Crawley Town v Hartlepool United: All you need to know about Pools ahead of Friday's League Two clash

The former Spurs and West Ham midfielder steered the Reds to victory over Swindon Town in his first game in charge, and supporters will be confident of another win when beleaguered Pools visit West Sussex.

Ahead of Friday evening’s game, we got the inside track on Hartlepool United from Hartlepool Mail reporter Joe Ramage.

Like Crawley, it was a summer of turnover at Hartlepool United. How have things gone in relation to expectations?

In a word; disastrous.

The decision to bring in Paul Hartley as manager in the summer was a gamble which has not paid off. Despite chairman Raj Singh suggesting there was a play-off budget available to develop the squad, it was certainly not spent wisely if that was the case.

Several imports from the Scottish leagues have struggled to make the grade and while injuries have played their part, this still remains a squad which is worse off than last season.

Nevertheless, while play-off hopes may have been slightly ambitious, given Pools finished 17th some 23 points adrift last year, to be in the plight they currently find themselves in was not to be expected. The big concern is they look short of being able to dig themselves out of the trouble.

Why did things not work out for Paul Hartley?

No wins in his nine league games tells part of the story, as does the aforementioned transfer window.

In total, 16 players arrived in the summer, 17 should you include the debacle that was Chris Maguire’s signing before his contract was taken off the table without him able to make an appearance for the club, with very few of them succeeding so far.

Hartley suggested he would bring a fast brand of attacking football with ‘speed’ and ‘power’ but rarely did we see it. There was a lack of organisation, a defensive frailty, which continues to persist, and a lack of continuity in systems and personnel.

Some may argue Hartley underestimated the level of League Two but he also appeared to struggle off the field with several suggestions of behind-the-scenes frictions which will have played their part.

Keith Curle came in, was that a surprise appointment? Is it all about survival now?

I wouldn’t say it was a surprise appointment, the surprise came in how swift it was. Within hours of Hartley’s sacking, Curle was unveiled on an interim basis - which has last week been turned into a permanent role.

Survival is the absolute priority at this stage. With just two wins from 20 league games, both of which came under Curle, it’s going to have to be a vastly improved second half of the season.

What do you expect from Hartlepool heading into the game with Crawley? How will they set-up and who should the Reds be aware of?

Saturday’s home hammering against Stockport County was another low point of the season, particularly with it being the return of previous manager Dave Challinor.

After what was their best performance of the season against Harrogate Town in the FA Cup seven days earlier, to turn in a performance like that against Stockport was alarming to say the least. Curle will have had a job on his hands this week to pick morale up.

Pools are in a bad habit of conceding early in games having shipped nine inside the opening 30 minutes of the last six league fixtures which means the start on Friday night will be important.

As for systems, Curle has varied recently - much owing to the injuries he has had to deal with. With Alex Lacey still likely to be missing from a dislocated shoulder last month, it’s reasonable to suggest Curle will stick with a back four. Beyond that, we have seen 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 in operation of late.

It would be a boost to see Jamie Sterry back involved - the full-back had been given an extra recovery period to deal with a calf injury but should be nearing a return.

Josh Umerah is undoubtedly Hartlepool’s main man this season. With 10 goals to his name he is about the only bright spark we have seen from the summer recruitment and should things not pick up you worry whether another team may test their resolve over him next month given his ability to score for the team sitting bottom of the Football League.

How significant a fixture is this, for both teams? What is your prediction?

It’s the start of what are three absolutely crucial games for Hartlepool against sides in the bottom seven, with Newport County and Rochdale to follow. If they are to get out of this mess they simply must pick up a decent haul of points in these upcoming fixtures.

As for Crawley, it seemed a perfect start for Matthew Etherington last time out which does not make things any easier for Pools, particularly when you factor in Pools are yet to win away this season in any competition. And for that reason it's hard to see things changing, so I'll go for a home win. 2-1.