Home sweet home?

It has been a good few years since we could call Bloomfield Road a fortress. Infact it’s been more like Gloomfield Road at times, most noticeably in the Hendry era. So why is this and what can the Pool faithful expect in the forthcoming season?

Well, looking back at our Home record in recent seasons, there is a
distinct pattern.

Season 03/04 W – 9, D – 5, L – 9
Season 04/05 W – 8, D – 7, L – 8
Season 05/06 W – 9, D – 8, L – 6

Looking at the stats, we seem to win, draw and lose a similar number of games per season at Bloomers. It’s all well and good winning nine home games a season, but to lose the same amount is not good enough. Our home form has yet to truly blossom since the new North and West stands opened, so is this the issue? In my opinion, the lack of a South stand has not helped as the ground loses some atmosphere. Don’t get me wrong, when the tangerines are on form then Bloomers can still be rockin, South or no
South.

Clearly, the state of the pitch last season was unacceptable, for whatever reason – be it the rugby or poor preparation. This hardly helped us to play football (not that we tried under Hendry).

So, for me there have been a number of contributing factors – Poor football under Hendry = poor results especially at home = lack of confidence in players = dwindling attendances = lack of revenue = poor players/ no players being brought in. It doesn’t take a genius to notice what a couple of wins can do at Home, just look at the last third of last season. After Grayson brought some quality to the club, and results started coming, we ended the season unbeaten in 7 home games, including 5 clean sheets.

I believe the key for Larry’s lads at the seaside next season lies in the first month. August sees the boys turning out no fewer than 4 times infront of the home fans, including the Carling Cup tie. A good August with attacking play and most importantly home victories will see the fans storm back and the good times roll at Bloomers once more. Come on boys prove me right!

By tangerinelordy