[Devongone]

I'm the one who always comes up with lists of players, apparently doing well around non-league, who might be worth more than a lingering look. Obviously if seven players have now been classified as out of MA's selection running and we have longish term injuries to three of our best players in Carter, Maguire and Talbot, we need some new players if we are to avoid the current Aldershot position of fielding only three on the bench.

I've already made suggestions of Astles from Southport in defence and Kosylo from Halifax. If he'd come north I'd have to give Brandon Goodship a run at sailing back into the EFL from Ricky German's league. (Jacob Hazel finally re-surfaced with a hat-trick for Frickley on Saturday too.) Spennymoor's Glen Taylor is another goalscorer in form again. Tshimanga at Oxford City is a young player with a future and I still like Kiangebeni of St Albans if a step up and north wouldn't faze him, whilst from further up country Joe Wheatley continues working hard for little reward in Darlington's midfield.

But is there anybody you've been reading about etc, in the EFL or outside who might take up a free contract with us and contribute to keeping us up this time and challenging next time, which surely has to be the aim? Or just any type of player you think we urgently need?

[Dancingwilldoit]

As I put on your accounts post, its no good coming up with lists of names if we haven't got the money to pay for them. Also for every 1 you bring in its 1 less chance for our own youngsters.
Amantchi (glowing report from SGB re Salford who are 1 of the top teams) deserves a regular place in the starting line up as does Rowley when fit, then there's Wakefield, Ofoegbu, Render, Sharman, Rawson, Willock, Hand, Holmes et al. For every player you bring in its one less place for them.
IMO take the opportunity to bring on our own. Buy off Anyons contract and put Parkin on the bench, instead of Nelson and Weir lets get players who want it and who better than our own youngsters?
You advocate youth Dev, but then you want to bring in a stream of players from elsewhere. Then you contradict yourself by telling us how many German has scored since he left. Why did he leave? If he had been given a chance with us he would still be here and possibly banging them in.
Successive managers have ignored our own youth, lets not keep on the same path that has got us nowhere. Now we even have a Sheff U and Doncaster youngster in our first team squad, they both did really well on Sat but does it help us in the long term?

[SaltergateBorn]

I quite agree, Dancing, and if we can start to actually win a few games now we`be broken the run, we may start to see some youngsters blooded - assuming that we have any good enough, of course; I`ve no idea whether or not we have. It`s difficult putting youngsters into a losing team, especially when like us you have some supporters who`ll be on their back very quickly when things don`t work out. Being young, they`re bound to be erratic.

There`s also a danger you can burn them out by overplaying them when they make the sort of impact that young Levi has. I`m sure there`ll be people clamouring for him to start every game now, but hopefully MA is wise enough and experienced enough not to do that.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Watching Levi take the ball off their fullback then leave him for dead before laying on the perfect pass for Kiwomya on the highlights just shows what he can do that makes the difference.
Not sure that you can overplay them at that age either, if they are good enough then give them the chance. When was the last time you saw a Chesterfield forward do what Levi did? Give him a game against Basford and lets see what he can do, a couple of goals will do him ( and Shaw) the world of good.

[SaltergateBorn]

I take it you`ve seen the highlights of the Salford game then, Dancing.

That first goal, to me, shows the difference between Amantchi and Hines. There`s no way in a million years that Hines would have had the awareness of what was going on around him to pick out Kiwomya; he would have kept going right to the bye-line, run into a blind-alley and the chance would have gone. For an 18-year-old to have that sort of awareness is a bit special. I`d love to think we have a few more of those in the youth team but I haven`t seen them play so I`ve no idea whether we have.

To go back to what you said previously, the point is that running academies and youth teams isn`t cheap and I`m sure there must have been some discussion about that at Board level, given our financial situation; so if you do produce the odd pearl you`ve got to polish it and let it shine – and put it on display. You never know, he could be our next £milion man (hopefully not for a while yet, mind).

Joe Rowley is another one who`s blossoming this season and didn`t Laurence Maguire come through our youth team or have I got that wrong? Whatever, it suggests that Miguel Llera is doing a decent job there.

Having said that, I still think there`s a danger in overplaying an 18-year-old. We`re coming up to Xmas, with games coming thick-and-fast, and it would be tempting to overplay him. It was obvious on Saturday that he was getting tired in the second half.

[Dancingwilldoit]

By all means take them off later in the game if they are tiring, by then hopefully the damage has been done but bring on another youngster with a fresh pair of legs to run them ragged not Robbie Weir or Nelson.

[Devongone]

I love the idea of bringing in our own youth, but as we are rarely ever going to have enough of them coming through at once, we also have to recruit outside amongst younger players who'll cost next to nothing to create a competitive team.

