League Cup 2nd Rd v Notts County.23/09/64.

You can clearly see the new stadium from the railway line a mile or so north of the town. It's pretty much on the road to Sheffield and - Tesco landscape notwithstanding - is in an area where there could long have been a football ground as opposed to a remote location. As of last week, Saltergate's lights were still in place so you could see both sets - old and new - in the same panorama.

Hartlepools United? Yes indeed until 1968. The team of the two Hartlepools as this map from the 1960s should explain. These days maps tend to refer to the whole area as “Hartlepool” with the “old” Hartlepool as “The Headland”. Note the dockland area:



Going back to the featured programme, what of Billy Atkinson, probably the least well-known of the side which played Spurs in 1965? Just a single season at Plainmoor before moving on to Nuneaton Borough. On the face of it, a success: nine goals (including a penalty against Spurs) in twenty-five league and cup games. What happened?

A reminder, perhaps, of how players pass through clubs and – even if they’re only there for a short while – sometimes play in the most momentous of games. There’s bound to be a few in our “Great Escape” teams – we were in a mess anyway – but Daral Pugh and John Morrison for the Sherpa Van; Stewart Evans and Andy Rowland for the Blackpool play-off; Liam Rosenior at Southend all come to mind. Look too at our FA Trophy side and you might – in years to come – be surprised by the inclusion of Roscoe Dsane and Steve Adams. As for Cambridge at Wembley, Lee Hodges and Tyrone Thompson appeared as late substitutes. I’m sure there are other examples too in the FA Cup and League Cup.