Stickied Confirmed Signings 2023/24

[Alty Pieman]

Nicky Clee

just signed for evo stick ashton utd. he's too old now legs well and truly gone.

 

[BarraMatt]

Interesting one this. Completely left field, but maybe he’s been scouted during the season. No idea how good Scottish League One is, but regardless of opposition, he seems to know where the net is. Looks a decent prospect.

Bearing in mind our whole team was shit last year (which probably had something to do with it), Jordan White did nowt for us and then went on and notched about 20 for Inverness in the Championship.

 

[Steve_Wafc]

Bearing in mind our whole team was shit last year (which probably had something to do with it), Jordan White did nowt for us and then went on and notched about 20 for Inverness in the Championship.

Jordan White is a difficult one. He missed most of the season for us because of a life threatening blood clot (I think). Then once he finally got in the side he actually had a decent scoring record for the last few months which shows pretty impressive character after what he went through. But then we released him when he could’ve flourished having a smaller quicker forward to play alongside. He seems to score goals for fun in Scotland, so whether it’s the level he’s playing at, or maybe he just feels at home there, I’m not sure, but you for sure can’t question his record.

 

[East Bank Shot]

They tried to sign him a couple of years ago, but he stayed with us to continue the journey Waddock was taking us, until his sat nav malfunctioned...

Not good enough to lead the line at this level any more but a good player to have on the bench as a plan B, still holds the ball up well and a decent finisher but his age really started to catch up with him this season.

 

[BarraMatt]

Jordan White is a difficult one. He missed most of the season for us because of a life threatening blood clot (I think). Then once he finally got in the side he actually had a decent scoring record for the last few months which shows pretty impressive character after what he went through. But then we released him when he could’ve flourished having a smaller quicker forward to play alongside. He seems to score goals for fun in Scotland, so whether it’s the level he’s playing at, or maybe he just feels at home there, I’m not sure, but you for sure can’t question his record.

Aye, unfair of me in that case, didn't realise the period out of the game was only a few months before joining us. I assumed it was a season or two prior.

 

[LlayDragon]

Interesting one this. Completely left field, but maybe he’s been scouted during the season. No idea how good Scottish League One is, but regardless of opposition, he seems to know where the net is. Looks a decent prospect.

Think lower NLN/NLS or Welsh Premier.

He's moved around 250 miles from everyone he knows and he's going from semi-pro to Pro. Oh yes, Airdrieonians fans recon he's a confidence player.

It's impressive to collect so many red flags with one player.

 

[DarkSithLord]

Alfreton Town have re signed Ben Tomlinson for a second spell. I see he was most recently at FC Halifax? Has he still got it shaymen?

 

[Steve_Wafc]

Think lower NLN/NLS or Welsh Premier.

He's moved around 250 miles from everyone he knows and he's going from semi-pro to Pro. Oh yes, Airdrieonians fans recon he's a confidence player.

It's impressive to collect so many red flags with one player.

I’d say it’s a red flag if we’re relying on him to be our main striker, which we won’t be.. hopefully.

I don’t really pay too much attention to the level he’s been playing at because there are many examples where players have been playing in League Obscurity and done well here (Vardy, Gray, Bogle). And we all know that a good chunk of our best ever strikers came from a much weaker level too (Connolly, Trundle, Morrell).

Most strikers are confidence players, that’s why it’s so common for strikers to have dry spells. Look at Bonne last season, scored for fun before Christmas, then barely scored in the second half of the season. It happens.

The distance doesn’t bother me either, because he’s 26 and he knows that if he wants to turn heads, he’ll have to give his all and focus entirely on performing well for the team.

For me, he looks quick, direct and knows where the net is, that’s already an improvement on last season’s options. The supply line to him needs to be better though and we need to play to his strengths, otherwise he will fail, through no fault of his own.

 

[Except The Lord]

Alfreton Town have re signed Ben Tomlinson for a second spell. I see he was most recently at FC Halifax? Has he still got it shaymen?

Cracking signing for you lot, he’s still a top half Conference player when he’s fit

 

[DarkSithLord]

Cracking signing for you lot, he’s still a top half Conference player when he’s fit

Great. Fingers crossed with a pre season behind him he can get back to 100% fitness

 

[LlayDragon]

I’d say it’s a red flag if we’re relying on him to be our main striker, which we won’t be.. hopefully.

I don’t really pay too much attention to the level he’s been playing at because there are many examples where players have been playing in League Obscurity and done well here (Vardy, Gray, Bogle). And we all know that a good chunk of our best ever strikers came from a much weaker level too (Connolly, Trundle, Morrell).

Most strikers are confidence players, that’s why it’s so common for strikers to have dry spells. Look at Bonne last season, scored for fun before Christmas, then barely scored in the second half of the season. It happens.

The distance doesn’t bother me either, because he’s 26 and he knows that if he wants to turn heads, he’ll have to give his all and focus entirely on performing well for the team.

For me, he looks quick, direct and knows where the net is, that’s already an improvement on last season’s options. The supply line to him needs to be better though and we need to play to his strengths, otherwise he will fail, through no fault of his own.

