Oldham Preview - Do or Die time

By 3Quid

Tomorrow's game against Oldham Athletic at The 'Vic is in serious doubt and faces a 10am pitch inspection to see if the game can go ahead. With the heavy snow that fell last Saturday not shifting and turning to dangerous ice the ground staff at Pools face a race against time to try and ensure tomorrow's game goes ahead.

Things don't look too promising though with temperatures outside now nearly at zero and a forecast of -6 overnight leaving the prospects of the game going ahead, pretty grim.

Referee Carl Boyeson will travel from Hull in the morning to make his inspection.

If the game goes ahead then Pools will be desperately wanting to take all three points with no more action until January 9th at Charlton due to Gillingham being in the F.A Cup 3rd round on January 2nd.

Oldham's game against Tranmere at Boundary Park on Boxing Day was postponed due to safety reasons so no doubt, ex Darlo manager Dave Penney will be itching to get his team back in action with his team also having no game on January 2nd either.

On the pitch, Pools will have Andy Monkhouse back after he was suspended for the Leeds game. Gary Liddle could be a slight doubt after being taken off at half-time against Leeds with an injury.

Score prediction - we've got to win this game. No ifs, no buts. We have to win. And it doesn't matter how we do it!

2-1 to Pools.

Leeds preview

By 3Quid

26 bar a ticket???!!! - a big reason why many Pools fans won't be travelling the relatively short journey to West Yorkshire to watch us vs Leeds at Elland Road on Boxing Day.

A fair few lads i've been talking to are refusing to go there and pay that price to be sat in the corner with restricted viewing and also to line the pockets of Ken Bates and his born-again wealthy football club.

500 tickets have already been sold for the game and any unsold tickets will be sent back to Elland Road but travelling fans without a ticket ARE able to pay on the turnstile on match day. So it's likely Pools will have less than a thousand fans there for the game which is a far cry from September 2007 and our first ever league meeting with Leeds at Elland Road when over 2700 made to 90-mile journey to watch us unluckily go down 2-0 in a game we dominated from start to finish!

On the pitch, Pools will be missing Andy Monkhouse after he picked up a fifth yellow card of the season in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Yeovil. Monkhouse is particularly gutted as he is Leeds-born, still lives there and is a big fan of the club. Jon-Andre Fredriksen could fill in for Monky on the left-wing but the most likely choice for Chris Turner would be to play Ritchie Humphreys in his preferred role on the wing and drop Tony Sweeney into centre-midfield with fit again Neil Austin slotting at right-back.
Steve Haslam and Colin Larkin have returned to training but are not expected to be risked for the game. Ben Clark is available again after a one-match ban for a sending-off at Southend.


Chris Turner told BBC Sport...."I was talking to (Yeovil boss) Terry Skiverton on Saturday after the game and Terry made a good point in that the league is littered with good sides with strong squads, bigger than what they and we are," he said.

"You just get a bit of momentum going and your next three games are say, Norwich, Charlton and Southampton, and that halts any progress for teams like ourselves and Yeovil, in terms of getting maximum points and it's a battle.

"It is a tough league and I keep saying we're punching well above our weight, when you consider our attendances and what we can attract to the club compared to a lot of other teams in our division. But it's enjoyable and we are progressing.

"The second half of the season is a tough start with the away games of Norwich, Southampton and Charlton, and hopefully we can pick up better than what we did in the first quarter because there are some winnable games at that back-end of the season."



Leeds are likely to start with star-man and top scorer, Jermaine Beckford despite a row between him and Leeds gaffer, Simon Grayson after Beckford reportedly threw his shirt at the manager and stormed off the pitch after being subbed in the 1-0 win over Southampton. Beckford though has apologised to Grayson and the bad news for Pools fans is that he will more than likely resume his place up-front on Saturday. Leeds have no other injury worries and have a full squad to choose from.

Score prediction - in my opinion when we play the so-called "big clubs" we seem to have a defeatist attitude that has us beat even before we go out and kick a ball, all the bigging up of our opponents before the game and how lucky we are just to be in the same division as them - i can't see this being any different. Sadly, i think we'll get a proper pasting on Boxing Day.

4-0 to Leeds.

Pools take punt on Gamble

By 3Quid.


Pools have agreed personal terms with Irish midfielder, Joe Gamble who will join us on a free transfer from Cork City according to today's Northern Echo.

