19-04-2016, 12:56
Whether Donny hammer us tonight, or we grab the points that will keep us in Division One the task for Chesterfield is the same, we will need to rebuild. If you were making a retained list how many names would there be that are absolutely beyond argument? The only player to have taken a huge step forward this season is Gboly Ariyibi. He’s our one no-brainer.
That being the case we need carefully to consider which of our other players offer us an upwardly mobile future in whichever division our results locate us and look to recruit. Mr Mitchell has gone, but if we want to create a side capable of improvement there is no option for a club without great financial resources to take a chance on recruiting from the lower levels. We could easily bankrupt ourselves meeting the financial demands of de-motivated Championship players on the way down.
How complete a job Mr Mitchell was doing I’ve no idea, but just by keeping your eyes open on the web and to newspaper reports there are plenty of leads. In the league take Hartlepool, they have a player who struggles to get a place I’d have no doubt is worth a chance in Rhys Oates (from Barnsley), and they’ve also had an outstanding loanee in Adam Jackson at centre back. If Middlesbrough make the Premiership, will they want a 22 year old who is yet to break through? If they release him, this is an age-group international. We could found a defence on him, he’s the one player for whom I’d be willing to pay whatever proper fee we can afford.
In Non-League you don’t have to look far for potential talent. A defender whose reputation is growing in a side doing well is Sean Raggett at Dover, he’s only 21. But there are players with failing sides, due for relegation, well capable of functioning at a higher level. Welling United have Sam Corne, just 19, impressive enough for Chelsea to have taken a look, Xavier Vidal, 20, a thrusting midfielder, and in February they signed Luke Wanadio a winger we had on trial who gets some rave reviews and who says of himself that he just doesn’t shine in trials. Down at the bottom of the Conference too, Kidderminster, have players who surely won’t want to take a step down in Elton Ngwatala (who started out at Paris Saint Germaine), Arthur Gnahoua whose class has never taken him higher than he is, and Zain Francis Angol who was at Spurs and Motherwell.
A step down from unsuccessful Conference sides there are still players worth a throw of the dice. Brady Hickey at only 19, plays for Barwick Town and is known as the non-league Frank Lampard, which can’t be bad. At AFC Fylde there’s a useful young midfielder called Dion Charles who didn’t make it at Blackpool, but sounds as though he’s prepared to work to breakthrough to league football. And, of course, there’s no need to limit our search to England. We grabbed Eoin Doyle from Scotland. Faissal El Bakhtaoui from Dunfermline might fancy a move south, he’s scored a hatful of goals and his experience is limited, he hasn’t even played that much eleven a side – he was a futsal player – so he could even improve, and if Celtic and Rangers don’t make a grab ………
Me, being me, I have to find a real wild card. How about recruiting a player who has temporarily given up the game? Name, Joe Gaughan. He scored every week for Barnoldswick in Evo-Stickland, got recruited for Colne’s promotion drive, didn’t like it, still must have a contract there, but is sitting at home. Barnoldswick’s manager would love him back, they plunged after he left. He’s obviously a strange character, scored loads of goals out in New Zealand, then collected a huge ban for hitting somebody ….. even though the victim came out publicly to support Joe. Anyway, the upshot was Joe jacked it in and came back to England and Barnoldswick. No one else will be in for him. But he’s got the go both to play in New Zealand and to come back. He’s obviously got something if some wise old pro’ can get him onside; someone like Danny Wilson maybe?
So there you have it, I’ve not even looked at academy rejects, barely touched Scotland, not bothered with Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic …... or even a local side like Ilkeston, who clubs like Crewe seem to keep a better eye on than us. The point is we don’t need to pay the earth in wages for an out-of-contract Championship player. If money weren’t an object I’d like to grab Reuben Reid from down at Plymouth …… but would he ask for big wages to move north? Fully-fit he’ll always score at our level, but in truth there’s more future in grabbing young Sam Chaney from Torquay for our midfield. And if we were planning a loanee ……. if West Ham are planning to loan Samuelsen out again next season, I’d promise him a regular game as opposed to the idiot Westley policy of plonking his arse on a Division One bench to no particular purpose.
