How Ronnie Moore's men are shaping up for the new season
A look at next season's opponents continues with Hartlepool United
Who are ya?
The Pools finished 22nd in League Two last season
Who’s in charge?
The experienced Ronnie Moore took over at Victoria Park in December 2014. The 62-year-old is best known for his spells with Tranmere Rovers, both as a player and then manager. He made more than 350 appearances for the club having started his career at Prenton Park in 1971. Moore has represented Cardiff, Charlton, Rotherham and Rochdale in a career which spanned more than 600 games.
As a manager Moore had two spells in charge of both Tranmere and Rotherham after starting in management at Southport in 1996. He won successive promotions with the Millers and also had a spell in charge of Oldham.
Last season
Pools looked doomed when Moore took over. They had been knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Blyth Spartans and were ten points adrift of the team in 23rd at one stage. But they rallied and at one stage won four successive games to climb out of the bottom two, securing safety with one game to go. They went out of the Capital One Cup to Port Vale and also lost at the first hurdle in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, going down 2-1 to Sheffield United.
Summer plans
Hartlepool have already signed four new players, with ex-Stevenage defender Harry Worley joining the club this week. Moore has also recruited forward Rakish Bingham from Port Vale, ex- Barnsley striker Rhys Oates and defender Carl Magnay from Grimsby Town. The Pools’ manager is promising more additions before the new season kicks off on August 8.
Previous meetings
There have been two previous meetings with Hartlepool in the 2012-13 campaign in League One. A goal from Hope Akpan earned Reds a 1-0 win on their first visit to Victoria Park and the sides shared four goals in the final match of that campaign at the Checkatrade.com Stadium, a match memorable for the appearance of hundreds of Pools’ fans dressed as penguins!
How far is it?
It is a 602 mile round trip to Hartlepool.
