Pools continue search for consistency

While the sporting headlines are dominated by a foreigner's amazing willingness to pay hundreds of millions of pounds to stop another foreigner from owning a struggling Premiership club and an off-form player’s equally amazing lack of loyalty, football life goes on - and for Hartlepool United that means another step in their search for something like consistency in League One.

After three wins on the trot, Pools followed their age-old pattern and allowed it all to go to pot in a game they could quite easily have won at Orient last weekend, and that means they are under extra pressure when they take on Bristol Rovers at Victoria Park this weekend.
It’s one of those bread-and-butter games that will, as usual, be largely ignored by the national media, but like so many more up and down the country, it means a lot to the fans of the two clubs involved.
It’s a long way for Rovers fans to travel, and after last weekend’s result many Pools followers will also probably choose to stay away.
But it’s a vital game for Mick Wadsworth and his players.
The temporary/caretaker/stand-in/provisional/short-term/acting manager has been saying for some time that Pools will not be in trouble this season, that they are good enough to be comfortable in League One, and at times the players have proved that he just might be right.
Then they go and mess it all up by losing at Orient, making him look wrong and themselves look daft, so they can’t afford more home slip-ups against Rovers.
They have had enough of them at the Vic already this season –  Sheff Wed 5-0, Carlisle 4-0 and even a narrow 3-2 against Exeter were bad results and bad performances. It makes you wonder how a team which has only conceded two goals in six away games can let in nine in two home games.
Now they need to start matching an away record which is still excellent, despite last weekend’s result, with a solid home record and the last thing they need to do is add to those three home League defeats.
Meanwhile, the club has announced that the contract of Norwegian Jon-AndreFredriksen has been cancelled by mutual consent.
When he signed in the summer of 2009, it was hoped he was one of the first in a constant stream of Scandinavian players who would boost the squad.
Whatever happened to that idea?