The chairman of Hartlepool United, Raj Singh, has disputed 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.
Hartlepool chairman Singh was speaking ahead of the club’s 3-2 defeat to Rochdale where he offered backing to manager John Askey – despite the club’s current struggles in the National League – whilst also shedding further light on some of the more intricate takeover details from recent years.
Singh released a fresh update recently on the current situation of the club’s sale progress after the Hartlepool chief publicly placed the club up for sale in April 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.
Despite the club officially being put up for sale this year, however, several rumours have surfaced over the years with regards to Hollywood duo Reynolds and McElhenney and their prospective interest in the club prior to taking over in North Wales.
Speaking on the Tifo Football Podcast via The Athletic last year, Wrexham executive director Humphrey Ker revealed Hartlepool were one of up to 10 clubs the American consortium were considering buying before completing their takeover at the Racecourse Ground.
“Rob [McElhenney] was always lightly intrigued [in football]. He’s a big sports fan,” explained Ker.
“We knew from the jump we wanted to find somewhere that needed a helping hand or felt like it deserved a stroke of luck
“Hartlepool was one we looked at vaguely, Macclesfield was talked about. There was a couple who were talked about that were in trouble.”
The duo would, in the end, complete their takeover of Wrexham in February 2021, a mere fortnight before Dave Challinor’s Hartlepool claimed a goalless draw at the Racecourse Ground on their way to a promotion-winning campaign.
Pools, at that stage, became a club on the up as they returned to the Football League and consolidated, while Wrexham suffered play-off anguish in 2022.
Fast forward another year, however, and Wrexham’s story is one told worldwide through their very own docu-series as they sealed a return to the EFL, where they currently sit in the top three of the League Two table, among ever-growing publicity and sponsorship, with Hartlepool, meanwhile, languishing in the bottom half of the National League.
But Singh has been outspoken about the suggestions of a deal with Reynolds and McElhenney, insisting the duo were always likely to head to North Wales.
“On Wednesday I released a statement to give our supporters an update on the sale of the club,” the Hartlepool chairman declared in his pre-match notes.
“It was really disappointing to hear some of the comments from some of our so-called fans, although not unexpected.
“I have been accused of putting a high asking price on the club and told that I should have sold the club to the Americans a couple of years ago when I had the chance.
“Wrexham was always their first choice and they were keeping their options open by talking to other clubs like ourselves. At the time, I asked for half-a-million initial payment for the club.
“If recent reports are to be believed, Wrexham had a deal agreed for a similar amount for Luke Armstrong. So you mean to tell me that they wouldn’t have paid that amount if they really wanted to buy Hartlepool United?
“The reality is there isn’t a queue of people out on Clarence Road to take over the club, just as there wasn’t one six years ago. Having said all of that, I’m still trying to run the club to the best of my ability with the resources at our disposal.
“All teams go through bad patches during the season. I believe we’ve got a manager who is tried and tested in these situations and will steer us clear. We all need to keep supporting the manager and the team and hopefully things will turn around sometime soon.”
Singh would go further in his backing of Askey, the man he handed a two-year extension to in August, when insisting a change in manager is not the right option for the club at this moment in time.
The defeat to Rochdale leaves Askey’s side 13th in the National League table, five points adrift of the play-off places after an awful run of form over the last two months.
But Singh is confident, with the return of a number of key players from injury, Askey is the man to get Pools firing again and start climbing the table having suggested there has been an overreaction from some supporters as to the club’s recent form.
“There is a lot of disappointment around the club with our recent form after getting off to a great start in the first few games of the season,” wrote Singh.
“As usual some people are overreacting and are wanting changes, whether that is with the players, management or the ownership of the club.
“Admittedly, recent results have been unacceptable but we’ve got to remember that no player goes out onto the pitch to intentionally have a bad game and a good manager does not become a bad manager over the space of a few weeks.
“A change in management again is not the answer.
“We’ve got to support the manager and the players by getting behind them so that we can put a few more points on the board. And, hopefully, with a few players coming back from injury, we should be okay and somewhere near where we all want to be.”
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