Dominic Scurr's Hartlepool United year in review timeline part two: Dave Challinor resurgence, transfer talk and coronavirus shutdown

One year ago this week I kicked-off my role covering Pools for the Hartlepool Mail. Despite knowing the season would likely throw up a few surprises, no one could have possibly anticipated how things would eventually unfold both on and off the pitch.

Here’s a month-by-month analysis of the past year…

June 2019-October 2019

November 2019

Going into the big match at Notts County, Dave Challinor was emerging as the clear front runner for the manager’s role as his attendance at Meadow Lane was confirmed.

Sweeney had not put a foot wrong as caretaker going into the game as the side put in a dazzling first-half display against the Magpies to lead 2-0 before conceding on the stroke of half-time. A game the went on to draw 2-2.

In just a few short weeks, Sweeney had turned Pools’ fortunes around and the team were playing some of their best football of the season.

With the former midfield favourite taking a neutral stance on his position as caretaker manager, Pools opted to go with their first choice, Dave Challinor – who was announced ahead of the defeat to Solihull Moors.

But had Sweeney put his foot down and stated his intention to become permanent manager, things could have been quite different.

Challinor was always the logical option but Sweeney’s transitional role alongside Ian McGuckin should still be commended.

The former Fylde boss’ first ‘matchday’ experience at Hartlepool was an ill-fated trip down to Yeovil Town for an FA Cup first-round tie.

Sweeney was set to remain in caretaker charge for a game that wouldn’t end up taking place as planned as the game was postponed at the 11th hour due to a waterlogged pitch.

A hectic few days followed as Challinor was formally unveiled as manager before the side made their second 670-mile round trip to Huish Park in a matter of days.

Things may not have gone to plan for Pools on their previous visit to Somerset and despite conceding early on, things couldn’t have got off to a better start for Challinor’s side as they strolled into the second round of the FA Cup with a 4-1 victory.

That positivity should have continued into Challinor’s first league match in charge at Ebbsfleet with Pools cruising into a 2-0 lead against the 10-men of the Fleet.

But for the second time in as many National League away matches, United suffered a second-half collapse and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. It was a game they should have wrapped up shortly after half-time as the rejuvenated Gavan Holohan missed a golden opportunity to seal his first hat-trick for the club.

The tables turned the following week as Pools were on the right side of a two-goal comeback as they drew 2-2 with Boreham Wood at Victoria Park.

If nothing else, it had been a thoroughly entertaining start to Challinor’s spell as Pools’ boss – but the best was yet to come.

A Tuesday night trip to a struggling Chesterfield side would arguably prove to be Pools’ best performance of the season as they picked up their biggest win in emphatic fashion.

A goal from the impressive Luke James along with braces from Gus Mafuta and Gime Toure helped Pools to a 5-1 victory at the Proact Stadium – the club’s biggest away win since 2004.

The side hadn’t had a problem dominating games this season but they rarely had the scoreline to show for it. This was the first time Pools were able to properly put a team to the sword and make their dominance count.

It would also be a sign of what was to come down the line under Challinor as he was able to bring the best out of the likes of James and Nicky Featherstone, who quickly re-established their respective places as key players in the side despite slow starts to the campaign.

December 2019

Buoyed from their emphatic win at Chesterfield, Pools travelled to League Two high-flyers Exeter City for an FA Cup second-round tie as they looked to continue their unbeaten start under their new boss.

After trailing 2-0 at half-time at St. James Park, United fought back admirably.

A screamer from Featherstone proved to be the catalyst for the comeback as the midfielder found the top left corner from 30-yards just moments after a fine triple-save from Ben Killip in the Pools goal.

Nicke Kabamba’s close-range strike earned a replay as Pools claimed their fourth 2-2 draw in seven matches to set-up a replay against the odds.

Back at The Vic, a stoppage-time winner from Josh Hawkes and first clean-sheet under Challinor saw Pools progress to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2016.

After having to travel to Yeovil (twice) and Exeter in the first and second round respectively, surely if any side were deserving of a plum third round draw, it was Pools?

Unfortunately, with an exasperated groan, they were drawn away to Oxford United. Another long difficult away trip for a match that would do little to spark the attention of the wider footballing community.

Pools were also hit with a significant injury blow as Luke James, who had been unplayable at times under Challinor, was ruled out for the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign.

This left Pools slightly short of attacking options with just Gime Toure and Nicke Kabamba available as senior forwards, with Niko Muir out on loan.

And in less than a week, the highs of FA Cup progress were countered by a crushing collapse in the FA Trophy at Harrogate Town.

Legendary goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos agreed non-contract terms at the club and was set to return in between the sticks for Pools for the first time since 2007.

