{{Infobox Fußballklub |
  image = 106px |
  langname = Hartlepool United Football Club |
  kurzname = Hartlepool United |
  spitzname = '''Pools''' |
  gegründet = 1908 |
  stadion = Victoria Park, Hartlepool |
  plätze = 7.691 |
  präsident = Ken Hodcroft |
  trainer = Danny Wilson |
  adresse = [http://www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk/ www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk] |
  liga = Football League One |
  saison = 2007/08|
  rang = 15. Platz,</br>Football League One |
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'''Hartlepool United''' (offiziell: ''Hartlepool United Football Club'') - auch bekannt als ''Pools'' - ist ein englischer Fußballverein aus Victoria Park austrägt und aktuell in der Football League One, der dritthöchsten englischen Spielklasse, aktiv ist.

== Geschichte ==
=== Gründungszeit ===
Im Jahr 1905 gewann der Amateurverein ''FC West Hartlepool'' den Old Hartlepool repräsentierte. Gleichzeitig kaufte der Verein die frei gewordene Spielstätte.

Die neue Mannschaft schloss sich der ''North-Eastern League'' an, wobei viele Spieler vom Verein FC West Hartlepool kamen, der selbst nur noch wenige Spielzeiten absolvierte, bevor er sich auflöste und Hartlepools United der einzige Verein in der Stadt verblieb. Von Beginn an hatte der Klub mit Finanzproblemen zu kämpfen, die sich verschärften, als im Jahr 1916 während des Ersten Weltkrieges ein Reparationsansprüche gegenüber Deutschland geltend zu machen, blieben dabei erfolglos.

=== Aufnahme in den professionellen Fußball ===
Hartlepools United bemühte sich mehrfach um die Aufnahme in die Football League. Die regionale Nähe zu Vereinen wie dem FA im Jahr Southern League zusammensetzte, wurde zunächst lediglich Grimsby Town als einzigem nordenglischen Verein der Zugang gestattet. Dieses Ungleichgewicht wurde jedoch im darauffolgenden Jahr korrigiert, als eine zusätzliche dritte Liga für den Norden geschaffen wurde, zu deren Gründungsmitgliedern sowohl Hartlepool wie auch der Hauptkonkurrent FC Darlington, gehörten. 

Trotz eines vielversprechenden Starts mit dem vierten Platz zum Ende der ersten Saison konnte Hartlepool keine nennenswerten Erfolge feiern und musste mehrfach um den Verbleib in der Liga kämpfen. Zur Mitte der 50er-Jahre erlebte der Klub eine Hochphase, als er im FA Cup 1955 erstmalig die vierte Runde erreichen konnte und zwei Jahre später die Meisterschaft in der dritten Liga nur knapp verpasste. Am 5. Januar 1957 verzeichnete der Verein mit 17.426 Zuschauern im Fourth Division als Tabellenletzter.

=== Die „Ära Brian Clough“ ===
Die Zeit als Viertligaverein war für Hartlepool geprägt von sportlichen Überlebenskämpfen, wobei der Status als Profiverein häufig nur sehr knapp verteidigt werden konnte. Die Leistungen verbesserten sich ab Peter Taylor (die später für Third Division. Der erste Aufenthalt des Vereins in dieser Liga, seitdem diese eingleisig geworden war, dauerte aber nur ein Jahr an und führte in den direkten Wiederabstieg.

=== Umbenennung und sportliche Existenzkämpfe ===
Im Jahr 1977 benannte sich der Verein in die heute noch gültige Einzahlform ''Hartlepool United'' um und trug dabei auch der Tatsache Rechnung, dass sich West Hartlepool mit Old Hartlepool 1967 vereinigt hatte.

Als in der Saison 1985/86 das Verfahren um den Verbleib in der untersten englischen Profiliga in einen Play-off-Modus umgestellt wurde, kam dies Hartlepool entgegen, in einer Zeit, als der Verein sportlich häufig den direkten Abstieg befürchten und stets bei der FA um die Wiederaufnahme in die Liga bitten musste. Vierzehn Spielzeiten hatte der Klub als Tabellenletzter abgeschlossen und war nach einem jeweiligen Antrag auf eine Wiederaufnahme in die Profiliga dennoch nicht abgestiegen, was in dieser Häufigkeit bis zum heutigen Tag einen Rekord darstellt.

=== Jüngste Entwicklungen ===
Der Trend zeigte fortan wieder nach oben und Hartlepool gelang erneut mit einem dritten Platz im Jahr 1991 zweitmalig der Aufstieg in die Third Division, wo man nun drei Jahre in der ab 1992 „Second Division“ genannten Liga, bis zum Abstieg des Jahres 1994, verbleiben sollte.

