6` 3`` striker Jon Daly arrived at the club as a 22 year old having been at Stockport since he was 15. Most Pools fans were underwhelmed when his signing was announced, as Daly had only a moderate scoring record at Edgeley Park and a lot of Stockport fans seemed happy to see the back of him even though they were bottom of League One at the time. Early appearances for Pools were not promising as Daly looked short of fitness. But after training with the first team for a few months Daly started to show signs of what he is capable of. He scored a crucial goal at Bournemouth to help carry Pools into the 2004/05 playoffs and then scored what could so easily have been the winner in the final itself. The following season was a frustrating one for Pools and for Daly. The team struggled on the pitch and, with confidence low, there was a tendancy for the players to hit the ball long towards the strikers and Daly, as the big centre forward, was unfairly targetted by some supporters as one of the reasons behind this direct approach. In the end, Daly was on loan at Bury as Pools slid further down the table towards relegation, adding weight to the argument that Daly`s presence in the team had not been the problem. The summer of 2006 saw the arrival of Danny Wilson as manager and another chance for Daly. With his manager backing him publicly and giving him a run in the side, Daly looked a much more confident player and a run of seven goals in three games in September briefly lifted him to the top of the League Two goalscoring charts. The goals dried up after that, and Daly would have to wait until Boxing Day before scoring again. It would prove to be his last for the club. His early season form had attracted the attention of other clubs and Daly signed for Dundee United in January 2007.