The Greek goalkeeper was enjoying a dream return during the opening hour at the CNG Stadium as a penalty save and a number of decent stops helped Pools lead 2-0 and look on course to progress.

But a staggering late collapse saw Hartlepool concede three times in the final 15-minutes to literally throw the game away as two glaring errors from Konstantopoulos proved costly.

The 41-year-old wouldn’t be seen at the club for the remainder of the campaign.

Harrogate would prove to be something of a thorn in Hartlepool’s side over the festive period as the North Yorkshire outfit strolled to a 4-1 win on Boxing Day – Pools’ heaviest defeat of the campaign.

The game highlighted Challinor’s growing dissatisfaction with his side as he admitted that changes may be necessary.

Within two months of his arrival, the former Fylde manager had already loaned in midfielder Mark Shelton from Salford City, Tyler Hamilton from Hull and former Pools favourite, Gary Liddle, from Walsall.

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Mitchell Beeney also joined on non-contract terms in an attempt to address the goalkeeping situation at the club.

Pools’ final match of 2019 was a hard-fought 2-2 draw at home to league leaders Barrow in which number 1 Ben Killip was guilty of a goal costing error.

This saw Challinor’s side end the year 15th in the table and five points off the play-offs. Despite the early promise under the new manager, significant improvement was still required.

January 2020

After opening the year with another defeat to bogey team Harrogate Town, Pools were knocked out of the FA Cup by Oxford United.

Despite a spirited display after Mark Kitching gave the visitors an early lead, the League One outfit’s quality shone through as they emerged as 4-1 victors.

The defeat would prove to be a double blow for Pools as Oxford were drawn away to Newcastle United in the fourth round. Challinor’s side were left to think what could have been.

Still, the six-figure prize money return total for reaching the third round would provide a much-needed boost to the club’s finances.

The January transfer window would also bring further financial benefits with the sales of Nicke Kabamba and Peter Kioso to Kilmarnock and Luton Town respectively.

Young striker Aidan Keena was brought in on a free from Hearts to add to Pools’ dwindling attacking options. On loan defenders Timi Odusina and Macauley Southam-Hales were also welcome additions at the back.

On the pitch, Pools’ fortunes were turning around with home wins over Eastleigh and Stockport County either side of away draws at Dover and Yeovil Town seeing the side climb into the top half by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, top-scorer Gime Toure was starting to cause some problems for Challinor following a three-match suspension for violent conduct against Oxford.

The Frenchman’s form had dipped since Craig Hignett’s departure with just two goals from open play to his name.

The Mail had been ‘tipped off’ that Toure was attracting interest from a list of different clubs earlier in the month. Though after checking various sources, any chance of a January move seemed unlikely at best – though Carlisle United would later make a nominal bid.

With the transfer window drawing to a close, the individual responsible for the ‘tip-off’ became frustrated that The Mail was not making this ‘factual information’ public by immediately publishing a story.

What followed was a remarkable touting move which saw Toure publically linked to eight different clubs by his representatives on social media.

The understandably caused the Hartlepool manager to hit out at the player's agent as Toure remained at Victoria Park.

February 2020

With a frantic January behind them, Hartlepool suffered a slight set-back to their resurgence with a narrow 2-1 defeat at Barnet after going down to 10-men.

But the long-awaited return of Luke Molyneux after six-months out injured helped get Pools back on track against Aldershot Town. The winger scored just six minutes into his first start of the campaign before assisting the second goal from Mark Shelton as the hosts secured a comfortable 2-0 win at The Vic.

Storm Dennis saw the following week’s match at Solihull Moors postponed – back when bad weather was the only significant threat to a match not going ahead!

But that didn't stop Hartlepool’s momentum as a first processional brace from Nicky Featherstone downed an in-form Notts County at Victoria Park.

The experienced midfielder was quickly emerging as Hartlepool's stand-out player of the campaign following a resurgence of form under Challinor. The 31-year-old started every match since the change in management with Challinor publically stating his intentions to tie Featherstone down to a new deal.

A productive February saw Pools thrust themselves into the play-off picture going into the final months of the season – a 1-1 draw at Boreham Wood saw them just three points off the top seven.

March 2020

The rescheduled match at Solihull Moors at the beginning of March was the point at which Pools play-off dream moved to within the realms of reality.

A fine team move finished off by Aidan Keena in the dying moments of the game saw Challinor’s side claim points off yet another rival for a top seven place as they moved level on points with the play-off positions.

The match was arguably the high-point of the season so far. The belief that something was changing under Challinor was strong as the momentum continued to build.

Pools had lost just once in the National League following a difficult festive period and things were looking up going into the final nine matches of the campaign.

