Hartlepool United 2002/3 Review - November

By Albatross
May 16 2003

November was a month of upheavals at Hartlepool United - though you wouldn't have guessed it from the results. The Pools Online review of the 2002/3 season continues.

Hartlepool United's last game under Chris Turner was played on on Friday 1st November; in awful conditions, we drew 0-0 with York at the Vic. Speculation was rife: Turner was going, he'd already been approached... although in fact he hadn't. There was no doubt he was interested in the job, being a Wednesday fan and former player - but at Hillsborough the board was hoping to bring in George Burley or Peter Reid. When that fell through though, there was only one place they would be looking.

The news that Turner had been given permission to talk to Wednesday was hardly unexpected, but nevertheless unwelcome. The following day, 7th November, the news was confirmed: and Colin West took charge of the team. Most people reckoned he would be following Turner, but in the meantime there was a job to do. He guided Pools to another away win, at Exeter, and then a draw in the FA Cup against Southend before the announcement of the new boss came - a day after West left to join Turner.

It's fair to say that no-one was expecting the leading candidate to be Mike Newell. Of all the names thrown forward, his was notable by its absence. His Managerial experience was limited to say the least; however, he impressed the board and was appointed in time to see Pools record another away win, this time over Leyton Orient. Martin Scott was temporarily acting as his assistant, amid speculation that he too would soon be on his way.

Next up was the FA Cup Replay against Southend, a game which even many Shrimpers expected to go Pools' way. A Richardson goal just after the hour mark seemed to have Pools on their way to the second round and a game against Bournemouth; but a double sucker punch saw Southend take the tie after two goals in the final three minutes, leaving Pools with no further cup interest.

Eager to make amends, Pools then faced Kidderminster at the Vic and managed a 2-1 win; this meant that although Pools lead at the top had been cut to four points by Rushden - who were to remain our closest challengers for the rest of the season - the gap back to the playoff places was growing, with ten points between us and Cambridge. Pools had kept their form despite having three different people in charge - four if you include Martin Scott, who was in de facto charge for the Orient game - and with Gordon Watson's comments on the website about "this bus drives itself" ringing in our ears, there was every reason to be confident.