Matt,
We are a small club in need of money. One of our saleable assets is Tommy Lee. He is at an age where any value he has is likely to decline. Nobody at our own level pays for a keeper, so he would need also still to be good enough to play at a higher level. The clock is running down. Once no one considers he's worth a chance higher up his monetary value will return to zero.
Chapman may be young in terms of experience, but he ages at the same rate as the rest of us. He made the jump from Sunday football to Belper with ease, if he is going to make the jump to league football he has had a year in which to do it. If he's going to be good enough then he should be NOW. If he proves it at Accrington great.
One of them has to be sold. If we could sell Tommy this winter, get some great performances out of Aaron for the rest of the season we might end up selling both. No one will pay top-whack for a Chesterfield reserve, but if he became that tall bloke who stopped a penalty in the play-offs he'd be a commodity. And we could be planning now to pluck someone else from the Evo-stick.
Similarly another eight goals from The Ginger Costa pre-Christmas and a player we got for free might be valued into the millions. Of course we'd take it. My aim is to use the wheeler-dealing to constantly refresh and re-build our team. That never has been the club's approach in the past, but it is the way forward.
Tommy Lee has always been one of my favourite players, but if he plays for us as long as he's good enough I envisage him still with us at 35, collecting his tea-service and testimonial, whilst the club hovers around mid-table in Division 2.
Moving forward involves buying, selling and scouting to keep the team on the pitch and the finances buoyant. And in their hearts every fan knows it.
We are a small club in need of money. One of our saleable assets is Tommy Lee. He is at an age where any value he has is likely to decline. Nobody at our own level pays for a keeper, so he would need also still to be good enough to play at a higher level. The clock is running down. Once no one considers he's worth a chance higher up his monetary value will return to zero.
Chapman may be young in terms of experience, but he ages at the same rate as the rest of us. He made the jump from Sunday football to Belper with ease, if he is going to make the jump to league football he has had a year in which to do it. If he's going to be good enough then he should be NOW. If he proves it at Accrington great.
One of them has to be sold. If we could sell Tommy this winter, get some great performances out of Aaron for the rest of the season we might end up selling both. No one will pay top-whack for a Chesterfield reserve, but if he became that tall bloke who stopped a penalty in the play-offs he'd be a commodity. And we could be planning now to pluck someone else from the Evo-stick.
Similarly another eight goals from The Ginger Costa pre-Christmas and a player we got for free might be valued into the millions. Of course we'd take it. My aim is to use the wheeler-dealing to constantly refresh and re-build our team. That never has been the club's approach in the past, but it is the way forward.
Tommy Lee has always been one of my favourite players, but if he plays for us as long as he's good enough I envisage him still with us at 35, collecting his tea-service and testimonial, whilst the club hovers around mid-table in Division 2.
Moving forward involves buying, selling and scouting to keep the team on the pitch and the finances buoyant. And in their hearts every fan knows it.