Hodgson’s first England squad begs many questions
Posted: May 16, 2012 Filed under: England, European Championships | Tags: England, Euro 2012, Frank Lampard, Micah Richards, Michael Carrick, Roy Hdogson, Steven Gerrard, Stewart Downing, Wayne Rooney, World Cup 2010 Leave a comment »
A rare shot of Michael Carrick in England action
DESPITE a number of temptations it has taken the seemingly earth-shattering news of Roy Hodgson’s first England to tempt me out of blogging semi-retirement.
Hodgson’s squad selection is not the ‘disgrace’ that most people seem to be labelling it on Twitter, and to be perfectly honest, most of the squad I am very happy with, there are however some notable omissions and some baffling inclusions which will make for an interesting press conference this afternoon.
As far as the goalkeepers are concerned, there is little relevance compared to the 2010 World Cup. Joe Hart is the established number one and I’m sure that Rob Green won’t repeat the error of two years ago should Hart become unavailable one way or another. I remain unconvinced by John Ruddy having seen him a number of blunders last season, including one live at Vicarage Road to Watford’s benefit.
At the back, the most notable omission is that of Micah Richards. It doesn’t take the most philosophical football fan to note that Richards does leave a bit to be desired defensively, however he has worked on his defending and is a much stronger candidate than a few years ago. With Kyle Walker injured you would have assumed Richards to be a shoe-in at right-back. The inclusion of Glen Johnson ahead of Richards however, is a scandal. Johnson is Richards a few years back; a cavalier attacking mentality with little attention paid to the defensive side of his game even though it is that he is paid to do.
At centre-back there are problems, admittedly. Rio Ferdinand remains our best defender even at 33, but his lack of fitness and appearances this season mean it is probably the right decision to leave him at home, especially when we can only muster up seven defenders anyway. The selection of John Terry is a bone of contention for many, but for me, to leave him out on the grounds of his court case after the tournament is setting an ugly, dangerous and incorrect precedent. What happens if he is proven innocent and we’ve left him at home? It’s a can of worms waiting to be opened.
Chris Smalling’s injury robbed Hodgson of a sure-fire choice at the back, meaning Joleon Lescott gets included. Whilst I don’t think Lescott is a brilliant defender of international calibre, he has had a good season for title-winners Manchester City.
In midfield, the continued selection of past-it pairing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard is almost unsurprising these days. The inability of any England manager in the past few years to give up on these two is extremely frustrating. Neither has been in terrific club form this season and with Gerrard injured for much of the campaign and Lampard in and out at Chelsea it seems that they’ve been selected purely on past glories.
Throw into the equation that Michael Carrick has been overlooked and you have a genuine central midfield scandal on your hands. Carrick has been superb for United this season but suffers jointly from the fact that his game lacks the natural aggression to bring himself to the fore and that he is never heard or seen in the press complaining about his lack of international recognition.
Out wide Stewart Downing has had a poor season and the fact that he is yet to clock up an assist or goal has been brought up on a near-weekly basis by the press. However, the fact remains that he is a good crosser of the ball and has done well at his previous clubs and on the international scene when selected. He was brought to Liverpool to supply Andy Carroll and thanks to Carroll’s woeful form until recently, Downing his lacked the natural targetman in the penalty area to benefit from his crosses.
As for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, it’s a selection that has the familiar waft of Theo Walcott (also selected), about it. He has played rarely for Arsenal this season but impressed on his rare cameo appearances. Whether or not he actually sees any game time will be very interesting. Walcott himself has always suffered from inconsistency but with Aaron Lennon overlooked, he is our best right-winger.
Finally the striking corps. Wayne Rooney shouldn’t be in there on the grounds that he will miss two thirds of our schedule games. I seem to be in a silent minority on this issue so I’ll make my case quickly. Whilst he has cooled his temperature, one yellow card all seasons suggests as much, he still needs to realize that his actions have implications and he will learn more from missing a tournament than being allowed to play like the spoilt schoolkid that he all too often shows himself up to be.
Carroll has come into form at the right time and ‘offers us something else’, i.e. he is the archaic sort of forward that few countries still produce. Danny Welbeck is a good young player and will lead the line for years to come. Jermain Defoe deserves his inclusion for notching 17 goals in 38 appearances for Spurs this season – most of those of course coming off the bench. Defoe is the kind of forward who takes chances and doesn’t need five or six to warm him up, he is very economical in front of goal.
