Tough week for the Bulldogs

Three away games vs some of the better teams in TMVL

I may not be the best person to offer advice, but you may want to show some more love for your OHs

I'll take all the advice I can get. Even from Darlo fans ;)

Look for talented and classy Coach Bucknall to turn things around this week.  

I may need a "glossary" for the Darlo reference?  

Or not....classy and talented aren't words normally associated with Bucknall...and they're still not after this week. Crap is probably the word your looking for...a bit like Darlo...which leads me nicely on to...

Darlo = Darlington

Mr Rolsten is a fan of Darlington FC (you won't have heard of them, they're a non-league team and play in the Dog & Duck sponsored Sunday morning Teeside pub league division 8)

I, am a Hartlepool United (Pools) fan. You will definitely have heard of us. We play in the professional football league with all the other full time, professional football league clubs.

Darlo and Pools have history (from when both clubs were football league clubs although Pools have always been the more successful obviously) but Darlo are so small now that I'd almost forgotten they even still existed.

Oh, to clarify further, Hartlepool and Darlington are very close to each other geographically, hence the rivalry :)

Now ask Craig why they're called the monkey hangers...

Yeah, well, that was a looooong time ago...

All Poolies are now highly intelligent individuals.

Mostly.

"All Poolies are now highly intelligent individuals."

Wasn't it only 20 years ago that the football team's monkey mascot was elected Mayor of Hartlepool on the promise of free bananas?

Hmmm....the promise of free bananas is perhaps stretching the truth a tiny bit :)

And as for electing H'Angus the Monkey as Hartlepool Mayor.....I'd vote for him as PM - he'd do SOOO much better than the current clowns we have steering the ship!

He was voted in with a promise of free bananas for all school children and after he won he delivered on that promise. And fair play to him, as Craig has said, after he won he stood down as the monkey mascot and went on to win the next 2 elections until the role of elected mayor was ended.

I may be missing something, but it sounds like Darlington (even though they are in a lower division) don't seem to have the same "Monkey baggage" as Hartlepool?

So isn't that (as Phil would say) a "point for Darlington"?

I can't tell if I'm awed by the Hartlepool citizens or...outraged at the whole Monkey election.

I love all these crazy stories!  I live in America where nothing crazy like this happens...   

? ?

Every club needs 'monkey baggage'. It adds character.

And yes, you're quite right Al, America is such a bland, quiet and dull place isn't it (you can imagine where my eyes are right now)