Fair enough, though taking a look at his 'highlights' on YouTube will show the standard of defending he's played against, and it's nasty.

Vardy, Grey and Bogle all demanded a fee; Vardy cost Fleetwood a fair chunk didn't he?

The distance does bother me. Connelly and Trundle are both scousers, so family and friends close by. Morrell more far afield but not 250 miles. Also how many years back are we talking here?

He's moved far from all his support networks; that greatly increases the chances of him getting homesick. Going from semi-pro to pro is also a massive deal.

As you say as back-up it's not as big an issue, but then again we went into last season with Fondup as our main striker. It looks like recent history repeating.

 

[AJS]

Alfreton Town have re signed Ben Tomlinson for a second spell. I see he was most recently at FC Halifax? Has he still got it shaymen?

Cracking signing at that level. If it wasn’t for his injuries, he’d still be with us.

 

[Steve_Wafc]

Fair enough, though taking a look at his 'highlights' on YouTube will show the standard of defending he's played against, and it's nasty.

Vardy, Grey and Bogle all demanded a fee; Vardy cost Fleetwood a fair chunk didn't he?

The distance does bother me. Connelly and Trundle are both scousers, so family and friends close by. Morrell more far afield but not 250 miles. Also how many years back are we talking here?

He's moved far from all his support networks; that greatly increases the chances of him getting homesick. Going from semi-pro to pro is also a massive deal.

As you say as back-up it's not as big an issue, but then again we went into last season with Fondup as our main striker. It looks like recent history repeating.

Oh yeah, but I look at his movement and his finishing. The defending in this league leaves a lot to be desired sometimes. Teams look good defensively against us because we’re too one dimensional, we don’t stretch them. I felt sorry for Beavon last season, such a clever intelligent player, but he’s used as a main striker and given the responsibility of wrestling with two large centre halves, that’s never been his game. But if he had a strike partner who ran in front of him, he had the ability to either hold it up for them or pick them out with a through ball. But no one played on the shoulder last season, this guy does.

Not really talking about them demanding a fee, more that you can find gems in League Obscurity. And Halifax found Vardy before Fleetwood. Matty Taylor is another one though. Forest Green plucked him out of nowhere, look at him now. Matt Tubbs, Salisbury found him after he dropped deep into non league. Scored goals for fun in this league and went onto bigger things. I’m not saying that this guy will be as good as these, just that you can’t write a player off based on the level he is playing at. There’s always players who go under the radar and we’ve missed so many in the past.

Well if you want to make a name for yourself in the English game, then you have to make the jump. It will all depend on how motivated he is to make a name for himself and attract the attention of clubs from higher.

I liked Fondop, I didn’t expect to, but at the start of the season, he was good. Then he lost some confidence, Sam ditched us and he couldn’t find his way back in the team and when he finally did, he had no match sharpness and his confidence was shot to pieces. He needed a support striker, someone to take the pressure and workload off him, not stick him up front on his own with very little support around him. Fondop’s situation was similar to Boden’s for me, because he was frustrating, but the system didn’t suit him and we didn’t play to his strengths, so he was made to look poor. But people wrote Boden off and then he leaves and the following season goes and scores for fun in teams which know how to use him, go figure.

 

[East Bank Shot]

Ollie O’Dwyer (6 foot 6 defender from Palace) and Kodi Lyons-Foster (Braintree centre back) signed for us today.

 

[Monkey Tennis]

Alfreton Town have re signed Ben Tomlinson for a second spell. I see he was most recently at FC Halifax? Has he still got it shaymen?

Was with is 2/3 years ago and past it then. Hard worker but would rarely look like scoring. Wouldn't expect him to pull up any trees.

 

[Coaster]

I’d say it’s a red flag if we’re relying on him to be our main striker, which we won’t be.. hopefully.

I don’t really pay too much attention to the level he’s been playing at because there are many examples where players have been playing in League Obscurity and done well here (Vardy, Gray, Bogle). And we all know that a good chunk of our best ever strikers came from a much weaker level too (Connolly, Trundle, Morrell).

Most strikers are confidence players, that’s why it’s so common for strikers to have dry spells. Look at Bonne last season, scored for fun before Christmas, then barely scored in the second half of the season. It happens.

The distance doesn’t bother me either, because he’s 26 and he knows that if he wants to turn heads, he’ll have to give his all and focus entirely on performing well for the team.

For me, he looks quick, direct and knows where the net is, that’s already an improvement on last season’s options. The supply line to him needs to be better though and we need to play to his strengths, otherwise he will fail, through no fault of his own.

It's just as much of a risk for the player as it is for Wrexham. He probably could of stayed far closer to home and got a move up the league somewhere in Scotland.

Equally why not give him his chance. Like you said he wont be first choice. Gives him time to settle and if he becomes something then win win. If it doesn't work out I'm sure he can return home having given it ago.

