Terk

"I'm gonna slap that bästard Porter if he costs us one more point through his stupid missed chances."

Rob Watson's patience had grown more than thin with his star Australian striker's profligacy in front of goal. The season was halfway gone and Joel's inability to hit the net on a more regular basis had hit Hartlepool hard. Fair enough, the Aussie did have nine goals to his name and in the early part of the season, at least, had been netting at a good rate, but just one strike between 16th October and 11th December was hardly manager pleasing form.

Watson had got the job at Victoria Park in the summer of 2001 after impressing in the interview afforded him with mention of his plans to emulate the late, great Brian Clough. Considering that Clough had led Hartlepool to a promotion at the beginning of his career, it was the sort of talk that the Hartlepool board liked to hear. Promotion would mean them being a Championship side, and that was a dream that had not dared consider yet. Watson's remit for his first season in charge was merely to gain the club a respectable position within League One, and that meant mid-table. Come the end of August, however, mid-table looked like a climb equivalent to Everest, such was the paucity of the club's start to life under Rob.

Indeed, August was such a bad month for the club that they ended it in 23rd place in the league, and only an 87th minute equaliser from Mark Tinkler against Swindon at Victoria Park stopped them from finishing the month without a single point on the board. After good pre-seasons wins over Shamrock Rovers, U.C.D. and Canvey Island, Watson put the opening day defeat at Doncaster down to over-confidence. The score at Belle Vue was 2-0 to the home side, but that was nothing like the pain they felt when Iain Hume netted Tranmere's third at Victoria Park a week later. Admittedly, there was the positive of Porter opening his account to take from the game against the Merseysiders, but when goals from Michael Barron and Steven Istead weren't enough to overcome Luton, it was obvious that things had not gone exactly as planned. Then came the Swindon game which got them off the mark, but before facing Luton, Watson's men had overcome Brighton in the League Cup 1st round. The game had stood even at 1-1 after extra time, but Porter tucked away the vital penalty in the shoot-out to send Hartlepool through to a second round meeting with West Brom.

September began well when, despite having goalkeeper Jim Provett sent off inthe first half, and having no goalkeeper on the bench to replace him, Hartlepool beat down Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Hillsborough. When Porter was sent from the field, Matthew Hamshaw netted the resultant penalty past Istead, but second half goals from Barron and Porter claimed 'Pool's first league win of the season. And that was quickly followed by their second, third and fourth league wins of the season. Peterborough were dispatched from Victoria Park with only a 3-0 defeat to show for their travels, and a visit to Oldham produced a win by the same scoreline for Watson's men. Brentford were then sent packing by a Gavin Strachan double before West Brom claimed a 4-1 League Cup win to halt their roll. A visit to Chesterfield in the league saw Ryan McCann and Joel Porter net in a 2-2 draw before the month was rounded off with a 3-0 defeat of Wrexham, and the club sitting in a much prettier sixth place.

Peacemaker7

Yay another short story from Simon \o/

Good luck

Terk

A 3-1 win over the MK Dons kept 'Pool's good form going into October, but then came a stutter as they could only manage a draw at home with Port Vale and then fell victim to a last minute Paul Merson goal at Victoria Park which gave Walsall a 2-1 win (this game also marked Porter's final goal until mid-December). They got themselves back on track with wins against Huddersfield and Bournemouth, but sandwiched between those two successes was a disappointing home defeat to mid-table Hull, but the month did end with Hartlepool having climbed a place into 5th.

November was an horrific month for Hartlepool as they managed to take just one point from a possible nine and saw themselves tumble out of the FA Cup to lower league opposition. Torquay came from behind at Victoria Park to steal themselves an underserved 2-1 victory, and that was closely followed by a comlpete demolition job from Barnsley. The Yorkshire outfit struck three times at Oakwell without reply, but in reality it could have been a far worse defeat for Rob Watson's boys. A trip to Huish Park followed in the FA Cup, but an inspired performance from ex-Evertonian Phil Jevons saw Yeovil triumph 2-0 in a game where they were rarely troubled. The month finished a a visit to Blackpool, and despite going two up through goals from Istead and Darrell Clarke, Hartlepool contrived to throw away the win when they conceded two goals in the final ten minutes, dropping down to eigth place in the process.

The first game of December saw the bad form continue as Stockport came to Victoria Park and left with a 2-1 win. Istead had put the home side in front from the penalty spot, but a spirited Stockport fightback saw them walk away with all three points. Adam Boyd replaced Porter for the trip to Bradford, and rewarded his manager's faith in him with a two goal haul which fired 'Pool to a 3-1 win at Valley Parade. The Vans Trophy was an unwelcome distraction in Rob's eyes, so an understrength side was put out. Despite that, 'Pool roared into a 2-0 lead, only to find themselves 3-2 down with ten minutes to go. Porter fired them back level, but a last minute goal from Notts County sealed the tie in their favour. A visit from Bristol City in the league saw Hartlepool suffer another defeat, this time by three goals to one, but they bounced back and took three points from Luton a week later thanks to a solitary Stephenson goal. A second successive win followed at high flying Tranmere with Humphreys grabbing the only goal this time, but 2001 ended on a sour note as Doncaster stole a 1-0 victory at Vicoria Park to put themselves just three points behind Hartlepool going into the New Year.

