CT - not so busy

By Charlie Summerbell
June 7 2010

It's reported that Hartlepool United are no longer interested in Ipswich's Irish midfield player Colin Healy, despite trying to sign him both last summer and during the January transfer window ... and reading between the lines, it seems the reason is that he is too expensive.

Pools had lined him up a year ago as Cork City went into financial meltdown, but Ipswich's Roy Keane stepped in with a better offer - than played Healy just five times all season and sent him out on loan to Falkirk.
Now Ipswich want rid of him, but having picked up a Championship wage for a year, Healy isn't too keen on the sort of drop in pay he would have to take if he moved to the Vic.
He can't really be blamed for that, but it appears his agent has been in touch with Pools, but a  hefty price tag on his man and been told that the club is not interested.
The situation could change, of course, because reality will kick in both with Healy and his agent and they could decide that a smaller wage is better than nothing, but for now it seems Pools - their dislike of agents well documented - are not taking their interest any further.
It makes you wonder why Keane sined him in the first place - but there are thousands of Sunderland fans still asking that sort of question about a number of players after his spell at the SoL.
Pools could still get Michael Rose from Stockport after Norwich made it plain they don't want to turn last season's loan for the left-back into a permanent deal. Meanwhile, Huddersfield have made young left-back Joe Skarz - on loan at Pools in 2008-09 - available for transfer.
As usual, football business will pick up when contracts expire at the end of June, but for now all seems quiet on the Vic front.
This time last year Adam Boyd had already returned to the club and it was all go for boss Chris Turner as he embarked on signing virtually a whole new team, but there's no chance of that happening again this year and what transfer business there is is more likely to be a trickle than a flood.