Michael John Nelson (born 23 March 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is 16-19s Academy Coach at South Shields.
Nelson started his career at semi-professional level, playing for Spennymoor United, Leek Town and Bishop Auckland. His performances earned him a move to Bury in 2001. After winning the Bury Player of the Year award in 2002–03, Nelson moved to third tier Hartlepool United. In his first two seasons with the club, Hartlepool would reach the play-offs in both seasons, before being relegated in 2005–06. However, Hartlepool secured an immediate return to League One as runners-up with Nelson earning a place in the PFA Team of the Year for his performances. In 2009, he would earn a move to Norwich City where he would spend the next two seasons. He subsequently joined Championship club Scunthorpe United. Nelson had two spells in Scotland with Kilmarnock and Hibernian in between a brief spell with Bradford City. In 2014, he signed for League Two club Cambridge United, where he would spend one season. He signed for League Two Barnet where he would play for three seasons. He dropped into non-League football in 2018. He had spells with Chesterfield, Gateshead and Blyth Spartans before retiring in 2020 having made over 700 career appearances.
Club career Bishop Auckland Born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, Nelson started his playing career as a semi-professional, playing for non-League teams such as Spennymoor United, Leek Town and Bishop Auckland. He was at Portsmouth for two-and-a-half years but then manager Alan Ball released him because of financial restrictions. During his time at Bishop Auckland, Nelson became a first team regular, making forty–eight appearances and scoring two times in all competitions. Nelson's performances attracted the attention of League clubs who sent scouts to watch him. Nelson was given a trial at Hartlepool United but he was not offered a contract by manager Chris Turner.
Bury However Nelson was offered a contract at Bury by manager Andy Preece after Bury scout Peter Ward convinced him to give Nelson a chance. Immediately after joining the club, he was called up to the first team. On 27 April 2001, Nelson quickly made an impact on his Bury debut when he "struck a sweet half volley into the top corner", in a 1–1 draw against Wycombe Wanderers. Nelson made his second appearance for the club in the last game of the season, in a 3–1 loss against Brentford.
Ahead of the 2001–02 season, manager Andy Preece offered Nelson a new contract. On 2 August 2001, he signed a two–year contract with the club. On 18 August 2001, Nelson scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Queens Park Rangers. Teammate Steve Redmond praised his performance, describing him as "an old fashioned centre half and he'll keep learning all the time and hopefully he'll progress throughout the season." Nelson gradually became a first team regular, forming a centre–back partnership with either Redmond or Danny Swailes. On 8 September, however, Nelson suffered what he described as "the worst injury of his career" after suffering a collapsed lung and several cracked ribs following an accidental collision with goalkeeper Paddy Kenny, in a 2–1 loss against Wigan Athletic. Nelson had to have a drain inserted into his chest for several days while he was hospitalised. The injury threatened to keep him out for three months but Nelson was able to resume training less than three weeks later. After being out for a month, he made his return from injury, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute, in a 3–1 loss against Cambridge United on 13 October 2001. Following a 5–1 loss against Brentford on 23 October, his performance, along with Georgios Syros came under heavy criticism by manager Andy Preece. Despite this, Nelson continued to be in the first team and signed a two–year contract extension with the club on 13 February 2002. Nelson suffered a hamstring injury that saw him ruled out throughout March. On 1 April, he returned to the starting line–up from injury and helped Bury win 2–0 against Brentford. On 15 April, however, Nelson was unable to help the club avoid relegation to Division Three after losing 3–1 against Colchester United. During his first full season at Bury, Nelson managed to play 30 of the club's 46 league matches, scoring twice in the process.
At the start of the 2002–03 season, Nelson was initially dropped from Bury's first-team squad, but he quickly regained his first team place, forming a defensive partnership with Danny Swailes. On 5 October, Nelson scored his first goal of the season, scoring from a header, in a 3–1 loss against Southend United. On 18 January, he suffered a knee injury during a 0–0 draw against Boston United and did not play for the rest of the month. On 4 February, Nelson returned to the starting line–up from injury and helped the club win 2–1 against Cambridge United. He was appointed as Bury's captain and his performances earned him the respect of the club's players and fans. On 26 April, he scored his fifth goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Southend United, a win that earned Bury a spot in the play–offs. During that season, Bury manager Andy Preece hailed Nelson as "the best centre-half in Division Three". However, Bury failed to gain promotion to Division Two as the club missed out during the play-offs following their 3–1 loss on aggregate against Bournemouth. His second season turned out to be even more successful as he played in 40 of Bury's 46 league matches, scoring five goals. For his performance, Nelson won all four of the club's Player of the Season awards, including Player of the Year Awards. He also won Bury's Player of the Month for January and March along the way.