The 27 year-old midfield terrier who has been capped twice by the Republic of Ireland will be allowed to leave Cork for nothing after huge financial difficulties for the Eircom League club. Monday was the deadline for wages to paid to the players and it passed without any payment, so Gamble who is reputed to be worth 150,000 euros will join Pools for free!

A great coup by Chris Turner to persuade him to join us if the comments about him from the Cork City fans are anything to go by. The majority of them rate him higher than Colin Healy who was on the verge of joining Pools in the summer and is rumoured to be interesting Chris Turner again.

Jan Ove Pedersen - By Shamrock

Jan Ove Pedersen.

Born. Oslo 12th. Nov. 1968.
Debut. Swansea 4. Nov. 1997. played 20 games 1 goal.

Arguably one of the best players that has played for Hartlepool United Football Club.
Small in stature but a massive talent only played 20 games but won the Poolie fans over in those 20 games.
Jan started his playing career with Norwegian club Klofta before moving to Lilliestrom in 1987.
Jan was a regular in the side playing 165 games and bagging 17 goals. He moved to Brann Bergen in 1995 and was aleady playing for the under 21s for Norway and then making 17 full international games and scoring 1 goal for his nation.
During the Norwegians leagues winter break Jan went on loan to Cercle Brugge of Belgium making a big impact before returning to his own club Brann Bergen.
In 1997 Jan came to Pools on loan, his boundless running and inch perfect passes was a pleasure to watch for Pools fans and he captured our hearts.
He returned to Brann and Pools tried to sign him on a couple of occasions but it was not to be it was a shame because the lad oozed quality.
Jan knew his days were numbered at Brann and moved after 109 games and 14 goals and an appearance in the Norwegian cup final.
Jan moved to China to play for Wankie F.C. and on his return to Europe signed for and captained CSW Bregenz of Austria making 105 appearances and 1 goal. CSW went out of business and came back as SC Bregenz Jan was made DOS and head coach and sadly getting sacked in 2007.

Was Jan Ove Pederson the best player ever for Pools? Start a thread and let us know HERE

Yeovil match preview, courtesy of 3Quid

Weather permitting, Pools will be facing Yeovil at The 'Vic on Saturday, starting a run of three games in seven days...

Pools need to bounce back quickly from last Saturday's dismal 3-2 defeat at Southend. A game which saw us 2-0 up and looking comfortable at half-time but fall to pieces in the second-half and make the long journey back with absolutely nothing at all. That defeat was the sixth time this season that we have lost after having taken the lead, a statistic that would have seen us sitting on 44 points - only 3 behind leaders Leeds United - if we had stayed in the lead and gone on to win. Frustrating or what?

Despite Yeovil being one of the bookies pre-season favourites for relegation they are clear of the relegation zone by 4 points and look to have decent enough home form to keep them up again this time around. Their away form though has been patchy at best with only one single away win on their travels so far this season - a 2-1 triumph at Bristol Rovers - to show for their efforts.
Last week The Glovers were very unlucky not to claim all 3 points at The Huish against in-form Norwich City. Despite taking the lead 3 times, Yeovil were pegged back each time and conceded a desperate 95th minute equaliser courtesy of The Canaries midfielder, Darrel Russell.


Yeovil gaffer Terry Skiverton isn't exactly relishing tomorrow's game though!
He told BBC Somerset...... "Hartlepool's a difficult place to go, it's a difficult ground right on the sea and we're going to have to deal with the conditions and the team as well.

"Our record isn't too bad going to Hartlepool and it's always been a decent game of football so it's a difficult game but one that everyone is looking forward to.

"It's a game where you can try to get yourself into a little bit of credit before the Christmas period, and we want to come out before January with at least half the (season) points total."

Pools have no new injury worries going into Saturday's game with Colin Larkin definitely out and Neil Austin a big doubt with the hamstring injury that saw him miss the game at Southend. Tony Sweeney is expected to deputise at right-back for Austin with Steve Haslam still out with a long-term injury. Ben Clark is suspended after being sent-off for 2 yellow cards at Southend.

Yeovil are likely to stick with the same team that drew against Norwich. Shaun McDonald will play his last game of a highly impressive loan spell from Swansea City.

Check out the post-match views and after-match reaction to the game on the unofficial Yeovil fans site and messageboard....http://www.ciderspace.co.uk/

Score prediction - This is one of those "must-win" games that everyone keeps talking about. Yeovil's away form is poor and with a horrible looking set of fixtures coming up in January, the only outcome that is any good to Pools fans is all 3 points!