The stand by choices seem fine but why an incredibly mediocre Jordan Henderson makes the cut I have no idea, once again, Carrick anyone? It seems the only central midfielder not ahead of Carrick at the moment is Joey Barton – give it time…
England squad:
Goalkeepers - Joe Hart, Robert Green, John Ruddy.
Defenders - Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, John Terry.
Midfielders - Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young.
Strikers - Andy Carroll, Jermian Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck
Blogging is dead, long live the blog
Posted: December 9, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
Today I came to realize a number of things in relation to this blog -
1. I’d give it up tomorrow if I got paid to write.
2. Oh, hang on, I write for two websites and get paid for the privilege.
3. I don’t actually enjoy it, it’s a chore. I enjoy writing here and here.
4. I also write here, here and have been known to write here.
5. If all that isn’t enough to get me noticed, then the 50 odd people who view this blog a day aren’t going to tip the balance for me.
I’ll leave this blog up seeing as it’s free, but expect no more posts.
Cheers,
Tom
Wadsworth ousted by poor home support
Posted: December 6, 2011 Filed under: Football League, Hartlepool United | Tags: Hartlepool United, League One, Mick Wadsworth, Pools, Victoria Park 2 Comments »
Glum: Wadsworth joined 'Pools in July 2010
There’s been another managerial casualty in the north east today, but it’s unlikely to receive the same coverage in tomorrow’s press that Steve Bruce’s departure enjoyed nearly a week ago.
League One Hartlepool United this afternoon parted company with former Newcastle United coach, Mick Wadsworth. Wadsworth had been in charge at Victoria Park for 16 months and leaves ‘Pools in 13th in League One.
At present ‘Pools sit a mere five points off the Play-Off places that they inhabited earlier in the campaign, and a comfortable 10 points off of the relegation zone. The reason given in a club statement for Wadsworth’s sacking is the club’s poor home form:
Following a good start to the season, although the away performances have yielded some results, regrettably the last seven home defeats have been of concern and it was felt that a fresh direction was required.
As a season ticket holder I can verify that ‘Pools home form has been poor – just two wins from 10 at Victoria Park, and a run of seven straight defeats in front of their own supporters is worrying, especially when you consider they have scored just one goal (a penalty) in that sequence of results.
However, the away form has been superb with just one defeat from nine away trips. Five wins and three draws have also been collected on the road this season, a very good record for any side.
Those seven home games have been dire; there’s no debating that, but you have to ask yourself why? Making the assumption that there are a good number of ‘floating’ or non-Hartlepool fans at games who have taken advantage of the £100 season ticket offer, the atmosphere is going to suffer if things aren’t going well.
I stood in amongst the main home support section in the Town End against Charlton Athletic (a 4-0 reverse), and the supporters there sung their hearts out, and, missing the vocal support of my own team I joined in. By full-time the much was much more sombre, supporters were turning on one another and labelling Wadsworth a clown. The man who had dragged an extremely average side kicking and screaming into the top six was now not up to it by general consensus.
And that was that, the support was on the same slippery slope that Bruce witnessed on a much grander scale at the Stadium of Light against Wigan. Once you lose the home fans’ trust, there’s very little you can do to turn things around.
Imagine being the player in that scenario though. You train with the manager all week and you entrust him to devise a scheme which will guide you to victory. Then on Saturday, all you hear from the terraces is abuse directed at that man. You begin to doubt him, and as a result yourself. Just like that, confidence is shot and the results and performances plummet.
In short, Hartlepool fans needs to take a portion of the blame for their alarming home form – it’s no coincidence they are so much stronger on the road, and Wadsworth should never have paid the price.
Reliving the magic of the F.A Cup
Posted: December 4, 2011 Filed under: F.A Cup | Tags: Burnley, F.A Cup, Heidar Helguson, Jermaine Pennant, Macclesfield, Marcus Gayle, Southampton, Stephen Glass, Tommy Smith, Watford, West Brom Leave a comment »
Scrappy: Beattie bundles ball & man home for the Saints winner
This going to be a very person piece, so do excuse that, but with the F.A Cup 3rd round draw this afternoon, I realized quite how little impact the F.A Cup actually has on me as a fan of a Football League club.
