2003/4 Season Review: November

By Albatross
June 3 2004

After a poor October, there were signs of recovery for Hartlepool United in November - although not everyone was happy. Still, there was the prospect of some cup glory on the horizon....

Pools started off the month the way they had finished the previous one - with a distinct lack of form. Notts County were the team to benefit, as with Marcus Richardson playing as a loan striker we had an awful game and lost 1-0 at Meadow Lane. Was a crisis upon us? Were we about to slump?

Our FA Cup tie against Whitby gave us a much-needed chance to take a break from the league and play some potentially easier opposition. Whitby travelled in reasonable numbers but more in hope than expectation - and after Gabbiadini hit a couple of goals to spark Pools into life, there was only going to be one winner. Humphreys added a third before John Brackstone netted his first senior goal to complete a 4-0 win; Darren Craddock and Jack Wilkinson both came off the bench to make their first appearances for Pools as Cooper decided to blood a couple of youngsters.

The Second round draw was one to whet the appetite - Nigel Clough's Burton Albion would be our next opponents, and with the Clough connection making the game the standout story of the round, there was no surprise when the BBC decided to screen the game from Eton Park, With our record on live TV far from impressive, this looked like something of a mixed blessing...

Meanwhile, rumours were starting to circulate of Pools players heading out of the door. Tony Williams was rumoured to be on his way, but the real buzz was that Adam Boyd was about to have a loan spell at Darlington - to the horror of some Poolies who thought that such a "betrayal" would be the end for Boyd at Pools.

First of all though was the small matter of a game against the last team to walk out of the Vic with three points - Rushden and Diamonds. Craddock and Wilkinson were handed starts, and after Strachan's penalty was equalised by Rodney Jack, Wilkinson repayed Cooper's faith in him by grabbing the winner with 15 minutes to go.

The following week saw Taff Williams and Adam Boyd both go out on loan: Williams, having expressed his discontent at sitting on the bench at Pools, went to do the same at Swansea for a month, while Boyd headed off not to Darlington but their third division rivals Boston - where he soon made an impression.

Leaders Plymouth were next up for Pools, and there was no surprise that we lost: however the manner of our 2-0 defeat had some asking a few questions. It seemed we didn't know how to play away from home (we were to win seven and draw three of our next thirteen), and Cooper wasn't filling the positions that were a problem, specifically on the right. Evidence that Cooper already knew this followed shortly in the form of Danny Byrne, a right-sided midfielder from Man Utd who joined on loan.

All this was forgotten the next week though, as a Strachan penalty and a superb finish from Wilkinson saw Pools defeat Swindon 2-0. Cooper described the victory, earned in poor conditions, as possibly the best performance since he'd arrived; Swindon boss Andy King blamed the wind, bad luck, and pretty much anything other than himself or his team.

With the televised tie at Burton coming up, Cooper added to his squad further by signing Joel Porter on a short term deal; and so December arrived with Pools still in reasonable shape. Roll on the Clough-fest...