The chairman of Hartlepool United, Raj Singh, has dismissed the notion that Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney would have chosen to buy the team over Wrexham and stated that a new manager “is not the answer” for the struggling team.
Prior to Hartlepool’s 3-2 loss to Rochdale, chairman Singh gave support to manager John Askey in spite of the team’s current struggles in the National League and provided additional insight into some of the more complex takeover details from previous years.
Singh recently provided a new update on the status of the club’s sale after the Hartlepool CEO made the club’s sale public in April of this year.
However, Singh claims that despite waiting six months, he has not received enough genuine interest, and no potential buyer has been able to produce sufficient financial documentation to support the club’s growth.
Even though the club was officially listed for sale this year, there have been several rumours over the years regarding the Hollywood pair Reynolds and McElhenney and their potential interest in the North Wales club before they took over. Wrexham executive director Humphrey Ker disclosed last year that Hartlepool was one of up to ten clubs the American consortium was considering purchasing before finalising their takeover at the Racecourse Ground in an interview with The Athletic’s Tifo Football Podcast. Rob McElhenney has always had a passing interest in football. He loves sports a lot,” Ker clarified.
From the beginning, we were determined to locate a place that either required assistance or merited good fortune.
“Macclesfield was mentioned, and Hartlepool was one we looked at hazily. A couple that were being discussed seemed to be having problems.
In the end, the two would take over Wrexham in February 2021, just two weeks before Hartlepool, led by Dave Challinor, won a goalless draw at the Racecourse Ground and advanced to the playoffs. At that point, Pools was a rising star as they solidified their place in the Football League and went on, while Wrexham struggled in the 2022 play-offs.
In contrast, Hartlepool is presently languishing in the bottom half of the National League. Fast-forward another year, and Wrexham’s story is being told globally through their very own docu-series as they successfully secured a return to the EFL, where they currently sit in the top three of the League Two table amid ever-growing publicity and sponsorship.
Regarding the rumours of a deal with Reynolds and McElhenney, Singh has been vocal, stating that the two were always going to go to North Wales.
“I issued a statement on Wednesday to provide our supporters with an update regarding the club’s sale,” the chairman of Hartlepool stated in his pre-game remarks. Although not surprising, some of the remarks made by some of our so-called fans were really disappointing.
“I’ve been told that I should have sold the club to the Americans a few years ago when I had the opportunity, and I’ve been accused of setting a high asking price for it.
“They were keeping their options open by speaking with other clubs like ourselves, and Wrexham was always their first choice.” I requested the club’s initial payment of half a million dollars at that time. According to recent reports, Luke Armstrong and Wrexham had an agreement for a comparable sum. Do you mean to tell me that if they had truly wanted to purchase Hartlepool United, they wouldn’t have spent that much money?
“The truth is that, as it was six years ago, there isn’t a queue of people waiting to take over the club on Clarence Road. Having said that, I’m still making every effort to manage the club as effectively as possible given the resources at our disposal.
Every team experiences rough times during the playing season. I think our manager will steer us clear of these situations because he has experience with them. With continued support from all of us for the manager and the team, perhaps soon things will start to improve.
Singh would support Askey even more, saying that a manager change is not the best course of action for the team at this time. Askey was given a two-year extension in August.
After a terrible run of form over the past two months, Askey’s team lost to Rochdale, placing them 13th in the National League standings and five points outside of the play-off spots. Though some fans may have overreacted to the team’s recent performance, Singh is optimistic that Askey can get Pools back on track and moving up the standings now that several important players have returned from injury.
“After getting off to a great start in the first few games of the season, there is a lot of disappointment around the club with our recent form,” Singh wrote.
As is customary, some individuals are overreacting and demanding changes to the team’s ownership, management, or players. Yes, there have been some unsatisfactory results lately, but we have to keep in mind that no player intentionally plays poorly, and a good manager does not turn into a bad manager in a matter of weeks.
“Changing management once more is not the solution.
In order for us to score a few more points, we must rally around the manager and the players. Furthermore, we ought to be competitive and not too far from our desired destination now that a few players are returning from injuries.
