Hartlepool United Roundup

By Albatross
February 10 2003

Hartlepool United's good form continues, but questions are raised about attendances; and rumours of a split between Gordon Watson and Mike Newell re-surface. Oh, and George Reynolds takes things out on a Fanzine Editor.

Pools win on Saturday lifted them to 66 points from 31 games - remember 71 was enough to reach the playoffs last season - and Rushden's failure to beat Darlington means that the gap stretched to 10 points. Surely Pools have never been top by such a margin, and many fans of other clubs seem to think that we're certain to win promotion now, or even the Championship. There's still a way to go before even promotion is assured, but - whisper it - Pools may finally be about to put some serious silverware in their Trophy Cabinet for the first time. To paraphrase the words of Ted Leadbitter last time we went up, promotion would be tremendous but the title would be the ice on the caking.

Rushden's 2-2 draw at Feethams hasn't been the main topic of conversation at Darlington though; Dave McLean, the current editor of Darlo Fanzine "Where's the Money Gone", was ejected from the ground, had his Season Ticket confiscated, and was told he was banned for life. His crime seems to be making certain statements that Chairman George Reynolds didn't like, and in a statement issued by the club McLean was compared to Lord Haw Haw (a British traitor who broadcast for the Nazis) and accused of "inciting a small number of fans" and making "unfair and biased remarks against our club." Quite what he is accused of inciting fans to do, and what is considered unfair and biased remains unclear, but support for McLean is coming in not just from Darlo fans, but from fans of many other clubs as well. Meanwhile, Darlo Uncovered publisher Scott Thornberry finds himself in the unenviable position of trying to run an unofficial site that receives more visitors than the official one, while at the same time trying to avoid the same fate as McLean. This is far from easy considering his team's plight and the understandable grievances of fans of a side that are still at risk of dropping into the relegation dogfight.

There have been two big talking points amongst Pools fans over the weekend, and the first of these is Gordon Watson. Rumours are circulating of him being less than impressed about not being part of the squad for Saturday's game, and storming off; however there seem to be differing versions about when this happened, with someone claiming to have seen him in the Victoria Lounge on the day, albeit leaving before the start, and someone else claiming that he was phoning racing results through to someone at the game from his home in Southampton! His nickname may be "Flash", but he would literally have to have been moving like lightning to be in both places at once. The club is saying nothing so far, to no-one's surprise, and only time will show whether there is some sort of bust-up between Newell and Watson or merely speculation. For what it's worth, I think Flash would have made the bench if it hadn't been for the cancellation of last week's reserve game; it may be that Newell thinks he still needs to have some more action before returning to the first team. As for Gordon's supposed unhappiness - well, every player wants to play, and we all know that Flash is as passionate about his football as anyone. I'd be more worried if he was supposed to have been happy with the decision.

The other issue exercising the minds of some Poolies is the attendance figures. The Official attendance was a shade over 5000, a figure that has been questioned by some. Paul Mullen has had to state a number of times what the club does to ensure the accuracy of the figures, and has offered to show interested parties the computer-controlled system the club uses. So why are there doubts in some minds? First of all, one of the frequent comments seems to be about how the Town End was full. This is debatable to say the least; the majority of fans in the Town End like to get as close to the section behind the goal as possible, and so this area will naturally seem to be full - but it's a different story the closer you get to the corners. Allow for the fact that there was a pretty small away following, and it doesn't strike me as being unrealistic.

And there's another thing being talked about: ground capacity. Ken Hodcroft made his feelings known about the attendances last week, and it's impossible to talk about one without the other. This season is the fourth one running that has seen Pools fielding a successful side playing good football; yet even now, our average attendance is barely two thirds of the capacity of the ground. Would this go up if we get promoted? It all depends on how well we do. If we were at the top end, then yes, there's every chance we would get more people in the ground: struggle, or even in mid-table, and they might even drop. Luton are on the fringes of the Playoffs, and are averaging just 28 more per game than last season.

There may be more away fans of course, especiall if some of the bigger names are in the division next season - Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday for example. A number of people have suggested moving the away fans - and Paul Mullen must be tiring of having to explain that the police and council greet every proposal for doing so with a flat refusal, regardless of how acceptable it is elsewhere. A double-decker stand at the Rink End is a possibility, but would cost serious money - money that would only be worth spending if we can be sure that it will be needed on a regular basis. If we get promoted and then manage to become an established Division 2 club in a couple of seasons it's a possibility - but in the meantime it's hard to see it being worth doing.

About the only other thing to say is that the "Manager of the Month Curse" has been well and truly vanquished; now let's see if we can rid another hoodoo by finally winning on Sky!