Tributes Pour In For Michael Maidens

After the tragic death of Hartlepool youngster Michael Maidens tributes have poured in from players and fans up and down the country.

Former Hartlepool player Thomas Butler played with Maidens while at Victora Park and was taken aback by the news ‘I played with Michael and I am struggling to come to terms with the news

‘He trained with the first team every day and he had a very bright future ahead of him.’ He told the Western Mail.

‘I’ve spoken to some of the Hartlepool players and they are all very upset by what’s happened and when they were told of the accident a lot of them were in tears.

‘It would have been inconceivable to have gone ahead with the game in the circumstances.’

Swansea captain Gary Monk also told the Western Mail that his thoughts were with Michael’s family ‘On behalf of all the players our thoughts and prayers are with Michael’s family and friends at what must be a very difficult time.’

Swans boss Roberto Martinez said that he full agreed with the decision to postpone the game ‘It’s a horrible day. We have got a feeling of sadness, so you can imagine how everyone at Hartlepool feels. Everyone has told us about Michael and how he was as a person and how he had a huge effect on everyone related to Hartlepool.

‘All we wanted to do was show our support and respect for Michael’s family and foe everyone at Hartlepool United at such a tragic time. It was important for us to know how Danny and his squad were feeling. Five or six of their players grew up with Michael and were really affected.

‘The tragic news only came through in the morning and it was a shock for the whole Hartlepool squad. It would have been an unfair environment in which to play a football game and postponing it was the right thing to do for Swansea City to show respect.

‘But today is a sad day because we’ve lost Michael at such a young age and we should all show respect to him and his family.’

Fans up and down the country have left their messages of condolences across the various Pools message boards including QPR fans who suffered a similar tragedy less that 2 months ago when Ray Jones was tragically killed.