Player Announcements 21st June

[Reading Rebel]

2 hours ago, SloughFlyer said:

Let's not get ahead of ourselves CR. Let's enjoy the signings and then see how things go when games start etc.

Agree SF.

After today I think most supporters are thinking reaching the play-offs is now very much on the cards.

The challenge we have or to be more precise our managers have is to blend/mould our new players together with the existing ones into the best unit possible to start the season with.

This of course will possibly include different starting 11's for different games which will be no easy task in the time available during pre season.

[Reading Rebel]

Has anyone heard or seen 3spirit?

Strangely quiet during/after today's exciting player announcements. 

I think Shredding will have to pop round on his bike and give him the kiss of life following our latest player announcement  ?

Edited June 21, 2022 by Reading Rebel

[Reading Rebel]

Have to give our managers a big thanks and huge credit for all their hard work they must of put in behind the scenes putting this squad together   

[3spirit]

32 minutes ago, Reading Rebel said:

Has anyone heard or seen 3spirit?

Strangely quiet during/after today's exciting player announcements. 

I think Shredding will have to pop round on his bike and give him the kiss of life following our latest player announcement  ?

The day I didn't get online, Slough make the player announcements ! ha ha!

The signings feel like deja vu, as I've seen them all before.

The striker recruitment looks a total cop out and is very disappointing in my book. What an anti-climax.  

It's all very well Ben Harris saying he's going to aim to get fit and is raring to go but if he has problems with his hamstrings is that possible? If he can, why didn't he get fit last season?  

It seems we have plenty of competition for places in midfield which can be a good thing but I thought this season we should be firmly putting the emphasis on making the competition upfront. I'm well pleased with our midfield options and that includes my notion of playing Josh Jackman there.

Defence wise our managers know their onions and usually get it right but it is hard to see how Ryan Bird will get a look in, unless they're thinking of him as a 4th forward !   

John Goddard and George Wells signings are a definite improvements to our team [but likely to be costly]. Aaron Kuhl staying is a huge positive and having Guy Hollis back is a good boost to our backline[although because he was at Havant for such a short time it doesn't feel like he's been away ! ].

I can understand keeping John Goddard and perhaps Aaron Kuhl's signing hush-hush but keeping these others secret seems rather over the top.

For me the squad hasn't really evolved, it's gone back to the tried and tested which is good in one way, as we know the squad should be good enough to cement it's place in the division but unless we have another striker up our sleeve somewhere we're in for another season of missing golden opportunities to score than actually finding the net. Our midfielders should be able to add to the goal tally but will it be enough? 

[rebelbrewer]

3 hours ago, Reading Rebel said:

Just read the blurb that says Ben Harris is working his nuts off to get himself into decent shape which is full credit to him.

On his day when fit he's an excellent striker and if we can get a dozen games out of him where he makes the difference to us getting the points which gets us to the play-offs, along with most other supporters I'll be chuffed to bits. 

I've never known Jon and Neil to be anything other than honest, sometimes circumspect but that's fine as well. So if they have said that they agreed with Ben that his fitness was an issue and he has worked hard to prove them wrong that's great. With Benyon in the squad he could be a great impact player if he's happy with that role.

[Guest Wycombe Rebel]

Christ! What about Benyon? His experience will help Kayani and the other u23 attackers knocking on the door. 

The players bought in want to play for Slough which is no way a cop out, give me these players over ones just looking to make a buck everyday of week, some people are never happy. What would you prefer? 

It’s gone from relegation worries to being underwhelmed, some people really need to work out their expectations. This squad on our budget is nothing short of excellent, please give it a rest and look forward to August now.

As for Josh Jackman playing in midfield, are we playing Football Manager? It will never happen!

 

Edited June 21, 2022 by CookhamRebel

[GlenSTFC]

11 minutes ago, CookhamRebel said:

Christ! What about Benyon? His experience will help Kayani and the other u23 attackers knocking on the door. 

The players bought in want to play for Slough which is no way a cop out, give me these players over ones just looking to make a buck everyday of week, some people are never happy. What would you prefer? 

It’s gone from relegation worries to being underwhelmed, some people really need to work out their expectations. This squad on our budget is nothing short of excellent, please give it a rest and look forward to August now.

As for Josh Jackman playing in midfield, are we playing Football Manager? It will never happen!

 

I wonder if the budget is the same or has been increased with the instruction of making the play offs. We have made some exciting signings/re-signings and I hope the crowds can get back to the 750-800 average with the hope of a few near 1,000 if the potential of this squad is realised.

[GlenSTFC]

Would be very interesting to know what clubs were genuinely interested in signing Kuhl. Although I’m sure he’s had a wage increase (hopefully he’s on contract) I think it’s more down to the persuasive powers of our managers plus he was probably told of the sort of player they wanted to sign. 

