By Albatross
January 12 2005

Apparently Hull City want Hartlepool United's Michael Nelson, with Peter Taylor confirming to the local press that he's had an offer rejected. If Taylor really wants his man, it seems, he'll have to up his offer considerably.

Whether the bid is, as the Hartlepool Mail have reported, £100K has not been confirmed, but with Taylor having told the Hull Daily Mail that he is interested in the player and that a bid was made but refused, speculation that the Humberside club will make a fresh bid for Nelson is growing.

News of the move has broken just as Nelson seemed to be rehabilitating himself at Pools, with a good performance against Lincoln followed by some comments in the Hartlepool Mail that he had never been happier in his football career. The revelation that Nelson is now the subject of a bid from another Division 2 club is sure to reignite the debate, and given that Nelse was not exactly receiving the wholehearted support of the fans it's not going to benefit him in the short term at least.

The question that so far no-one has raised is where Clive Hart stands in this situation. Hart is the agent for both Nelson and Hull boss Peter Taylor - he proudly told the Hartlepool Mail so when this issue arose in the first place. You can find the original article here. While there is absolutely nothing to suggest Hart, or the company he represents, Premier Management, have done anything out of order, the issue of conflict of interest is bound to arise when the same person is representing players and managers.

Assuming that a bid was made, the fact that Pools have turned it down shows that they are not prepared to let Nelson go on the cheap. They have presumably made a valuation, and are not prepared to let the player leave unless someone is prepared to stump up the cash. That essentially leaves Nelson with two choices: get on with things and try and recapture his form of last season, or moulder away in the background. The latter isn't likely to do him any good at all career-wise; the former might see him earn a big-money move, and will certainly do him a lot more good even if he stays at Pools in the longer term. Mickey, it's over to you.....