{{Football club infobox |
  clubname = Hartlepool United |
  image    = 125px|
  fullname = Hartlepool United Football Club |
  nickname = Pools, Monkey Hangers|
  founded  = 1908 (as Hartlepools United) |
  ground   = Victoria Park<br /> Hartlepool|
  capacity = 7,691 |
  chairman =  Ken Hodcroft |
  manager  =  Danny Wilson |
  league   = League One |
  season   = 2007-08 |
  position = League One, 15th |
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}}
right|120px|Club Logo in 70s
'''Hartlepool United Football Club''' are an English football team from League One. They won promotion to League One in  the season 2006-07. Hartlepool play their home games at Victoria Park, which is situated on Clarence Road near the town's coastline. 

The most famous person to be associated with Hartlepool United is Derby County and to an even greater degree Nottingham Forest. He began his managerial career at Hartlepool in October 1965 before moving on to Derby two seasons later.

Another famous ex-manager is 1989 and the following season helped them win promotion to the Third Division. 

Hartlepool are currently managed by former Northern Ireland international Danny Wilson. Wilson joined the club in June 2006 after leaving Middlesbrough game in the 1986-87 season after Boro had been locked out of their own ground, Ayresome Park, by the bailiffs. 

Their main local rivals are considered to be with League Two side Darlington. Geograhically, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Newcastle United would also be considered as rivals but because Hartlepool have been in the bottom two divisions for most of their history, it has become very rare to see them in a fixture with any of these three sides in a competitive match. The more recent one was Sunderland winning 1-0 in the FA Cup 3rd round at The Stadium of Light (2003/2004 season).

==Early years==

The amateur team 1881, being the town's only club up until the formation of United. In 1905, West Hartlepool won the Sunderland, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough led to these applications being rejected. 

In 1920 the third division. However this was based almost entirely in the south, as the new division was created by absorbing virtually the entire top division of the Southern League, with Grimsby Town the only northern representative. This was rectified the following season when a Third Division North was created with Hartlepools being one of the founder members.<ref></ref>

==Post-War==
Under Ashurst, the team slowly began to revive. The 1971–72 season saw a welcome improvement to 18th, and possibly saved the club; Barrow, who had finished bottom for the previous two years, were voted out in favour of Hereford despite having improved to 22nd. The club once again avoided the re-election zone in 1972-73, finishing in 20th place, but with four successive finishes either in or not far above the bottom four and strong challenges coming from non-league sides, the club needed to show signs of improvement. Ashurst did precisely that, finishing in 11th in 1973–74; he then left the club to manage Gillingham. 

Ken Hale took over and guided the team to 13th and 14th over the next two seasons and also reached the League Cup 4th Round in 1974–75 (still a club record). However, 1976–77 saw a return to the doldrums; Hale was sacked after failing to win any of the first nine games (including two cup matches) at the start of October. His successor Billy Horner couldn't stop the rot either, and the team finished in 22nd place. Again there was a strong challenger from non-league in the form of Wimbledon; however, as the club was seeking re-election for the first time in six years, it was Workington—bottom for a second successive year and making their fourth consecutive re-election application—that made way. Over the close season the team's name was changed to its current form of Hartlepool United.

A marginal improvement to 21st the following year again saw the club applying to stay in the league; and again a strong non-league challenge, this time from Wigan, was enough to dispose of Southport. It seemed to be only a matter of time before Hartlepool United followed the same way.

Once again then, it was a huge relief for the supporters that Horner managed to make considerable improvements the following season. A large part of this was due to the strike partnership of Bob Newton and Crystal Palace being defeated at the Victoria Ground thanks to two goals from Newton as the club made the 4th Round. 

1978–79 saw a finish in 13th place; 19th the following season was still enough to stay clear of the re-election zone, and then 1980–81 saw the team produce its best season in over a decade, never being out of the top 10 and looking promotion contenders for a long spell before falling away to finish 9th. Keith Houchen was top scorer with 17 league goals, with Newton also making double figures.

Financial issues were however making waves off the pitch and in particular the ownership of the ground. The Town Council were approached by the club with a view to buying the ground in January 1977, and although this was initially turned down negotiations continued. In February 1978, a deal seemed to have been agreed; however chairman Vince Barker accused the council of delaying the deal when it was not complete 12 months later. Barker would accuse the council of trying to renege on the deal in July 1980, and even threatened to move the club out of the town amidst rumours that he was prepared to sell up and allow the club to be moved to Scarborough. As of February 2007, the ground remains in Council ownership.