[Guest Wycombe Rebel]

2 minutes ago, GlenSTFC said:

I wonder if the budget is the same or has been increased with the instruction of making the play offs. We have made some exciting signings/re-signings and I hope the crowds can get back to the 750-800 average with the hope of a few near 1,000 if the potential of this squad is realised.

God knows Glen but the balancing act Bakes and Unders have performed with assembling this squad is brilliant!

They could’ve blown a grand a week on a Striker but what’s the point if you then don’t have the money to sign the midfielder that will feed that striker…

We’ve now got a chance!

 

[GlenSTFC]

5 minutes ago, CookhamRebel said:

God knows Glen but the balancing act Bakes and Unders have performed with assembling this squad is brilliant!

They could’ve blown a grand a week on a Striker but what’s the point if you then don’t have the money to sign the midfielder that will feed that striker…

We’ve now got a chance!

 

I would say it’s been increased from last season. Even though it’s likely Wells and Goddard have taken pay cuts to sign they’re still going to be our higher earners. I agree it’s great to have the likes of Dobbo, Goddard, Lench, Kuhl who can attack and assist the strikers aswell.

[Guest Wycombe Rebel]

1 minute ago, GlenSTFC said:

I would say it’s been increased from last season. Even though it’s likely Wells and Goddard have taken pay cuts to sign they’re still going to be our higher earners. I agree it’s great to have the likes of Dobbo, Goddard, Lench, Kuhl who can attack and assist the strikers aswell.

? I loved Alfonso but he was a kid who had a lot on his shoulders, with Benyon we have an experienced head to lead the line and hopefully hold onto the ball to allow our defence and midfield to get up the pitch, Alfonso did his best to lead the line and did a tremendous job but he was still learning to hold the ball and bring others into play.

I’m now going to enjoy the rest of the Summer and try to persuade the Mrs to take a weekend in Barry in late July.

COYR!

[3spirit]

22 minutes ago, CookhamRebel said:

Christ! What about Benyon? His experience will help Kayani and the other u23 attackers knocking on the door. 

The players bought in want to play for Slough which is no way a cop out, give me these players over ones just looking to make a buck everyday of week, some people are never happy. What would you prefer? 

It’s gone from relegation worries to being underwhelmed, some people really need to work out their expectations. This squad on our budget is nothing short of excellent, please give it a rest and look forward to August now.

As for Josh Jackman playing in midfield, are we playing Football Manager? It will never happen!

 

Cookham Rebel, you have your opinion and I have mine. 

I'm not disappointed by our managers recruitment policy as a whole. I'm disappointed that we have recruited three strikers that scored under 7 goals each last season, for this new season.

Whether true or not, my thinking is that John Goddard probably approached our managers offering to play for Slough and he was too good a player to refuse so they have spent money on acquiring him,keeping Aaron Kuhl and bringing George Wells back, than to shell out for a real deal striker. To me they have recruited Ben Harris as he is a cheap option,they know what he is about, and he can be back up to Elliot Benyon and Imran Kayani. I've got nothing against Ben Harris but I thought we should have stuck to our guns and looked for an alternative to him this time around,as it feels the right time to make a clean break from him. I have no qualms that we have signed Elliot Benyon and hope he fits in well to our squad but as the 'star' striker recruit he doesn't fit that billing to me as I see him more as stop gap than what Slough are actually crying out for. As for Imran K, he deserves his chance this season but I don't view him as the finished article yet, so I wouldn't be expecting too much from him.  

I'm willing to pay and watch our team next season whatever the team is, as I have done over countless seasons but I don't have to go along with the party line, if I'm not convinced about it. Mediocrity and lame ducks are not for me.   

As for Josh Jackman,he often was pushed up from defence to midfield last season so it's nothing revolutionary. He also chipped in with a few goals. I can't help that you lack vision and foresight about a very,very able player.

[Reading Rebel]

1 hour ago, 3spirit said:

The day I didn't get online, Slough make the player announcements ! ha ha!

The signings feel like deja vu, as I've seen them all before.

The striker recruitment looks a total cop out and is very disappointing in my book. What an anti-climax.  

It's all very well Ben Harris saying he's going to aim to get fit and is raring to go but if he has problems with his hamstrings is that possible? If he can, why didn't he get fit last season?  

It seems we have plenty of competition for places in midfield which can be a good thing but I thought this season we should be firmly putting the emphasis on making the competition upfront. I'm well pleased with our midfield options and that includes my notion of playing Josh Jackman there.

Defence wise our managers know their onions and usually get it right but it is hard to see how Ryan Bird will get a look in, unless they're thinking of him as a 4th forward !   