2-0 to us - Boydy and Bjornsson - and a good start to the festive season.

Merry christmas and a happy new year to all Pools fans and everyone who reads and uses intotheblue.org.uk.
The site is going from strength to strength and will get even better next year.

Have a good 'un everyone!

Billy Ayre - Seatonpoolie

Pools career 1977-1981.
Apps 141
Goals 27


Older Pools fans will remember the song;
'He's here,he's there,he's every fookin where
Billy Ayre,Billy Ayre'.
Sang from The Rink End,as a tribute to the late great Billy Ayre.
Billy had been playing for Scarborough,whilst teaching art & PE at a Durham Comp school before his move to Pools in 1977.
A no nonsense centre half,he was good in the air,fierce in the tackle & weighed in with more than his share of goals.
In his first full season he was ever present & top scorer with 13 goals,and was rewarded with the Supporters Player of the Year Award.
In the next 3 seasons he made a further 95 Apps,scoring 15 goals.
After being released by Pools,he went onto play for Halifax & Mansfield,before returning to The Shaymen as manager.
He was sacked by Halifax after 3 seasons before joing Blackpool as assistant manager,then becoming manager in 1990.
In 4 seasons with The Tangerines,he led them to the play-off finals twice,losing to Torquay,beating Sc*nthorpe the year after,to gain promotion to the new 2nd Division.
Next stop was short managerial stints at Scarborough & Southport,assistant positions at Swansea,Cardiff & Bury.
Unfortunatly,in 1999,Billy developed cancer,and lost his battle against the disease in 2002.
In 2008,he was named 'Pools Player of the 70's',a fitting accolade to my first footballing hero to pull on a blue & white shirt.

R.I.P Billy.

Southend Match Report

Courtesy of Mr PIA.

5 to 7 start, 3 and a half hours later parked up in Southend, how did that happen, and had I gone deaf
Then I was reminded that the chief navigator and football pundit Francis what's his face wasn't with us, oh well I wasn't gonna go back and pick him up.
Leaves us with plenty of room to take the 3 points back, against a team shot on confidence and goals.
No Austin was a blow, but we should still have enough to trouble them especially if we get an early goal, cos then we'll change our shape, shut up shop and make it difficult for the home team to break us down, then the home crowd will get on the players backs, the confidence will be at rock bottom, then we'll pick em off and kill the game with a 2nd.
Right on cue, after withstanding 5 minutes of early pressure a long ball into the Sothend area and the loose ball falls to Boydie on edge of the box, sweet shot placed rather than power goalie no chance 1 up "oh I do like to be beside the seaside" Now for the easy bit, we've had it done to us numerous times, CT has mentioned it numerous times so we should be well versed in how to do it.
But things were not quite going to plan, there number 26 was causing havoc everytime he got the ball, poor Hartley never got close to him and we were under severe pressure, bit like the Exeter debacle this, we can all see the danger, wonder why someone doesn't decide to tell someone to either stop him getting the ball or try to stop him running
But then after another loose ball bounced about on edge of Southends box, fell to Monkhouse, his weak effort was deflected past the goalie off there number 7 who had already been booked, did not return the ball to us after a crunching tackle by Humphs on the 26 (it was accidental) and had been lucky to have still been on the pitch as the ref decided more than once not to give him a 2nd yellow, justice was done we thought, "oh I do like to be beside the seaside"
Now then cue plan B, you know, that one every away team does to us after going in front undesevedly, you know, the one I keep telling the Pools fans about, the one that makes it really difficult for the home team to break down, you know, the one that frustrates the fans and destroys the confidence.
Oh well alright, don't bother with that, maybe CT forgot to tell the players about it and assumed they would read it in the paper cos he's told us about it plenty of times, instead we'll just let poor Hartley get terrorised at every opportunity, we'll just let them knock ball after ball into our box, and eventually Flinders will catch one of the crosses and calm everything down and eventually they'll stop knocking the crosses in, trouble was that didn't happen, Flinders never caught one all day and it was us that was looking the confused demoralised team

Phew we held out, now we'll see a different game.

Right then we've got 2 options, plan A is we can either remove Bjornsson, (i think he was still on ) and stick an extra midfield player on someone young and keen, who can get about the pitch and can also play a bit, someone like Rowell, then we can double up on that number 26 and help Hartley, cos it's really not fair on him, then the crosses will dry up, cos we are looking solid with anything down the middle, and we don't need to score anymore to win, or plan B we can do nothing and all run around in the 2nd half with our fingers crossed, a bit like Flinders has been doing lately.
Let's go for plan B and keep it as is and we'll try the old crossing the fingers routine, because we haven't got anyone on the bench like Rowell ???

