If you were to guess at a season when the headline ‘Sexy Football From Super Blues’ was most likely to appear, 1998/99 probably wouldn’t be your first pick.
Carlisle were mired in fourth-tier relegation trouble having been relegated the previous campaign. They muddled on for half the campaign without a manager.
There were off-field concerns, mounting disquiet against the owner and a team struggling to live up to fading expectations.
Not, all in all, a recipe for sexiness. Yet from such a disturbing campaign came a December performance against Hartlepool which, in that old Carlisle United way, gave just a teasing glimpse of something better even though gloom was very much gathering.
As Pools’ visit approached, much of the intrigue concerned the dugout, and who might fill it. Having operated with an unlikely managerial set-up since the sacking of Mervyn Day in September 1997 – Michael Knighton himself along with coaches John Halpin and David Wilkes – owner Knighton finally resolved to make an appointment.
Former Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough defender Nigel Pearson emerged as a strong contender, while there were also suggestions that the great Peter Beardsley was on his way back to Carlisle.
Beardsley had left Fulham and was eyed by Knighton. United, as things progressed, were confident enough of a deal to say they were “99 per cent” sure he would join as a player, if not as head coach.
Things, though, remained unresolved on both fronts as Carlisle, struggling near the foot of Division Three, welcomed a Pools side managed by former United star Mick Tait.
The Blues had won just one of their previous seven games, yet the December contest proved a defining one in the all-too-brief loan spell of Junior Mendes, a striker signed on loan from St Mirren.
He started alongside the reliable Ian Stevens, and soon it seemed Carlisle were ready to defy a run of 383 minutes without a league goal. Injuries brought about recalls for Will Varty, Scott Paterson and Billy Barr, and they helped build a defensive foundation which just needed a change of luck at the other end.
How it came. Carlisle made a sturdy start, Graham Anthony and Andy Couzens combining brightly in midfield, and United’s willingness to chase and harry paid off in the 22nd minute.
Pools’ Darren Knowles sent a backpass to goalkeeper Martin Hollund, and Damon Searle continued his run in pursuit. The visiting No1 sent his clearance smacking into Carlisle’s left wing-back, and the ball cannoned straight back past him and into the net.
It was a stroke of fortune the Blues needed – and then they doubled their lead in much classier fashion.
This time it was Mendes’s moment, the forward nipping onto a Barr header, nudging it away from a defender and then stretching to dink it over the advancing Holland.
It was the sort of slick moment that inspired the News & Star headline at the top of this article. Carlisle, after so many sterile weeks, were now purring, and the only surprise was that their confident performance did not produce more goals.
They could quite easily have added to their tally. Couzens, Peter Clark, Anthony, Mendes and Stevens all came close and, if they did not hit the same heights after the break, thankfully, they did not need to.
Hartlepool were unable to mount any sort of comeback after Craig Midgeley had proved incapable of finishing a chance he had earned in similar fashion to Searle, by charging down a Tony Caig clearance. From there, Carlisle’s work rate limited Pools’ opportunities.
Referee Kevin Lynch came in for some criticism, and there was a scare in the closing stages when United, having been denied a penalty themselves, conceded one at the other end.
Varty’s challenge on Midgeley, after a pass from former (and future) Carlisle man Paul Baker, fell foul of Lynch’s judgement, and Denny Ingram sent Caig the wrong way.
United, though, rode out the closing stages to secure an important 2-1 win. Knighton professed himself “delighted” with the showing, but reserved a salvo for referee Lynch.
“The referee has been here three times and given three penalties [against us],” Knighton said. “He does not seem to like us.”
As for those other off-field decisions, it was a case of 50 per cent success. Beardsley’s return did not materialise, but Pearson’s appointment did, and he was in the dugout for Carlisle’s next game; a 2-0 defeat at Plymouth Argyle.
The following month, Beardsley was in action…for Hartlepool. He joined the Monkey Hangers, and his and Carlisle’s paths crossed in the penultimate game of a desperate campaign; a goalless draw at Victoria Park that left the Blues at serious risk of relegation.
The final game – another meeting with Plymouth – turned out to be a different kind of 2-1 win, Pearson waving a certain Jimmy Glass forward in added time and…well, you know the incredible rest.
United: Caig, Paterson, P Clark, Varty, Barr, D Brightwell, Searle, Couzens, Anthony, Mendes (McAlindon), Stevens (Finney 87). Not used: Hopper.
Hartlepool: Hollund, Knowles, Barron, Lee, Ingram, Stephenson, I Clark (Baker), Di Lella, Stokoe, Rush (S Brightwell), Midgley. Not used: Hutt.
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