(Can I actually make it to the Conference? Well...)
November 2005
I knew this month was going to be hard right from the get-go; 5 out of the 6 scheduled matches were away games. Despite another good performance on the field, we couldn't back it up when it came to the scoreline, losing to Kidderminster Harriers in our first match of the month. Of course, the board had to give me a final ultimatum after that match, saying that a loss against Swansea City would force them to consider my position. Thankfully, the team turned in possibly their best performance of my stay at Hartlepool, coming back after blowing a 2-0 lead to win 4-2 and buy me some time. We had 3 players out due to international commitments heading to Rochdale for our FA Cup First Round match, yet I still chose to go with the same tactics that gave us our big win at midweek. They produced a big win - for Rochdale. A 5-1 loss sent us spiraling right out of the FA Cup, as my record in cup matches goes to 0-0-6. The following match at home to Leyton Orient seemed promising... That is, until Williams missed a penalty that he should have converted. And then Orient came back up the field to score.
If he had converted that penalty, we wouldn't have lost the game.
If he had converted that penalty, the team would have had some breathing room.
If he had converted that penalty, I wouldn't have gotten the sack.
November 5: Kidderminster Harriers 1-0 Hartlepool United
November 9: Swansea City 2-4 Hartlepool United (Þórhallsson 2, Wilkinson 2)
November 12: Rochdale 5-1 Hartlepool United (Gallimore o/g)
(FA Cup First Round) November 19: Hartlepool United 0-1 Leyton Orient
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Inf Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Southend 16 10 3 3 33 17 +16 33 2nd Rushden 16 9 4 3 28 19 +9 31 3rd Bristol Rovers 16 8 5 3 26 15 +11 29 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th Peterborough 16 8 4 4 33 18 +15 28 5th Cheltenham 16 7 5 4 24 16 +8 26 6th Shrewsbury 16 7 5 4 24 17 +7 26 7th Rochdale 16 7 5 4 20 17 +3 26 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8th Cambridge 16 6 5 5 17 16 +1 23 9th Darlington 16 6 5 5 18 19 -1 23 10th York 16 6 5 5 14 17 -3 23 11th Port Vale 16 5 7 4 17 14 +3 22 12th Leyton Orient 16 6 4 6 18 18 0 22 13th Kidderminster 16 5 5 6 19 24 -5 20 14th Macclesfield 16 5 5 6 14 19 -5 20 15th Barnet 16 4 7 5 16 15 +1 19 16th Scunthorpe 16 5 3 8 23 22 +1 18 17th Swansea 16 4 6 6 16 17 -1 18 18th Hartlepool 16 4 6 6 15 20 -5 18 19th Northampton 16 5 3 8 26 35 -9 18 20th Chesterfield 16 3 7 6 16 20 -4 16 21st Grimsby 16 4 4 8 16 24 -8 16 22nd Mansfield 16 4 4 8 13 27 -14 16 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------23rd Wycombe 16 4 2 10 18 25 -7 14 24th Bury 16 2 7 7 16 29 -13 13</pre>
The early league form in season one seemed promising, and I thought that I could have finished mid-table at the very least, but then for some reason it all went to hell. I don't know if Hartlepool are harder in FM than in CM (considering the board wants a decent mid-table spot, the team can't be totally crap) but obviously I'm going to have to take a different approach at this the second time around.
Let's see... 7 day rule... started the story on a Tuesday... yeah. Expect attempt #2 later this week after I check into a few things. ^_^ 
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