By Albatross
January 2 2005

Hartlepool United's first home game of 2005 should end up with a comfortable win - our opponents are MK Dons, the side with the worst away record in Division 2. Can Pools hammer another nail in their coffin and at the same time reclaim the best home record in the division from Hull? I make no secret of my antipathy towards the MK Dons and what they represent; in fact, in terms of representation it's hard to work out who or what they do stand for beyond naked greed. Certainly it's not Wimbledon - badge, colours, name and the overwhelming majority of fans are all different - and judging from the fact that their two home games over the Christmas period "attracted" less than 5000 each time it doesn't seem to be the large number of people living in Milton Keynes either. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to see Pools give them a hammering.

However that will of course depend on the two sets of players - so enough righteous indignation for the moment and on with the preview.

Following the car crash that was last season's relegation opinions varied on how the newly-named MK Dons would do. The answer has been "very slightly better but not much" as they have once again found themselves at the wrong end of the table. Their poor form eventually cost Stuart Murdoch his job, and after an interregnum under the stewardship of Jimmy Gilligan they appointed former Bristol City boss Danny Wilson. While their form has improved since his arrival, it's arguable whether it could have got worse anyway - after beating Pools at the Hockey Stadium back in September when we self-destructed, they proceded to go ten games without a win until defeating Wrexham the week before we took them apart 5-1.

Recent form shows them as having gone two games undefeated - both home games, with a win over fellow strugglers Blackpool followed by a 1-1 draw with Chesterfield. More pertinent is their away form which is only slightly less diabolical than ours was until late December - six defeats on the spin, five goals scored and eighteen conceded. They are currently the worst away side in the division, only avoiding defeat three times on their travels with draws against Chesterfield and Sheffield Wednesday and a solitary win over Colchester.

Leading scorer for Franchise is former Derby forward Izale McLeod with eleven goals (9 in the league); McLeod was of course sent off after clashing with Tony Sweeney in the game in Milton Keynes, and has also collected eight yellow cards. Midfielder Wade Small has scored nine (7 league), while McLeod's regular strike partner Allan Smart has scored four league goals plus another couple in cup games. Beyond that though no-one has scored more than twice - and a goal difference of -16 thanks to a leaky defence tells it's own tale.

Wilson has tried to shore things up by bringing in keeper Matt Baker from Wrexham, and signing Paul Mitchell (Wigan) and Anthony Danze (Crystal Palace) on loan, only to see Danze injured after just two games. Some better news for him though is that Malvin Kamara is apparently fit again, and Mark Williams is available also. However his squad still looks well short of experience and any Dons fans making the trip will be doing so in hope rather than expectation.

For Pools, there's no news of any injury troubles and so it looks likely to be an unchanged lineup again - meaning that Ben Clark will remain on the bench.

It's hard to see anything other than a convincing Pools win - we are the only side unbeaten at home in Division 2, have won eight home league games in a row and are unbeaten in five, while our opponents current average away result seems to be a defeat by two goals. I'm going for Pools to double that with a comprehensive 4-0 victory - Robertson, Porter and a brace for Boyd.