Hi LouisLouis wrote:/\ And while Andy has made the point. I am not ignoring people. I have had lots of emails and can't reply to everyone anymore. Good news is it seems to let you in eventually I have experienced the issue myself. Please wait it out or create a temporary account like Andy. I am working on a permanent fix.
Yep, can certainly confirm that the problem I had with logging in is now fixed (using my existing username and password) so thanks for that.
As for Nicky Wroe, fantastic player for us in the Conference, but the idea that at the (potentially) prime of his career he might drop two divisions and quite possibly halve his wages (or more!) is totally fanciful .... just like it is with Mark Ellis, who is in a similar situation to Wroe.
My biggest concern with our (alleged) targets is how realistic are they? Personally I would have been delighted if we had of acquired someone of the quality of Dean Smalley - but what chance have we got when we are up against Plymouth? Similarly, if Bristol Rovers are interested in Cureton, then realistically he will go there, we couldn't compete. Likewise, with Jack Midson, he will undoubtedly have other offers (Northampton, I have heard) so the chances of signing him are slim in my opinion too.
Personally, I just hope that Greavsie's targets are realistic and affordable. It is a bit of a concern of mine that we are aiming too high. The fact is that we are now a non league team based in a footballing outpost with a pretty limited budget and not only that but we desperately need to shift a few players before we can even remotely hope to offer someone else a decent deal.
In all of this, I am just a little concerned that in order to "freshen things up" we might be making some big mistakes. For all their failings last season, are we realistically going to be able to recruit a better utility player at this level than (a fit) Shaun Cooper, or a midfielder with promotions at this level and the one above in Ben Harding. Likewise, although he struggled last year, might Elliot Benyon not be capable of notching 15-20 next season at what is almost certainly his "level"?
I could add the likes of Jordan Chapell too, who let's not forget, managed to notch 5 goals in a poor league 2 side last year before we had even reached the month of November! As for the 2013 Player of the Year Aaron Downes, is there anyone out there (apart from Greavsie perhaps) who doesn't think that despite his limitations he should be more than good enough for a top end Conference side. Furthermore, I know Labadie probably wouldn't want to stay anyway, but I seriously doubt that there are too many better central midfielders in the Conference than him,
Personally, I am growing a little concerned that we won't be able to recruit replacements that are at, or above, the players we seem happy to release. I truly hope to be proved wrong, but I am genuinely concerned that we might be taking an approach that is akin to "throwing baby out with the bath water"!