Terk

stuart, all I can think to say is :p

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<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * English Second Division - Saturday 29th December 2001********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2001/2 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Tranmere 24 9 1 1 26 7 6 5 2 24 18 51 2nd Bristol City 24 8 2 1 27 13 6 3 4 29 22 47 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Port Vale 24 9 3 1 32 14 4 3 4 18 22 45 4th Bradford 25 6 2 4 24 18 7 1 5 21 16 42 5th Barnsley 25 9 2 2 19 10 1 6 5 13 16 38 6th HARTLEPOOL 25 4 2 7 18 19 7 2 3 22 17 37 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7th Walsall 24 5 4 4 22 20 5 3 3 21 20 37 8th Blackpool 24 5 5 1 19 12 3 7 3 23 25 36 9th Luton 25 7 2 3 26 21 3 3 7 8 13 35 10th Doncaster 24 5 4 2 18 9 4 3 6 16 20 34 11th Stockport 25 5 4 3 24 22 4 3 6 21 29 34 12th Chesterfield 24 7 5 1 28 16 1 4 6 7 15 33 13th Sheff Wed 24 8 2 2 23 12 1 4 7 10 20 33 14th Hull 25 8 1 5 35 22 2 2 7 10 25 33 15th Colchester 24 4 7 1 22 18 4 2 6 19 25 33 16th Peterborough 24 3 5 3 10 15 6 1 6 16 20 33 17th Swindon 25 6 2 4 23 19 3 3 7 16 24 32 18th Wrexham 25 6 4 3 20 11 2 4 6 16 29 32 19th Huddersfield 24 6 4 3 17 12 2 1 8 14 21 29 20th MK Dons 25 4 2 7 22 20 3 3 6 13 19 26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21st Torquay 24 6 1 6 28 24 2 1 8 11 22 26 22nd Oldham 24 2 4 4 12 17 2 6 6 17 23 22 23rd Bournemouth 24 3 5 5 12 21 0 5 6 13 26 19 </pre>

garno

good luck (again!)

Wag

Good Luck

You're looking well placed for the second half of the season..

Terk

cheers, garno and wag, if we can iron out some of the inconsistencies and improve our home form then a play-off place could be on the cards

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author's note: Due to my lack of anything even approaching intelligence, I appear to have lost all my notes for scores/scorers/results for the second half of the 2001/02 season and, to be perfectly honest, I can't be buggered trauling back through the game to get them all again. I do, however, have the tables from the end of each month, so my first campaign shall be rounded off in super quick style. Sorry.


Nine points out of a possible twelve kept Hartlepool right up there in sixth place and looking good for a play-off spot. Bristol City and Tranmere were long gone by this time, the only fight left was for the four places behind them.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * English Second Division - Saturday 2nd February 2002********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2001/2 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Tranmere 29 12 1 1 34 10 7 5 3 26 21 63 2nd Bristol City 29 10 2 2 33 16 8 3 4 32 23 59 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Barnsley 29 10 2 2 21 10 4 6 5 23 22 50 4th Port Vale 29 10 4 1 37 17 4 4 6 23 32 50 5th Bradford 29 7 2 5 29 21 7 3 5 27 22 47 6th Hartlepool 29 6 2 7 22 19 8 2 4 26 20 46 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7th Doncaster 29 6 6 2 25 13 6 3 6 19 20 45 8th Blackpool 29 7 5 2 26 13 4 7 4 25 29 45 9th Chesterfield 29 8 6 1 35 22 1 7 6 13 21 40 10th Sheff Wed 29 10 2 3 29 14 1 5 8 12 24 40 </pre>



With the top two maintaining their nine point gap from the rest come the end of February, there was no way that anyone else was going to get automatic promotion. The month was, however, a disastrous one for 'Pool as they took a mere four points from the fifteen they could have had. Bradford and Barnsley were looking a bit out of reach, Blackpool were the side they felt they could realistically reach.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Bradford 34 10 2 5 37 23 8 4 5 31 25 60 4th Barnsley 34 12 3 2 28 13 5 6 6 25 24 60 5th Port Vale 34 12 4 1 41 18 4 5 8 26 42 57 6th Blackpool 34 8 6 3 30 17 5 8 4 29 31 53 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7th Hartlepool 34 7 3 7 26 22 8 2 7 28 28 50 8th Doncaster 34 7 6 3 26 15 6 3 9 21 25 48 9th Walsall 34 7 7 4 30 25 5 3 8 26 34 46 10th Stockport 34 9 4 4 34 26 4 3 10 25 42 46 </pre>



