Lidds - ban

By Charlie Summerbell
April 21 2010

Under normal circumstances, Hartlepool United’s League One visit to Walsall on Saturday would be a nothing-to-play-for end-of-season fixture with neither team desperate for points either for safety or for promotion. But, of course, circumstances are rarely normal for Pools.

They have passed the normal 50-point safety target with three games left, but unlike all the other teams near them in the bottom half of the table, they have the threat of a points deduction hanging over them.
And that means they must go to the Midlands looking for the result which can finally make sure of safety for them, even if – or more likely when – they lose points for playing Gary Liddle in the win against Brighton when he should have been suspended.

It’s difficult to put up a reasonable case to excuse Pools for this lapse, even allowing for the claim that Chris Turner and Colin West didn’t realise Liddle had been booked at Leyton Orient and that the Easter bank holiday meant they didn’t receive notification of it in time to act.

The fact is that he was booked for the tenth time and it’s up to his club to see that he serves his automatic ban. His form before and after his delayed suspension has shown how important he is to the team - arguably the player of the season.

So while Pools have 51 points now, they realistically only have 48 and they need one more win to take them past the safety target for the second time.

The League table suggests Walsall have nothing to play for, but of course no manager will allow his team to relax, so Pools need to go into the game the same as they did at home to play-off hopefuls Colchester last weekend. 
Their other two remaining games are at home to Exeter and away to Brentford, and recent home form suggests that even if they lose at Walsall, they should be able to get what they need against Exeter.

Tranmere lost at Brentford in midweek, and it appears now that means that all teams in league One now have three games left and they are fourth bottom with Southend, improving Wycombe and doomed Stockport below them.

While Pools play at Walsall, Tranmere are at home to Colchester, Exeter at home to Charlton, Orient at Millwall, Gillingham at Norwich, Southend at Oldham and Wycombe at home to Swindon.

With many of those opponents needing points to earn a play-off place, results will be hard to come by for most of the teams near the danger zone and Pools can perhaps count themselves lucky to be going to middle-of-the-table Walsall.

All they have to do is take the chance the fixtures have given them.