On the latest episode of the Poolie Podcast, Robbie Stelling discusses Anthony Mancini, his injury troubles whilst at Hartlepool United and what his future could hold.
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00:00You mentioned Mancini. What a season it might have been if he'd have stayed fit all season,
00:05but then you could also argue that if he was fully fit all the time, then the chances are
00:09he'd be in the Football League, wouldn't it, given his level of talent that he possesses.
00:14Do you think he'll still be at Pools next season, Mancini?
00:20Well, you certainly might think so, Rich. I think you're exactly right. In terms of his talent,
00:26he could certainly play at a higher level. The issue is, obviously, he's got to prove
00:31that he can be fit for more than he has been over the last couple of seasons. I think only 14
00:36appearances last season. Obviously, he had that terrible hamstring injury, came back on Boxing Day,
00:41played for around a month but never looked quite fully fit, and then played for 10 minutes under
00:46Kevin Phillips when he came back in March against Southend, and then was subsequently substituted
00:52off in a very brief abortive comeback. This season has been a slight improvement in terms of his
00:59fitness. Between August and December, he was mostly available for selection.
01:03Just Darren Selman, Lenny Lawrence didn't seem to put that much faith in him. He was often
01:08tasked with coming off the bench and trying to make an impact in 10, 15, 20 minutes. That's
01:12obviously really difficult. Such is his luck. He just seemed to be getting going, didn't he,
01:19when he was struck down by that injury after impressing so much on New Year's Day against
01:24Oldham, scored the winning goal, and really gave the Oldham back line a difficult time.
01:31But he looks to have hit the ground running from when he's since coming back, obviously,
01:35returned from the bench and then started for the first time against Boston. Although I think we
01:41both noticed there was a five-minute spell in the second half when he looked a little bit tender.
01:45He was holding his groin and sort of glancing nervously over to the bench. We spoke to him at
01:50the press conference last week, and he said, look, I do have to learn to trust my body. That's
01:55completely understandable, given that he's had so many injuries. Obviously, what he needs really
02:00is a run of six months to a year where he can just play football and not have to worry about
02:06his body breaking down. I think that might be massively significant in terms of his career
02:11development, because, of course, he is only 23 still, and he is hugely, hugely talented. He's
02:17certainly got the talent to play in the Football League. You wonder whether his injury record
02:22might put clubs off, but you also wonder whether his talent is such that teams might think he's
02:28worth a punt. I do think he really enjoys playing for Hartlepool United. He's a popular member
02:35of the dressing room. He's a great character. He's a really nice guy. And obviously,
02:39he's a real fan favourite as well. So certainly the hope is
02:42that he's going to spend at least another season at the Prestige Group stadium.