Football Season Review

Hartlepool had an up and down season which saw them struggle at home but have the best away record in the league until January, only for their travelling form to take a dramatic dip in the new year. This made them rely almost solely on their home displays for points. Having made only one real signing over the summer in Evan Horwood, the Pools were dealt a further blow only two games into the season, as manager Chris Turner opted to resign, with Mick Wadsworth taking over as caretaker. The initial form under Turner was mixed, but the points were coming, and the board opted to give the journeyman manager the permanent job despite some humiliating home defeat (such as the 5-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday and a 4-0 defeat to Carlisle). The Monkey Hangers have been a horribly inconsistent side during most of the previous three seasons, and duly followed the trend this season. They remained a side perfectly capable of beating anyone in this division on their day, but their love of attacking teams in numbers at home left them far too exposed at the back on numerous occasions. One of the main problems Wadsworth had to deal with over the course of the season was the lack of a constant goal threat. Striker James Brown, considered one of the most talented players in the squad, once again had a campaign plagued with injuries and scored only one goal during the entire season, while other strikers, such as Colin Larkin, Denis Behan and Adam Boyd, also failed to step up, leaving the Pools needing goals from midfield to step up. However, Hartlepool did start getting more and more convincing as the season progressed, and a good run of form in March left them with hopes of a top six finish. But such hopes eventually failed to materialise, and Wadsworth was left rotating his squad in the final six games of the season, an approach that resulted in the Pools finished below what would've probably been a more realistic ranking. Filled with talent in the middle and with a decent enough defence, the Pools look just a few players short from being a team that could really challenge for the top six next season.

Player of the Season: Antony Sweeney