Nelson's Journey

Hartlepool United 0-2 Norwich City

"It's always very blustery, even on a sunny day." That's what Norwich defender Michael Nelson told the local media on the eve of returning to Victoria Park as a canary.

That job with the Hartlepool tourist board may have gone forever but Nelson was spot on. He enjoyed playing against his former club and even opened the scoring with an acrobatic volley. I don't mean this as disrespectful but I had to have a couple of looks before confirming him as the scorer during commentary - you just don't expect a centre half to do that.

Stephen Hughes made it two in the second half to seal a deserved win for a well organised City side.

We may only have visited a tiny percentage of the League One ground so far, but I don't think we'll experience a louder PA system than this one. Perhaps they turn it up to 11 to compete with those high winds but they do put it to novel use.

Hartlepool fan Phil Dunn was a guest on BBC Radio Norfolk's The Scrimmage last Thursday and revealed the club's anthem was the Rolf classic 'Two Little Boys.' They make the most of it too - blasting out that tune pre-match so loud that it gets stuck in your head for days after the game. It's an enjoyable tune but I'm not sure it's quite the intimidating force to crush the spirits of away fans.

At half-time ex-Premier League referee Jeff Winter provides an open goal for supporters who enjoy a good pantomime boo by hosting the half-time entertainment. It turns out that Winter now presents a football phone-in show up in the North East where he has become something of a minor celebrity. Give me Neil Adams any day.