Did anyone else think Nelson was the dog's bollocks last Saturday? Absolutely bang up for it until he ran out of steam. Man of the match by a country mile. I don't care that he conceded the penalty because he more than made up for it with the rest of his game. If he can maintain that level of commitment and enthusiasm, him and Thomas will keep us up on their own.

Whoever decided Rooney was man of the match was watching a different game.

Changing the subject.....is anyone else in any way concerned about Dave Jones? Obviously, I absolutely aren't writing him off, far from it and I think it's a real coup we've got him....but....is there a chance he could be in a similar mould to Sir 'Footballing Dinosaur' Ron?? Has the game passed him by/moved on and left him behind?? He's also a properly miserable bloke....would he inspire you?

With you on that, first half he showed great touch and movement, I can see him torturing an ageing left back or a 6ft 5 slow arsed centre half.

Where you been Shilts?

Agreed Nelson was a class act. Touch and awareness were brilliant and pace too, not sure of his age but he is built and can handle himself for a young lad. Rooney didn't impress me at all, second touch was always a tackle and missed his golden chance. Ran a lot though.

Mourning the passing of various 'B' listers and non-celebs

He was a breath of fresh air. Some loanees never really put a proper shift in and I suppose getting younger lads from bigger clubs you run the risk of them being all Billy big boots, League Two is beneath me etc or just not being good enough.

You're right about Rooney missing his golden chance. It was right in front of me and looked like a sitter. His first touch was poor all game, just bounced off him. Poor.

I like the fact he didn't mind having a shot though. Shooting is quite important.

When I listened to an interview with Jones and Simpson they were talking about winning 1, drawing 1 and losing 1. So maybe Collins win has already been assigned to Jones.

Sounds more your typical dry Scouser to me. How exactly would you say the game has 'moved on' in the four seasons he's been out? There's been a load of blather about 'the pressing game...high up the pitch' in the last couple of years, but you need a young, super fit team to do it right and the way Spurs blew up last season and Liverpool this hardly points to it being a guaranteed formula for success.

Ronnie Moore has a good eye for a signing and is a decent motivator, but obviously no coach. He wasn't allowed to bring in his own staff to sort out the coaching and paid the price. Dave Jones has made it clear that he's a manager first and foremost, but has been allowed to bring in his own coaches.

Coxall must be learning something - the question is can he (or his backers) really afford the Jones package and for how long?

Jones said on the radio last night that the next two games will give him a good idea of where Pools will finish - sounds like he's expecting at least a couple of points. Let's see.

I hope you're right Mr MDKMF and I am generally positive about Jones, just have a small nagging doubt. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh about the game moving on and I suppose 4 years isn't exactly an age - what I'm referring to though are things like training methods for both fitness and tactics, dietary advice, types of session to get the best from the players and all that shit not just on the field.

Young up and coming coaches and managers (I would think) are more open minded to changes in practices and try things out (which is maybe why some get it horribly wrong and some get it bang on) whereas the older hands may revert to what has worked in the past like a comfy armchair and dismiss new approaches because old methods still work in their eyes.

Take the army camp as an example, no doubt it had the required effect in terms of team bonding which is really important but did it really improve fitness levels beyond the normal pre-season training? I don't know. And the players remember it for being gruelling. Personally, I think training should be done with footballs, all the time. I don't really see the need for 10 mile runs in 30 degree heat. Train with a ball regardless. Dribble with the fucker to get fit. Also, look at what happened to the team that season - started off on fire and ran out of steam. I can remember saying to the lad after the first couple of games and seeing Magnay come off the pitch like he'd just run 3 marathons back to back that there is no way they can maintain that level for the rest of the season.