By Albatross
January 10 2005

Once again the FA Cup draw has failed to pull out a plum for Pools - or Boston for that matter. The winners of the replay on Wednesday Week will be away to Division 2 side Brentford. Not exactly attractive for anyone, but all three sides might be smelling a Fifth Round opportunity. If Pools make it to Round 4, the fixture will be played at Griffin Park on Saturday 29th January - but first of all we've got to overcome a Boston side that will surely be more adventurous on their own turf and feel that they have a very good chance indeed to progress at HUFC's expense. It's probably safe to say that whoever gets through, the tie is unlikely to provide much attraction for the TV Companies.

The failure of Pools to break down the resolute Pilgrims defence - and Adam Boyd's penalty miss - have certainly put the pressure on the players. A chorus of boos at the end of the game may be a little harsh - after all, we didn't actually lose - but show that the expectations of many Pools fans are considerably higher than they used to be. That's only to be expected after the last five or six years of relative success, although given some of the other performances in the Cup this weekend perhaps it's not quite the disaster that some seem to think. The Boston fans will no doubt feel fairly confident of turning us over at York Street, where they have yet to lose a game this season in the league - but Pools are still the side with the greater quality and have at least started to show some improved form on the road. The fact that Boston have been beaten at home in both the League Cup (agaisnt Fulham) and LDV (Cambridge).

Whichever side does get through won't have a lot of time to get everything organised in terms of transport though - the fourth round is due to take place just ten days after the replay. Fortunately for the replay winners in a way, Brentford are unlikely to be forced to make the game all ticket.

Certain players seem to be getting it in the neck after Saturday's game, with some sharply divided opinions on the likes of Boyd (who would probably admit he was below his best), Humphreys and Sweeney - though no-one seems to think Tinkler had anything other than a poor game in a season that hasn't been good for him in any case. While it's hard to doubt that some players had an off day, the problem with Tinks seems to be that his pace (never particularly notable) is deserting him, and he's finding it harder and harder to keep up with the game - and that's becoming more evident as time goes by. It's hardly the case that it's age alone though - Tinkler is after all only just past his 30th Birthday - but at the moment the case for giving Ben Clark a run in the side at his expense is becoming hard to ignore.

Meanwhile though Pools have to concentrate on that away League Record with a visit to Torquay United on Saturday - a long trip that is hardly going to be ideal preparation for a tricky cup replay.