Article number three in the ‘Your Shout’ section. Once again it’s message board poster Balltofeet with another excellent article.
You cannot make an omelette without breaking an easter egg or three!
In 30 + years of watching Pools I have thought of the end of season Easter struggles of the past to get out of a spot of bother with relegation to conference, re-election, remember those times, and of course reaching for the play offs. Can history teach us any lessons?
There have been times when we have failed. What have been the consistent factors of failure? Often players who are not good enough, lacking in confidence, shoddy defending and limited strikers. Furthermore, we have lumped it long to luminaries such as Kevin McMahon, Phil Linacre, Alan Waddell, the aptly named Barry Wardrobe or the portly Alan Foggon, with the famous fan who blurted out ‘Howay Foggon you fat b****** run’ during a televised SHOOT match on ITV. Now all these teams showed the flair of a pair of 1970’s wide A line Wrangler jeans and a tank top!
When we have made the great escapes has a common denominator been evident? In my view yes! Often the catalyst has been good motivational management, hard running players and a striker who has come good at the end of the season. As a very young kid in my first season watching Pools, with my dad in 1972, I remember us at the bottom of the football league then suddenly winning the last 7 home games of the season to escape relection. Len Ashurst was the manager and a certain Willie WADDELL was on the wing scoring 7 or so goals in March and April. The late 1970’s saw Sir Robert of Newton and Keith Houchen steer us out of a Laurel and Hardie fine mess. The venerable Joseph Allon came off the bench in 1997 to silence the Feethams faithful and under Mr.Turner a long forgotten, Chris Freestone, bagged a brace in a crunch game against Scarborough in 1999 to avoid the Conference.
So where now with 5 games to save our league 1 status in 2006? Can we do it? Most message board posters seem to have given up the ghost.
What we need now are the boys who will stand up and be counted? Those who truly want to win and play for Pools. Who now will be our Roy Hogan kicking anything above grass height in the centre of the park. Roy was willing to die for the cause despite having all the pace of a tortoise handicapped by mud flaps! Can Eifion become the Willie Waddell of yesteryear or will he remain the under utilised only pacey forward on the books. Can Nelse be the Gary Strodder, Phil Brown and Keith Nobbs of today? Based upon Nelson commanding show at Colchester, with his agricultural route one defending, there has to be a chance. No over elaboration as per the Millennium Stadium now please Mr. Lord Nelson just plain old row J defending and if you have time give it simply to Richie or the most available player.
Finally, in those 30 years when we have been abysmal and sometimes worse a key common factor was 5,000 + roaring, raucous fans who extolled effort and endeavour as opposed to the finer arts of deft and weaving skills. We need that fan base unity for the next 5 games. We roared our selves` horse in those days because effort was all we knew in Pools players. Skill was rare only McKinnon, Honour and Dalton could supply that.
Today we have an advantage. Enter Mr Boyd. Let us accept he is not fit and will not score, but if the ball is gently rolled into his feet then a deeper lying Adam can make us tick. What we need are players who will run into space and players who will caress and guide a pass into space not hoof it for Boyd and expect a greyhound to be on the end of it. In this division we need some craft. If we can get Boydy to drop a little deeper and for the other 9 outfield players to perform the lung bursting runs then he can set us up.
Now History did teach us one lesson. Back in 1972 Len Ashurst picked the same team every week. Maybe he only had 14 pros. I can name them now. It was Hillyard in goal, Potter and Goad as full backs, Green and Dawes at centre back, Wadell and Warnock on the wing with Ron Young in a wandering role and I think Ken Ellis and Bobby Smith in midfield with Bobby Veart the honest, but less than mobile centre forward.
Let us have a mixture of seasoned professionals and kids who will die for the cause over the next 5 games. I go for a 4411 formation and we pick the same team for the next 5 games with the exception of Darren Williams’s suspension and let`s be done with it. Players would have three instructions – Boydy’s feet, get it wide and run like demented dogs!
To the team
Dimi
Williams [Barron during suspension period]
Nelson
Clark
Humphries – the player of the dismal season so far
Maidens
Tinkler for 60 minutes then Turnbull
Sweeney and if not fit Butler playing at the top of the diamond
Robson
Boydy in the hole
Eifion
Subs
Tinks
Butler
James Brown
Provett
Barron or Foley
Well what do I know as I still have to pay to watch football let`s hope I do not pay to watch Accrington or Grays Athletic next season!
Come on what history lessons do we have for league finishes in a year ended with a 6. Not very good me thinks – maybe the club historians will tell me something different and there are omens out there.
Fasten your belts enjoy the ride in a make or break easter.
