IOR Revisited: Haven't they done well!

Destination Vic
By Albatross
July 8 2005

It's amazing what difference a couple of months makes. Early in May some seemed to believe IOR and Ken Hodcroft were like the Big Bad Wolf - now, all seems rosy for fans of Hartlepool United. Optimism and confidence abound for the season ahead.

A couple of months ago a lot of people were being highly critical of IOR. Neale Cooper had departed for reasons that were not clear, and although we were still on the verge of the playoffs the accusations, rumours and misinformation were flying.

Remember some of the things that were said? IOR had no ambition for the club said some. They didn't want promotion. There would be cut-backs. Cooper wasn't happy with the funds available for him. Pools weren't listening to the fans. The Hartlepool Mail was especially vitriolic at this point, having spent time throughout the season making claims about Cooper being livid at a lack of backing from the board for new signings.

Well, since then events have indicated that although IOR may not be perfect, they're certainly not guilty of some of the things they'd been charged with. Martin Scott guided us not only to the playoffs, but also to that memorable day at Cardiff and to within a few short minutes of playing at a higher level than we've ever done before. Scotty was a shoo-in for the job, and duly got it - and the other rumoured candidate was a highly-respected coach that some felt should have been given the opportunity to manage Newcastle last season. His assistant has moved to Pools after leaving the First Team coaching setup at Leeds. We've kept all but one of our key players, and then strengthened the squad with a couple of signings that won't have come cheap - and retained another despite plenty of competition for his signature.

The signings made by Martin Scott should dispel any talk of both IOR's not wanting promotion and their budgetary restrictions being onerous. We've signed players that can and have played at a higher level - and these are no 30-somethings looking for a last pay-day as they slip down the footballing ladder. Bullock and Llewellyn are both in their mid 20s, and although they have experience both should still be hungry to further their careers. Llewellyn still harbours hopes of adding to his collection of International Caps. Many of the same things can be said about Thomas Butler, who agreed to stay at Victoria Park despite interest from a number of other clubs. I wouldn't expect any of them to be cheap signings in terms of wages, and once again IOR have shown they're prepared to put up a transfer fee for the right player.

I would expect Scott to still be working to a budget, but there's nothing wrong with that. IOR's strategy seems to be one of being sensible about money and operating in a businesslike way - and despite what some agents and others in the game seem to think, for any club without a Roman Abramovich figure that has to be the way forward. Yes it's more than a business - every club carries the hopes and dreams of it's fans in a way that conventional businesses don't - but the way Pools have been run over the last few years suggests that we are operating in a way that will ensure that the team will be around for a long time to come. After our years as a cinderella club, lurching from one financial crisis to another with depressing regularity, our current stability should not be taken lightly.

Does that mean that IOR are above criticism? No, although there is also much to praise them for. There are times when communication between the club and the fans seems to be lacking, and that I would say is one of the main causes of some of the misunderstandings and occasionally suspicion of their motives. Yes there are things that IOR can't and indeed shouldn't talk about - but sometimes we seem to wait for confirmation of things from the club for far too long. For example, when Steve Agnew was appointed the story actually broke from the Leeds United website several hours before Pools confirmed anything.

On that front the poor relationship between the Hartlepool Mail and the club doesn't help. For the many that live in the town and don't use the Internet, the Mail is often their main source of information. It has to be said that the HM, if not running an outright campaign against IOR, has certainly not been slow to have a go at times and so I feel some sympathy for the club. Is there an agenda there? Does it explain why HUFC seem to be making more and more of their announcements later on in the afternoon - late enough that the Mail's final edition is already on the street? Whoever replaces Sam Lee may well find that they've got a lot of making up to do.

We still of course know little about IOR's long-term plans for Hartlepool United - or even for that matter the reasons for their original purchase of the club. While that isn't necessarily causing me sleepless nights, it is something that concerns me a little; are we a tax loss for accounting purposes, a rich man's plaything, or something else? If someone gets bored of us, will we be looking for new owners?

IOR may be remaining silent on their motivation, but their time at HUFC has seen us move on so much that means my concerns are definitely minor rather than major on that front. If they were asset-strippers they'd have bought the wrong club in any case! We're not spending money like water, and the club has continued to improve on and off the field in terms of professionalism. We are no longer a joke club in any sense of the word, and while Harold Hornsey was the one that started us on that road, IOR have been here for a long time now and have a record that must have many other clubs green with envy - six years in the playoffs or better, finances under control, and a youth setup that produces plenty of players for the first team. Me? I think that we're lucky to have them - the positives far outweigh the negatives.