Is it a dream, or are Pools really doing well?

Two wins against teams which were playing in the Championship last season, seven goals for, top of League One and in the second round of the Carling Cup - is all this really happening at Hartlepool? The answer is, yes it is - but that won't stop a few of the club's fans from pinching themselves to make sure they aren't in an early-season dream.

Pools have followed Saturday's opening League one win over Colchester with an equally impressive performance in their Carling Cup win over Scunthorpe.
All right, neither of their two opponents were as good as they should have been and both opposiing managers gave their teams a good bollocking for the way they played.
But there's no taking anything away from Danny Wilson's team - they paggered both of them.
The pre-season doubters - including Poolsonline - have been proved wrong and it really does look as if Danny (it's Danny now cos they are winning, it's Wilson when they are losing) has something going on at the Vic.
The talent is there, the fitness is there and they can clearly score goals without relying totally on James Brown.
Against Scunny they were without injured Richie Jones and Andy Monkhouse, while Willie Boland was rested, but they still ran the legs of the Iron. They cut loose in the second half and Joel Porter's headed goal set up the win.
David Foley (left) scored after Porter's great run and pull-back and Brown smashed the third, also his third of the season.
Foley and Matty Robson did OK wide, as did Alan Power in Boland's place, Gary Liddle ran the show, the defence looked *cushty and the attack was even more cushtier.
Two games gone, two wins, top of the League and in Carling Cup round two - only nine months more to go. 

*Cushty - local expression meaning dead good.