The other free agent left back was David Tutonda ex-Barnet 24 very quick but Fitzpatrck will get fit and as an older player will offer reliable cover Askey must think and Askey knows the player.

Askey has used Whitehead in rotation with Joyce as holding midfielder while both Burgess and Conlon have shown attacking potential and Hurst is also a busy all action player but certainly in terms of a full strength first team Oyeleke and Cullen owe us a good season.

10 minutes ago, wotsyobeef said:

1 hour ago, Iron Curtain said:

Only just spotted this statement about the keeper from Askeys interview in the sentinel.
“I think last year we would probably have got a loan in if anything had happened to Browny. But at this stage we would see how Dino went for a few games.”
 
Proves that Askey never thought Maddison was good enough.

Surely if we sign Visser and Brown were to get injured this season we would need a loan keeper to at least sit on the bench.

Yes, but I think Askey was saying that last season he would have had to sign a loan player to start if Brown got injured but this season, he's confident in Visser starting if Brown got injured.

In other words, he wasn't confident of giving Maddison a run of starts but he would be confident with Visser. I guess if that happened we would need a back-up on the bench which probably would be a loanee.

17 hours ago, Alan Baker said:

It seems that some fans still struggle with the concept that everyone is entitled to an opinion. Even if it differs from their own.

Don’t worry people, it is OK to challenge or question something at the Club AND still be a fan.

I couldn't disagree more, and don't know how you dare post such outrageous comments on an open forum and still call yourself a fan......

11 minutes ago, TylerB said:

Taylor wasn't creative though? Yeah, he sure had a knack for being in the right position at the right time to score goals, but how many actual chances did he created for others? I think Conlon higher up the pitch would be a more creative player than Taylor.

I do agree that whoever we choose in midfield it's going to be more workmanlike than creative. So the onus is on the full-backs to get forward to help create chances for us. Fortunately Gibbons is capable of that and so is Monty if he starts at left-back. But a Bridge-Wilkinson type player would be lovely!

Yeah that’s a good point. For me Taylor was our best Cm (would’ve been manny but never fit). Even last season I thought we needed someone with some creativity in the middle. Bw type player would be amazing but they don’t seem to be around so often at this level. 

I do think osadebe who was excellent against us last season could do that job. Wouldn’t be on big money either. It’s just a case of squad size I imagine and to be fair we have no idea how good or not good hurst or trinket Smith are. Heard very good things about hurst though. 

3 minutes ago, Burslem Academicals said:

The other free agent left back was David Tutonda ex-Barnet 24 very quick but Fitzpatrck will get fit and as an older player will offer reliable cover Askey must think and Askey knows the player.

Askey has used Whitehead in rotation with Joyce as holding midfielder while both Burgess and Conlon have shown attacking potential and Hurst is also a busy all action player but certainly in terms of a full strength first team Oyeleke and Cullen owe us a good season.

I've never seen Tutonda play but looking at the scarcity of leftbacks at this level and the fact no league clubs went in for him I'm not wholly convinced he is quite as good as some of the comments on the internet. I've seen Fitzpatrick play but he certainly wasn't memorable for anything other than the goal. I'm completely baffled that Theo Archibald from Macclesfield is still without a club as he looked a really good fullback and was strongly linked with league 1 clubs. 

Oyeleke is a key player for us, I'd say.

Having him back would be a huge boost as he's a different type of player to what we've got and gives us more physicality in the middle of the park.

But I guess we're a bit concerned about him picking up an injury and missing part of pre-season, after being out for so long last year. He desperately needs game time to bring his fitness up to speed.

I'm crossing everything for him.

4 minutes ago, Guitar Ray said:

I couldn't disagree more, and don't know how you dare post such outrageous comments on an open forum and still call yourself a fan......

You are right, Ray. Report him for his heinous crimes. We don't want people of tolerance and common sense on here. It's disgraceful. 😉

1 minute ago, JRC said:

 I'm completely baffled that Theo Archibald from Macclesfield is still without a club.

I think he signed for Lincoln recently.

Just now, TheSage said:

I think he signed for Lincoln recently.

Thank you - I'm officially no longer baffled!

So it's just a case of sorting the paperwork with Dino Visser and we are all set good to go.......so apart from young Rodney then all the signings Mills and Whitehead and Robinson and Fitzpatrick are all experienced back up.

According to Wikipedia, Fitzpatrick was named in the 2017 2018 ‘Non-League Papers National League Team of the season’. Let’s hope that, if that is true, he can find some of that form/consistency for us.

9 minutes ago, Guitar Ray said:

I couldn't disagree more, and don't know how you dare post such outrageous comments on an open forum and still call yourself a fan......

😁

1 hour ago, Iron Curtain said:

Is that comment based on him being rinsed by CJ Hamilton vs Blackpool.

If so it’s a tad unfair... Hamilton is faster than everyone!

yeah basically, a tad unfair, i wonder how mitch would have coped? i retract it, time will tell

I see Ian Holloway thinks we are a badly run club.

 

6 minutes ago, Burslem Academicals said:

So it's just a case of sorting the paperwork with Dino Visser and we are all set good to go.......so apart from young Rodney then all the signings Mills and Whitehead and Robinson and Fitzpatrick are all experienced back up.

Rodney, Robinson and Whitehead are all on 1st 11 money and expected to be pushing to nail down a first 11 place. I suspect Mills, Fitzpatrick and Visser will all be viewed as backup players. For me its still odds on to be Brown Gibbons Legge Smith Montano Joyce Burgess Conlon Amoo Cullen and Worrall first game. 

11 minutes ago, robf said:

Yes, but I think Askey was saying that last season he would have had to sign a loan player to start if Brown got injured but this season, he's confident in Visser starting if Brown got injured.

In other words, he wasn't confident of giving Maddison a run of starts but he would be confident with Visser. I guess if that happened we would need a back-up on the bench which probably would be a loanee.

That is the way I read it too. It would however be exactly the sort of comment I would make to the press if I were a manager who was trying to persuade a keeper to sign as a number 2 who had doubts about signing.

Maybe I'm cynical but he did similar with his comments about Fitzpatrick just being here for fitness. If he had come out and said we needed cover for left back then the player would have had more negotiating power