Hartlepool United midfielder Nicky Featherstone reflects on another season of managerial instability
Hartlepool United midfielder Nicky Featherstone admits that another season of managerial changes has made things difficult for the Pools squad.
Pools have used three different managers for the second successive campaign, with Lennie Lawrence replacing Darren Sarll in October before Anthony Limbrick took charge in February following the veteran's sudden decision to take a step back.
Indeed, Pools have become renowned for instability in the dugout in recent years; Limbrick is the 16th permanent Pools appointment in the last decade, while there have also been eight caretaker regimes. Of the 16 permanent appointments, only Ronnie Moore, architect of the 'great escape' in the 2014/15 season, and promotion-winning boss Dave Challinor managed more than a year in the role. All that chopping and changing has yielded two relegations and just three top half finishes, two of which were underwhelming 12th placed efforts, in the last 10 seasons.
Since he signed for Pools in October 2014, Featherstone has seen a staggering 26 changes in the dugout. The veteran midfielder, who is the club's third highest appearance maker of all time, has been written off, relegated, scapegoated and even released but remains one of the most influential figures at the Prestige Group Stadium after more than a decade. While he has divided opinion throughout his long Pools career, Featherstone is nothing if not a survivor and was an integral part of the side that won promotion back to the Football League under Challinor in 2021. It is perhaps no coincidence that the success under Challinor was built on solid, stable foundations; the popular former boss was in charge for almost exactly two years, making him positively long-serving by the standards of Pools, while the squad was far more settled and well-established that it was before or has been since.
Yet since then, Pools have returned to their old ways, with the hire and fire culture that seems so ingrained at the Prestige Group Stadium rearing its ugly head again. Graeme Lee, Challinor's immediate successor, was sacked after just six months despite leading the club to the FA Cup fourth round and the semi-finals of the EFL Trophy, while also securing survival in the Football League. Although Lee wasn't perfect - which Pools should have already been prepared for, given his lack of previous managerial experience - there were some positive signs and in hindsight it seems a mistake to have let him go so soon, especially given his impressive recent exploits with National League North side Spennymoor Town, who will take on Aldershot in the FA Trophy final next weekend. In the wake of Lee's departure, a series of bizarre appointments - from Paul Hartley, seemingly plucked from obscurity in Scotland, to veteran Keith Curle, as concerned with his libido as he was with keeping Pools in the Football League - have seen a lot of the progress made under Challinor unravel. Pools were 13th in the National League when Challinor was appointed; eight permanent appointments and six years later, Pools are 12th in the same division.
Looking around at the sides that have achieved success in this season's National League, the importance of stability is highlighted. Dean Brennan, who celebrated leading Barnet to the National League title last week, has been at the helm of the Bees since 2021. The last Pools boss to serve a comparable amount of time was Chris Turner, who was in charge between 1999 and 2002; incidentally, one of the club's most successful spells. Teams like Altrincham, Tamworth and Halifax, who have all punched above their weight with limited resources, have long-serving and well-established managers. It seems patience really is a virtue.
The trigger-happy attitude to sacking managers and the scattergun approach to appointing them has had a detrimental effect on the Pools squad. True, this season's cohort have failed to live up to their initial promise and have underperformed for large parts of another underwhelming campaign, but the tumult behind the scenes has hardly created the ideal environment for success. Pools had been preparing to begin the new season under former Sunderland and England striker Kevin Phillips, who made a positive impact during his initial three-month spell despite a 7-1 mauling at rivals Gateshead, only for the club to opt for a complete change of tack with the appointment of the straight-talking Darren Sarll. A strange decision soon became a calamitous one, and Pools have been playing catch up ever since.
Looking back at all the different appointments made in Featherstone's time at Pools, one thing is clear - there is often no obvious rhyme or reason to the club's way of doing things. In the last 12 months alone, Pools have gone from the attack-minded Phillips to the direct and defensive Sarll, from the pragmatic Lennie Lawrence to the more purposeful Anthony Limbrick. It's little wonder, then, that many players have struggled to settle given the constant upheaval. Managerial changes are an inevitable part of football, but for a club to cope more seamlessly when they happen, a clearer set of principles need to be put in place; look at how Gateshead, until recently, managed to thrive even after Mike Williamson and Rob Elliot were poached by Football League sides.
Featherstone, who is coming to the end of his 11th season at Pools and is expected to continue for at least one more campaign, has seen pretty much all there is to see during a tumultuous decade at the club. Even the veteran, who has managed to carve out a successful career for himself despite some of the most turbulent times in the club's recent history, admits another season of instability has made things difficult for the Pools squad.
"It's never easy to have three different managers in the same season," he said.
"The Lennie one was a seamless transition in terms of he was already in the club and he knew the club. He did a good job in settling a really tough situation after Darren Sarll.
"A change of manager three times in the season never gives you that chance to build something. I don't think many successful teams over the years have changed their manager three times in a season - I can't think of any that have gone on and been successful in that same season.
"It's not ideal, but I think there's been a period in the last two or three months where we could have turned a few draws into wins and we could be having a different conversation. The fact is we're here now, so let's get the last game out the way and see what happens."