Defender Dave Rylands made one appearance for his home city club Liverpool in a 1974 FA cup tie against Doncaster Rovers but the young centre back was unable to break into a starting lineup, with Bill Shankly already having Tommy Smith, Larry Lloyd and Phil Thompson at his disposal. He left Anfield later that year and spent two years at Hereford, and it during his time with the Bulls that he enjoyed his loan period at Pools. Dave arrived at the Vic in March 1976 with Ken Hale's side slipping towards the bottom four and without a win in the calendar year. Alongside fellow newcomers Paul Luckett and Barry Endean, Dave played his part in turning the team's fortunes around. A run of five wins from six games helped remove any re-election concerns and Pools finished the season in 15th place. Rylands moved on from Hereford that summer. His time at his next club, Halifax Town, was ruined by a severe ankle injury but he continued to play for several more seasons at a lower level, enjoying spells at Runcorn, Bangor City and Stafford Rangers before emigrating to Australia in January 1981. He spent more than 20 years on the other side of the world, and saw out his football career playing semi-pro at St George (Budapest) in Sydney. He returned to England, and Liverpool, in 2004.