Quote Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee View Post
Desperation time for Hartlepool. They'd averaged 1.04 points a game before he went there, but 0.89 points a game after his appointment.

How much of that is down to Jones is debatable. Since their relegation from League 1 in 2012-13, they've finished 19th, 22nd and 16th in the bottom tier, so the relegation threat to the National League has been real for some time. It appears that Jones has had the thankless task of being in charge of a sinking ship, though it also has to be said that his appointment hasn't given the club a "bounce" sometimes associated with a new manager.
Stats tell 20% of a story. I say 20% to highlight how arbitrary stats are. Stats are often skewed, you're a culprit quite often.

Hartlepool sold 3 first team players in January and loaned out a few. Who decides that? At that level, it's finances, so most likely it's the owners. The manager is left with a threadbare squad, they go unbeaten for a few games, then the dead cat stops bouncing.

They won 3 in 4 in a 2 week period. What happens after that? Does Jones change the team radically? Do the players lose confidence with every bad result.

It's not as simple as 13 points out of 51. There are so many other factors involved that, using statistics alone, would be the dumbest thing anyone can do in making decisions like this.

Jones v populist TV presenter. Only one winner, and Stelling is now as responsible as anyone of Hartlepool drop.