By Albatross
November 21 2003

Hartlepool United forward Adam Boyd has joined Boston United on loan. Will he be just getting some match fitness, or is Boyd - like Henderson before him - drinking in the last chace saloon? Boyd is the latest Pools player to go out on loan; currently Paul Arnison is at Carlisle, while we have also sent Kevin Henderson out there temporarily before his permanent transfer, and Marcus Richardson spent two months at Lincoln before being recalled to the Pools first team.

The question is, will it benefit the 21 year old forward? Something needs to - because his career is in danger of going severely off course. With Robinson, Williams and Gabbiadini well ahead of him in the pecking order, and Jack Wilkinson coming up on the rails, Boyd has lost his way more than ever - and the recall of Richardson from his loan spell to play ahead of him speaks volumes.

Rumours seem to have surrounded Boyd for some time - since not long after he burst on the scene in spectacular fashion with his wining goal against Shrewsbury in February 2000. Occasionally they have been to do with clubs interested in him, but more often than not they have been claiming that he's on his way out of the club for other reasons. The fact he's remained a Pools player suggests that they may be idle speculation of course, but there's little doubt that Boyd has fallen from favour with both Turner and Newell - and possibly Cooper as well.

His goalscoring record isn't bad at all. 15 goals for Pools might not sound a lot from 86 appearances - but almost 50 of those have come as sub appearances, often late in the game, giving him little chance to shine. Others have seen him played as an attacking midfielder.

The problem with Boyd though was well illustrated by his performance at York last season. He made little impact on the game, looked too easily out-muscled by defenders, and half of the time simply looked uninterested - to a degree he was just going through the motions. I found this especially frustrating when comparing it to his performance against Bury earlier in the season, where he combined well with Eifion and very much looked the part.

Will the spell at York Street help him - and is it the prelude to a permanent move? It may give him the kick up the backside he undoubtedly seems to need, but he needs to work hard to show he's worthy of a place at Pools - and by most accounts hard work is something he's not been especially fond of.