John Goddard and George Wells signings are a definite improvements to our team [but likely to be costly]. Aaron Kuhl staying is a huge positive and having Guy Hollis back is a good boost to our backline[although because he was at Havant for such a short time it doesn't feel like he's been away ! ].

I can understand keeping John Goddard and perhaps Aaron Kuhl's signing hush-hush but keeping these others secret seems rather over the top.

For me the squad hasn't really evolved, it's gone back to the tried and tested which is good in one way, as we know the squad should be good enough to cement it's place in the division but unless we have another striker up our sleeve somewhere we're in for another season of missing golden opportunities to score than actually finding the net. Our midfielders should be able to add to the goal tally but will it be enough? 

I don't believe our striker recruitment is a cop out.

We know we can't afford a proven 15/20 goal striker so bringing in an experienced player like Elliott Benyon is imo ideal not only to lead the line but also to help our inexperienced young players from our academy improve their game for the future. 

With Ben Harris I don't know if his fitness problems are his hamstrings or something else but perhaps he wasn't fit last season because he wasn't overly motivated to get himself into any sort of decent shape and now the penny has dropped that it's either shape up or ship out so to speak. 

Either way it must be his last chance to prove fitness wise he can do it.

I'm not sure the Aaron Kuhl re signing was kept hush hush, just by what was said I'm sure there were other things going on in the background which meant he couldn't commit to us until now.

On the goals front as you say we should get a lot more goals from our midfield than we did last season and hopefully they should also create more chances to be put away by Elliott or Ben Harris.

[3spirit]

1 minute ago, Reading Rebel said:

I don't believe our striker recruitment is a cop out.

We know we can't afford a proven 15/20 goal striker so bringing in an experienced player like Elliott Benyon is imo ideal not only to lead the line but also to help our inexperienced young players from our academy improve their game for the future. 

With Ben Harris I don't know if his fitness problems are his hamstrings or something else but perhaps he wasn't fit last season because he wasn't overly motivated to get himself into any sort of decent shape and now the penny has dropped that it's either shape up or ship out so to speak. 

Either way it must be his last chance to prove fitness wise he can do it.

I'm not sure the Aaron Kuhl re signing was kept hush hush, just by what was said I'm sure there were other things going on in the background which meant he couldn't commit to us until now.

On the goals front as you say we should get a lot more goals from our midfield than we did last season and hopefully they should also create more chances to be put away by Elliott or Ben Harris.

RR, see my last post to Cookham Rebel. It says why I feel underwhelmed by the strikers we have attained.

Elliott Benyon could be a good signing but as has been mentioned he isn't prolific. 6 goals in a very good Oxford City side is hardly awe-inspiring but I like what I've read and heard about him,that he is a good,easy to get along with bloke, and has a good mentality in terms of team ethics and fitting in with the group. 

  

 

[Sir Rebel1965]

Excellent recruitment by Neil and Jon, puts us in a stronger position than feared, however if we are to keep up with the others splashing the cash the investment is required.

Neil and Jon have been proven over the seasons to stick to a budget, and as others have said it is players who come and ask to play for them which is key, as they know that the money will be realistic/limited, but the team ethos and honesty of the managers must be attractive to the genuine players.

Those who are just mercenary footballers are not the type who Slough fans want to see ripping the club and fans off.

Talk of where we will finish in the league is premature as no balls have been kicked, but there is definitely a more comfortable vibe for the on-pitch side of things.

However, don’t get distracted from ensuring that Arbour Park is safe as a good team still needs somewhere to play.

[Guest Wycombe Rebel]

7 hours ago, 3spirit said:

Cookham Rebel, you have your opinion and I have mine. 

I'm not disappointed by our managers recruitment policy as a whole. I'm disappointed that we have recruited three strikers that scored under 7 goals each last season, for this new season.

Whether true or not, my thinking is that John Goddard probably approached our managers offering to play for Slough and he was too good a player to refuse so they have spent money on acquiring him,keeping Aaron Kuhl and bringing George Wells back, than to shell out for a real deal striker. To me they have recruited Ben Harris as he is a cheap option,they know what he is about, and he can be back up to Elliot Benyon and Imran Kayani. I've got nothing against Ben Harris but I thought we should have stuck to our guns and looked for an alternative to him this time around,as it feels the right time to make a clean break from him. I have no qualms that we have signed Elliot Benyon and hope he fits in well to our squad but as the 'star' striker recruit he doesn't fit that billing to me as I see him more as stop gap than what Slough are actually crying out for. As for Imran K, he deserves his chance this season but I don't view him as the finished article yet, so I wouldn't be expecting too much from him.  

I'm willing to pay and watch our team next season whatever the team is, as I have done over countless seasons but I don't have to go along with the party line, if I'm not convinced about it. Mediocrity and lame ducks are not for me.   