Anyhow, more of the same ensued, Flinders failed to catch a cross, we headed it off the line, they won a disputable free kick from the clearance, and the scored from the cross.
We failed to clear our lines, Liddle passed it short to Humphs instead of clearing it, Humphs passed it short to Hartley instead of clearing it, Hartley got caught in possesion instead of clearing it, Liddle didn't go in hard eough with the loose ball and it's all square.
Right lads enough of the fingers crossed routine let's try plan A but with someone who's tried and failed in that position to do it before, at least he'll put the tackles in, but instead of taking a front man off we'll take Monkhouse off who doesn't look as though he's having a very good game or enjoying it much stuck out there on the right wing.
True to form Clark gets booked within 30 seconds without touching the ball, so that nullifies the effect of that meaningless and far too late substitution.
Another cross from Hartleys side another goal. no-one was surprised.
It's the last throw of the dice now cue the next master stroke, let's put Freddie on and take off McSweeney cos he doesn't look as though he's having a very good game or enjoying it much stuck out there on the left wing .(notice the common denominator)
Needless to say the game was lost, thankfully only by 3-2 cos it could have been more, so i guess we should be thankfull for that, because Southend are a massive club with a dead long pier and they sell cockles and mussels so we can't expect much after going all the way down there can we.

We missed Austin, but Sweeney did ok at right back, Collins and Liddle coped with everything that came at them through the middle, Hartley got absolutely tortured but got no support at all, Humphs and Jones had there moments but got over run, Monkhouse and McSweeney enjoyed there best spells in the game when in there correct positions, Boydie took his goal well but did little else, Bjornsson was non existant and Flinders reluctance to catch anything is worrying and teams are playing on it now, wonder if we ever watch the opposition

As for CT's comments that we didn't deserve anything I don't think will go down too well with the players, because the team did NOT lack effort, they lacked guidance, another 3 points handed to us on a plate that we decided not to take.

Ah well back to the car, our journeys are obviously not as long as those that the players have to take, it certainly didn't feel that long without the chief navigator, unfortunately tho' I now have no-one to blame for getting stuck in the wrong lane on the M25 and missing the M11 turn off and as a result not getting home till half 9

Unsung Heroes by Shamrock

William (Billy) Horner.

Born Cassop 7th September 1942.

As well as managing Pools for almost 9 years and playing twice Billy was a really nice guy.
During his time as Pools manager its true to say that Billy never had a penny to rub his arse with. They were no doubt the darkest days of Hartlepool's History but he stuck with it through thin and thinner.
He started his career at Boro in 1959 making 200 appearances before dropping in to the reserves as coach and player, he was released and joined Darlo and made over 200 appearances for them. Billy became manager at darlo in 74-75 finishing bottom Billy decided to make a move to a bigger club and became Ken Hales assistant at Pools.
Billy became Pools manager in the same year 1975 keeping the club going with non league players and old pros well past their sell by date.
Billy was the driving force behind the Pools youth team set up and he got his rewards when the youth team won the intermediate league with 2 players to go onto big things: Andrew and David Linighan. After a brief spell at York Billy came back to his first love Pools were he was director of the school of excellence.
The days that Billy held the club together are long gone but without people like Billy Horner we might not be here today Billy even though he had massive problems with Pools always had time for the fans and hand on heart this man was a legend for Pools. 

Discuss this in the FORUM

Southend match preview by 3Quid

POOLS make the long journey to Essex this afternoon to face cash-crisis club, Southend United....

The Shrimpers have been in a state of turmoil recently with wild rumours of possible impending administration and other money problems but despite all their off-field problems they sit in a very respectable 14th position in League One only three points behind Pools with 23 points from 20 games.

Roots Hall has never been a happy hunting ground for us in the past, with only 2 wins to show from 21 league and cup games down at the Essex Riviera!

The most recent of those wins came in October 2002 thanks to a solitary Eifion Williams goal that helped us to a hard-fought 3 points on the way to promotion from League Two in what was to be Chris Turner's final away game before leaving Pools to take over hometown club, Sheffield Wednesday.

