Hartlepool United 1 Bradford City 3: The key takeaways from Bantams defeat

After a disappointing first quarter-of-an-hour, Pools competed against the Bantams before two second half Andy Cook strikes sealed the points for the away side.

Crystal Palace midfielder Scott Banks gave Bradford the lead before David Ferguson levelled things up.

But Pools again struggled to really test the opposition goalkeeper after the break, with Cook demonstrating that ruthlessness in front of goal Hartley’s side are currently lacking with two fine finishes.

And here are some of the key takeaways from Pools’ home reverse.

System change

There are positives to having a number of systems available to you, particularly for in-game transitions such as at half-time in the midweek draw with Tranmere Rovers where Pools were forced into a change with Euan Murray going off injured.

Murray’s injury meant Hartley moved from a back three to a back four with Pools relatively comfortable in that process, albeit unable to find a breakthrough.

And yet, just five league games into the new season, and Pools have already started with three different formations.

Murray’s continued absence may have played a part in that here, with the Scotsman failing a fitness test to be involved against the Bantams as Hartley lined up with a 4-2-3-1 formation to match up Mark Hughes’ side.

Against Tranmere, Pools went with a 3-4-3 system from the off, with Hartley keen to see more width from his side, whilst a 3-4-2-1 line-up has been utilised twice, three times if you include the Carabao Cup defeat against Blackburn Rovers.

The system changes give Hartley, and the players, plenty to think about as they endeavour to establish which works best for them.

But within the make-up of those systems is also another decision to ponder for Hartley when it comes to his team selection.

When using a back three, we have tended to to see as many as seven players who you would consider more defensively minded - or at least not renowned for their attacking impetus.

A midfield four, which includes two anchors in Nicky Featherstone and another, whether it be Mohamad Sylla or Mouhamed Niang, is supported by David Ferguson and Jamie Sterry who are operating as more advanced wing-backs.

That approach leaves just three players with a more attacking mindset with Josh Umerah and two of Jake Hastie, Callum Cooke and Wes McDonald in recent weeks, as Pools have struggled in the final third.

And yet, when using a 4-2-3-1 approach, as against Bradford, with an additional attack minded player, with Cooke starting in a No.10 role, Pools continued to struggle, particularly in the second half.

Joe Grey’s return to fitness, with Mikael Ndjoli not far behind, will help give Hartley further options in that final third, but it remains a conundrum for the Pools boss as to which system offers his side the best conversion rate in terms of chances being created.

Crawford’s absence

Tom Crawford was left out of Hartley’s squad of 18 for the second successive game against Bradford as the midfielder continues to find himself in a battle to force his way into Hartley’s plans.

The Pools boss hinted at the challenges he faces in naming a squad following the goalless draw with Tranmere, suggesting players will be unhappy from time-to-time.

Hartley added of his desire for a balance on the bench by including two defenders, two midfielders and two attackers, alongside goalkeeper Kyle Letheren, and that proved to be the case again at the weekend.

But in Niang and Mark Shelton, the two midfielders included are, again, perhaps more defensively minded and, you would anticipate, not as likely to impact in the final third.

Would Crawford being involved have turned Pools’ fortunes around? Possibly not. After all, the midfielder was handed a start against Blackburn from the off and, like most for Pools at Ewood Park, failed to stake a claim for himself.

But after a decent pre-season, where he was quite regularly involved and grabbed a couple of goals, Crawford has featured for just 50 minutes as a substitute in the league so far this campaign.

Subs changing games

Talking of substitutes, they certainly impacted the game at the Suit Direct Stadium for Bradford.

Huddersfield Town loanee Kian Harratt had only been on the field a matter of seconds before the 20-year-old assisted Cook to hand the initiative back to Bradford.

City boss Hughes remarked after the game of his substitutes, which included Jake Young, while the likes of Vadaine Oliver remained on the bench.

And therein lies some of the problem for Pools.

Hartley brought on Jack Hamilton, who was largely ineffective, and Grey, who was completing his first minutes of league action this season having returned from a calf injury.

As things stand, there doesn’t appear to be many ‘game changers’ on the Pools bench, perhaps evidenced by Hartley only using two of his allotted five subs in each of the five league games so far.

Is fitness a concern?

One thing which has appeared to be an issue is Pools tiring in the second half of games, but is that a fitness issue?

Pools seem to enjoy more possession than their opponents in games, having won that battle in four out of the five league games so far, which, naturally, lends itself to more exposure fitness-wise.

Their match tempo, which is defined by the number of team passes per minute of pure ball possession, as per data experts Wyscout, suggests Pools are narrowly shading their opponents in the league with an average of 15.58 to 15.43 which also hints at slightly more output.

And yet, certain players still seem a little off when it comes to the physicality and fitness demands late in games.

That could be down to one or two of the new recruits having not enjoyed much of a pre-season before joining, or, equally, some recovering from injuries which have intervened in pre-season.