Eight years ago this season, perhaps the zenith of my F.A Cup history occurred. I would have been heading into my 12th year on this earth, and the first season I really fell in love with football and Watford F.C; the 2002/03 campaign.
Fitting then it is, that little old Watford made serious inroads in the F.A Cup; a season where the club was teetering on the edge of financial doom, reeling from the collapse of ITV digital and the departure of the unsuccessful vampire that was Luca Vialli, full from feasting on the near-dead corpse of my football club.
Watford’s F.A Cup journey started at Moss Rose, Macclesfield. A potentially banana skin for a mid-table Division One club with little in the way of options for squad rotation and eyes on second-tier survival. However, we won 2-0 thanks to goals from Heidar Helguson and then-Arsenal loanee, Jermaine Pennant securing our passage to round four.
This isn’t a tale of a small side that made it to the latter stages via easy ties by the way, before you start thinking it, and the next round proved that. Premiership West Brom came to Vicarage Road and even as they floundered in the top-tier, they would have expected the likes of Sean Gregan, Ronnie Walwork, Jason Koumas and Jason Roberts to guide them into round five.
Not on your life; and end-to-end game in which either should’ve scored before the eventual 80th minute winner. That man Helguson at it again, running the length of the field to tuck home before collapsing in the corner flag to spark a richly-deserved bundle.
Round five brought another Premier League side struggling with their own league problems, Sunderland away. The long trip to the North East was fruitful for the ‘Orns in a nervy encounter which once again should have provided more goals than it did. In the end it was settled by a Tommy Smith penalty. The Hemel Hempstead-born forward bagged a penalty before referee Mike Dean ordered a re-take. With nerves of steel, Smith bagged again.
So, to the big one and a quarter-final tie at home to Division One rivals Burnley, and the first game I’d been to during the run. Live on the BBC and in front of a packed house, the Hornets did not disappoint.
Smith was back amongst the goals, but his inclusion had been doubtful right up until the day having been in a car crash leading up to the game. However, Ray Lewington included Smith and was duly rewarded when he stabbed home in a mud-bath penalty area in the second-half. Former Newcastle winger Stephen Glass stepped up to put the icing on the cake with a delicious left-footed free kick which left Clarets ‘keeper Marlon Beresford beaten all ends up.
We were in the F.A Cup semi-finals and on our way to Villa Park to face Premier League surprise package, Southampton. My tiny mind couldn’t comprehend the enormity of this, but at the same time, the whole day is crystal clear in my head. I’d never been to a bigger ground at the time, against a bigger team. The whole day flew by.
Arriving early I took in David Seaman’s heroics against Sheffield United in the other semi-final on the big screen before the Goldenboys took the stage. Having scored four the week prior in a league clash at Burnley in a 7-4 win, Michael Chopra took Smith’s place in the side. Smith, a home-grown lad was rightfully miffed and left for Sunderland at the end of the season.
Never outclassed, the Hornets were shocked by a Brett Ormerod goal a minute before half-time. That winded me personally, and with 10 minutes to play Gordon Strachan’s men killed the game off with Paul Robinson fouled into the net by James Beattie. However, two minutes from time and Marcus Gayle, player of the season that year, and a converted centre-half, bagged a goal. Nodding home from a corner, the big Jamaican handed us the goal we all craved. It counted for nothing, but it made the score line more respectable in my mind.
Next season we drew Chelsea in the third round and drew 2-2 at Vicarage Road courtesy of a Helguson header that never crossed the line. The magic of the cup was once again prominent. However, the replay at Stamford Bridge was less than flattering and Lewington’s men crashed out 4-0 with a sweet Jamie Hand strike the closest we came.
The 2008/09 season saw Chelsea back at the Vic’. For a brief euphoric handful of minutes, Tamas Priskin had us in the lead with a suspiciously offside finish. Nicholas Anelka’s devastating hat-trick made sure Guus Hiddink’s side would not crash out early in the new manager’s brief but successful reign.
That was the last time I felt the magic of the cup. I don’t want us to lose F.A Cup games these days by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t get excited like I used. Perhaps it’s because I’m old and more cynical, perhaps it’s the vast riches that separate the proletariat of football from the bourgeoisie.
Whatever it is, I wish I could re-live those days.
