Hartlepool United Player Profiles: 6 to 9
By Albatross
March 27 2003
More Hartlepool United Player Profiles, with Chris Westwood, Mark Tinkler, Ritchie Humphreys and Eifion Williams coming under the microscope.
Westie signed for Pools after playing for Chris Turner in the youth team at Wolves. He'd failed to make more than a handful of appearances at Molineaux, and had been training with Telford after having a troubled time with injuries. Turner signed him soon after arriving at the end of the 1998/9 season.
After a slow start, he established himself in the side the following season and has been a regular ever since, chalking up over 150 starts. A quick player, his partnership with Graeme Lee has developed well.
He has had his knockers - especially last season after a poor spell - but has come back with a vengeance to become a capable - and consistent - performer. He has been rewarded with a new deal that will keep him at Pools for another two seasons.
Tinks started his career at Leeds, and spent six seasons at Elland Road. He only made 27 appearances (16 starts) for the club though, and towards the end of 96/7 he moved to York. Over 100 appearances followed, as Tinks established himself as a highly competetive and combatitive midfielder in Division 2: 18 yellow and 4 red cards showed that!
He moved on to Southend for the 99/2000 season, and was a regular for them until signing for Pools at the start of November 2000. Southend fans were very sorry to see him go, but as one of the highest earners at a financially struggling club, the Shrimpers had to either persuade him to take a wage cut or let him go. Chris Turner stepped in to make one of his shrewdest signings for Pools.
It didn't take long for Tinks to make a difference for Pools, and the combination of Tinkler, Miller and Stephenson in midfield proved one of the most effective in the club's history as we finished 4th - all the more sickening because of Chesterfield's financial misdemenours attracting a light punishment.
Tinkler had played the defensive midfielder role for all of that season, but the departure of Miller gave him the opportunity to show what he could do going forward. A return of 9 goals was a welcome surprise, and a further 10 this season - including a hat-trick against Wrexham - has confirmed Tinkler as one of the most complete midfielders in the division.
Still only 28 - despite his greying locks - Tinkler looks likely to be a fixture in the Pools midfield for some time to come after signing a new two year deal recently.
When Ritchie signed for Pools in the summer of 2001, it was seen as a major capture by the fans - and he's not disappointed.
After making an immediate impact at Sheffield Wednesday with some spectacular goals, he quickly found himself in the England u-21 squad and being lauded by none other than Marco Van Basten. However, he soon found himself having to fill in at fullback, and things went from bad to worse as he faded from the picture at Hillsborough.
After a spell injured, he left Wednesday and signed for Cambridge at the end of 2000/1. Despite making a big impact at the Abbey, he was allowed to sign for Pools over the summer.
Initially playing as a striker, Humphreys found it difficult as Pools got off to a very poor start. Although he was playing well enough, he seemed to be doing everything but score. Eventually he moved into the centre of midfield and had a big impact on the rest of the season.
His passion and will to win came out when he failed to score the crucial penalty that saw Pools crash out of the playoffs: he was obviously distraught, and this season has looked like a man on a mission. Especially since moving to the left wing, he has torn defences to shreds on a regular basis and scored a few as well - including a hat trick against Swansea. He's yet another player to have committed his future to the club recently in a new two season deal.
Willo was well known to be a favourite of Chris Turner's, after making a big impact on the former boss by scoring a hat-trick against Pools on his debut for Torquay in 1998/9. After a prolific spell in the League of Wales, the Gulls picked him up and he went on to make over 100 appearances and score 24 goals at Plainmoor.
He was not rated by Torquay boss Roy MacFarland though, and a few eyebrows were raised when Turner stepped in to pay £30K for him last March - especially as he would have been available for nothing in the summer. The deal payed off though, as Eifion scored five goals to help Pools into the playoffs.
This season has seen him as our leading scorer, and with his pace, skill, and finishing he's proved a handful to most defences.