice - but we need to recognise where Pools are, and the limitations on the club. We're approaching our second season after promotion with a squad that proved to be successful last year; players that have renegotiated contracts will no doubt have expected to be rewarded for performing at a higher level. Costs will undoubtedly have risen. However, despite our highest finish for decades (arguably ever!) we've been unable to attract more than 5500 on a regular basis. Unless we see a significant increase in crowds, it's difficult to say that we should expect to see more and more highly-paid players coming in to the club.

Does this mean that IOR lack ambition? To be honest, it's more a matter of how far their ambition extends rather than whether it's there. Both on and off the pitch, Pools have improved a lot over the last few years - and IOR have played a big part in that. Even now, I don't think that it's possible to say why they are doing it - after all, the number of people that make money out of owning Football Clubs is vanishingly small, and there were clubs much better set up than Pools if that's what they wanted. How far is realistic for us to go though?

My personal view is that we should be looking for the sort of setup that Crewe have - a club that looks to bring through young players, develops them and then makes a healthy profit from selling them, and spends it's time in the lower reaches of Division 1 or the upper ones of Division 2. To go further than that is just not practical without the sort of huge investment someone like Jack Walker put into Blackburn. We're still in the situation that you're as likely - if not more likely - to see a Mags or Mackems shirt around the town as a Pools shirt, and for all our success over the last five years progress in persuading these people that they should be supporting their home town club is glacial.

People might come out of the woodwork for the occasional big game, but it's hard to see us ever being in a position to challenge the dominance of any of the "Big Three" in the North-East, or even turn it into a "Big Four". George Reynolds believed he could turn Darlington into another major force in the area, and Darlo almost lost their club completely as a result. We can dream - what would supporting a club like Pools be if we couldn't - but let's not expect or demand that the club's owners are unrealistic about what they put in. That way leads to ruin and bare survival, as we found out to our cost when Garry Gibson tried to live the dream. This season still looks good for a challenge at the right end of the table - let's get out there and support the lads that took us there last season and see if we can do it again. And who knows - there may yet be a fairyrale happy ending in the playoffs for Pools.