2015/16 Prediction League; Game 43 v Hartlepool United (away)

Div3North · 17-04-2016, 22:17

Hartlepool United

V

Accrington Stanley

2015/16 Prediction League; Game 43 v Hartlepool Utd (away)

If I were Craig Hignett, inheritor of Roger - err Ronnie Moore’s legacy - to say nothing of his chair - back in February when he was “let go”, and I needed – say – 8 or 9 points to stay up, I’d look at the MonkeyHangers’ remaining fixtures and wince; us, at home; Oxford (away) – who surely won’t do what they did on Saturday a second time; Pompey, at home; Plymouth, away. The only sides in the top ten who they’ve taken any points from are Northampton (a half-Desmond), and wins over the Wombles and Wycombe (who each got their revenge in the return games), and Leyton Orient – once managed by Kevin Nolan – who they beat twice .........We did them royally on 19th January (our first home game in two months), winning 3-1 with goals from Rhino (a free kick off the cross bar), and two by Shay McCartan.

But it could all have been so different for Hartlepool; they won their first three in the League, and lay 3rd on GD behind Nolan Orient and Wycombe (I gather Gareth Ainsworth’s threatening to come out of retirement, by the way), and we were 12th; they also put Fleetwood out of the Carling (1-0) ............. then they lost 17 of their next 24 in the League, as well as going out of the Carling 4-0 to the Cherries, the PaintyThingy 4-3 on penalties against the Blades after another half-Desmond, and the FA Cup in the 3rd Round, having despatched Cheltenham – and well done to them for winning the Conference – and Salford Neville Brother & Scholes Utd after a replay ..............Cups, 7 games, 7 scored, 8 conceded ..........League; P42 W15 D6 L21 GF48 GA61, for 51 points and 16th place ........they’re four points below Barnet, and three above Notts County, who must surely be due a new Manager after Saturday’s 5-0 mauling by Mansfield .................... Pool’s last ten show 6 wins, 2 draws and just two losses (1-0 at Notts County and 1-0 at Carlisle) ....they broke York’s heart on Saturday, and the Minstermen, in truth, are statistically certain to follow the Daggers through the trapdoor (York have 30 points and -32GD, Newport have 41 (-19) and Stevenage have 2 (-18)) ......it’s a simple question as to whether Pompey will put them out of their misery on Tuesday, or we will on Saturday ...........

49 games, 55 goals scored, 69 conceded; leading scorers are 31-year old Billy Paynter, once of Port Vale, Hull, Southend, Swindon, Leeds, Donnie, the Blades and Carlisle, who has 15, Scott Fenwick (see below) with 6, and Crystal Palace loanee Jake Gray, also with 6 ........ they’ve scored 5 once (at Morecambe), and three three times; they’ve kept 12 clean sheets, but have drawn 14 blanks ................. since we last played them they’ve ProperSigned 20 year old ex Brentford MF Joshua Ischaele Jacob-Heron Hunt-Laurent (known as “Oy, you!” to his team-mates), and – in contrast – 36 year old ex Donnie defender Rob Jones, who can boast of sojourns at Gateshead, Grimsby, Hibs, the Owls and the Iron as well ........they’ve loaned in former player Luke Jones, who played at the Victoria SpongeBob Ground from 2011 to 2014, and is the youngest player ever to score a League goal for them (17 years and 64 days, apparently), and of course earlier in the season they’d loaned in Kal Naismith and Brad Halliday as well .....................out has gone striker Scott Fenwick (see above under “leading goalscorers”) – Gretna, Newcastle Benfield, Durham City, Dunstan UTS, now at Tranmere (who won’t, by the look of it, be joining Cheltenham back in the Big Time – well, the Fairly Big Time. Ish.)

We lost both games to them in 2006/7, when they went up; 2-1 at home, 1-0 at their place. In 13/14, after they’d deigned to rejoin the Not Actually All That Big Time (League Two) we lost 2-1 away again, and drew 0-0 at home; in 14/15 we drew away (1-1) and won at home (3-1), a feat we repeated in January (see “did them royally” above) .........P7 W2 D2 L3, but we (a) haven’t lost any of the last 3, and (b) haven’t ever won at their place ...........Yet!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 7.45pm on Tuesday 19th April ............. Every game now is squeaky; I watched us on my ipad on Saturday drop in a milli-second from 2nd to 4th, with Pompey 3 points behind us with a better GD that could have made us 5th ......how quickly things change – just ask Paul Cook! We got a point; Northants got a point; Brizzle and Plymouth got 3; Oxford and Pompey got none .......... who would you rather be out of that equation?

Good luck to everyone! ....... KEEP THE FAITH! .......And thanks for playing!