Robson/Porter back amid rumours of press fall-out

When?
By Albatross
January 5 2006

Matty Robson plays for the reserves and Joel Porter is involved in training: good news all round? However, rumours currently abound that the Hartlepool Mail and Northern Echo may be lucky to get any sort of interview....

Robson took part in yesterday's reserve team game against Nottingham Forest, and so is a big step nearer to first team action; while it's been announced this morning that Joel Porter will at long last be involved in some training with the first team although I'd expect it to take another 3-4 weeks before he's close to a return to league action. We could certainly do with them both at the moment, but they can't be rushed back after longish spells out.

Normally fans would expect to be reading about this - and possibly reading quotes from both players - in the local press, but rumours currently circulating amongst the internet HUFC community indicate that may well not be the case. The rumour (and it is still only rumour as neither side has officially confirmed anything) is that the club weren't too happy with the reports in the Mail and Echo on the game with Swindon, and that certain journalists are effectively being told that they're not welcome back at the club. It's emerged on several Messageboards over the last day or so, and although some aren't sure whether to believe the allegations others are in no doubt as to their veracity.

If it is true, then there's plenty of reason to be concerned. I wasn't at the Swindon game myself, but the reactions of pretty much all those on the boards was that the performance was poor, and there was much frustration engendered by Scott's post-match comments that seemed to indicate that he thought a home draw against a side in the bottom four was an acceptable result, and that Pools had once again worked hard. The reports were far from glowing, but under the circumstances there was little to glow about - even the Pools World highlights show Swindon having better opportunities than Pools. It's hard to see how any reporter could put a positive spin on events in those circumstances.

One irony is that one comment that's been mentioned on the boards a few times since this rumour surfaced is one published in the Mail shortly after Cooper's departure, where as quoted it seemed to have Hodcroft saying that if the fans didn't like it they should go elsewhere. At the time the club looked to have a legitimate grievance - a statement they issued following that article painted a very different picture (see the links below this story for a reminder). How odd it would be if a selective quoting of the Chairman that threatened to turn the fans against the Club's owners wasn't considered worthy of a ban, but a match report that most fans would agree with as accurate was.

Whether the rumour is true or not, the fact that it's been taken seriously by a lot of people is a sign of how relations between the club, manager and fans are suffering. Pools fans have been served up poor fare for much of the season, and even the most positive in outlook fans are finding it hard to see beyond a struggle now; yet time after time, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, Scott claims that he couldn't fault the effort and commitment, claims we deserved more out of a game, and on a number of occasions has expressed the view that Pools have over-achieved in the recent past. That if anything winds us up all the more - if the effort and commitment aren't lacking, why are the results consistently poor? If Pools have over-achieved, how have we managed to do that for so long? Barry Fry called Pools over-achievers at one point and was roundly villified by Poolies everywhere; now the club's own manager is making the same claim. As for that comment about the club not being able to force the fans to come through the gates - well, on Monday something like 1500-2000 people who might otherwise have come to the Vic chose to be elsewhere. Issues with the press notwithstanding, a lot of Poolies are very unhappy; Martin Scott is in most eyes the main cause; and it's up to IOR to work out what to do about it.