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Warren — FM 2011 Hartlepool United Aug-Nov Part 2 2013/14
Hi everyone and welcome back to the north of England and to Hartlepool United who were fighting for survival in their first ever season in the Premier League. After the first 13 games had been played I was in 15th place just two points away from the dreaded bottom three. Let’s see how the season has progressed into March.
December Results
With 5 games in total in December I would need to get the selection policy in the starting eleven just right as I have a very small squad and I am looking to strengthen in January. The month started off well with a convincing win against West Ham in which N’Diaye smashed the ball in from 25 yards into the top corner. That was as good as the month got and we then went on a run of not winning for the rest of December. We managed to score quite a few goals but also conceded too many and that was what cost us.
January Results
A busy December took us into a very busy January with no less than 7 games to play. It was an important month and it would be an indication of where I was going to finish by the end of the season. Like the previous month it started off well as we progressed in the FA Cup after a 1-0 win against Burnley. We then managed to travel to the Emirates and pick up a point against Arsenal once again we weren’t able to sustain the form for the whole month and only managed to score 3 goals in 5 games. The one positive aspect from this month was that I was able to bring in two fresh faces in the form of David Dunn from Blackburn who would add experience and an extra face to Hartlepool along with goalkeeper Scott Loach signed from just over £1million from Watford as I haven’t been that impressed by Oblak so far this season.
February Results
The final month of part 2 saw much better performances from my Hartlepool side and even though we only managed to pick up 4 points from a possible 12 and were knocked out of the FA Cup by my beloved Newcastle (I obviously let them win) I was happy with the way things went. The form of N’Diaye was turning a few heads and I was starting to get some interest from a player who I have just signed for £500k back in the summer.
Performance of Part 2
V Nottm Forest
Two goals from N’Diaye and one from teenage prodigy Lee Foyle was enough to see off bottom side Nottm Forest in what was a very exciting game. It was a massive win and that’s the reason it wins performance of part 2. It was also the winner as there wasn’t really many competitors for the title which shows the way in which the last few months have gone.
Table
The table didn’t make very pleasant reading as I had dropped 3 places into 18th. Luckily for me though is I still have time left to chance this and I have a lot of the teams around me still to face for the second time this season. It was going to be tight and I was just hoping for a change in form and it will certainly be an exciting end to the season.
Thanks for reading
Warren