Barnsley and Bradford had clawed themselves within striking distance of Bristol, but Tranmere had by this time already booked their place in at least the play-offs. Nine points from eighteen made it hardly the best of times for Hartlepool as inconsistency kept rearing its ugly head, and bringing back six points in six games was going to be a big ask.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">2nd Bristol City 40 14 3 3 44 22 9 3 8 37 33 75 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Barnsley 40 15 3 2 36 15 6 6 8 26 26 72 4th Bradford 40 13 2 5 45 27 8 6 6 34 29 71 5th Port Vale 40 15 4 1 50 23 4 5 11 27 50 66 6th Blackpool 40 8 9 3 34 21 8 8 4 39 36 65 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7th Doncaster 40 10 7 3 34 19 7 3 10 23 27 61 8th Hartlepool 40 9 4 7 30 23 8 4 8 32 34 59 9th Chesterfield 40 10 6 4 42 30 4 8 8 26 32 56 10th Walsall 40 9 8 4 37 30 6 3 10 33 40 56 </pre>



And it was one they couldn't manage. A draw against Blackpool scuppered them good and proper as again they picked up only nine points from eighteen on offer. Tranmere confirmed themselves as clearly the best side in the league and Bristol snuck home with a last day win at Valley Parade. Barnsley came through a play-off final against Bradford, and 'Pool would have to go through it all again before Rob could count the first hurdle on his road to being the new Brian Clough completed.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * English Second Division - Sunday 26th May 2002********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2001/2 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Tranmere 46 18 2 3 46 18 12 6 5 45 33 98 2nd P Bristol City 46 16 4 3 53 26 11 3 9 45 41 88 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3rd Bradford 46 16 2 5 53 27 10 7 6 41 32 87 4th P Barnsley 46 17 4 2 41 18 6 8 9 30 32 81 5th Blackpool 46 9 10 4 42 26 9 9 5 46 42 73 6th Port Vale 46 15 5 3 56 31 6 5 12 30 54 73 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7th Doncaster 46 11 7 5 37 23 8 5 10 26 29 69 8th Hartlepool 46 9 6 8 35 31 10 5 8 38 38 68 9th Walsall 46 11 8 4 42 31 6 6 11 41 49 65 10th Colchester 46 9 11 3 46 34 6 6 11 29 40 62 11th Oldham 46 9 7 7 36 33 7 7 9 30 36 62 12th Swindon 46 11 5 7 44 36 6 5 12 27 41 61 13th Sheff Wed 46 11 6 6 37 25 4 7 12 23 38 58 14th Bournemouth 46 10 8 5 34 29 3 11 9 34 48 58 15th Chesterfield 46 10 7 6 46 36 4 8 11 28 39 57 16th Luton 46 9 6 8 43 44 6 5 12 23 28 56 17th Huddersfield 46 10 7 6 34 27 5 3 15 24 39 55 18th Wrexham 46 10 7 6 39 27 3 7 13 26 50 53 19th Peterborough 46 7 8 8 26 31 6 6 11 25 36 53 20th Stockport 46 10 5 8 41 35 4 6 13 33 59 53 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21st R Brentford 46 9 6 8 38 36 4 4 15 26 49 49 22nd R Hull 46 12 2 9 49 36 2 3 18 20 55 47 23rd R MK Dons 46 8 4 11 32 29 4 6 13 22 39 46 24th R Torquay 46 8 4 11 49 49 4 3 16 26 52 43 </pre>

Terk

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * Hartlepool United - Sunday 26th May 2002********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2001/2 Senior Club Stats============================================= ================================================== =No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19 Bass, Jonathan 13 (1) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.29 16 Boyd, Adam 8 (7) 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 7.27 20 Brackstone, John 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.60 25 Brackstone, John - - - - - - - - ---- 27 Carpenter, Richard 10 4 0 1 (0) 1 0 0 2 7.50 11 Clarke, Darrell 29 6 0 0 4 0 0 0 6.72 13 Duncan, Kevin 3 (1) 0 7 0 0 0 0 1 7.25 14 Guéret, Willy 9 0 18 0 0 0 0 0 6.78 26 Higgins, Ruaidhri 13 (2) 4 0 0 4 0 0 0 7.33 8 Humphreys, Ritchie 41 (2) 4 0 0 5 3 0 1 6.86 15 Jordan, Andy 6 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.43 28 McCann, Ryan 14 (3) 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.94 4 McManus, Stephen 15 (1) 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 6.50 9 Porter, Joel 39 (1) 20 0 0 5 0 0 7 7.55 1 Provett, Jim 21 0 33 0 0 0 2 0 7.00 12 Robertson, Hugh 19 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.68 22 Robson, Mattie - - - - - - - - ---- 24 Robson, Matty 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.75 2 Ross, Jack 36 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 6.81 5 Sagi Burton 9 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 7.22 17 Stephenson, Paul 20 4 0 0 3 0 0 0 7.00 18 Strachan, Gavin 36 (2) 9 0 0 14 0 0 2 7.26 23 Sweeney, Anthony 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.40 7 Tinkler, Mark 17 (3) 2 0 0 3 1 0 0 7.00 3 Van Dommele, Adam 38 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 6.42 6 Westwood, Chris 35 (3) 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 6.97 10 Williams, Eifion 4 (7) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.82 </pre>

Peacemaker7

Ah well, unlucky, better luck in the new season

Terk

can't remember the last time I completed a season in a proper story. bit of a milestone