By Albatross
November 1 2002

Chris Turner has once again missed out on Manager of the Month; at least that means the dreaded curse is also avoided. Meanwhile, Pools look to get November off to a flier as they take on York at the Vic. Will there be fireworks tonight? Albatross previews the game. Earlier this season, Hartlepool and York were battling for Top Spot; and although Pools had edged ahead on Goal Difference, it was York's Terry Dolan who won the Manager of the Month award. Once again CT has been denied the award for October; Kiddiminster's Ian Britton has taken it by virtue of scoring just one goal more than Pools in the month. Double Standards? Possibly, but looking at what's happened to York since Dolan won in August, it may be no bad thing that CT has missed out by a whisker again.

Only two League victories have come York's way since the end of August: both 1-0, one against Darlington at Bootham Crescent, and one away at Exeter. Both clubs have parted with their Manager since, which indicates that neither was particularly in form. From joint top, they have plummeted to 13th, and Dolan once more finds himslef under pressure.

York have received a boost though in the signing on loan of Michael Reddy from Sunderland. The young striker may have to take up a spot on the bench though, as he has yet to train with his new team-mates. Up front are likely to be the former Darlo partnership of George Duffield and Lee Nogan. Duffield is the Minstermen's leading scorer this season with eight, while Nogan has found the net three times, but has had to compete with one-time Pools loanee Jon Parkin. Parkin has netted five times, but may revert to Centre-Half tonight as Dolan is struggling with injuries.

With players like Scott Jones, Gary Hobson and Tom Cowan missing, Parkin could find himself as part of a back four. Another player to keep an eye out for is Chris Brass; and in goal is likely to be Alan Fettis, usually regarded as one of the top 'keepers in the division.

The big question for Pools is who will start at right back. Micky Barron is now clear of suspension, but with Paul Arnison having performed well on Tuesday - including scoring an eye-catching goal - Barron is by no means certain to return. Arno could consider himself to be very hard done by if he's dropped tonight; one possibility is that he could be moved into the midfield in place of Clarke, but I expect to see the starting eleven unchanged from the win over Bristol Rovers.

Steven Istead is another who is providing CT with the right sort of selection problem; his brief cameo appearance almost lead to a spectacular goal, and he showed plenty of promise; I expect him to make way on the bench tonight for Barron, but his time will surely come again soon.

Another player who is likely to be competing for a spot on the bench is Brian Barry-Murphy; the on-loan Preston man played in the reserves game on Wednesday. With players such as Barron, Widdrington, Barry-Murphy, Istead, Boyd, Sharp and Simms all vying just to make it to the bench, there can be no doubt that the Pools Squad is stronger than it's ever been.

Looking at the form, this is another game that you'd expect Pools to win comfortably, and the determination in the team and the competition for places supports that. I think Pools will win, but without thrashing York; 2-1 to the Hartlepool, Williams and Smith to score and Pools to be eight points clear before Saturday's games.