Micky B - novice

By Charlie Summerbell
December 11 2011

The list of names being linked with the job of manager at Hartlepool United is growing daily, but there are two things you can be sure of regarding the appointment after the hasty sacking of Mick Wadsworth - Pools won't rush, and agents won't be involved.

At a time when football is in danger of killing itself with its over-reliance on agents and the huge sums paid to them in transfer deals and the appointment of managers, Pools owners IOR do right to steer clear.

They may have made a mistake sacking Wadsworth, but refusing to allow agents to influence his replacement is spot on.

One report suggests chairman Ken Hodcroft wants continuity behind the scenes, which would seem a strange thing to say days after sacking the boss.

He has told the Northern Echo:  “It’s important to follow the procedure.

“There’s a decision to make – do we go for inexperience or experience for the long-term? It’s hard making an appointment.

“It’s hard removing a manager as well – the statement we released on Tuesday was tough. But look at the attendance at the last game, how low were they going?”

“There are always positives and negatives over every decision. We said a fresh direction was required and that’s what I felt was necessary.

“Everything we said in the statement was from the heart, what we said about Mick we meant it, it wasn’t a case of saying things without meaning.’’

The latest odds we have seen are:

4/5 – Dave Penney, good track record at Donny, but times at Darlo, Oldham and Bristol Rovers not so good.

7/2 – John Hughes, not Yogi, of Celtic and Sunderland fame, but the one who took Falkirk to the SPL and had a good start as Hibs boss before quitting. Scots bosses always worth considering.

4/1 - Richie Barker, a great servant as a Pools player, but still cutting his teeth as manager at Bury.

6/1 - Neale Cooper, a former hero as boss at the Vic, left under mysterious circumstances, but now alleged to be friends again. However, they do say you should never go back.

9/1 – Micky Barron, Pools through and through, but a noviceand too well-known to the players.

10/1 - Richie Humphreys, same as Barron.

10/1 – Mark Venus, Hartlepool-born, assistant to Tony Mowbray at Bore-o. Would need to do a good interview, surely.

10/1 - Mark Robins, former Rotherham boss who quit at Barnsley at the end of last season after falling out with the board.

10/1 – Ian Bogie, boss of over-achieving Gateshead. But the Blue Square League is NOT League One. Surely not good enough ... yet.

It all starts to get a bit silly after that, with a number of out-of-work has-beens and no-hopers being linked with the job.

If it wasn’t for the old “Never go back” rule, we’d possibly go for Cooper because of his record at Pools, but it’s worth asking why he hasn’t been as spectacularly successful since then.

After that, Hughes looks promising – surely a better bet than Penney?

Perhaps our best hope is that Hodcroft can pull an outsider out of his hat again – he did it with huge success with Cooper and Mike Newell, even though both appointments ended in tears.