By Albatross
January 27 2005

Taking the Mickey? Hartlepool United's Club Captain Michael Barron has extended his contract, the club have announced. It's good news for the experienced Pools Skipper, who seems to have spent more time as co-commentator on Pools World than on the pitch recently. The longest-serving player at the club by some distance, it's maybe a surprise to some that Barron has only just passed his 30th Birthday. He signed permanently for Pools in the summer of 1997, and having played on loan for part of the previous season will - injury permitting - reach the landmark of having played in ten consecutive seasons for the club. That probably qualifies him for a Testimonial, the first Pools player to earn one since Brian Honour.

It also gives him the chance to progress further up the list of players that have made most appearances for the club. He's 12th on the list at the moment for all competition and League appearances (or so Croydon Poolie's excellent Stats site says) with 307 overall and 270 in the League alone if you count Playoff games as League. With three players less than 15 ahead of him, he might have already reached the top 10 if not for the injuries that have dogged his season; however even should he stay fit for another couple of years he is not going to get close to Watty Moore's record of 447.

The Club Captain is highly delighted to have agreed a contract extension, but the question of where he will be playing is open to debate. Jack Ross is currently doing a pretty good job on the flank - although he of course is on the transfer list - and to be fair Barron has not always looked comfortable at full-back despite having played there for the best part of three seasons now. His best hope may be if Cooper continues to experiment with a back three - after all, it was in the Sweeper role that Mickey bacame a vital part of the Pools team in the first place. With competition for that slot though - Clark and Tinkler for starters - it's looking suspiciously like Barron may find himself as part of the squad rather than a first team regular.