By Albatross
May 5 2006

Forget Middlesbrough: if Hartlepool United avoid relegation on the last day we will have defied the odds that made us look dead and buried with three games to go. Port Vale have little to play for; Pools though have every reason to play this game at full throttle. Here we go then, the last game of the season and once again the stakes are high for Hartlepool United.

In terms of what Pools have to do, the answer is simple: win. Nothing else will do. If we can win handsomely then we may increase our chances slightly, but we're talking an unlikely six or seven goal victory to overturn the goal difference between ourselves, Rotherham and Blackpool. Then it's all down to the result between the Millers and the Franchise, and a nervous wait for news from Millmoor.

There's no doubt that some Port Vale fans would like nothing better than to send us down, with some bitterness still evident from when we pipped them to the last playoff place on the last day two seasons ago. The accusation still comes from them that Pools and Swindon arranged a draw to see both safe, and although the more rabid Valiants are adamant that there was foul play the fact that the game finished 1-1 and only ceased to become a contest in the last 15 minutes, and that the story of the game was hardly that of an agreed draw suggest otherwise. Not that it cuts much ice down in Burslem, where a few still want to look to blame someone other than their own team for failing to get enough points to put the matter beyond doubt.

What the Vale fans may like to do matters little though; it's the attitude of their players that matters. Safely confirmed in mid-table, current results have been variable but last week's 3-1 win over Chesterfield showed that the players hadn't quite taken their eye off the ball. They may also feel that they want a little revenge themselves - not so much for the events of two years ago, but for the fact that every single one of our encounters over the last three seasons has gone the way of Pools. The 5-2 win in the snow (when ironically Vale looked the better side for the first 15 minutes or so) is the stand-out result, but five wins out of five - three at Vale Park - may linger in the memory. The last time we failed to beat Vale was in fact an FA Cup tie back in 1994 when Joe Allon scored the first in a 6-0 hammering where current boss Martin Foyle grabbed a hat-trick - they were two divisions ahead of us at the time.

Ironically Vale could probably do with Allon and Foyle on the pitch at the moment, as although there are several forwards at the club injuries have badly affected their strikeforce. Now where have we heard that before! Lee Matthews and Hector Sam have hardly played at all this season, Billy Paynter has departed to Hull, and their leading scorer is Leon Constantine with 12 goals.

Foyle also faces some difficult decisions in terms of playing people that have yet to agree new deals with the club. Over the last few days it's emerged that two regulars - defender George Pilkington and sometime Pools trainee Jeff Smith - are considering their options, with Smith turning down a new deal and Pilkington seeming to want to keep his options open with the hope that he could play at a higher level.

Pools will be hoping their minds are elsewhere, while ours remain focussed. Stepho is talking about playing 4-3-3 and going on the attack from the start - and to be honest we don't have much other choice. I don't exactly expect Vale to roll over and die, but if Pools aren't the more motivated and committed side for this game then there's something seriously wrong with players and management.

I expect Pools to win, although I doubt we'll steamroller Vale and overturn the goal difference situation. Will Franchise beat Rotherham, who are promising a sell-out crowd at Millmoor? We can only hope.