Connor Jennings is the type of player that leaves a trail of broken hearts when he leaves a club. Now 31, the attacking centre-forward’s long playing career includes spells at Wrexham, Tranmere, Stockport, and now Hartlepool, who he joined on a free transfer in the final hours of the January 2023 window. At both Tranmere and Stockport, he was instrumental to successful promotion campaigns, and fans continue to speak highly of both his on-pitch work ethic and nice-guy persona off the pitch.
This is a player who, when he leaves your club, you will actively keep an eye out for. When he plays for you, fans of his past clubs will ask after him, tell you how highly they rate him, and wish him well, even if they normally consider you fierce rivals. With a history of non-football-related significant health issues (Jennings recovered from an aggressive meningitis scare in 2018, and was diagnosed with chondroid sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer in 2021), his determination to overcome them and return to full-time football only reinforces just how special a player he is, as Poolies are coming to learn while he plays a key role in their last-minute attempt to turn around their season.
Arriving at Hartlepool after a short loan spell in the National League with Altrincham, Jennings has quickly won over hearts and minds. At the time of writing he is the team’s third-highest scorer behind Josh Umerah (14) and Callum Cooke (4), despite only playing 11 games, with goals against Walsall, Leyton Orient, and Swindon. His ability to fire in crucial goals in the dying minutes has made him one to watch during the second half of Hartlepool’s season, where he’s had the gameplay that he lacked at Stockport in the early season, he languished on the bench as Stockport’s newly promoted team failed to gel. Now a regular starter, his ‘per 90-minute’ stats for the season, despite including those seven appearances for Stockport, have him in the 88th percentile for expected goals (0.24 goals per 90’), and the 90th percentile for non-penalty goals. This is exactly what Hartlepool need up front as he grows in confidence, hitting pace for the crucial last games of the season, which could be determined by last-minute points grabs and resilience.
With all three goals for Hartlepool scored at home, Jennings needs to score on the road to consolidate his hero status, but the signs are looking positive, regardless of where Hartlepool finish in the league. Connor Jennings is used to beating the odds, both on and off the pitch, and I can not think of a team in League Two that needs or deserves him more.
