By Albatross
September 1 2004

Hartlepool United have got the season off to a decent start, and are well up with the pack in the top ten. However Manager of the Month looks set to go to one of our former managers - with a little help from one of our ex-players... To the surprise of many - not least Hartlepool fans - there's really only one destination for Manager of the Month and it's our former boss Mike Newell that will pick up the award. His Luton side are the only team in the division with a 100% record - and in fact they sit five points clear at the top of the table after six games. Monobrow Mike may havbe come in for plenty of criticism from Pools fans, with some justification - but despite losing a couple of key players, five goals from Steve Howard have helped Newell's side to the top of the league. Critics may point at the fact that their opponents have generally been at the wrong end of the table - but six out of six is still a remarkable achievement.

Luton aren't the only team to be springing a few surprises either - in fact a quick look at the top ten reveals that several teams are ahead of most expectations. Chesterfield, two minutes away from relegation last season, are in second place; Colchester and Hull are a point behind them, while Bradford and Wrexham are also belying many pre-season predictions at the moment. All of the top ten have reached double figures, and after Luton the table is still looking pretty volatile - Doncaster, currently in 18th place, are only three points behind Port Vale - current holders of 6th spot on Goal Difference.

While teams are not exactly being cast adrift at the bottom of the table, there are some sides that already have reasons to be concerned. Blackpool sit rock bottom with just two points and a goal difference of -9; Torquay are only better off by two goals. MK Franchise and Stockport have both managed a win and a draw, but in both cases the win came against one of the bottom two. Only just ahead of them are Bristol City; Brian Tinnion has had a nightmare start to his managerial career, and they only recorded their first win of the season on Bank Holiday Monday.

There haven't been any sackings in Division 2 yet, although Stuart Murdoch of Franchise has been sounding very depressed recently and muttered about packing it in a couple of weeks back; in another six weeks or so though we can probably expect a few heads to roll - or maybe even move on to brigther and better things given that some of the Division 1 managers are already under pressure.

As far as Pools are concerned, our start to the season has been decent enough with the possible exception of the game at Swindon; however we should be looking to kick on in September. Barnsley are first up and are conceding plenty as well as scoring a few - so a 0-0 draw then! - and then we will face an inconsistent Oldham side and two of the strugglers in Torquay and Franchise. Three wins should be the target, and even a clean sweep isn't out of the question - will we still be amongst the challengers at the end of the month?