shannon2007

The one thing that amazes me is how few draws you get. What tactic do you use?

Mibbe if you win the division you'll have a better chance of getting the next stage that I did, who knows with this game.

retired_wildshoper101190

Hi, ahm Randy Wakeman the thurd, and this is Baston Gowls

Mike..

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LongTimeComing:
Hi, ahm Randy Wakeman the thurd, and this is Baston Gowls <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Busted!


...and PM, I'm using 3 DC's, 2 wingbacks, and a flat 3-man midfield out of which one pushes up behind two strikers. I think part of the reason for the lack of draws is a habit I have of either shutting the door or chasing the game in the last 15 minutes, depending on the score at the time

shannon2007

Ah mibbe you're more tactically astute. Anyway, on with the show

Mike..

if you insist......



In December Hartlepool had played seven league games in a little over three weeks, they’d dropped from the top of the table to fourth place and on New Year’s Day they travelled to Hull – who were fifth – knowing that they could drop out of the play-off spots. They were without Boyd and Webster, and Gavin Strachan was played on the bench despite carrying a injured shin from the home game against Wrexham – another game where points had been dropped to a side at the bottom of the table. Ninety minutes later, and five games without a win, Wakeman’s side had swapped places with their hosts.

“Whilst Randy seemed sure that we would turn things around, most of us were starting to worry by then,” Tinkler recalls, “We’d played five games and only scored in one of them, and that was an own goal. The Luton game turned all that around but probably gave Randy a real headache too, with Andy (Appleby) grabbing a hat-trick like that”.

On January 3rd 2005 Hartlepool played host to Luton Town and a four-two win propelled them right back into contention for the top spot. Andrew Appleby got three of the goals, Joel Porter one, and there was a feeling of unease around the town. When the transfer window had opened there’d been a lot of speculation about Appleby following an alleged approach from Portsmouth, the team then enjoying a mid-table slot in the Premier League. The press had carried stories of Portsmouth’s enquiry along with a brief statement from Wakeman to the effect that no decent transfer offers would go unconsidered. For the teenager it was an exciting time.

“That hat-trick took me to something like sixteen goals for the season and I admit that I was probably lifted by the interest of Pompey, I was perfectly happy at ‘Pool – even with the problems we’d played ourselves into – but the prospect of signing for a Premiership side was enough to excite anyone. Wakeman took me to one side to discuss things when an official approach was made, he told me that Harry Redknapp had enquired about my price and that he intended to suggest a figure, but he made it clear that his decision was no reflection on me as a player. I think it must have been a really tough situation for him, on the one hand he didn’t want to let me go on the cheap, but on the other even a few hundred thousand would have done wonders for the club’s finances.” The records don’t show what figure Wakeman gave to Portsmouth, but from articles in the press it’s clear that their interest cooled and this can only have been down to the price. For the time being Appleby would remain at Victoria Park, and Wakeman would keep balancing the books.

Mike..

On Saturday January 8th, FA Cup third round day, Randy Wakeman III got his first taste of playing on a big stage as he led his side out in front of nearly 32,000 fans at Goodison Park. Quite aside from the financial windfall of the game, which would have been a very welcome boost, the pure theatre of the occasion was certainly not lost on the American.

“When he went through the team sheet for the cup game you could see a light in his eyes, like an excited kid” says Gavin Strachan, who went closest to scoring for Hartlepool, “He’d done his homework and he knew that Everton were in a pretty terrible run of form, we actually came close to surprising them but I have to say that they deserved the win. They created a shed-load of chances and Jimmy Provett was on top form, Gravesen’s effort was the only one to get past us, if I’d managed to put my free-kick a couple of feet to the right then we’d have earned a replay on home turf and who knows what would have happened then. Still, it seemed to help our form, after that we went three straight games without defeat, we were unlucky not to grab a late winner at home to Barnsley, then we went to Swindon and Huddersfield and took four points – no small thing with our main scorer out”

Strachan makes reference to Andrew Appleby’s fractured jaw, suffered in the Barnsley game. With sixteen goals to his name Appleby was the primary threat in the ‘Pool front line, especially as Boyd had started to misfire once more. “What can I say? I just wasn’t in form, but through that whole time the gaffer never lost enough faith in me that I was dropped from the squad. Six weeks might not sound a long time to go without scoring but remember that this was the Christmas and New Year period, I’d not put the ball away I nine games before the Swindon trip.”