As for Josh Jackman,he often was pushed up from defence to midfield last season so it's nothing revolutionary. He also chipped in with a few goals. I can't help that you lack vision and foresight about a very,very able player.

3spirit, I’m sure our managers will confirm but at no point last season did Josh Jackman play in midfield, yes he supported the attack from full back but he did not play in midfield. If I lack vision and foresight then our managers must too because Josh is a full back and hoping he plays in midfield is a pipe dream.

[Norbert22]

I trust Jon and Neil's judgement. They know the budget and they know who .is available. 

[3spirit]

1 hour ago, CookhamRebel said:

3spirit, I’m sure our managers will confirm but at no point last season did Josh Jackman play in midfield, yes he supported the attack from full back but he did not play in midfield. If I lack vision and foresight then our managers must too because Josh is a full back and hoping he plays in midfield is a pipe dream.

Josh Jackman is more of a wing back than a full back in my eyes. Like George Wells is. Josh is a far better player than you give him credit. To me he has matured and is one of best players we have at Slough, as he never lets the team down,is comfortable on the ball and without it, pressing forward and making dynamic runs upfield and around the opposition box. To me he has gone from strength to strength over the last few seasons and I would even consider him as 'Captain material' . He would be one of the first names on my team sheet.

Controversial as it seems I wouldn't have signed John Goddard this season. Not because I don't rate John Goddard but because I would have used his money to get a very good striker in. I see within our squad plenty of options for the right wing berth and Josh Jackman is one of them. OK you don't Cookham Rebel,that's your call but to me that's closed mind thinking.

Edited June 22, 2022 by 3spirit

[3spirit]

8 hours ago, Reading Rebel said:

I don't believe our striker recruitment is a cop out.

We know we can't afford a proven 15/20 goal striker so bringing in an experienced player like Elliott Benyon is imo ideal not only to lead the line but also to help our inexperienced young players from our academy improve their game for the future. 

With Ben Harris I don't know if his fitness problems are his hamstrings or something else but perhaps he wasn't fit last season because he wasn't overly motivated to get himself into any sort of decent shape and now the penny has dropped that it's either shape up or ship out so to speak. 

Either way it must be his last chance to prove fitness wise he can do it.

I'm not sure the Aaron Kuhl re signing was kept hush hush, just by what was said I'm sure there were other things going on in the background which meant he couldn't commit to us until now.

On the goals front as you say we should get a lot more goals from our midfield than we did last season and hopefully they should also create more chances to be put away by Elliott or Ben Harris.

Just one thing ,RR,when you say in your second paragraph 'we know we can't afford a proven 15/20 goal striker', how do we know? !

To me it's not a case of affordability,it's a case of our managers chosing to not buy a 15/20 goal striker, as they favour spending their budget on bolstering other positions throughout the team, rather than on the front line. That's why I view it as a 'cop out' as since we got promoted into National South, we have had a half hearted approach to signing any real quality upfront.  Yes, we've made use of some good youngsters ,the loan system and wheeling out Ben Harris each season but when are Bakes and Unders going to be daring and actually forsake the midfield muchness, and sign a quality forward?

If Elliot Benyon was 5 years younger, and Ben Harris was a new recruit, I might be more enthusiastic but to me the squad is lacking in this main key area, that of the art of scoring goals. 

The good thing is I don't see Slough going down this season, and the signing of Dobbo, and Goddo ! should give us fans plenty of excitement but I can't help feeling that Bakes and Unders have done the bare minimum in addressing the 'forward' situation, and have back tracked somewhat, from what I had hoped for this season.

[Guest Wycombe Rebel]

1 hour ago, 3spirit said:

Josh Jackman is more of a wing back than a full back in my eyes. Like George Wells is. Josh is a far better player than you give him credit. To me he has matured and is one of best players we have at Slough, as he never lets the team down,is comfortable on the ball and without it, pressing forward and making dynamic runs upfield and around the opposition box. To me he has gone from strength to strength over the last few seasons and I would even consider him as 'Captain material' . He would be one of the first names on my team sheet.

Controversial as it seems I wouldn't have signed John Goddard this season. Not because I don't rate John Goddard but because I would have used his money to get a very good striker in. I see within our squad plenty of options for the right wing berth and Josh Jackman is one of them. OK you don't Cookham Rebel,that's your call but to me that's closed mind thinking.

I’ve never once said I do not rate Josh Jackman, if I didn’t I wouldn’t have sponsored him for this coming season.

He is also Vice Captain. Pushing Jackman into a right wing position would completely nullify his natural game.

How do you know another striker is not coming in??? Bakes & Unders have not confirmed anything yet.