Huddersfield Town v Hartlepool United

Tuesday March 6th.
Galpharm Stadium
ko 7:45pm

Hartlepool come to Huddersfield under the managership of Neale Cooper who replaced Mick Wadsworth at the end of last year.

He has been in charge for 12 games, and W4 D4 L4.

Born in India, Cooper was a member of the famous Aberdeen side under Alex Ferguson who won Scottish Championships, Cups and European Cup Winners Cup. Ferguson told the Cooper to move out of his flat in Aberdeen and go back to live at his Mums, to ensure he kept 'on the straight and narrow'. He also played for Aston Villa, Rangers and Ross County in an injury dogged career.

Previously managed Hartlepool to the play-offs where they lost on both ocassions..to Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday. His return to Hartlepool at Xmas was greeted with much acclaim by the Pool fans. A certain Danny Wilson is an ex Pools manager, as was Cyril Knowles.

Cooper has a son, Alex, who signed for Liverpool, and had trials with Chelsea under Jose Mourhino, but ended up back at Ross County.

Hartlepool have an impressive away record of W 7 D 5 L 5 Scored 24 and conceded 27; and sit in 9th place, 7 points behind Notts Co who are 6th. Creditable results at Sheffield Wed, MKDons and Stevenage..all 2-2 draws and wins at Carlisle, Bournemouth and Bury..all 2-1. However there results against the current top 5 show no success in 7 attempts.

Having started off the season with 4 wins and 5 draws, including a 0-0 with Town, which saw them in 3rd place, a poor sequence of results saw the manager Wadsworth dismissed last year.

Town first met Hartlepool United on 1st November 1975, a 2-0 win for Town..and the 14 fixtures at Huddersfield have seen Town Win 10, draw 2 and lose only 2...one of which was on their last visit here on Boxing Day 2010 when Pool won 1-0.

The current squad includes Newcastle Utd loanee Sam Asjei and top scorer James Poole,(on loan from man City) who has 8 goals to his name. In goals in 6' 4" 'molly' Flinders, and in defence our own Sam Collins.

While recent form has been eratic, Hartlepool managed a draw with the impressive MKDons on Saturday, and will not be easy opposition for the unprepared ! With aspirations of still making the play-offs, and safe from relegation, you can be sure they will be coming to the Galpharm for all 3 points.

For Town, this would be the second of 3 'must win' games..but having squandered a 3-0 lead at Bury, this is an even more important game if we are going to capitalise on a jittery Sheffield Utd.

Town will need 4 or 5 goals to win this, based on previous efforts, and Hartlepool are regular scorers away from home, in fact the 4th best in this League.

The question everyone will be asking is, what team will Grayson pick after he described Saturdays' effort as 'niave' and the 'best and worst of huddersfield Town in one match'.

2nd place is definately up for grabs, but no one seems to want it as the 5 clubs who are competition for it all failed to win on Saturday. Maybe Notts County will take it ?

There will be tension and unease not only on the terraces on Tuesday, but on the pitch as well, as the team continue to commit hari kari.

Town team....
---------------

Smithies
Woods
McCombe
Morrison
Naysmith
Ward
Gudjonnson
Arfield
Roberts
Rhodes
Novak

Hartlepool
-------------
Flinders
Austin
Collins
Hartley
Horwood
Murray
Humphreys
Sweeney
Brown
Monkhouse
Poole


Come Tuesday the town fans will have to leave at home their annoyance and frustration of the last 2 games, and give the lads 100% support. The jeering of the team after the game at Bury just puts us in the same category as the Blackburn rovers fans.

All is still to play for, and with Rochdale coming to the Galpharm on Saturday, 6 points would be the ideal tonic, and ease the obvious tensions.

Jeering, booing and shouting abuse when things go wrong, which on ocassion they will, is not the way to bring the best out of the lads, whatever your opinion. I'm sure 95% of Town fans will give the lads massive support, and for that reason I am going to predict....


Town 4 Hartlepool 1.

Up the Town !