Pools are unlikely to make any changes from the team that comfortably swept Millwall aside 3-0 at The 'Vic last Saturday. Richie Jones has recovered from an illness that ruled him out of last weeks game but is expected to be on the bench today. 17 year-old youth team full-back, Dylan Purvis has travelled with the squad and could make the bench after some very impressive displays for the reserves, so hats off please to Chris Turner for having such faith in our youth policy with Jonny Rowell also likely to be amongst the subs!

Score prediction - A tough game and at a place where we very rarely ever come away with anything, but Pools are made of sterner stuff away from home this season so i'll go for a hard-earned 1-1 draw with our defence taking all the plaudits!

Discuss this in the FORUM

Millwall Match Report from Ritchiesbirthmark

I was asked the immortal question off one of my footy gambling mates in the White House on Friday night...."How do you reckon Pools will get on tomorrow, I'm thinking of taking them on my coupon?
I simply answered "I haven't got a fuckin clue mate!!"

And there in lies the enigma that is Pools this season.

Promising openings can lead to abject setbacks such as at Huddersfield, Southampton and especially Carlisle on Tuesday night. Glorious and outstanding away wins at the likes of Swindon and Oldham have been followed up by cup exits at the hands of Grimsby and Kettering.

In short, you never know whats coming up in the next 90 minutes.

To illustrate the fact, Pools kindly obliged by banging in 3 goals in the first 25 minutes against Millwall and yet in that same space of time could have let three in as the crossbar twice came to Flinders rescue as well as the lino's flag

As well as Pools have played in the opening phase of the last three defeats, they have been guilty of not getting that crucial second goal whilst being one up. Chances where spurned against Soton before Lalanna equalised and the same can be said with Boydy's missed header against Hudds to put us in a commanding 2-0 lead. Christ we could have been 4-0 up at Carlisle in the first 20 minutes before we decided it was to wet and windy to continue playing.

Not today. After Hartley had shown great composure to bury his shot into the corner of the net with his wrong foot, we then proceeded to carve out two more chances and effectively finish the game off before the half hour mark. Boydy does what he does best and showed great awareness to anticipate their centre half trying to let the ball bounce and run through to the keeper and finished well on a tight angle. The third was an exceptional goal, Boyd twisted and turned out of a tight situation, sprayed the ball wide to McSweeny who sucked in two defenders on the right before teeing up Austin for a deep far post cross which Bjornasson bravely headed in under pressure from keeper and centre half - that goal reminded me a lot of Paul Baker in his pomp.

3 gilt edge chances, 3 goals. Saying that Millwall, and in particular their no 10, had no luck at all. Flinders has inexplicably decided that as well as taking a touch from a centre half's pass back, he also has to undergo some Jonny Wilkinson style routine before clearing the ball downfield. His hopelessly late clearance cannoned off said no 10 and ricocheted off the bar and to safety - if that had gone in, heads may have dropped and Turner might once again had to have a look into his book of "Ridiculous excuses for losing a football match - volume 2"
A well worked move saw that poor no 10 smack the bar with a full on header and then he had a sublime finish chalked off for offside, just to rub salt into the wounds he outmuscled Sweeney covering at full back but saw his one on one effort saved well by Flinders legs.

Half time and 3-0 up, yet everyone i talked to was off the same opinion "we need a fourth!!!" only pools eh!

Anyhow, the second half we defended stoutly after a jittery opening 10 minutes to the half and ran out comfortable winners.

A lot of stand out performers. The two centre backs of Collins and Liddle dovetail perfectly, whereas Collins shows steel and grit and determination, it is the overall play of Liddle that will make it hard to hold on to him in January. The move back to centre half from his midfield position is one of Turners few decisions this season that should be publicly lauded. From centre half he covers the ground well and always seems to be in the right place at the right time. He makes timely interceptions not because he is lightening quick but because he reads the game so well. And if the rumours are substantiated that Mowbrays Celtic scouts have been watching him then i hope they werent at the game today as his Cryuff turn, when he sent 3 of their lads (and two of ours!) the wrong way, would have had them purring back to their boss. We'll have a hard time keeping hold of him in the near future if this keeps up.

Wheras Boydy showed good feet and a poachers knack for a goal, it was Bjornasson i was more impressed with today. You can see that the lad genuinely wants to do well for the club. His goal at Carlisle was celebrated with a good deal of exuberance and the obligatory badge kiss and his overall hold up play, nod downs and easy lay offs meant he was well worth his cracking headed goal today. If he can get to grips with English lower league footy and especially the pace of it, he will turn out to be an asset for the club and offer something different up front. I hope he takes confidence from this 90 minutes and goes on a cracking xmas run of form.