As always seemed to be the case however, the run of form didn’t come without a price. Hugh Robertson suffered a lengthy injury during the Huddersfield game, and with John Brackstone already out Wakeman was left without a left-sided defender for at least the next four games, starting with their LDV Vans regional semi-final.

Mike..

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Hull | 29 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 47 | 26 | +21 | 53 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Bristol C | 29 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 49 | 28 | +21 | 51 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Hartlepool | 28 | 16 | 3 | 9 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 51 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Sheff Wed | 27 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 46 | 22 | +24 | 50 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Torquay | 28 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 48 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Oldham | 28 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 48 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Colchester | 29 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 45 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Barnsley | 29 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 44 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Tranmere | 29 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 44 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Bournemouth | 28 | 13 | 5 | 10 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 44 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Swindon | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 36 | 31 | +5 | 43 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Luton | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 35 | 40 | -5 | 43 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Peterborough | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 41 | 46 | -5 | 38 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Blackpool | 29 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 37 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Huddersfield | 29 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 27 | 33 | -6 | 35 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Stockport | 29 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 29 | 40 | -11 | 35 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Bradford City | 27 | 10 | 4 | 13 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 34 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Doncaster | 28 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 40 | 54 | -14 | 32 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Brentford | 29 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 44 | 51 | -7 | 30 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Walsall | 29 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 25 | 35 | -10 | 30 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Port Vale | 29 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 29 | 43 | -14 | 30 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | MK Dons | 29 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 30 | -15 | 25 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | | Chesterfield | 29 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 24 | 47 | -23 | 25 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | | Wrexham | 27 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 21 | 35 | -14 | 23 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

mrsevans7177

A soccer am fan eh flippers... :p

Anyways, promotion looks a certainty now, better than I did. gave up after 23 games lying bottom with 20 points

KUTGW

Mike..

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bartley_m:
A soccer am fan eh flippers... :p
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

So much so that I edited The Badgers into the Conference North but then I found out just how bad they were and dropped them.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bartley_m:
Anyways, promotion looks a certainty now, better than I did. gave up after 23 games lying bottom with 20 points

KUTGW <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Cheers, it's really strange how a few of us have found it so much easier than a lot of others with the same squad(s)

Mike..

“Randy moved fast to try and bring in some more backup on loan, but he couldn’t do anything in time for the LDV game and frankly we got stuffed by (Sheffield) Wednesday on their ground. We were all over the place, Richie Humphreys was playing at full back and Gav (Strachan) was in the hole behind the strikers, but somehow we got through to the end of January without dropping out of the title battle and then we managed to get some cover” Mark Tinkler recalls the end of the turbulent two month period that had seen Hartlepool averaging a game every four days without respite. “Jim Goodwin came in on a three month loan from Stockport and just missed out on the draw at Peterborough, it wasn’t a moment too soon either – if I remember right, myself, Gav (it was actually Jim Whitley) and Joel Porter all reached the dreaded yellow card limit in that game and we were desperate to plug the gaps. Actually the whole disciplinary thing was becoming something of a problem for the FA. They’d come down hard on the referees, they wanted bookings for dissent, bookings for so-called ‘simulation’ and even bookings for goal celebrations. Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of stuff in the game that needed stamping out but it was getting silly. I remember one game in February, Blackpool I think it was, where the ref gave out thirteen yellow cards, I mean that’s just ridiculous – to me that just shows that he had no confidence in his own ability to run the game”

It’s strange that the December and January period was viewed as being so much worse than the rest of the season by players, in February Hartlepool played seven more games in a day or two over three weeks, but once January was over most players seemed to feel that they’d got over some sort of mental obstacle. Certainly that seemed to be the case for Hartlepool, having battled their way through the winter period they swept into March on the back of a truly memorable month, in fact it was only the trip to Bristol City – the last game of the month – that resulted in defeat. Before that Wakeman had taken his team through a run of five wins and a draw, the wins included 4-2 and 5-3 away victories at Oldham and Port Vale respectively. At the end of February, with ten games to go, Hartlepool sat top of the table with a five point cushion over third placed Hull.