ON THE ROAD: Hartlepool dream of a Hollywood ending in their fight for survival... with the club once courted by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney desperate to avoid going down in the same year Wrexham come up

• e-mail

You probably know the good people of Hartlepool are nicknamed ‘Monkey Hangers’, but perhaps not why.

Legend has it the natives sentenced a monkey to death on the beach during the Napoleonic Wars, mistaking it for a French spy after it washed ashore following a shipwreck (in their defence, he was wearing a French Army uniform and they had never seen a Frenchman before).

Hartlepudlians embrace this eccentric story of theirs. Supporters wear tattoos of hanging monkeys and get their half-time pie and pint from The Hungry Monkey kiosk. The club’s mascot is H’Angus the Monkey and in 2002, Stuart Drummond, the call-centre worker inside that costume, ran for mayor promising free bananas for schoolchildren. He won and proved so popular, he was re-elected a further two times. Visitors to the Marina will find a statue of a monkey encouraging them to make a wish.

There are no prizes for guessing what Hartlepool fans are wishing for. Sitting in League Two’s relegation zone, the noose is tightening around their club’s neck, with Saturday’s draw at home to Leyton Orient leaving them four points from safety.

This isn’t monkey business to the supporters. This is serious. The town’s club is in danger of dropping out of the Football League at the same time that Wrexham seem set to enter it.

Hartlepool United sit 23rd in League Two , four points away from safety as time runs out

Hartlepool manager John Askey is hoping to complete a historic run to keep his side up

Wrexham are relevant because for some at Victoria Park, they represent what could have been. The documentary series on Disney+. The sponsorship with TikTok. The entire Hollywood experience, led by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. It could all have been Hartlepool’s. The story, as told by Hartlepool chairman Raj Singh, starts with a phone call from an intermediary in 2020 acting on behalf of ‘two super rich American investors’. Singh says he was told: ‘You’ll be amazed when you find out their names.’

Yet Singh did not take kindly to this secrecy. Nor did he like the snooping behind his back (he claims others at Hartlepool were approached before him, including Jeff Stelling apparently). Or the way stories were being leaked to local newspaper The Northern Echo (he claims they wanted to turn the fans against him).

In the end, Singh said no deal, still not knowing the names of the mystery men. When the Wrexham story broke, he texted the intermediary to ask if two and two equalled four. Singh never received a reply. But sources close to Reynolds and McElhenney have since confirmed Hartlepool were indeed a club they were interested in purchasing.

Three years later, Hartlepool are in an unfortunate decline. The council-owned Victoria Park, or Suit Direct Stadium as it’s also known for sponsorship reasons, looks an old-school ground in need of a lift.

The fanbase is still as strong as ever, at least, with 5,000 in attendance for the visit of table toppers Orient. Goalless at half-time, the second half turned into an exciting encounter. Orient scored through Paul Smyth, then Hartlepool levelled through Connor Jennings, while the home side also struck the post and bar in their search for a late winner.

Rob McElhenney (left) and Ryan Reynolds (right) held initial interest in buying Hartlepool

Hartlepool drew 1-1 at Leyton Orient this weekend, a result that was their fifth draw in a row

Amid Hartlepool’s fall and Wrexham’s rise, it is understandable why some supporters may be thinking: what if?

What if Singh had sold? What if Reynolds, the star of films such as Deadpool and Mississippi Grind, had taken over? What if McElhenney, the creator of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, had joined? What if Hollywood had bought Hartlepool?

We will never know. Hartlepool now live in hope of a sudden jolt of form that will see them survive. Some season-ticket holders at Victoria Park still retain hope. One of them is John Gill — my optimistic old man — and the club’s motto embroidered on their shirts reads: ‘Never Say Die.’ But time is running out for this struggling side.

Sadly, if wins continue to elude them, Pools’ chances of staying in the Football League will be as dead as their hanging monkey.