New Winger?!?!?!

[3spirit]

After all this hype, he will probably get injured in his first game and be out for the season.

 

 

HA HA HA ! Nice one,Tom.

[readingrebel]

Sear is a central midfielder!!!!

 

 

 

 

I was only adding two and two and making ten ! lol !

 

 

By the way, I'm more concerned that we don't appear to have added a striker.

 

 

 

 

Agree with you 3spirit,

 

 

If Danny Burnell picks up a knock (as he has done in training this week) and is out for a while, we are in the proverbial. We will probably have try to sign or get striker in on loan pretty quick which won't be ideal and will prove difficult once the season starts.

 

Steve Bateman has stated that it's been a quite Summer for signing new players and that's what he intended.

 

I seem to remember SB stating that he wanted to sign 2 defenders, 1 midfielder and 1 striker. It looks like he's dipped out on the striker front which could prove costly.

[Rebel Yeller]

This lack of signing a striker in the close season is a recurring SB theme. Last season Burnell didn't arrive until after the Erith game and the previous season Buchanan didn't arrive until October.

 

On both occasions the manager's rhetoric in August was that he was satisfied with what he had up front when all supporters could see it wasn't enough. On both occasions he was proved wrong, because without either of the above those seasons would have been mid table obscurity.

 

It would be a great shame to have obtained a good keeper, a stronger defence and vast numbers of mid field options only for us to fail up front by having no viable options other than Burnell and Sonner. The time for acquiring new players is passing rapidly by and each day it becomes more difficult. Currently one injury to a forward and we are stuffed - pushing midfielders up front is not the answer, and neither is taking someone on loan.

[readingrebel]

I know the identity of the new winger, as i was speaking to one of the locally-based players last night. He may appear on Tuesday against Holyport.

 

 

WR,

 

 

C'mon give us a clue , so that you can't be accused of B#llshitting us (not that you would )

[Mark44]

Im going to have to diagree with you Rebel Yeller

 

In the first season you talk about where Buchanan came in in october we had signed Martin and Hayes and CoC and only brought in Buchanan later on after Craig started to get unsettled.

 

Second season I however do agree where Buchanan had left and we had a big hole to fill. However I feel we waited until the right person became available. We had also signed CoC again.

 

This season we start with exactly the same strikeforce that got us in the playoffs and the one thing we had problems with was not strikers but was the defence last season. I also believe that Mendy is good enough to step up and needs a chance.

 

I think we could do with a target man but if we dont get one its not the end of the world. Besides....I trust Bateman

[Mr Rebel]

we most definitely haven't seen the best of Ben Abbey yet due to injuries. he could be almost like a new signing if he stays fully fit for a long time.

 

anyway who says Bateman hasn't got a few trialist strikers lined up or even someone on the brink of signing

 

going back to the winger are really going to have to wait till Tuesday at the earliest to find out. im trying not to get too excited incase i find out who it is and think to myself immediately - "WHO?"

[3spirit]

Im going to have to diagree with you Rebel Yeller

 

In the first season you talk about where Buchanan came in in october we had signed Martin and Hayes and CoC and only brought in Buchanan later on after Craig started to get unsettled.

 

Second season I however do agree where Buchanan had left and we had a big hole to fill. However I feel we waited until the right person became available. We had also signed CoC again.

 

This season we start with exactly the same strikeforce that got us in the playoffs and the one thing we had problems with was not strikers but was the defence last season. I also believe that Mendy is good enough to step up and needs a chance.

 

I think we could do with a target man but if we dont get one its not the end of the world. Besides....I trust Bateman

 

No, it's not the end of the world, Mark44, if we start out with what we've got. As in the first 4 to 8 games,if the weather is good and the pitch is a perfect playing surface,teams can be beaten by playing skilful,free flowing,floor football but not all sides are you going to be beaten this way. So I agree with Rebel Yeller and Reading Rebel,that we should be looking out for another striker.

 

When you look at the quality of Elliot Buchanan, who goes on to score 15 odd goals in the Blue Square Bet Premier and as of yesterday is on trial with Newport County, you realise that the bloke is a class act and we were extremely fortuitous to have him in Steve Bateman's first full season.

