On The Road
FOOTBALL RALLIES ROUND HARTLEPOOL, WHO LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY
THIS did not feel like a football club on their deathbed. At every turn, there was life.
from the Mill House pub within kicking distance of Victoria Park, where the queue at the bar was three deep and supporters — in the colours of Hartlepool United and Middlesbrough — drank and sang.
In the car park there wasn’t a space to be had, the town’s council having waived charges for ‘Save Pools Day’ and encouraged fans to donate to the club’s cause instead. former manager ronnie Moore was one of those circling, looking for a spot to ditch his wheels before joining the fight for survival, which requires £ 200,000 to avoid administration this month and a 10-point deduction for a team already struggling in 18th position of the National League.
from there to the Corner flag, the home of the supporters’ association built into the ground, where the queue for beer began at the door. The backdrop of it all was the sound of coin hitting plastic, buckets bouncing with the hope of a better day.
That could arrive this week. A Hartlepool H tl lb businessman i is to open takeover talks with owners Sage Investments, who are no longer willing to back the club and have put office staff on redundancy notice.
from the Corner flag to the club shop, unusually busy. Those inside wanted to help by spending their money. ‘Do I need a fleece blanket?’ one woman asked her partner, picking up the club-branded warmer priced at £15. Given the degree of insulation in which she was already buried, she probably did not, but bought it anyway. others purchased calendars for 2018, a brave b investment i t t given i the club’s sole wish right now is to still exist in february.
The biggest seller was the match programme. on the cover was a poignant illustration, a Hartlepool fan reaching out from a crowd in search of a helping hand from a Middlesbrough supporter, who wears the No 86 on his back. And that is why there were so many red shirts inside the town’s pubs and on the terraces.
It was in 1986 that Hartlepool helped Boro in their hour of need, allowing them to use their ground after administrators had locked the gates of Ayresome Park. failure to fulfil the opening fixture of the Division Three season would have seen them expelled from the football League. Current owner Steve Gibson was part of a consortium which then rescued Boro and six years later they were in the Premier League. rob Nichols, editor of Boro’s
Fly Me To The Moon fanzine, said: ‘We have long enough memories to be for ever indebted for that. None of us would like to see our neighbours go to the wall. We look after our neighbours.’
While help from outside is gratefully received, it is the townspeople who are leading the effort. on friday, schoolchildren marched to the ground to hand over hundreds of pounds raised from a non-uniform day. A JustGiving page has reached £70,000.
And then there are Saturday’s gate receipts from a capacity crowd of 6,833. The only thing which stained an otherwise uplifting afternoon was the football, Scott Quigley scoring twice for Wrexham.
Before the game, Hartlepool warmed up in T-shirts thanking fans for their support. Their training kit and strips are currently being held at a laundrette amid a row over an unpaid bill.
The manager, Craig Harrison, is a decent man but has underperformed. The club cannot afford to sack him, but that could change under new owners.
In fact, a lot has to change. Too many charlatans have passed through this proud club in recent years. Saturday, though, felt like the start, not the end.