By Alex Narey, editor
While it has so far been something of a summer of discontent for many clubs in the Non-league pyramid at Steps 3 and 4 – with various appeals and a general wave of unhappiness at the FA restructure – the big boys at the top of the table have been carrying on with the business of getting their respective houses in order in the National League. And the signings have been coming thick and fast…
This time last year, it seemed like every week there was an expert offering their sombre thoughts on how Hartlepool United would cope with life outside of the Football League.
A drop into the abyss of the National League would be no tea party and the message to incoming manager Craig Harrison was clear: get rid of the dead wood and bring in the players who are prepared to roll their sleeves up because the dog-eat-dog world of Non-League football was no place for those who were looking over their shoulder for moves elsewhere.
I'm not sure that message ever got through, because heading towards the end of August and after six games, Pools were winless with just two points bagged and only Torquay below them in the table.
The club was also involved in an ugly transfer saga with one of their key players, Padraig Amond, who wanted to leave with Newport County his eventual destination. It was a messy start and one they never recovered from.
Putting aside the obvious distractions that came with the financial woes as the club fought crippling debts later in the season just to stay alive; there were certain players who just weren't fit to wear the shirt.
At the heart of all this was a fan base that couldn't be fooled. Hartlepool supporters expect standards and the players weren't even coming close to meeting those. But after the ownership was settled towards the end of the last campaign, there is now a growing feeling around the club that, second time round, lessons have been learnt, and in Matthew Bates the Victoria Park club have recruited a young manager who appears to know the right calibre of player needed for a successful march up the table.
For me, there has been no better signing this summer than that of Liam Noble, who joined Pools last week from Notts County.
Noble's impressive playing CV includes multiple spells at both the Magpies and Carlisle United, so he brings with him plenty of Football League experience. But it is the season he spent in the National League back in 2016-17 that should be the biggest cause for optimism among the Pools faithful.
Class
Mark Cooper's promotion-winning Forest Green Rovers side of a couple of season ago were never short of talent. In fact, they were a club that looked to have every base covered with the best players available, and they spent the money to ensure that was the case.
But at the heart of every string being pulled, there was Noble – a No.10 who was always there standing up at the biggest moments. He was the best playmaker I saw that season, but even when he had an ‘off-day' with the creative spark missing, his all-round combative nature made him a player every manager and fan would want on their team. The head never dropped; the energy levels never dipped.
Indeed, the perfect barometer for measuring just how good Noble was came with his almost ‘standard' inclusion in our National League Team of the Day. Wherever he went and whoever he was up against, Noble always turned in the performances that caught the reporter's eye.
No player featured in our line-up more than him that season; he was the star showing in a team littered with big-game players.
For me, Hartlepool got so much wrong last season and didn't give the division they were in the respect it deserved. Twelve months on, there is a different outlook at the club with a manager who will get the players working to the best of their capabilities. There could be good times ahead at last for this north-east giant.
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper which is available every Sunday and Monday
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