Hartlepool United Following the conclusion of the 2003–04 season, Nelson was offered the chance to play in a higher division by several Division One clubs. On 27 June 2003, he joined Hartlepool United on the same day that Neale Cooper was appointed manager for a fee of around £70,000. Upon joining the club, manager Cooper said he expected Nelson to "be a major star for Hartlepool United" next season, describing him as "a very commanding and is a big strong lad" and "can get up and down the pitch and is dominating in the air". Cooper also believe "that he will get better and better with every game". Nelson was seen as a replacement for Graeme Lee who had joined Sheffield Wednesday. He was given the number five shirt ahead of the new season.
Nelson started strongly for Hartlepool when he scored the winner from 30 yards during his debut in the club's 4–3 win over Peterborough United. This goal was nominated for Hartlepool's Goal of the Season. Nelson began to form a strong partnership with Chris Westwood and the pair played together for the majority of the club's matches. His performances saw him voted as the September Player of the Month. He helped the club keep three consecutive clean sheets in the league between 28 December 2003 and 17 January 2004. Nelson started in all matches until receiving a suspension for accumulating five yellow cards. On 27 March, however, Nelson suffered a leg injury and was substituted, in a 2–1 loss against Brentford. On 24 April 2004, he made his return from a four-week absence, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute in a 2–0 win against Rushden & Diamonds. In the last game of the season, Nelson played in the 1–1 draw against Swindon Town which earned Hartlepool a play–off position. After regaining his fitness due to a knock, he played in both legs of the club's play-off semi-final match against Bristol City, as Hartlepool lost 3–2 on aggregate. Nelson was in contention for Hartlepool's Fans and Players' Player of the season but he missed out to Jim Provett on both occasions. During the 2003–04 season, Nelson made 48 appearances, scoring three times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2004–05 season, the partnership between Nelson and Westwood was praised by manager Cooper. He started in every match until missing one match for picking up five yellow cards so far this season. However, Nelson failed to maintain this through to the season and he handed in a transfer request. His agent claimed that he had been "promised" a better deal. This triggered a feud with Hartlepool chairman Ken Hodcroft, who criticised Nelson and his agent. Nelson was missing in several of Hartlepool's matches at the beginning of December and was rumoured to be signing for Hull City for a fee of around £100,000. However, Nelson withdrew his transfer request and was reinstalled into the starting line-up against Wrexham on 18 December 2004. On 27 November, he scored his first goal of the season, scoring from a header, in a 3–2 win against Bournemouth. Amid the transfer saga and another injury concern, Nelson went back into the starting line-up for the rest of the season. In the last game of the season, Nelson helped Hartlepool draw 2–2 against Bournemouth to earn their place in the play-offs. He played in both legs of the semi–finals against Tranmere Rovers which Hartlepool eventually won 6–5 on penalties. In the League One play-off final against Sheffield Wednesday, Nelson started the match, as Hartlepool United loss 4–2 in front of a crowd of 59,808 at the Millennium Stadium. During the 2004–05 season, he made 56 appearances, playing every league match that season, scoring once in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Nelson signed a new three-year contract that would tie him to the club until 2008 after Hartlepool made an improved offer, ending months of speculation over his future. Following the departure of his centre–back partner Westwood, he formed a new partnership with Neill Collins at the start of the season. On 15 October, however, Nelson received his first red card for Hartlepool after he retaliated and elbowed Jack Lester during the club's 2–0 defeat against Nottingham Forest. In an FA Cup first round match against Dagenham & Redbridge, he scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 win. Nelson continued to form a centre–back partnership with either Collins or Ben Clark. He then scored two goals in two matches against Nottingham Forest and Brentford with the club hoping to avoid relegation. However, Hartlepool were relegated on the last game of the season after drawing 1–1 against Port Vale. His 2005–06 season did not impact his season despite being out on four occasions along the way. Nelson went on to make 47 appearances and score three times in all competitions.