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Leeds class and sloppy defending do for Pools

Joel Porter - 11th goal
By Clarence Rode
November 23 2008
Losing at Leeds is usually no disgrace for a League One side, but Hartlepool boss Danny Wilson was far from proud of his players as they slumped to a 4-1 defeat at Elland Road. And he had every right to be unhappy. Joel Porter's 11th goal of the season had Pools level at half-time, but after the break the home team's class told and Pools just fell apart under pressure.

Leeds have a massive squad and some very talented players, but Pools still managed to fall into bad old habits and gifted them with at least two of the four goals with sloppy defending – the sort of sloppy defending we’ve seen far too often this season.
It’s a good job Pools can score goals regularly, because if they couldn’t they would be in a much more worrying position in League One than the one they occupy now.
Basically, they are crap at defending, home and away, and putting Matty Robson at left-back in place of Richie Humphreys at Leeds didn’t make much difference.
Nelson Aug 08 flippedOne theory put forward by our mate Davey is that Sam Collins and Michael Nelson (right) are not right together because they are both similar players.
Nelson has spent the last few years with pools being the dominant defender, going for the headers and having Ben Clark near him as back up and as a reliable defender in his own right.
But when he plays alongside Collins, Nelson is relegated to playing second fiddle and it doesn’t suit him.
It was no coincidence that the defence looked a lot better in the FA Cup replay against Brighton last week, when Collins was suspended and Clark played alongside nelson for the full 90 minutes.
Pools played some good football at Leeds, especially in the first half when they arguably had more chances than the home team.
But in the end they were overpowered by a very good side – and by their own sloppy defending.
So it’s Bristol Rovers at the Vic on Tuesday – will Wilson agree that Nelson and Clark are the best central defensive option?
Whatever happens, they need a win - they've lost all their League One games so far in November after closing October with four wins on the trot.
Success in the FA Cup is all very well, but League One is our bread and butter and we need to play better.

 

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Leeds class and sloppy defending do for Pools
Posted by: PoolsOnline.tk (IP Logged)
Date: 23/11/2008 11:05

Leeds class and sloppy defending do for Pools

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