Barnsley v Notlob
Oxford v Posh

Crawley v Franchise
Crewe v Donny

Solihull demolish Barnet 4-0 given the other sides in the other semi have never been in the league a new name will appear in the EFL next season

Hartlepool United head coach Kevin Phillips has left the National League club following the conclusion of their 2023-24 National League campaign.

The former England striker and Sunderland legend, 50, was appointed in January after taking over from previous boss John Askey.

Phillips oversaw seven wins from 16 games but the club missed out on the play-off places by a margin of 11 points.

He has been replaced by former Stevenage, Yeovil Town and Woking boss Darren Sarll.

Pools said in a statement that Phillips' contract had only been to the end of campaign and it had "come to an end".

Hartlepool were relegated from League Two in 2023 and have been off the pace on their return to fifth-tier football.

Askey left the club in December following a run of only three wins in 19 league games and six without a win.

Phillips won his first Pools game in charge when they defeated York 2-1 at home on 27 January and oversaw four wins from his first five games in charge.

The former South Shields boss then oversaw a five-game winless run, culminating in a chastening 7-1 defeat at north east neighbours Gateshead on 26 March, as their season fizzled out

Sarll was sacked by Woking in November following a run of eight defeats in 10 matches.

"I'm coming here in order to win and we need to close that gap to the play-offs. We won't accept mediocrity, we need to challenge every season and that all starts from the dressing room," he told the Hartlepool website.

"I can’t wait to start. Creating a strong dressing room is the priority ahead of this pre-season."

Club director Andy Steel added: "He presented a very clear and compelling view of how he wants to build the squad, deliver a positive style of football that statistically supports success in this league, and create a winning mentality and culture.

“Critically, Darren also has an in-depth knowledge of the National League and its players as well as first-hand experience of getting teams to play-offs, which were all key criteria for the board when looking at a managerial appointment to move forward."

I was tempted to just put a couple of lines in here today and let you all get on with it.
However I expect whoever plays for Town on Saturday to do a thoroughly professional job, so I'll do my bit and churn out my usual (chirpy?) thread plus a few of my opinions and off the wall comments.
I'm not dropping my standards even if the Club and "some" of our Players apparently dropped their's last week (only last week???).
I and (I think) we believe.
Do the squad?

Please pin a copy to the dressing room wall if you can.

The Big Blue and White Sheds
Between the Woods and the River
Don't drink the John Smiths - seriously, it's really, really bad for you
HD1 6PG

Kick-off 15:00 UK Time
Saturday 27/04/24

I suppose I'd better put up a post about tomorrow's game, but everybody knows the script, plot, maybe even the score. Will it really matter in the long term as long as we get enough points to be 10th or better? Of course it does, but do the players feel the same, or the manager? It's only words, but here's Monty's take on things.

“It was a difficult few days after the Motherwell game and reflecting on the disappointment of missing out on the top six. When we spoke about that, it was looking across the season and in many games we were in winning positions but lost 12 points from winning positions. We did that against Motherwell and that condemned us to missing out on the top six. There was a lot of frustration, a lot of upset, and the feeling that we let the fans down and ourselves down.
“We have to move forward now and look at the next five games as an opportunity to finish the season strong. This week we’ve been preparing for St Johnstone and the mood has been good. We know we need to put in some good performances and get some results to finish the season on a high.”

So, the question next arises, who do we keep for next season and who do we bring in? Below is/was the position/s of our 26 contracted players from March, according to the "ever-reliable" and possibly doomed Bob's Board.

Loans in;
Harry Tyrer (GK)(Everton - Full Season)
Miguel Freckleton (Sheffield United - Full Season)

Loans Out;
Duhameau (Matlock)
Hooper (Sheffield FC)
White (Matlock)
Wilkinson (Matlock)
Maguire (Crawley - End of Season),

Out of Contract to be confirmed;
Alexander Duhameau
George Wilkinson
Sam Hooper
Archie White
Luke Chadwick
Michael Jacobs

Out of Contract June 2024;
Jeff King (option)
Ash Palmer
Laurence Maguire (OOL)
Bailey Clements
Ollie Banks
Harley Curtis

Out of Contract June 2025;
Bailey Hobson
Darren Oldaker
Ryan Colclough
Joe Quigley
Jamie Grimes
Tyrone Williams
Mike Jones
Branden Horton
Ryan Boot (GK)

Out of Contract June 2026;
Tom Naylor
Will Grigg
James Berry
Liam Mandeville
Ryheem Sheckleford
Armando Dobra

So we have 15 players to whom we are already committed for our return to the EFL and beyond, unless we mutually agree transfers.

Questions arise over the six out of contract players in June. Who do we want to keep? Add Jacobs to that who has certainly been a success ... Then we need to consider whether we want any of our loaned-out players, and would we like a loanee like Freckleton to become permanent? Add to that list under consideration any of the youngsters who showed up well for us in the FA Trophy. Jamie Hewitt raved about at least one of them.

To come in I'd be buying Kane Drummond from Macclesfield, George Nevett if I could get him from Rochdale and Thompson-Summers from Halifax. I'd try to keep Jeff King on whom we have an option and I'd be hoping for a defensive of proven LEAGUE ability and experience. AND we'll need a goalie.

What are you looking for next season for us to make a realistic EFL2 play-off bid?

Tom Cleverley has been named the new permanent head coach of Championship club Watford.

The former England player took over as interim boss after Valerien Ismael was sacked in March.

Cleverley, 34, has lost just one of his seven matches in charge, with the Hornets safe from relegation in 15th place.

The ex-Manchester United and England midfielder spent three spells at Vicarage Road as a player, twice on loan, and retired from his playing career at Watford last year.

He then moved into coaching, taking over as Watford Under-18s coa