Euro 2012 draw: Not good, not bad, just a draw.
Posted: December 2, 2011 Filed under: England, European Championships | Tags: England, Euro 2012, Fabio Capello, France, Sweden, Ukraine, World Cup 2010 Leave a comment »
I have to confess myself slightly disappointed at England’s 2012 European Championships group. I’m not someone who sits there fingers crossed, hoping for the weakest teams possible.
On the contrary, I want to see good football and I want to see England win the thing by beating the best teams in it. It cheapens victory slightly to not face any really strong team although you in progressing you will inevitably face some strong teams.
Surely I do not need to remind you of the 2010 World Cup draw, a plum draw as it was labelled at the time – Algeria, USA and Slovenia. It couldn’t be any easier we all shouted, but we have learnt out lesson now.
Indeed there is a positive in being placed in the strongest group on paper, at least whoever you make it through with will not face you again until the final (assuming you get that far).
Essentially, too much credence is placed on who England are drawn against in the group stages of tournaments, we are always going to be play better teams and we are always going to face weaker teams; you’ve just got to beat anyone put in front of you in order to progress.
From a neutral point of view, Groyp A looks extremely open and quite dull. Groups B and C look like the groups to watch. Roll on next summer.
O’Neill is a solid appointment, but…
Posted: December 1, 2011 Filed under: Aston Villa, Premier League, Sunderland | Tags: Aston Villa, Ellis Short, Martin O'Neill, Premier League, Randy Lerner, Steve Bruce., Sunderland Leave a comment »
Lift: O'Neill will be expected to help Sunderland up the table
Martin O’Neill is clearly a good manager and if, as expected, he gets the Sunderland job he could very easily do well at the Stadium of Light, but there is a ‘but’ to that statement…
With a bit of work, the Black Cats should be aiming to hit a similar level to his Aston Villa side, but I have just one qualm with the appointment.
O’Neill was not known for being desperately financially prudent at Villa Park and on several occasions signed players that he rarely used for fairly decent money.
The examples that stick out in my mind are Habib Beye from Newcastle and Steve Sidwell from Chelsea – solid signings for Villa’s level, but additions that never worked out for the Villains.
It is common consensus that Villa owner Randy Lerner and O’Neill fell out when the former refused to continue bank-rolling O’Neill’s ever-increasing list of requisite players, prompting the Ulsterman to resign from his post five days before the beginning of the season.
At the Stadium of Light, Ellis Short is clearly thinking in a similar way having seen Steve Bruce fork out £8m on Connor Wickham, £5m on Craig Gardner, £2m on Ji Dong-Won and a loan fee for Nicklas Bendtner this summer. David Vaughan, Seb Larsson and Keiren Westwood also arrived and although some of Bruce’s final signings have done well, namely Larsson and Westwood, the rest have flopped to one degree or another.
With Financial Fair Play coming in and Short undoubtedly hoping that the Black Cats will be looking to press on towards the European places in the medium to long term, O’Neill will be under some degree of pressure to deliver results in the most financially prudent way.
O’Neill will probably be expecting to have a few quid to strengthen the Sunderland squad, and he does need it as there are some fairly serious deficiencies within the squad, but Short’s long-term strategy will not budget for serious surgery every transfer window.
Aside from the transfer aspect, O’Neill’s immanent move to the North East appears a good fit on paper.
Steve Bruce had to go
Posted: November 30, 2011 Filed under: Premier League, Sunderland | Tags: Asamoah Gyan, Danny Welbeck, Darren Bent, Lee Cattermole, Lorik Cana, Premier League, Stadium of Light, Steve Bruce., Sunderland Leave a comment »
Backlash: Bruce has steadily been losing fans' support in recent months
I called it before it happened on Vital Sunderland, but Steve Bruce had to leave the Stadium of Light sooner or later.
I wasn’t at the Wigan game on Saturday – I didn’t have to be to get the gist of quite how painful the viewing was for Black Cats supporters. I was however at the Fulham game the previous weekend and that was equally dire viewing.
Under Bruce Sunderland have had two decent finishes – 13th and 10th; the former might not sound too exciting but for a club that avoided relegation on the final day the previous season it represented decent progression.
Tenth was very good progress and almost certainly contributed to Bruce’s downfall as supporters expected to kick on from there. Unfortunately with loan players of Danny Welbeck’s calibre, it was something of an outlier as a final standing went.