That being the case we need carefully to consider which of our other players offer us an upwardly mobile future in whichever division our results locate us and look to recruit. Mr Mitchell has gone, but if we want to create a side capable of improvement there is no option for a club without great financial resources to take a chance on recruiting from the lower levels. We could easily bankrupt ourselves meeting the financial demands of de-motivated Championship players on the way down.
How complete a job Mr Mitchell was doing I’ve no idea, but just by keeping your eyes open on the web and to newspaper reports there are plenty of leads. In the league take Hartlepool, they have a player who struggles to get a place I’d have no doubt is worth a chance in Rhys Oates (from Barnsley), and they’ve also had an outstanding loanee in Adam Jackson at centre back. If Middlesbrough make the Premiership, will they want a 22 year old who is yet to break through? If they release him, this is an age-group international. We could found a defence on him, he’s the one player for whom I’d be willing to pay whatever proper fee we can afford.
In Non-League you don’t have to look far for potential talent. A defender whose reputation is growing in a side doing well is Sean Raggett at Dover, he’s only 21. But there are players with failing sides, due for relegation, well capable of functioning at a higher level. Welling United have Sam Corne, just 19, impressive enough for Chelsea to have taken a look, Xavier Vidal, 20, a thrusting midfielder, and in February they signed Luke Wanadio a winger we had on trial who gets some rave reviews and who says of himself that he just doesn’t shine in trials. Down at the bottom of the Conference too, Kidderminster, have players who surely won’t want to take a step down in Elton Ngwatala (who started out at Paris Saint Germaine), Arthur Gnahoua whose class has never taken him higher than he is, and Zain Francis Angol who was at Spurs and Motherwell.
A step down from unsuccessful Conference sides there are still players worth a throw of the dice. Brady Hickey at only 19, plays for Barwick Town and is known as the non-league Frank Lampard, which can’t be bad. At AFC Fylde there’s a useful young midfielder called Dion Charles who didn’t make it at Blackpool, but sounds as though he’s prepared to work to breakthrough to league football. And, of course, there’s no need to limit our search to England. We grabbed Eoin Doyle from Scotland. Faissal El Bakhtaoui from Dunfermline might fancy a move south, he’s scored a hatful of goals and his experience is limited, he hasn’t even played that much eleven a side – he was a futsal player – so he could even improve, and if Celtic and Rangers don’t make a grab ………
Me, being me, I have to find a real wild card. How about recruiting a player who has temporarily given up the game? Name, Joe Gaughan. He scored every week for Barnoldswick in Evo-Stickland, got recruited for Colne’s promotion drive, didn’t like it, still must have a contract there, but is sitting at home. Barnoldswick’s manager would love him back, they plunged after he left. He’s obviously a strange character, scored loads of goals out in New Zealand, then collected a huge ban for hitting somebody ….. even though the victim came out publicly to support Joe. Anyway, the upshot was Joe jacked it in and came back to England and Barnoldswick. No one else will be in for him. But he’s got the go both to play in New Zealand and to come back. He’s obviously got something if some wise old pro’ can get him onside; someone like Danny Wilson maybe?
So there you have it, I’ve not even looked at academy rejects, barely touched Scotland, not bothered with Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic …... or even a local side like Ilkeston, who clubs like Crewe seem to keep a better eye on than us. The point is we don’t need to pay the earth in wages for an out-of-contract Championship player. If money weren’t an object I’d like to grab Reuben Reid from down at Plymouth …… but would he ask for big wages to move north? Fully-fit he’ll always score at our level, but in truth there’s more future in grabbing young Sam Chaney from Torquay for our midfield. And if we were planning a loanee ……. if West Ham are planning to loan Samuelsen out again next season, I’d promise him a regular game as opposed to the idiot Westley policy of plonking his arse on a Division One bench to no particular purpose.
