By Albatross
January 5 2004

Not the greatest month in the history of Hartlepool United - Cooper was never going to be a candidate for Manager of the Month - but Pools are still in the mix for a bit of glory. However, it was a team from Devon that were cock of the walk in December. Paul Sturrock of Plymouth picked up his second award of the season after the all-conquering Pilgrims won all four of their League encounters - and Saturday's seven goal mauling of Chesterfield seemed to indicate that the curse of the award isn't taken too seriously down in Devon. Sturrock's only real competition came from Wrexham boss Denis Smith; his side also had a perfect record, but played one game less and didn't score as many goals.

December wasn't a great month as far as Pools were concerned; we were below half way in the form table with only the win over Oldham and a point against Colchester to show for our efforts in Division 2 - though we did of course beat Burton in the FA Cup. Defeat against QPR was hardly unexpected, but the real blow was losing our long home record against Barnsley on Boxing Day.

Beyond the top two, the league remains tight. Plymouth and QPR look certs to occupy the automatic promotion positions, and it's just a matter of who will get the title; there is clear water now between them and the rest. The table of 31st December reveals though that the four playoff spots are still all up for grabs, with no less than 17 teams in the running - even Oldham and Brentford, in 18th and 19th place, were only ten points behind the final playoff slot. Bristol City did themselves a power of good over the month with three wins and a draw to vault into third place, and Wrexham and Swindon both moved up a few places - but with positions changing with almost every result, and most sides seeming to be capable of beating each other, it's far too early to say who will be gunning for a place at the Millenium Stadium come the end of the season. All it would take for any team outside the bottom five is a consistent run of form for a few games to leap ahead of the pack.

Surprise package of the month was Chesterfield. Although they still look doomed - especially after their heavy defeat by Plymouth - December saw them have the fourth best record in the division. After draws with Tranmere and Sheffield Wednesday, wins over Peterborough on Boxing Day and a fine 1-0 victory at Barnsley a couple of days later lifted them to the dizzy heights of 22nd before reality struck at the weekend.

Four teams failed to record a win during the month. Bournemouth and Brentford both picked up just a single point - though Bournemouth's Goal Difference was worse partly through not scoring a single goal - while two of the strugglers at the bottom, the Counties of Notts and Stockport, picked up two draws apiece. Meanwhile, there was no doubt much rejoicing at Peterborough, where just before Christmas they picked up their first three points at home of the season - at the eleventh attempt. How they will cope after selling leading scorer Leon McKenzie remains to be seen.

In fact, at the bottom it's starting to look like perm four from five for relegation. Wycombe, Notts County, Chesterfield, Stockport and Peterborough are starting to see a gap opening up ahead of them, and if it grows much further they risk being cast adrift to have their own private battle for survival - a struggle in which, like Highlander, there can be only one winner.

Weather permitting, Pools face five league games this month, three of them at home. Eight or nine points would probably be more than enough to stay in the playoff hunt - and with a home game against Peterborough first up, three points is not so much expected as required. We may be out of the cups, but it's still entirely possible that Pools could be playing at the Mill Stad come May - all I can say is, "Are you watching Kamara!"