Bruce’s reign has seen 30 players signed on loan or permanently in roughly two-and-a-half years. That’s too many to promote continuity, and with a high turnover of players heading in the opposite direction too, Bruce has been wasteful in the transfer market.
You only need to look at the signings of David Vaughan and Craig Gardner this summer. Vaughan granted, was a free transfer, but Gardner cost £5m. That kind of money is a decent investment for a club of Sunderland’s stature and players commanding that sort of fee have to be making an instant impact. That of course isn’t always possible but to make no impact isn’t good enough.
The striking situation is still dire. Nicklas Bendtner has not lived up to the billing Bruce afforded him and Connor Wickham cost a lot of money for a prospect. Bruce’s inability to replace Darren Bent, Asamoah Gyan or Welbeck effectively has come back to haunt him spectacularly.
Equally worrying is the fact he has been unable to persuade either Bent or Gyan to stay at the club when offers came. Going back to earlier in his reign, the same applied for Lorik Cana who spent one season in the North East as club captain before leaving for the tax-haven that is Turkey.
The lack of tactical nous was painfully evident too, and Bruce’s inability to change a game or exert any sort of effective strategy on his side was also palpable against Fulham. The Cottagers came for a draw and got it thanks to Sunderland’s blunt nature going forward. Without Sebastian Larsson, a lot of pressure falls on Stephane Sessegnon, but the former PSG playmaker cannot do it all himself. The lack of central midfield creativity is startling and Lee Cattermole has proven himself to be a liability in the past, yet somehow he was Bruce’s leader.
The Guardian’s Louise Taylor has written a good piece on Bruce’s departure which can be read by clicking here.
Nice guy, but doing the wrong thing for the club over and over.
Venky’s have to take rap from Rovers’ fans
Posted: November 30, 2011 Filed under: Premier League, Scandal | Tags: Blackburn Rovers, Ewood Park, Premier League, Sam Allardyce, Steve Kean, Venky's Leave a comment »
Ire: Blackburn fans should be protesting against their owners
The situation at Blackburn Rovers is a particularly odd one, but if one thing is crystal clear it’s that the fans are not happy. Who can blame them?
Most recently and probably most annoyingly for Rovers fans, ‘manager’ Steve Kean was handed a new contract. I say ‘manager’ in the loosest of terms, because he isn’t. A well-renowned and well-respected coach by all means, but not a manager.
It is of course hard to know whether or not someone will make the transition from coach to manager without trying them out, but this is an experiment that has gone badly wrong for all involved. You can’t really blame Kean for taking the post; the opportunity to take up a Premier League managerial role is one few of us would pass up. The people Blackburn fans should really be aiming their ire at are the Venky family.
Sacking Sam Allardyce was a poor decision. He will be back in the Premier League next season with West Ham, bar an almighty slip-up, and could very well pass the Lancastrian outfit as they slip out the division.
Allardyce’s style of football isn’t necessarily the most artistic and we are all well aware of that. However, with limited resources he gets results year on year and ultimately enough points for Premier League survival.
When the Venky family sacked Allardyce they cited his style of play as not being conducive to the identity of the football club they wanted to create. Just less than 12 months down the line and the football has improved slightly, but results have worsened. Surely Championship football is even less conducive to the profile of the club?!
So Kean is somehow still in a job – incredible. Even more incredible is the fact that the side’s poor showing in the league has been enough to earn him a new contract, on better terms. Now I’m not entirely in tune with all the goings-on at Ewood Park, but my information is that Kean was not sought after by a long line of clubs; he had not earnt a new contract in his performance and his contract was not up soon.
Just how can the family justify the award of a new deal? Kean must be laughing all the way to the bank. At this rate he is untouchable and looking at a job for life!
At the same time I do feel sorry for Kean. He was promised untold riches to work with and had names such as Ronaldinho banded about in the press for him. Neither of these have materialised – not that the mercurial Brazilian would’ve been the answer. The untold riches turned out to be £5m by the way.
All of this has left Kean shopping in the marginal markets of South America and beyond. Nobody shops there unless necessity dictates – just ask Roberto Martinez.
On the basis he will be owed a hefty amount of money to leave his post it makes little sense to dispose of Kean at this stage so Blackburn fans look to be set with the man they are so vocally against.
