5 Things We Learned from York City's 2-1 defeat at Hartlepool

It’s not so long ago that former Skelton and Pocklington schoolboy Michael Woods was playing non-League football at City’s part-time neighbours Harrogate Town after a career that had promised so much following a £5million move from Leeds to Chelsea at the age of 16 was curtailed by injury. From under the noses of the Minstermen, Hartlepool gave him a trial two summers ago and this season he has scored the winning goal in both meetings between the two clubs.

City could have certainly benefited from his energy in midfield this term and it is difficult to picture anybody from that area of the pitch on the Bootham Crescent books making the kind of penalty-box charge that led to his headed goal at the Victoria Ground. Similarly, this Saturday, Jackie McNamara’s team will cross swords again with ex-Harrogate Railway striker Josh Windass, who has scored in each of his last three games against the Minstermen.

Such an obvious talent should also have been on the Bootham Crescent radar, given his proximity to the club at the time. Instead, Windass signed for Football League minnows Accrington in the summer of 2013 and is now bound for Glasgow Rangers in the summer.

As North Yorkshire’s only professional club, the examples of Woods and Windass reflect badly on the club’s scouting network and its links with lower-league neighbours. Michael Duckworth, meanwhile, was once on City’s books and a member of the same youth team that finished second in the Football League Youth Alliance’s North-East division as Jamie Hopcutt, who now plies his trade in the Swedish Premier League.

Neither were given a first-team chance with the Minstermen, while other academy graduates such as David Stockdale – released before later making full England squads under Fabio Capello – and Byron Webster, who had his contract terminated before establishing himself as a Championship regular, both left the club with less that 30 senior outings to their name. While McNamara’s insistence that City must produce more players from within the ranks is understandable, the club must also strive for a better record in terms of those they choose to retain and nurture through those difficult, formative first-team years.

Duckworth has certainly proven his worth in the north-east as a versatile performer, who is equally as reliable at right back, left back, the centre of midfield and out wide.

2 Bradley Fewster should be used in a central role

Despite instructions to avoid becoming isolated on the flanks, there were too many occasions when the 4-3-3 formation meant Fewster was too often occupied with stopping the forward runs of left-back Jake Carroll. City need their potent on-loan Middlesbrough striker to be running at the opposition’s goal rather than his own as much as possible and the current system has nullified his goal threat.

3 Vadaine Oliver needs to play in a team who play direct football

Having arrived from a Mansfield side not adverse to pumping long balls forward, Oliver initially thrived under Russ Wilcox when the team looked to profit from his headed flick-ons. When asked to hold the ball up and bring others into play under Jackie McNamara, though, the former Crewe striker has been found wanting.

With McNamara unlikely to adopt a more aerial approach to attacking, coupled with another scathing assessment of Oliver’s efforts at Hartlepool, his season could be over with four games left to play.

4 Diving in is the chink in Dave Winfield’s armour

Sliding challenges had seen Winfield give away two penalties this season prior to his red card after a second caution for fouling Hartlepool winger Nathan Thomas in similar fashion close to the corner flag. Aside from the danger of mistiming such tackles, Winfield also runs the risk when he goes to ground of being a victim of gamesmanship and simulation.

Any criticism, though, should be placed in context with the times his brave blocks, following similarly-attempted interventions, have prevented goals this term and his occasionally, over-zealous attitude towards defending will be very low on the list of contributing factors in the final analysis of City’s wretched season.

5 Derek Riordan’s signing will go down as the most bizarre in a season of puzzling recruitment

The former Scotland international was given his fourth taste of senior football in as many months as an 82nd-minute substitute but, as was inevitable from a player who has only managed a smattering of games in the lower leagues north of the border during the last three years, he is nowhere near up to speed and looked all at sea during his brief cameo. He was preferred off the bench to the likes of Reece Thompson, Kenny McEvoy and Josh Carson which does not augur well for their Bootham Crescent futures under McNamara either.