By Albatross
March 1 2005

Hartlepool United didn't do as well as we hoped in February - but amazingly we havenot lost ground on several of the teams above us. There was however one exception to that rule - leaders Luton managed to pull away again. There seem to be two contenders for Manager of the Month; former Pools boss Mike Newell at Luton, and Swindon's Andy King. King is unbeaten in five league games, with eleven points; Luton meanwhile have 13 points from six games. It's been a strange month, with Brentford having played just three league matches due to FA Cup action, Bournemouth fitting in seven games, and everyone else somewhere in between.

Other than Swindon, only Tranmere managed to avoid a league defeat - but this was at the cost of drawing three of their four league games. Other than Luton it's been a case of inconsistency galore at the top end - Pools lost twice, but still matched Hull's points tally despite playing a game less, and exceeded the points gained by both Tranny and Sheffield Wednesday of the teams ahead of us. Bournemouth got 11 points over the month to move into 6th place - but their form was only average over the month and from seven games they would have been hoping for at least a couple of points more.

There were a couple of surprise packages, with teams from the lower echelons struggling to escape the relegation mire. Blackpool's ten points from five games has seen their situation improve dramatically, while MK Dons raised their survival hopes with just one defeat from six games as they earned nine points.

While some sides are struggling to get out of the relegation zone though, one side seems to be determined to break into it. It's been a month of misery for Oldham; they lost all of their six games to plummet into trouble having looked relatively safe a month ago, losing Brian Talbot along the way, and confidence must now be at rock bottom at Boundary Park. They are just a point ahead of the relegation places, and have plenty of reason to be looking anxiously over their shoulders. Meanwhile, Wrexham have also failed to win this month - although they did draw four of their five games - and are really feeling the loss of those ten points, which would otherwise see them clear of the relegation places if not by much.

In some ways, with sides having played differing numbers of games, the situation is confused. Brentford are currently down in 10th place for example, but have anything up to three games in hand on the sides above them that could lift them easily back into the playoffs. With March set to be a month of playing catch-up, the position should become clearer in the next few weeks - however this is how I see things.

Luton look hard to overhaul for an automatic spot, with Hull next best - but Tranmere, Pools and to a lesser extent Sheffield Wednesday could all be in there with a decent run. It then looks to be a race for the last playoff spot for the teams from Bournemouth in 6th down to maybe Bradford in 11th - with just five points separating six teams. Brentford may be favourites if they can win their games in hand - but Bournemouth and Bristol City both have the sort of goal difference that may be effectively an extra point come the end of the season. At the bottom, Stockport already looked doomed despite beating Pools at the weekend; Wrexham and Peterborough are both in severe danger and need to improve fast. Then there's a dogfight involving the sides from MK Franchise in the last relegation spot up to maybe Port Vale in 16th - with one from MK, Torquay and the free-falling Oldham the most likely candidates. That leaves Walsall, Barnsley, Huddersfield and Chesterfield looking like they have very little left to play for.

The month ahead for Pools is a busy one. There are six games ahead, and they include matches against Hull (away) and Tranmere (Home) that have the potential to show us whether we really do have enough to challenge for an automatic slot. Twelve points or more this month should put us right in the mix - anything less than 7 might well have us looking over our shoulders at the chasing pack. Make or break? Quite possibly!