By Albatross
October 12 2002

Pools take on Bournemouth live on Sky as they seek to extend their good run of form. Our record on live TV is poor, and Bournemouth are a tough proposition. Albatross previews the game, and predicts that Pools will get something from the match. Pools will start against Bournemouth as the side that is still top of the league - and how many of us thought that would happen! Torquay's loss to Boston, and the failure of either Rushden or Rochdale to win sees us almost guaranteed to still be top of the table after tomorrow's game; it would take an eight goal defeat to see Torquay overtake us on Goal Difference.

Bournemouth Manager Sean O'Driscoll survived their relegation, but got off to a poor start to this season with successive draws aginst Boston, Kiddiminster and Cambridge, a defeat at Swansea - the Welsh club's only victory this season - and another draw, this time against Oxford. This earned him a warning that he had six games to prove himself, and the kick in the backside seems to have had the desired effect, with the Cherries improving their form out of sight since then; five wins - including ones over Rushden and away at Lincoln - see them going into the game in 9th place, but only a point behind Wrexham - currently in 6th place - and four behind Pools. A win for them would see them level on points with Rushden, currently in third.

One name stands out for Poolies in the Bounemouth squad: Steve Fletcher. The Former Poolie is one of the most popular players at what used to be Dean Court, and is back to full fitness after a lengthy injury layoff - though admittedly he seems to be carrying a few more pounds! Fletch is more likely to find himself on the bench though, as he is still feeling his way back - last Saturday's win at Sincil Bank marked his first appearance for the first team for some time, and surprised many who thought he was due to be out for several more weeks.

Leading Scorer Alan Connell has impressed many on the South Coast after netting seven times so far this season. The 19 year old signed in the summer from Ipswich after a successful trial. He's bang in form having scored in each of the Cherries last four games, and Pools will have to keep a close eye on this pacy player. Their other goals have been spread around, no-one bagging more than two,

Another young player who may star tomorrow is Liam Ridgewell, signed this week on loan from Aston Villa. He played and scored in midweek for the England U-19 team, and may start in defence as the Cherries are missing both Shaun Maher and Jason Tindall after they underwent surgery this week.

Bournemouth like to play the ball on the ground, and with Pools tending to do likewise, hopefully we'll see a good advert for the Third Division.

Once more the decision for CT is to go with the 3-5-2 that ground out the win over Shrewsbury, or to switch to 4-4-2. I suspect he'll go with 3-5-2 again, and three may well be changes to the side. Paul Smith may return on the left, and I'll be fairly surprised if Darrell Clarke features again at Wing-Back. While his performance in that role against Shrewsbury wasn't disasterous, he didn't look comfortable in the role and looked a bit suspect. Paul Arnison may well find himself stepping in to Clarke's shoes.

Other than the wide positions, there doesn't seem much reason to change, so CT probably won't. This will mean Adam Boyd continuing up front, and the stage is set for Boyd to show what he can do in front of a wider audience.

Prediction time again then! Pools record on live TV is poor - Played 3 Lost 3 - and Bournemouth are a tough proposition at the moment. But the determination shown at Gay Meadow bodes well, and so I'm going for a 1-1 draw, with Boyd to produce something spectacular for the TV Cameras.