Monday Roundup - Dutch Tour, Rumours, and Ross?!

By Albatross
July 18 2005

It's been a fairly quiet weekend on the Hartlepool United front with the squad returning from their Dutch Tour. One or two rumours to mention though, and the outside chance of a return to the club from someone we thought was gone for good....

A 1-0 defeat to Den Bosch on Friday Night rounded off our Dutch Tour, and the lineup seemed to indicate once again that Llewellyn is more likely to be playing as a midfielder for Pools. Those unable to travel out to Holland will get the chance to see the team play in the UK from now on, with games against Billingham Town (away) on Tuesday (probably a youth/fringe players side), Middlesbrough (home) on Wednesday, and then York on Saturday at KitKat Crescent.

Meanwhile we still wait to see if any new signings will be made now that the squad is back in the North-East. The Bridges rumour is developing into a long-running saga with apparently about a dozen clubs chasing him, including half of our division and representatives from the one above - and whispers also circulating that he's talked to Darlington. To be honest, for all the talk of it being a done deal I'm doubting more and more whether he'll come to Pools - after all, we're not short on forwards at the moment and he'd almost certainly want first team football ahead of the likes of Boyd, Porter, Proctor, Eifion Williams and the other half-dozen forwards we have at the club.

One person who was spotted around the town at the weekend was former Newcastle winger Keith Gillespie. While I know for certain he was in Hartlepool, I doubt that Pools are making a bid for the out-of-contract Northern Irish International - it looks more like he was just visiting in the area, as I believe he was with a group of friends.

One thing that has appeared on the official site though is an indication that Jack Ross's Hartlepool career may not be quite as dead as everyone thought it was. There's been no announcements, but Ross has been added to the list of players with a squad number - allocated number 32. Could he be making an unlikely return to the place he said he'd rather retire than come back to? It's been reported in the Scottish Press that Pools have turned down an offer or two for Ross, with Falkirk reported to have bid a six figure sum. To be fair the Scottish Tabloids seem to be even worse than their English equivalents when it comes to reporting on transfer dealings, but then again IOR's approach to players that want out seems to be more along the lines of telling them not to be stupid and to expect them to get on with it and honour their contracts. Ross may be about to find that Hodcroft will expect him to see out the remainder of his deal or simply face not being paid for the next year. If he does return (and I find it hard to see him doing so) then he's got a lot of making up to do with both club and fans.

In the meantime I have reinstated Ross's profile onto the fully revised and updated Player Profiles page. Check out the link in the menu on the left for the index of every player with a squad number for 2005/6.