Any spells of happiness have been short-lived at Hartlepool in recent years. And that would prove to be the case just days after the Solihull win as the club would find itself tangled in racism controversy once again.

The match against Ebbsfleet at Victoria Park proved to be a relatively flat spectacle that was ultimately fuelled by allegations of racism, a questionable refereeing display and a masterclass in gamesmanship from the visitors.

Ebbsfleet snatched a 1-0 win but that was the least of Pools’ worries as two visiting players alleged that two separate incidents of racist and xenophobic abuse occurred during the match.

While acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations, an in-depth probe from Hartlepool could not provide an accurate account of what was alleged to have taken place.

The club is yet to hear any response from the FA while Ebbsfleet has neglected to make a formal comment on the incident.

As Hartlepool started to climb into play-off contention, the global threat of coronavirus continued to grow. Matches around Europe were been postponed as the virus threatened to derail the 2019-20 campaign.

Ahead of Hartlepool’s trip to Sutton United, it was announced that the Premier League and EFL would be suspending all matches until April.

Meanwhile, the National League stood its ground as matches went ahead as planned – though some clubs would choose to take matters into their own hands and postpone their fixtures.

The decision caused an uneasy feeling at Sutton for a game that ultimately felt pointless in the grand scheme of things.

After signing a new contract, Gavan Holohan netted his ninth goal of the campaign to cancel out Ben Killip’s early error that led to Sutton taking the lead.

In hindsight, the decision to play at Gander Green Lane seems increasingly senseless. All it ended up achieving was a potential transmission of the virus as well as Pools’ points per game total decreasing for when the season would inevitably be cancelled.

And just days after half of the National League teams played on, the decision to suspend the season was confirmed.

There was still a lack of certainty regarding when of if matches would resume as Pools continued to train at Victoria Park.

The suspension of matches would cost the club tens of thousands in matchday revenue as the focus switched to off-field matters following the announcement of a country-wide lockdown.

As the club fought to preserve itself amidst the ongoing threat of coronavirus, redundancies were made and all remaining players and staff were placed on furlough.

April 2020

This is not how anyone would have seen the final month of the originally scheduled competitive season going.

For the first time since World War Two, competitive football in the UK was cancelled and the National League decided to bring its season to a premature close. We’ve seen an unprecedented use of the word unprecedented following the coronavirus outbreak, but that’s exactly what it was.

The decision would see Pools finish the campaign in ninth position, though finalising the table on points per game would mean a drop to 12th. Still, it would be the club’s first top-half finish in any division since its promotion from League Two in 2007.

But unease continued to grow behind the scenes as long-serving media manager Mark Simpson was made redundant as cost-cutting measures continued.

Further controversy involving the club then emerged as former manager Craig Hignett revealed that he was considering legal action over an unpaid severance package almost seven months after his dismissal.

A difficult month would end on something of a high note as player of the season Nicky Featherstone was announced to have signed a new deal at the club.

May 2020

With football indefinitely suspended and all remaining staff furloughed, the club had effectively shut down.

Chairman Raj Singh spoke of the stark consequences that the coronavirus pandemic would have on clubs lower down the football pyramid.

As a result, Pools fans set up a 'budget booster’ campaign in order to help the club remain competitive going into the next season as talks to get fans more involved continued.

Some hope of a brighter future for the club was provided in the form of a retained list which confirmed eight players (Ben Killip, Luke Molyneux, Gus Mafuta, Ryan Donaldson, Aidan Keena, Brad Young, Gavan Holohan and Nicky Featherstone) were contracted beyond the summer.

Key players such as Mark Kitching and Luke James had been offered new deals while top scorer Gime Toure was free to find a new club after making his EFL ambitions clear.

Meanwhile, Luke Williams was handed another lifeline at the club. Despite making just three substitute appearances over the course of the season, the midfielder would be invited back to train at Pools with the view of earning a new contract should he be able to prove his fitness.

The club also confirmed they were looking to make the loan moves of Mark Shelton, Gary Liddle, Timi Odusina and Macauley Southam-Hales permanent.

But any potential new deals or signings would be put on hold by Hartlepool until more clarity was provided regarding the restart of National League football.

June 2020

If the past 12 months have taught us anything it’s that there’s hardly a month that goes by without something big happening at Hartlepool United.

And June started with some very significant news as chief executive Mark Maguire was relieved of his duties as part of the ‘ongoing changes at the club’.

Maguire’s replacement was quickly announced with former Darlington CEO Martin Jesper being appointed as the club’s acting executive director.

Jesper’s arrival is undoubtedly an important one as the club looks to steer its way through the increasing uncertainty and financial implications of the coronavirus outbreak.

For now, it’s about keeping the club afloat and putting plans in place to kick-on when National League football returns – whenever that may be.