1981–82 saw the team finish in 14th place despite both Houchen and Newton scoring 18 goals, but their partnership was drawing to a close and with it four seasons of relative success. The club was running into financial difficulties under Vince Barker, and both forwards would be sold the following season for fees that failed to reflect their value to the club but allowed bills to be paid. The team suffered, and finished in 22nd—back in the re-election zone. Billy Horner handed over his duties at the end of March to John Duncan.

Duncan's time at the club was limited to say the least. Having been appointed on 1st April, just nine weeks later he left to take over at Chesterfield. Hartlepool appointed Mick Docherty, son of the legendary Tommy Docherty; however after six months and with the team struggling, he too left the club. Even for Hartlepool, four managers in the space of eight months was somewhat farcical; the fact that the decision was made to re-appoint Billy Horner (initially as a temporary measure, although he would actually remain in charge until November 1986) made the situation even worse. 

Dissatisfaction with the club's board grew; attendances fell; performances remained poor. An eventual finish of 23rd, and a club record low attendance of 790 for the game with Stockport on 5th May 1984, showed a club that looked to be going nowhere. The application for re-election was again successful, with the club once more polling the lowest figure of the League clubs, the result was secured on the back of an agreement being made amongst the Club Chairmen to enter into meaningful dialogue over direct promotion and relegation with the Alliance Premier League. Many felt that without that agreement being made, Hartlepool would have been voted out because of their perennial re-election applications.Maidstone United were the unfortunate Non-League champions to have the Football League door slammed in their faces for the second year running. During the close season Chairman Barker left the club, John Smart taking over.

Once again though Horner managed to produce an improvement, to 19th, before making a team that looked capable of winning promotion. After a shaky start to 1985–86, the team climbed into the top 3 by mid-October; were still in a promotion spot in early March; and eventually faded slightly to finish in 7th place.

Any hopes that Horner might lead the club to promotion faded shortly after the start of Season 1986–87. After drawing the first four games of the season, Pools then lost the next four before finally recording their first win against Lincoln in the 9th game; a further six games without a win were enough to see the club looking in serious danger of being the first club to be automatically relegated from the Football League and saw Horner depart. He was replaced by John Bird, a former player at the club. Form improved slightly, but although the team eventually finished in relative safety in 18th, they were only three points ahead of Lincoln who suffered relegation. 

One peculiarity of the season concerned Middlesbrough; the financially struggling Teessiders had been locked out of their ground Port Vale the same evening. Days later the two clubs met in the League Cup - as of season 2006-07, the two legged tie remains the only occasion the teams have met in a senior competition.

The following season saw an improvement to 16th place, this time comfortably above relegated Newport County and in fact only 11 points from the Playoff Places; however a poor run of form towards the end of the season (four points from the last 10 games) cost the team any hope of promotion. Notable events from the season included both Sunderland in the Associate Members Cup.

Bird had however made something of a name for himself as a manager, and when early season form saw Hartlepool United in 2nd place at the end of September 1988, he left the club to join York City. Former Newcastle United Captain Bobby Moncur was appointed to succeed Bird, but failed to inspire the team; results suffered, and the eventual finishing position of 19th could even have been worse with the team as low as 22nd late in the season.

His period in charge continued to be little short of a disaster. Five successive league defeats opened the 1989–90 season, and Moncur eventually resigned in November with the club rooted to the bottom of the table having taken just nine points from 18 games with 46 goals conceded. New Chairman Garry Gibson had initially turned down Moncur's request, but accepted it at the second time of asking.

==Recent success==
The new manager appointed though would become a legend at the club. Cyril Knowles had been a distinguished player, and had a growing reputation as a manager; with the addition of several new signings, he achieved a remarkable turnaround. From having 9 points from 19 games, Knowles lead the side to 55 by the end of the season - and a safe 19th place in the table.

Even better was to follow the next season. With the partnership of Paul Baker and Joe Allon working well in attack, the team were in the Top 10 for much of the season and in with a good chance of reaching a playoff place. Then, tragedy struck: Knowles was diagnosed with a Brain Tumour] and had to step down from his duties. Knowles died at the end of August 1991; one of the stands at Victoria Park is named in his honour. 

The surprising choice of former Middlesbrough player and Hartlepool Chief Executive Alan Murray to take over proved to be a master stroke; under Murray, the team's form improved further and the club went into the final day of the season as one of several clubs that could win not just promotion but the title. A 3-1 win over Northampton was enough to secure promotion in 3rd place; Allon scored 35 goals, and Baker and Paul Dalton also reached double figures.

Although Allon signed for Chelsea over the close season, Murray was able to retain the majority of the squad, and also signed players such as Andy Saville and Lenny Johnrose as the club finished in a highly respectable 11th in Division 3. 