Woods recalled by Leeds, Nelson unhappy?

By Albatross
October 22 2004

Hartlepool United have lost Martin Woods after the loan man was recalled by Leeds United; and it seems that Mickey Nelson has put in a transfer request, if his agent is to be believed. Not exactly what Neale Cooper wanted in the build-up to tomorrow's game....

Woods had only re-signed on loan just over a week ago after his initial loan spell ended while he was on Interantional Duty with Scotland u19s, but Kevin Blackwell is facing an injury crisis at the moment and has recalled the young midfielder to the Leeds ranks. It's disappointing, but having done the same thing ourselves last season we can hardly complain about it.

Woods had something of a baptism of fire at Pools; with an injury crisis in full swing he was plunged straight into the fray against Oldham in a match we lost 3-2. His performances had improved over his time with us, and while it's not exactly the end of the world that he's gone, he had performed solidly and done enough to suggest he could add to the squad in a positive way. Cooper is now faced with a slight selection headache for tomorrow's game: the logical move is to bring Eifion Williams back in to play out wide.

Meanwhile the big news in the Hartlepool Mail is that, according to his agent at least, Mickey Nelson has handed in a transfer request. The article is notably short on quotes from the man himself, but according to his agent it's been prompted by the fact that he was promised a better deal after twelve months when he originally signed for the club - and one has yet to be offered. His agent claims other clubs are interested and prepared to double Nelse's wages - and also says something about Hodcroft trying to run the club like a business. This latter comment probably tells you something about the rather distorted view some agents have developed of football clubs - it seems that in some eyes they are not businesses but benevolent organisations that just need a little persuasion to release the crop of the money tree they all own....

If this is part of a negotiating strategy, it's pretty badly timed. Nelson hasn't been performing at anything like his best much of this season, and Pools have just signed another player in his position that means his place is under threat - especially as he's guaranteed to be missing for the game with Port Vale next week. Should Clark and Westwood strike up an understanding, trying to persuade Pools to fork out higher wages for someone not even in the first team - and who has come in for criticism from some quarters in recent weeks - is hardly going to put the Pools board under pressure. With fans not exactly enamoured of agents at the moment following the Betsy affair, these comments could see Nelson facing something of a backlash. Already a number of people seem to be expressing the opinion that if Nelse really can double his wages, we should sell him (probably at a decent profit) and allow Cooper to use the funds freed up to sign someone with more commitment to the Poolie cause.

While it is entirely possible that Nelson will still be at the club for some time to come, this has certainly got the potential to damage his image with the fans. At the very least, it vindicates the opinion of many supporters that money (and agents in particular) are ruining the game; even Pools, it seems, are not immune to the machinations of these figures.