By Albatross
January 12 2005

It's almost Christmas, so it's probably about the right time to have a look back at 2004 from a Poolie Perspective. It's been another great year to be a Hartlepool United Fan - and 2005 promises much as well!

Looking back over the last year there's been an awful lot happening in the world of Pools; highs and lows, sometimes very close together, arrivals, departures, laughter and tears. These are a few of my personal memories about the last twelve months.

Wish you were here

There have been three occasions in the last year where Pools fans have had cause to reflect that when it comes down to it, football is after all a game. The loss of Harold Hornsey, Frankie Baggs and Paul Mullen saw the club lose three devoted servants and fans. Pools owe Hornsey a debt that money can never repay; when it seemed no-one else was interested, he was prepared to dig deep into his own pocket to save his home town club. Frankie Baggs was a larger than life character with an association with Pools that went back further than many could remember, and his death so soon after Harold's came as a double blow. Then, more recently, Paul Mullen succumbing to Motor Neurone disease was another blow. Paul was after all much more than just the club's Media Manager - as co-founder of Monkey Business and the driving force behind HUFC's award-wining Website, he served the fans as well as the club and I always felt, even after his employment by the club, that he was "one of us" - a true fan of the club. The same could easily be said of both Harold and Frankie.

Hello Goodbye

In the squad, we've seen some new arrivals and more than a few departures - and of course some remarkable achievements. Adam Boyd went from the verge of leaving the club to possibly our brightest star in the space of a couple of months, while Eifion Williams was called into the full Wales squad. Phil Turnbull was invited to an England u18 training camp. Our youth team excelled as they steamrollered their way to a Dallas Cup victory, and continued to provide promising talent into the first team - over the course of 2004, six players from our current u19 squad have appeared for the first team, three players earned their first pro contracts, and no less than twelve players that are either current or former members of our youth system have seen action for the first team. The great work Martin Scott carried out seems to have continued under Paul Stephenson and Ian Kerr, and Pools have surely never had so rich a crop of young talent. However several players have departed after quite short periods with the club or simply failing to breakthrough into the first team. Marco Gabbiadini was forced into retirement, Kevin Betsy's brief spell promised much but finished with a nasty taste in the mouth, Jon Bass left for the Far East, Mark Robinson and Paul Robinson moved into non-league, while possibly the less said about Scott Walker and Steven Carson the better; and the signings of Ryan McCann and Andy Jordan didn't work out either. More worrying is the fact that both Michael Nelson and Jack Ross have requested transfers - albeit for widely differing reasons. Ross of course only arrived in the summer, and other arrivals during the year have included Hugh Robertson - already reaching cult status thanks to his spectacular set pieces - and Ben Clark.

The Game

On the pitch we have seen plenty of highs and also of course some lows. Barnsley ended our record-breaking unbeaten home run on Boxing Day last year, but that didn't stop Pools taking 10,000 or so to the Stadium of Light for what must class as one of the most memorable moments of 2004 despite our narrow defeat. There was the 5-2 win at a snowbound Vale Park, where I was fortunate enough to be one of the 80 or so "Nutters" that witnessed our victory. Our winning run that eventually lead us to the playoffs - and the high of Sweeney's goal at Ashton Gate followed so late in the game by the low of going out to two very late goals. The high of finally winning on Sky at Huddersfield, followed by the low of our depressing away form for most of the next four months - particularly depressing for those of us exiles that tend to see more away games than home - and then the high of finally ending that run in emphatic fashion by scoring five away from home again at Wrexham.

I heard a Rumour

This wouldn't be football if there hadn't been plenty of rumours and speculation, and Pools have had their fair share. New Grounds, Developments at Victoria Park, stories claiming that IOR had tightened the purse strings and Cooper was going to leave, rumours that Chris Turner might return... most of which have failed to come about. Sir John Hall has been rumoured to be interested in buying the club, despite the fact that his considerable interests in Newcastle would make it unlikely; so the rumours switched to speculating that he wanted us as a feeder club for Newcastle, despite the fact that this is currently not allowed, with a new stadium at Wynyard to boot. No doubt there will be plenty more of this next year as well, although I prefer to believe that he's simply someone that enjoys watching football and finds it convenient to come to Pools.

The Transfer rumours were as usual varying from the accurate to the highly unlikely. Ben Clark and Jack Ross were two of the accurate ones, while the list of innacurate ones is legion. Robbie Elliott, Michael Chopra, Rhys Day, Eugene Dadi, Michael Mols... While there may have been a grain of truth in some - it was claimed by Keith Curle that we'd made a nominal offer for Day that was turned down for example - some of them seemed to be more along the lines of sticking a pin into a list of names and seeing what happened.

Ring out, Solstice Bells

So what lies ahead after Christmas? Well, if we can keep our home form going and use the win over Wrexham as a springboard to improve our away record, a playoff place is certainly achievable. As things currently stand, we're just one point and place away from that now - better off than we were at this point last season. Whether we'd be able to get through to the final or even win promotion is another matter, but just getting there again would be another remarkable achievement - after all, how many sides can boast of getting to the playoffs five times in six years and getting promoted the other year?

There's also the prospect of going on our best ever run in the FA Cup. The third round draw was probably not what either Pools or Boston wanted - but the game looks eminently winnable as far as Pools are concerned, and a fourth round tie could well be on the horizon. If we do make it and get another home draw against a lesser light, who knows?

Whatever way you look at it, 2004 has once again been a great year to be a Poolie. Here's hoping that 2005 continues in the same vein!

Finally, a little confession. I've always liked groan-worthy puns, and over the time I've been running this site have managed to incorporate more than a few. However, frequently I just can't resist dropping in a few music references as well. I've lost track of how many I've used this year, but just a quick look at the titles of past stories reveals such delights as Jordan: The Departure (Prefab Sprout, sort of), Getting away with it (Electronic), Communication Breakdown (Led Zeppelin), Money Money Money (Abba) and I'm not your Dadi (Kid Creole and the Coconuts) since the summer alone. I don't know how many people have spotted this, but you can rest assured that I'll be continuing to make you groan throughout 2005. Sorry!

A Merry Christmas to all our Readers, from Albatross and the Sport Network team!