Who will come in if Strachan is out?

By Albatross
February 17 2004

Gavin Strachan looks set to miss at least a couple of games following his knee injury, and may face an extended spell on the sidelines. Hopefully we'll know more later this week, but for the next couple of games at least it looks like Neale Cooper will have to re-jig the Hartlepool United midfield.

With Strachan looking set for a spell on the sidelines, it raises a few questions about who will end up in the centre. With Strach and Tinks having been the regular partnership in central midfield almost from the off, there's a rare opportunity for someone to get in and show what they can do; hopefully whoever comes in will be aiming to make it that bit harder for Strachan to reclaim his place.

First in line is probably Darrell Clarke. He was originally signed, we all thought, to play in the Tommy Miller role - however with Pools switching to 4-4-2 not long after his arrival he's spent most of his time wide on the right. With the arrival of Shuker he's been frozen out of the starting eleven - but has been a regular on the bench and was the man to come on following Strachan's withdrawal on Saturday. If nothing else, Trigger would add another threat going forward - in 18 starts and eight sub appearances, he's still managed to score six goals, last season he managed seven despite not scoring until after Christmas, and the year before he got eight despite some initial injury problems and totalling just 25 starts. In a sense he is something like Miller - although he may not be the player to carve the defence apart with one pass, he's a hard worker and makes some good runs into the box to score his fair share. I'm not a fan of him on the flank, but in the middle it could be a different matter.

After Clarke, the options become a little less straightforward. Tony Sweeney is a possibility; having been touted as a big prospect a couple of seasons ago he's struggled to displace the likes of Tinkler, Widdrington and now Strachan, and has made just three fleeting substitute appearances this season. Ryan McCann was perhaps a little unfortunate, picking up an injury just after his arrival, and would also be hoping to get a chance in the first team.

Another option is to move either Humphreys or Shuker into the middle. Istead would come in if Shuker moved inside, and with the more experienced Robertson behind him, Matty Robson could take Richie's position on the flank if Cooper decides to give him a central role. Whether such a move is desirable is open to question - Shuker has caused everyone problems on the flank and may be less effective centrally, while Richie has been showing welcome signs of improvement on the left in recent weeks.

Cooper could of course do something completely different. He still has plenty of loans in hand, and depending on how long Strachan is out for he could decide to use one of them; he could change the system completely and go for 3-5-2 - which re-opens the question of who would play right wing-back.

While Strachan is still waiting for a diagnosis - cartilage is suspected, but he is being scanned today (Tuesday) and seeing the specialist again tomorrow - he looks certain to be missing on Friday at least. That will end his record as an ever-present for Pools, leaving just two players that will have taken part in every league game this season. One of those is Mickey Nelson, now due a suspension following his fifth yellow of the season, leaving just Richie Humphreys with a chance of playing every game of the league season.