Pacy winger Jonathan Franks came through the youth system at Middlesbrough and made 28 first team appearances for the Teesside club. He spent the second half of the 2011/12 season at League One club Yeovil Town, where he caught the attention of Pools manager Neale Cooper. When the England youth international was released from the Riverside in the summer of 2012, Cooper acted quickly and brought Franks to the Vic. Franks was far from alone in suffering a frustrating time in 2012/13, with Pools relegated after spending almost the entire season in the bottom four. Franks himself was an inconsistent presence on the right of midfield but showed some flashes of quality, and scored a handful of goals, the best of them helping to earn a victory at Scunthorpe.