The other player deserving of praise was Leon McSweeney. Apart from his cross for Bjornasson's goal at Carlisle, he was pretty abject at Brunton Park. A view shared by Turner who had dropped him today to accomadate Jones's return from suspension. But his late inclusion due to Jones's sickness proved to be a blessing as his non stop work rate and enthusiasm proved infectious, so much so that even Sweeney and Humphries started to combine well and more importantly close down. If there is one major plus point to take from this game its not the 3 goals but its the manner in which we kept a clean sheet. Time and time again, every Pools player to a man harried and harrassed there opposing number until a Millwall player played a stray pass or was simply forced into lumping it forward in sheer frustration.

This was a pale shadow of the Millwall side from last season but it still has to go down as an exceptional win. Point is though, we have proved in sporadic bursts that we can put disciplined performances like that in. We need to go on a run now, starting at Southend next week, and prove that we can be consistantly this good.

Carlisle match report

Well the men in white coats should have had an easy night last night, all the lunatics were on the bus to Carlisle
This is gonna be short and sweet cos me heads still busting after coming home sober as a judge on the road to hell, FFS if you can't sing a song just shout anything as loud as you can then finish it off with a rendition of Turnaround by Bonnie Tyler or was it Turner out, I can't remember now it all just blended into one
Seeing as I was the only sober one and the only one off the bus in the ground for kick off to witness a blistering start by us I wouldn't believe a word any of the others say.
We forced Carlisle back from kick off and kept them defending deep in there own box till we scored, and by then that could have been the 2nd one.
McSweeney doing well down the left and Monkhouse looking dangerous down the right (why play them out of position I don't know but for 20 minutes it worked) Humphreys was picking up every loose ball and keeping it simple, Boydy making space for himself with ease and even Bjornsson looking the part. As for Sweeney I feared the worst when I saw the line up, but hey for 20 minutes we were in control.
The conditions were bad, but not as bad as our defending after the opening 20 mins. Once Carlisle forced a corner and Flinders failed to deal with it we seemed to panic and it lifted Carlise. Every cross that came in Flinders would insist on punching but unfortunately not very well, and from a dubious corner awarded to Carlise, another failed attempt by Flinders to clear resulted in a scramble and it looked as though Bjornsson duly obliged and mis-controlled it into his own goal.
Once level that was effectively game over, no apparent leadership on the pitch and no guidance off it we just seemed to fear the worst and accept it and we weren't dissapointed.
As for CT's comments tonite that the conditions were that bad it was funny there was certainly no-one laughing in the away section after watching us go from total control to hanging on waiting for the inevitable
And as for saying Carlisle obviously took the conditions into account when winning the toss err no they didn't they just made sure they kicked towards the home end 2nd half like every club does
Any way sure enough the inevitable happened, 2 obviously very different team talks, one dressing room was obviously centred around what Wincy Willis was forecasting for the 2nd half, the other rallying the troops and ensuring they kept the pressure on.

McSweeney I think headed accross his own goal whilst trying to head clear for the 2nd then a fluke from Matty Robson that Flinders should have saved, (it was in the air for about 2 minutes.) game over.
It can't get any worse can it cue substitution( Foley for Boyd
Clark for Humphreys, Freddie for Bjornsson, now really Sweeney should have done the honourable thing and said "look I'm not doing anything why don't you take me off" but I don't think anyone would have noticed even if he had.
To sum up how bad Carlisle were, we pulled one back after a good cross from Freddie or was it Hartley I can't remember, couldn't see for tears,don't know if it was what i was watching on the pitch or the thought of the bus ride home, knowing that the loony tunes had already all gone back to the pub) and then we should have had a penalty from the most blatant hand ball directly in front of both Ref and Linesman, that would have given us an undeserved point, but a handball is handball no matter how bad you are, so can't understand why we didn't get it.
Flinders, Austin both had there worst games of the season, Liddle and Collins did ok, Hartley Freddie, Clarke, Boydie, Humphs, McSweeney and Monkhouse didn't do bad, Bjornsson had a good opening 15 mins.
I think we are losing these games off the pitch and it needs sorting otherwise the blokes in the white coats that should have been waiting for the bus to get back, might end up carting CT away before long because some of the selections, substitutions and excuses are beyond belief.
Foley for Boyd
Johnny Rowell not used
Sweeney not used
And then those barstewards on the bus singing out of tune all the way home in between playing who can shout the loudest

Huddersfield town match report by Pooielooieaustinstad

Sorry it's late but my senses of recovery are not what they were after an awaday day and 20 pints, but this is what I think I saw.