Whether or not Kean is to blame for their current predicament or not is up for debate, but my finger is pointing firmly at the hapless Venky’s.
Hartlepool United 0-1 Preston North End
Posted: November 29, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Football League, Hartlepool United, League One, Mick Wadsworth, Neil Mellor, Phil Brown, Preston North End Leave a comment »
Result: Mellor's strike ends a 13-game winless run for PNE
A fine strike from Neil Mellor handed Preston North End in their first win in 14 games at the expense of Hartlepool United, a run that stretches back until September.
Mick Wadsworth made just one change to his starting XI with Gary Liddle dropping out to be replaced by Adam Boyd. Anthony Sweeney moved back into centre midfield with Andy Monkhouse reverting to left-wing.
Mellor got the game’s only goal, which although harsh in it’s timing reflects the poor luck of Hartlepool in recent weeks.
Hartlepool started the brighter of the two without creating any real chance of note, the ball going long too often. Right-back Neil Austin had the best chance following patient build-up but lashed comfortably over on his left foot.
When Preston did take the lead it was well against the run of player. Without breaking his stride, former Liverpool front-man Mellor latched onto a sweeping pass to curl a low shot perfectly past Scott Flinders from outside the area.
The hosts response was limp and Phil Brown’s side had the better of the chances as the first-half slipped by.
Half-time: 0-1
With yet another Wadsworth rocket reverberating in their ears, Hartlepool emerged looking marginally more confident and put PNE on the back foot.
However, it wasn’t really until the introduction of substitute Nathan Luscombe that Pools truly threatened Thorsten Stuckmann’s goal.
A couple of fine Luscombe crosses went unfinished before James Poole and Evan Horwood both saw left-footed pile-drivers fail to trouble the big German ‘keeper.
The Lilywhites should have had a second when Mellor bustled down the right but his right-wing centre was not met by strike partner, Jamie Proctor, who was unmarked in the centre.
Hartlepool United: Flinders; Austin (c), Wright, Hartley, Horwood; Solano (Luscombe), Murray (Liddle), Sweeney, Monkhouse; Poole and Boyd (Humphreys).
Preston North End: Stuckmann; Gray, Morgan, McCombe, Parry; Mayor, Coutts, Doyle, Nicholson (c); Proctor (Forte) and Mellor.
Preview: Hartlepool United vs. Preston North End
Posted: November 29, 2011 Filed under: Football League, Hartlepool United, Journalism, Live Football | Tags: Adam Boyd, Hartlepool United, James Poole, League One, Mick Wadsworth, Nobby Solano, Paul Murray, Phil Brown, Preston North End Leave a comment »
Re-call: Adam Boyd is expected to start tonight
OOLS ARE back at the Vic’ once again tonight as they host League One flops, PNE. The recently-relegated side are without a win in 13 so Mick Wadsworth’s side will be looking to take maximum points from a home game for the first time since the 3-0 win over Bury.
That said, Yeovil Town were without an away win all season until United rolled over and let the Somerset outfit leave with a 1-0 win, so this is by no means a forgone conclusion.
Pools could rest veteran midfield duo Paul Murray and Nobby Solano, according to Wadsworth. The pair both played in the Yeovil defeat 72 hours ago and may be rested. Wadsworth has also discussed the possibility of bringing Adam Boyd back in to start in place of James Poole who was replaced at half-time on Saturday after a quiet first 45.
Skipper Sam Collins returned to first-team training this Monday, but the North End game will not see his return. Strikers Colin Larkin and Colin Nish are still both longer-term lay-offs.
Lilywhites boss Phil Brown returns to the club which handed him his Football League debut as a player tonight without four key men. Experienced midfield duo Ian Ashbee and Graham Alexander are both out whilst Ian’s Hume and Turner will both miss out.
Centre-half Clarke Carlisle is however back in contention after serving a one-match ban against Bury on Saturday.
Probable Teams:
Hartlepool United: Flinders; Austin (c), Wright, Hartley, Horwood; Solano, Murray, Liddle, Sweeney; Monkhouse & Boyd.
Preston North End: Stuckman; Doyle, Morgan, McCombe, Parry; Gray, Coutts, Nicholson, Proctor; Mellor & Forte.
