By Albatross
December 16 2004

Hartlepool United's AGM is happening today (Thursday), and the news is that we apparently lost just over half a million pounds in 2003. However, Ken Hodcroft's statement doesn't give too much cause for concern. The figures don't include takings from either the FA Cup tie against Sunderland or from the Playoff games, and while like many clubs Pools have lost money there seems to be little cause for alarm. Hodcroft has clearly stated that IOR are not intending to walk away, and the £4.4million figure that will no doubt attract attention is not the debts of the club but how much IOR have invested - more than two thirds of it in the form of share capital rather than loans, meaning that "debt" is in fact more in the order of £1.5million - hardly small change, but nowhere near as bad as many clubs.

It does show though that the amount of money needed to keep a club running these days is considerable to say the least. During the period covered by the accounts we won promotion, and had improved attendances - and yet still didn't get anywhere near breaking even. The days of a local businessman being able to come in and keep a club running smoothly are, it seems, at an end - for Pools merely to maintain their current status, we need to have backers prepared to put in £500,000 a year or more. The number of people with that sort of money to throw around is not high, and in my mind it only reinforces the view that IOR are doing a pretty good job. That's not to say there isn't room for improvement, or that IOR are beyond all criticism - but in the big things they seem to be doing well for Pools, and for all the talk of Sir John Hall getting involved there are no real signs that there's anyone else interested in throwing large gobbets of money at the club.

In fact things look to be going well in a number of departments. The Commercial Department seems to be thriving, the youth setup continues to go from strength to strength, and funds are available for transfers if the right players are available. Talking of which, the list of players who have signed or extended contracts includes a couple of names that may be unfamiliar to many Poolies - James Brown, and Carl Jones. Both are in fact players that are in our Youth Team - however having joined Pools too late to qualify for Scholarship status, they are on contracts until the Summer. Central Defender Jones had in fact been with Pools in the Centre of Excellence but was released and re-joined from Chester-Le-Street; Brown, a striker, joined from Cramlington Boys Club.

Also on the playing front there's some good news for Mickey Barron following his knee operation. His Anterior Cruciate Ligament is not damaged as first thought; rather than being out for months, he's been told that he should be back in training in another five weeks or so. Whether that's a sufficient timescale for Pools to consider offers for Jack Ross in the transfer window is another matter.