That footballing expert Francis somebody, turned up in shirt and tie, dut, black crombie and his nannas umberella, I knew then it was gonna be a long day. Train left on time 8:15 arrived Wetherspoons Huddersfield town centre 10:45



Canny crowd, almost 15,000 with about 650 odd from Pools but no one odder than our resident expert.

Disaster for Huddersfield, they hadn't scored after 5 mins, let's put pressure on the ref and sure enough it worked the ref fell for it, this multi ball carry on was a joke, Flinders being accused of time wasting after 10 minutes, someone needs to tell them that just because they throw the ball back on the pitch within a milli second of it going out of play, we don't have to re-start until we're ready FFS there were 2 balls on the pitch at least 4 times before the ref finally told them to collect them all in, ooh they didn't like that and the Lee Clark show was in full swing by then, arms waving all over the place letting everyone know he was there but couldn't fathom out why his team with a wage bill of over 8 million was losing to a team with a wage bill of just over 1 million, don't they know who we are, we want every decision, we want to be able to take throw ins from anywhere, we even want to take free kicks from off the pitch, and we want anyone who tries to tackle us booked, they got all there wishes granted. With Austins booking in the first half being the most damaging to us.

 Any how we held on to Liddles headed goal at the back post off a good free kick from Austin and should have gone in 2 up, but Boydie missed his headed opprtunity from 2 yards out from a similar position. We were looking comfortable, the defence passing it out through the midfield, Jones and Humphreys controlling things and playing simple football to Monkehouse, Browny and Boyd who all looked dangerous going forward, but then half time came and that was that.
 It looked to me as if we thought we could just defend the lead, there was no attempt to play the ball out any more and as a consequence it kept coming back relentless, it was crying out for us to either change the way we set out in the 2nd half and get back to what we were doing the 1st half, or make some personell changes, we did neither and they equalised from a free kick from a similar position to ours, the only problem was it was given for a nothing challenge by Collins. It hit the post and bounced out to Hartley and rebounded into the net, it was harsh on Hartley who looked as though had been singled out by Huddersfield as our weak link, but stood up to the challenge till then.
 Larkin then pulled up with a Hamstring injury so a change was forced upon us, and we decided to try and completely fool them by not only replacing Larkin with McSweeney but we'll also take off our leading goal scorer because we won't need him because we won't attack anymore we'll just play the way we are and hold on to a point.
 But almost immediately there full back ran unapposed, Austin daren't put a challenge in for fear of getting a 2nd yellow, the central defenders didn't close the ball down and it was rifled into the top corner from 20 yards.
 And that was game set and match because we in effect played the remainder of the game with 10 men.
 Don't think Behan got a touch, Browny left isolated and our top scorer sitting in the dug out.
They could have scored a couple more but that would have been harsh on Liddle who was Man of the Match by miles, but depite the crowd, the stadium, the wage bills etc etc we should have got something from that game, they are in the same division as us for a reason but we appear to always have an inferiority complex and it's not funny any more.

And that Francis fella won't be laughing today either because he lost his nannas brolly.

