Jeff Winter Column 16/4: Biased Pools Fans

Jeff debates whether the FA help or hinder referees, if Luton were punished too harshly and who’s going down in League One.

If you’re unfamiliar with the column then here’s how it works; each Thursday Jeff will voice his opinion on the week’s big talking points but you’re the one who sets the agenda. Whether you want to ask him about a dodgy refereeing decision, a question about Hartlepool United or football in general, you can!

If you want to ask Jeff Winter anything, refereeing related or not, you can email vital.hartlepool@hotmail.co.uk with your question or leave an article comment and they’ll be put to him in the next column.



Jeff, why did the FA choose to punish Luton Town in the way they did? Surely the punishment was far too much and punished the fans for a previous owners poor management.
Thomas

As much as it killed their season before it started, hammered the fans and was unfair to the new regime, there has to be some form of punishment to clubs that commit financial irregularities.

If that was not the case clubs would act irresponsibly knowing that they could just reform and leave people to be left owed money. The one thing you have to say is that Luton Town have come back stronger, their fans have remained loyal, they are odds on favourites to bounce straight back.

Why do the FA make the rules in such away that referees and officials are open to criticism. In the Pools v Scunthorpe game a player was stood in an offside position when the ball was played, however the linesman couldn’t raise his flag until the player became active.

In the end the ball was intercepted before he got the ball but the linesman received much abuse from the fans when what he did was technically right.
Robert

The laws at times do create problems and misunderstandings, like it or lump it we are stuck with them. Surely by now though the fans must realise that merely by standing in an offside position is not an offence.

The way the crowd bayed for offside in the incident you described left me scratching my head, either they are just biased beyond belief or just totally ignorant of the Laws, which as supposedly intelligent people beggars belief. I think that Hartlepool has one of the most biased set of fans in the land.

I fully appreciate getting behind your team but in general terms listening to the comments from the Millhouse Stand amuses me but also disappoints me. Every single decision against Pools is wrong, many fail to grasp the basics of football yet know enough to bay for blood and get managers sacked.

I have a lot of time for the players at the club and they too have been victims of the boo boys. The Laws may be at fault, but a modicum of sportsmanship would not go amiss to improving the situation.

Who do you think will end up in the bottom 4 of League One at the end of this season?
Joe

Simple answer, I don’t care as long as Hartlepool are not one of them. Northampton have games in hand but they are not easy. This season we have seen strange results week after week and I would not put a penny on the eventual outcome.

If that is sitting on the fence then I most definitely have some wood stuck up my backside. But with so many twists and turns it is just too close to call for the last relegation place.



Each week Jeff predicts the scores off Pools next match and you can try and beat him. To compete against Jeff and fellow Poolies by predicting the score of Pools next match and the first goalscorer.

You can play this game by simply being a member of Vital Hartlepool. To sign up follow the link at the end of this article and the posting your prediction in the Vital Hartlepool Prediction League forum.

Click here to visit the Vital Hartlepool Prediction League forum

Yeovil 2-2 Hartlepool
First Scorer: Daniel Nardiello



You can hear me this Saturday lunchtime (1-1.30pm) when we’ll preview the day’s games on Alpha 103.2, available by the links below.

To find more and enter this weeks competitions log onto www.alpha1032.com

Click the link below to listen this Saturday and remember to read all my previous columns in the Jeff Winter Archive.