Poolies at Heart: Celebrating Hartlepool United's Finest

Poolies at Heart is a richly varied celebration of Hartlepool United told by players, managers and fans. Featuring recollections of favourite moments, memorable games and a plethora of personalities, this is the ultimate tribute to the Pools. In every account, through every high and low, a love of the club shines through. "The author knows his ''Pools and has pinpointed some of the most memorable people and points in the club''s past. An excellent contribution from [Peter Taylor''s] daughter regaling the story from joining "the poorest and least glamorous club in the Football League". A club that had just two match balls (washed and waxed every game)... One of the strengths of the book is recording the memories of those involved, stories that would probably only ever get passed on orally, if at all. At the heart of it is the immense affection that is felt for the club... It''s a work that will appeal not only to "Monkey Hangers", but to anyone who has an interest in lower league football, that of the North-East, or who just wants to be reminded of football away from the glitz, glamour, showbiz, and massive egos."

Poolies at Heart is a deeply personal and richly varied celebration of Hartlepool United told by players, managers and fans.

Looking back across the decades, the book reveals the realities of life at the lower end of football’s spectrum at one of the north-east’s oldest clubs. Inside you’ll discover:

• Exclusive insider insight from the likes of former managers Danny Wilson, Kevin Phillips and Ronnie Moore, Peter Taylor’s daughter Wendy Dickinson, plus Hartlepool United legend Brian Honour
• The inside story of how Brian Clough came to manage Hartlepool
• The euphoria surrounding promotion the season after relegation, as remembered by Wilson
• An epic FA Cup tie against Sir Matt Busby’s Manchester United, which Hartlepool almost won
• Phillips’s account of his tenure as manager, interviewed just one week before he was sacked
• The Egyptian international who turned out for the Pool in the 1920s
• Insights on how John McGovern was first spotted by Peter Taylor, and given his Hartlepool debut as a teenager
• Fan memories of the ups and downs of this unique club across the decades

In every account, through every high and low, a love of the club shines through. Featuring recollections of favourite moments, memorable games and a plethora of personalities, this is the ultimate celebration of the Pools.

• | Author: Stephen Poxon
• | Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• | Publication Date: Jul 28, 2025
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9781836801610
• | ISBN-10: 1836801610