By Albatross
April 12 2005

March was a very poor month for Hartlepool United - fortunatley some of the sides around us didn't do much better! A playoff place is still there for the taking - can Pools make it theirs in the next four weeks? To say that March was a poor month for Hartlepool United is something of an understatement. One win in six attempts saw us well down the form table, and drop from Automatic Promotion contenders to scrabbling around to stay in the playoff places. Fortunately, a number of the clubs around us have also stuttered this month meaning that we haven't lost too much ground.

Manager of the Month went to a fairly recent appointment: Andy Ritchie, only just appointed at the start of March, saw his side win three out of their five games and go unbeaten - including a 3-1 win at Luton. Not many bosses win the award in their first month in a new job, but Barnsley look set to stay mid-table in any case - they'd need to show even better form over their remaining games in order to grab a playoff place.

The other teams to be impressive over the month were Hull - who topped the table having started the month six points behind Luton, before blotting their copybooks with a home draw with Port Vale and a loss at Oldham that allowed the Hatters to end the month on top - Colchester, Blackpool, Luton and Oldham. One big surprise was that other than Barnsley, the only unbeaten side over the month were MK Franchise - with nine points from their five games seeing them claw their way towards safety despite the ill wishes of many football supporters all over the country. Cheeringly though AFC Wimbledon have moved a step closer to overhauling them after winning promotion for the second year in a row - they will be in the Ryman Premier next year, three more promotions from the Football League.

At the other end of the form table, four sides failed to win a game with two of them - Walsall and Stockport - losing all of their games. Peterborough and Torquay did manage a couple of draws each but they are worryingly out of form at the wrong time.

A quick look at the table reveals that the contenders for various roles are now very much in position. Luton and Hull now look like shoo-ins for the Automatic Promotion places, with the title to be decided between them; Tranmere and Sheffield Wednesday seem secure in the playoffs, while the sides from Pools in 5th down to maybe Bristol City in 11th are the main contenders for the other places. Beyond them, Barnsley and Huddersfield may still fancy heir chances - but realistically they would need to win every game and hope that the sides ahead of them continue to misfire.

The other end sees Stockport County all but down - indeed, by the time you read this it may be mathematically certain - while Peterborough are set to join them. Wrexham and Torquay occupy the other relegation places at present, and need to pick up points and quickly as MK Franchise have opened up something of a gap; Walsall meanwhile need to improve their form quickly to ensure safety, with the teams from Oldham in 18th upwards now looking safe unless they completely self-destruct and the sides behind them come into top form.

April should see a number of issues settled, with just one game to go in May. Pools could certainly do with being sure of a playoff spot by then; our final game of the season is away at Bournemouth in what could be another last day decider. With four home games this month, Pools need to make sure they take advantage.