Jeff Stelling asks: Who is the greatest Hartlepool United player of them all?

This run has taken us to some proper football towns – Grimsby, Exeter, Peterborough, Wrexham, Morecambe and many more.

The thing I enjoy most is the kinship between supporters of lower league sides.

We have had a brilliant welcome everywhere and everyone wants to talk about contests between their team and Pools over the years.

In Peterborough, they wanted to know if I remembered a 4-4 draw in the early 80s.

I didn’t but reminded them of us going to London Road in 2003 and winning 4-3. And returning in 2006 and winning 5-3.

Morecambe fans wanted to talk about the bald headed, bludgeoner Kevin Ellison who always tormented us.

When he scored against us in 2014 in what was a must win game in our battle against relegation, their travelling supporters taunted me with “Stelling, Stelling what’s the score?”

When Jack Compton and Jack Barmby scored late on to win the match for us – even though we were down to 10 men – I stood in the directors box, to give a one man response of “Morecambe, Morecambe what’s the score?“

A lot of Wrexham fans wanted to remind me of Juan Ugarte’s amazing feat of scoring five at the Vic in a 6-4 win.

Grimsby supporters wanted to talk about Gav Holohan.

It is a real trip down Memory Lane.

In Rhyl, one fan asked me who was Hartlepool’s greatest ever player.

That got me thinking. I can go back to the 60s when Ernie Phythian, alongside his fellow striker Jimmy Mulvaney, were terrorising Division Four defences.

Brian Drysdale and later Rob McKinnon were exceptional full-backs.

Brian Honour had a decade at the club giving absolutely everything – and then a bit more.

I will never forget the bottle Ritchie Humphreys showed when scoring the decisive penalty

in a shoot-out in a play-off semi-final at Tranmere, having missed one at Cheltenham in an earlier play-off game.

There were the memorable strikers like Bob Newton and Adam Boyd – who could forget his hat-trick in what were near water-polo conditions against Sheffield Wednesday?

I loved our Greek keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos, the Australian magic man, Joel Porter and, for obvious reasons, James Brown.

For me, Nicky Featherstone has also earned the right to be included among Pools’ greatest.

It made me think who of the current squad bar Nicky might stake a claim in future.

If Anthony Mancini could stay fit, he certainly has the talent, though it is a big "if”.

The home game against Oldham was a clear reminder of his abilities.

We could have done with him against Woking on Saturday to try and unlock their defence.

I am looking forward to Portsmouth, Crewe, Ipswich, Shrewsbury and many more places where I am sure my trip down Memory Lane will continue.

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