We released Parkin who is currently still playing for Cleethorpes on loan from somewhere else I think ( and I wish we'd kept him). I don't think Hand is still at Chesterfield, but I don't know where he is. And poor Rawson seems somehow to have taken a step backwards under our development plans, so that last season's frequent scorer has turned into this season's frequently subbed and he had a terrible time at Matlock. We certainly released Willock in the summer (last sighted at Redditch United) when we also released Ricky German. I imagine both had become disillusioned with their lack of opportunities so did not impress MA when he interviewed them and he released them on the same day.

Certainly I'd be slotting Sharman onto the bench rather than Nelson and either Ofoegbu or Wakefield would be there too awaiting their chance to shine.

But we have Hollis who is a loanee at centre back, who could be taken away from us at any time, we're rightly ditching Nelson and we have Maguire injured. Looking beyond this season I'd be wanting to sign another BIG centre back to play alongside Maguire and or Evans so that's why I think I'd give Astles a chance to step up from Southport to us. And I don't think he'd be a block on the future of Render or Sharman, because he is a different kind of player

I'm not saying I want all my list of players to sign, they just have potential and if we could get any one of them I think that would make a difference. Kosylo from Halifax would be great, but that might be flying too high as Championship clubs were eyeing him up last season, but he would provide some ammunition for Amantchi and Shaw. But players like Tshimanga, Kiangebeni and Wheatley are all young players who could be with us through the National League and into the EFL ...........

And we are struggling to stay in this league aren't we?

The real block to our young players coming through is not OUR OWN players, it is that three of the first eleven places always tend to be taken by loanees. And unless the rare event happens as it did with Smith, that we get them to sign permanently, that is very much a short-term approach to the long-term project of getting back to the EFL. All I want is a blend of experienced and developing young and young-ish players into which we can feed those players we produce.

Unfortunately I fear / suspect we will soon learn that Charlie Wakefield and Iffy Ofoegbu are to be released when their contracts are up. I hope I'm wrong, but their development process seems currently to be stalled doesn't it?

The thing is for our win over Salford to mean anything we have to build wisely on it. I'm thrilled for Levi - I wish we had Ricky to go with him - but we have to take care of him. We can't expect him to carry Denton and our entire attack. He's young and very inexperienced, he'll probably make mistakes too and we have to make allowances. That being the case IF Lee Shaw doesn't start scoring as well as working his socks off we almost certainly will need a goalscorer and he has to cost next to nothing. And our rivals at the bottom are all making signings .........

Do you really think we'd stay up only by feeding in our youngsters?

[Dancingwilldoit]

I have no idea Dev but do you think we will stay up if we dont play them and rely instead on players who still might not do it on higher salaries?
I read this morning that MA wants the transfer listed players to still be part of the club because of the way he was treated at QPR. That's all well and good but I suspect what it actually means is that they will still feature in the matchday squad which if I'm right really is nonsensical.
Why do we even bother with Anyon on the bench? He really is not worth a place anywhere, just get rid for gods sake, am sure Jim Brown could do a better job or even Muggleton Snr.
I did think Parkin was still with us but the CFC website is as much use as a chocolate fireguard. Its never kept up to date and manages to be as informative as the Kremlin. At least they manage propaganda - er hang on a minute.

[Devongone]

"Good afternoon.

We have today signed Alfie Beestin on a one-month loan from Doncaster Rovers.

He is an attacking midfielder who shows quality in the final third and can play on the right, on the left or in as a number 10.

He is young and hungry, he's based up here and he can't wait to get started.

Take care,

Martin"

This is why Charlie and Iffy get to play at Sheffield tonight and the new lad will probably be on the field in the FA Trophy.

Parkin definitely isn't with us. He's at somewhere like Boston and loaned to Cleethorpes. I'll check. I was horrified when we didn't give him the Derbyshire Cup Final after he saved three penalties to get us there. He must have known then his time was up.

I think young players have a better chance when they are coming into a team of more experienced lads. I think it ups the game of both the youngsters and the slightly older players. So yes I think if we feed in youngsters and keep some experience too we've got a chance. We beat Salford. Lots of teams are better than us, but not by a huge stretch. All those draws have to mean something. I know they disappointed us, but they were all against teams eager to beat us.

Just checked Dylan Parkin is with Boston Utd on loan a Cleethorpes.

[SaltergateBorn]

Dancing siad: "I read this morning that MA wants the transfer listed players to still be part of the club because of the way he was treated at QPR. That's all well and good but I suspect what it actually means is that they will still feature in the matchday squad which if I'm right really is nonsensical."

I don`t agree, Dancing; don`t see anything nonsensical about it at all. They`re still on the payroll, so they should still be available for selection to my way of thinking. It could, in fact, be a good motivator for them; they`re in the shop window and if they want some club to come along and offer them a decent contract they can only help their own cause by putting on good performances.

That`s the way I see it.