Match report Vs Brighton

After 1 cry off from my hypochondriac navigator, panic stations were starting to set in until I remembered we never ever got lost till he claimed the front seat due to his ailling health, unfortunately there's only his tongue that's yet to start to falter.
Anyhow part timers aside, an early ten to 7 start and it's off to Brighton to claim our first 3 points at the Hove, then it'll be home to witness Parmo with his strides around his ankles in Church street.
For those of you that have not been to the Withdean, you lucky people.
After the usual commotion of how to get in without a ticket, it's easy really, you just go to the ticket booth and buy one, but it's all cloak and dagger stuff, but you always get one and always get in. For those that have ever gone down and not got in, well all I can say is you lucky people.
Sat behind the running track and the goal on terracing no higher than the Town end it's not easy to see exactly what is going on from 3 quarters of a mile away but this is what I observed.
A scrappy game littered with mistakes from both sides, our defence was all over the place, Both Hartley and Austin were caught out of position at virtually every attack, Collins struggled to handle Dickinson, Liddle worked over time to cover and Flinders decidedly suspect.
The midfield put some great 1 touch moves together in the 1st half, right accross the midfield, but the final ball in from McSweeney almost every time failed to beat the full back and after promising positions corners were all we were getting.
Boydy looked dangerous, with Jones supporting, but Behan is looking either predictable or jaded.
Word started to spread among the 120 odd away fans that Boydy had turned in the box and scored, and that's why Brighton were kicking off again.
Wehay hope it's gonna be a cold night when Parmos trolleys come down we thought, but it wasn't to last, after a few scares, Humphreys, (cue the knockers) instead of booting clear, tried to play the ball out from the edge of the box, only to get dispossesed, the resultant shot was blocked by Jones, the rebound scuffed into the ground and over Flinders
should have been cleared but should also have been saved.
Crosses were coming in regularly now, our full backs failling to stop any of them and eventually a ball inside Hartley was crossed into the box, missed by the intended forward unly to run accross goal and side footed in with Austin nowhere.
But hang on a minute, Brighton are kicking off again, that must mean we've equalised, wehay, apparently good work by Boydy to Monkehouse a little Shimmy Shammy (were is he nowadays )and smashed right footed into the net 2-2.
Into added time and after a few minutes of us not knowing were the ball was could only mean we are on the attack, rumour has it that Jonesy has burst forward and curled a right footer from the edge of the box Pools are 3-2 up and Parmos strides are coming down.
2nd half disaster strikes, thigh strain to Jones means a substitution.
Hang on a minute, why are we taking the kick off again, oh no it sounds like a loose ball had not been cleared after a good stop by Flinders following yet another cross into the box and the loose ball was eventually blasted into the net.
More crosses into our box throughout the 2nd half all sounded dangerous, with our best chance of the 2nd half coming after a quickly taken free kick over the top of the defender and over Boydies left shoulder, only one result here, he's gonna cooly side foot it into the net on the volley, but disaster, Mr cool misses the ball altogether and Brightons and Parmos blushes were saved.
To sum up, defence dodgy both halves, midfield good 1st half poor 2nd. Attack bit dis-jointed.
Larkin looked lively, on for McSweeney who got injured during 1st half in what looked like a cast iron penalty incident for us. Greulich wasn't on long enough to show anything for the underperforming Behan, and Sweeney was his usual full of running self, he might have been better suited to the running track tho' and left the football to Rowell or Freddie.
Another game unbeaten, another point away from home, both true but in reality it was another 2 points dropped.
Back in Church Street for Qtr to 10, Halloween masks and Fancy Dress every where, but nothing would have been quite as scary as if we'd brought those 3 points back up North and sent Parmos trolleys South.

Shamrock's top Poolies

Andrew Linighan.

Born. Hartlepool 18 - June - 1962. (The same day as Admin, just 20 years off!)

Debut. Stockport. 23 - August - 1981.

Local boy Andy played played for Murton colliery welfare before been picked up by Pools and he made steady progress though the ranks until his first full appearance against Stockport County.

This 6'2" man mountain was blessed with good feet as well as being awesome in the air and was earmarked for a big future.

Andy was offered a trial at Everton but opted to join second division side Leeds United for a fee of £20-000.
Andy did well for Dirty Leeds but was sold to Oldham in 1986 for a quick profit the fee was £45-000.
The big man had 2 great seasons for Oldham till Norwich City moved in for him with a big fee £350-000. Andy once said that his days at Norwich were the most enjoyable days of his football career. He was called up and won England B team caps the big clubs were taking note of the big mans performances and the mighty Arsenal put in a bid of 1.25 million and Andy became a gunner.
He was the first Hartlepool born footballer to break the magical million mark.
In my opinion it was a strange signing at the time because Arsenal had 5 of the best centre backs in the country Adams, Bould, Keown, O'Leary and Pates.
With this amount of quality on the books Linighan only made 101 appearances in 6 seasons but in that 6 seasons he picked up a championship medal, league cup winners medal, European cup winners medal and scored the late winning goal to give him and Arsenal the F.A. cup not bad for a Poolie boy.
At the age of 34 he moved across London to Crystal palace making over 100 appearances. His last league move was to Oxford at the age of 38 he bowed out of league football.
He has a spell at St Albans then set up his own business in the south.

Andy came from a big footballing family.

Dad Brian: pools res and Lincoln.
Brothers: David pools Shrewsbury and Ipswich. Brian Sheff Wed. John Sheff Wed. Mark pools res.
cousin Micheal pools youth team

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