By Albatross
October 6 2003

Tickets are selling well for Friday's game with Sheffield Wednesday, we've got another Aussie with an international pedigree on trial, and Jim Provett is coming in for a lot of credit. Time for a look at some of the news then.... Tickets are apparently selling fast for Friday's game, with the Cyril Knowles Stand sold out and less than 1200 tickets available across the rest of the ground as of Lunchtime. With Wednesday having sold all of their tickets, this could be our biggest attendance for some time. Although there may be some tickets available to buy on Friday, you won't be allowed to register on the club's database that day and so if you want to go to the game it's going to be a case of the sooner the better as far as getting your ticket is concerned.

After Adam Van Dommelle, Pools have taken another Australian on trial. Joel Porter is a forward who has played for Sydney Olympic in the NSL - the top Antipodean League - as well as making five appearances for the Socceroos, scoring four goals in the process - all against Fiji. He had been set to have a trial with Sunderland before Visa problems got in the way. He's also had recents trials with Wigan and French side Guingamp. Porter, who will be 25 on Christmas Day, has not been given a squad number yet, unlike Greek goalkeeper Demitrios Konstantopoulos, recently given the Number 30 shirt. Something tells me that the staff in the Club Shop will be hoping Jim Provett hangs on to his first team place....

Konstantopoulos has played a couple of times for the reserves now, and there have been rumours circulating that Tony Williams may soon be looking for somewhere else. If Konstantopoulos wins a longer-term deal, then those rumours will reach fever pitch - and I'll be looking for a nickname for the Greek Stopper to prevent my keyboard wearing out! Hull has been mentioned as a possible destination for Taff, but he'd possibly find himself even worse off there in terms of competition for places - both Musselwhite and Fettis are well-respected keepers. That hasn't stopped Peter Taylor looking at other alternatives though, with Michael Kuipers spending a period on loan there before returning to Brighton and putting in some good performances.

At the moment though Provett is looking very good value for his place and Taff can only watch from the sidelines. Chris Westwood has been quoted in the Northern Echo saying how much confidence the defensive unit have in Jim, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that reckons Taff could do better than Provett on current form. How well that defensive unit will perform without Chris Westwood remains to be seen.

With Pools in 5th place after Saturday's draw at Bournemouth, and Sheffield just one point and place ahead, Friday looks set to be an important game for both sides. Look out for a full preview of the match later in the week on Pools Online.