 

I'm not sure Steve Bateman's acumen is at it's best, when trying to get the best from, and the blend right,when it comes to strikers.Look at Elliot,what did we do with him, we played him out on the left wing in a lot of games !

Yashwa Romeo we let go prematurely. Tommy Hayes was a very poor alternative. I'm far from convinced that Danny Burnell and Sean Sonner together are the answer and yet, Steve Bateman seems enamoured with them.

Danny Burnell is quality in this division.Whether he can step up remains to be seen. IMO with the right player alongside him,he'll have no problem scoring 20+ goals this season but I can't for the life of me,see him scoring that many partnering Sean Sonner,Ben Abbey or Tony Mendy.

We need a bigger,commanding player alongside him ,especially for the autumn to winter games. I agree with Rebel Yeller on this but I don't think we have to panic quite yet,as there are a hell of a lot of players out there looking for a club but quality goalscorers/target men are certainly hard to come by and building an understanding between two front men takes time.

 

If we aren't going to get one I would try Adam Logie upfront for the odd game, as it appears to have gone unnoticed, that he chipped in with 9 goals last season,mainly at the start of his commencement in the team before he got injured. This was from a midfielder stroke defender. His prowess for goal, shooting ability and endeavours to get into the penalty area should be considered.

Cliff Hercules went from being a centre forward to being a centre back, in Brian McDermott's eyes.Nothing says you can't do it the other way around. Sometimes,the best managers,are the ones who have the gumption to try things.

[Cookham Rebel]

Am I missing something 3spirit but didn't Burnell score 28 goals last season playing alongside Sonner more often than Simon Martin!!!

 

I think it's all worry over nothing regarding new striker!!! At end of the day, in games where we need to go long ball, Bates may put Mr Bowden-Haase up top with Burnell... We've got Brown, Woozely, Sweeney and Logie who can cover at centre back.... For all we know Bates could start the season with something like this: Fanner, Sweeney Brown Woozely, Sinclair Coyne Martin Swift Murphy, Burnell Bowden-Haase... It wouldn't surprise me!!! I can't see Bates not having Sweeney, Woozely, Brown or Bowden-Haase in his strongest starting 11 and none of them can play left back!!!!

[3spirit]

Am I missing something 3spirit but didn't Burnell score 28 goals last season playing alongside Sonner more often than Simon Martin!!!

 

I think it's all worry over nothing regarding new striker!!! At end of the day, in games where we need to go long ball, Bates may put Mr Bowden-Haase up top with Burnell... We've got Brown, Woozely, Sweeney and Logie who can cover at centre back.... For all we know Bates could start the season with something like this: Fanner, Sweeney Brown Woozely, Sinclair Coyne Martin Swift Murphy, Burnell Bowden-Haase... It wouldn't surprise me!!! I can't see Bates not having Sweeney, Woozely, Brown or Bowden-Haase in his strongest starting 11 and none of them can play left back!!!!

 

 

Burnell did score 28 goals but with Sean Sonner he never scored as many as you think. Unfortunately I've thrown out my programme for the final league game against Beaconsfield,so I can't relay the exact statistics,however I do have in front of me,the Slough v Northwood programme dated 9th April,which after this game left 5 more games to play. It makes quite interesting reading,in the fact that of nine times playing up front with Simon Martin, Burnell scored seven times.

Burnell failed to score in eleven games when playing with Sonner up front,it appears Sean scored more with Burnell than the other way around.

Actually Ben Abbey and Gary Sippetts had good goal scoring records when partnering Simon Martin,too.

There was also a few games when Sean Sonner was played out wide and also a couple of games when Burnell, Martin and Sonner played as a three up front.

So I conclude that Sean Sonner has a better success rate partnering Danny Burnell than Burnell has with Sonner,if you get my gist.

[Mark44]

Well he scores them alongside someone and I don't think it was simon Martin lol

[Cookham Rebel]

As a partnership, Burnell and Sonner scored 31 goals between them in 26 games last season... Out of a 50+ game season that's not bad!!!

[Rebel_Glen]

Adrian Sear played for St. Neots Town on Saturday which fits in with the quote given by Martin Stone.

[Mark44]

Nice, looks like they have got money to throw around so makes sense