By Albatross
June 30 2006

"But more, much more than this, I did it My Way....." The time has come for me to finally step down as the publisher of Pools Online. I hope you'll forgive me a little vanity as I give you a farewell address.

Yes, no more Song Title puns, no more corny Tabloid-style headlines, or at least unless my successors have the same sense of humour. With the new season on the horizon it's been tempting to carry on - but as you may have worked out through my decreasing output I can't keep this site going the way I would like to. Today is the day when I officially stop running Pools Online.

How strange it is that things turn full circle. When I started helping out with this site, Pools were preparing for a campaign that we hoped (and indeed did) lead to promotion from Division 3, with Chris Turner the man in charge; as I leave, Pools are once again in Division 3, hoping for a promotion campaign, and Chris Turner is back at the club. In some ways it seems appropriate that I should move on from this site at this time.

What a rollercoaster ride it's been. In the time I've been looking after the site, Pools have had five different permanent managers plus a couple of caretakers - Turner, Newell, Cooper, Scott and now Wilson. We've seen promotion, a playoff campaign ended in the final minutes of a semi, another that took us to Cardiff and being eight minutes away from climbing higher than ever before, and then the disasterous reign of Martin Scott that eventually lead to relegation. There's been something to play for on the last day every season - a title, two playoff places and then an unlikely relegation escape that didn't quite happen.

In the meantime, this site has gone from strength to strength. The messageboard has never been particularly active, but despite that the number of visitors and pages viewed has gone up and up - from a couple of thousand hits in a month when I first joined, to regularly topping 50,000 views a month this year. If truth be told, I've been somewhat relieved that the board hasn't become busy - during my time looking after this place, I've seen the Rivals board shut down for a year due to legal issues, the Monkey Hangers board closed due to disagreements about what should or shouldn't be allowed on it, the Official Site's own boards closed down, and outside of Pools numerous other boards running into difficulites for a range of reasons. The articles have always been what people have come to this site for - and there's some pride on my part that they have so often been well-received.

Indulge the outgoing Site Admin if you will then, as I reminisce about some of my favourite articles and moments of the last four years....

Some of the first articles to go on the site from me were about my experiences as an exile. Titled "A View from Afar" they covered a range of subjects, but I felt after a while that I was running out of things to say on that front, so as well as reporting news and giving opinions I thought about what else I could put on. Some of the ones I'm proudest of are The Shaggy Dog Stories - where I allowed my admittedly somewhat warped imagination loose on events through history and the role played by football in them.

In fact, some of the lighter articles are the ones I also enjoyed writing most. Often inspired by then current events, some have stood the test of time better than others - the one about our game at Bournemouth just after the Tory Party conference and Edwina Currie's revelations about John Major has dated a lot in my opinion, while Sherlock Holmes Investigates - during our long winless away run - remains a personal favourite. Meanwhile an article about Exeter's predicament - May the Farce be with you - attracted about 150 Grecians to the site when someone posted a link to it.

Some of the more serious pieces also attracted attention. When I posted the article Communication Breakdown for example, it seemed I struck a chord with a number of fans with comments that they hoped people inside the club had read it too. Possibly it made an impact; if it did, it's most likely because I have made efforts to make criticisms of the club's owners and management fair and constructive and haven't been afraid to show support when I think it's justified. I was the first (and as far as I know only) fan to take up the offer of seeing the Attendance Recording system in action; when Cooper departed I kept backing IOR. While like many others I would like to hear more about some of the goings-on at the club - such as why managers have left - IOR are not alone in the football world in playing their cards close to their chest. I don't like the way some things were handled last season - the heavy-handed approach to the growing, understandable Scott Out campaign being a case in point - but I'd prefer our current owners, with a track record of supporting and investing in the club, to learn from their mistakes rather than try and find a new owner who could easily be closer to Michael Knighton than Roman Abramovich.

High points? There have been a few, Pools-wise and personally. The 5-2 win in the snow at Port Vale, Jon Daly's goal in the Playoff Final, and particularly the moment when Richie's penalty hit the net at Tranmere to send us all ape will live long in my memory. So will a particular Friday Night while on Honeymoon when it seemed that my mobile was being overwhelmed by texts as we hammered Grimsby 8-1. Personally, getting engaged and then married, and then the birth of my son last year have been undoubted highlights.

So what does the future hold? Well, for this site hopefully there will be more to say. You may have spotted Anthony Egglestone (Eggy Poolie) posting some articles, and hopefully he will carry on; there may also be other contributors as time goes by. For me, well I'll still be around on the boards and so on, and I'll still be getting to matches when I can - so look out for me at Accrington, Rochdale and the like in the coming season; meanwhile my life is approaching a new phase with new opportunities. I'll always look back on my time running this site with affection; in the mean time, all that's left for me to say is a big Thank You to Sport Network for providing the technology and the Site Logo, those who have contributed to this site (particularly Poolie Kev this last season), and those who have visited it, all of which have helped make it a success. As Douglas Adams may have said, "So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish!"