I think to much is being made of the distance. Its no different from signing someone in London and they having to move. He's old enough to know what's he's getting himself into

 

[EnglishRed]

It's just as much of a risk for the player as it is for Wrexham. He probably could of stayed far closer to home and got a move up the league somewhere in Scotland.

Equally why not give him his chance. Like you said he wont be first choice. Gives him time to settle and if he becomes something then win win. If it doesn't work out I'm sure he can return home having given it ago.

I think to much is being made of the distance. Its no different from signing someone in London and they having to move. He's old enough to know what's he's getting himself into

Some of our fans refuse to give anyone a chance. I'm not sure who they'd be happy with but every signing is met with shouts of "Underwhelming". They then bang on about ex players they want back.

 

[The_Boss]

Cracking signing for you lot, he’s still a top half Conference player when he’s fit

He's not been a top half conference player in about 8 years.

 

[Except The Lord]

He's not been a top half conference player in about 8 years.

Was enjoying a real Indian summer with us before he got injured last year, pretty much every goal we scored whilst we were top of the league came through him

 

[B2TF]

He's not been a top half conference player in about 8 years.

Funny that coz he was the reason we were top of the table early last season. When he got injured, we crashed.

 

[B2TF]

Some of our fans refuse to give anyone a chance. I'm not sure who they'd be happy with but every signing is met with shouts of "Underwhelming". They then bang on about ex players they want back.

Yeah, we have fans like Master D too.

 

[Steve_Wafc]

It's just as much of a risk for the player as it is for Wrexham. He probably could of stayed far closer to home and got a move up the league somewhere in Scotland.

Equally why not give him his chance. Like you said he wont be first choice. Gives him time to settle and if he becomes something then win win. If it doesn't work out I'm sure he can return home having given it ago.

I think to much is being made of the distance. Its no different from signing someone in London and they having to move. He's old enough to know what's he's getting himself into

Couldn’t agree more.

Sadly, when it comes to strikers a good chunk of Wrexham fans will look at a signing, google him and then just write him off because the Wiki stats apparently say he’s not going to be our 20-30 goal scorer. I always think that’s an odd thing to look for anyway. I’d much rather have 2 strikers that get 10-15 goals, rather than rely on one, because knowing our luck, we’d finish 2nd because of him and then he’d get injured for the play offs and we’d be screwed. I’d much rather have the Lincoln model, where they shared the goals around quite a few.

 

[chief]

Couldn’t agree more.

Sadly, when it comes to strikers a good chunk of Wrexham fans will look at a signing, google him and then just write him off because the Wiki stats apparently say he’s not going to be our 20-30 goal scorer. I always think that’s an odd thing to look for anyway. I’d much rather have 2 strikers that get 10-15 goals, rather than rely on one, because knowing our luck, we’d finish 2nd because of him and then he’d get injured for the play offs and we’d be screwed. I’d much rather have the Lincoln model, where they shared the goals around quite a few.

The fans have been proven right every time though. The last decent striker we had in this league was Louis Moult, who had a decent record in this league beforehand.

 

[Steve_Wafc]

The fans have been proven right every time though. The last decent striker we had in this league was Louis Moult, who had a decent record in this league beforehand.

But this is my point.. is it the striker’s fault, or is it ours?
Look at Boden, he was branded useless for us and he was written off pretty quickly. Leaves and goes to two teams who know how to use him, and he scores plenty.
Holroyd, decent in his first season getting double figures playing down the middle.. shoved out wide mostly this season or very rarely starts and he loses confidence.
Fondop, fantastic start to the season, we were flying and so was he. Then he loses confidence after hitting a dry spell and instead of trying to help him find form, he doesn’t even get in the 16 and eventually gets shipped out. We managed him poorly once Sam jumped ship.
James Gray was key to the Gary Mills side I think, he wasn’t a bad Moult replacement. He just happened to be a fucking idiot. That one’s not on us..

 

[chief]

But this is my point.. is it the striker’s fault, or is it ours?
Look at Boden, he was branded useless for us and he was written off pretty quickly. Leaves and goes to two teams who know how to use him, and he scores plenty.
Holroyd, decent in his first season getting double figures playing down the middle.. shoved out wide mostly this season or very rarely starts and he loses confidence.
Fondop, fantastic start to the season, we were flying and so was he. Then he loses confidence after hitting a dry spell and instead of trying to help him find form, he doesn’t even get in the 16 and eventually gets shipped out. We managed him poorly once Sam jumped ship.
James Gray was key to the Gary Mills side I think, he wasn’t a bad Moult replacement. He just happened to be a fucking idiot. That one’s not on us..

Lmao a striker not scoring is not down to the fans. I assume that's the point your making as your previous comment alluded to that.

 

[Steve_Wafc]

Lmao a striker not scoring is not down to the fans. I assume that's the point your making as your previous comment alluded to that.

The team, the system, the tactics.. haha. You assume wrong, take it back.

 

[chief]

The team, the system, the tactics.. haha. You assume wrong, take it back.

So Carl Darlington.

 

[Steve_Wafc]

So Carl Darlington.

Who else..

 

[LlayDragon]

The fans have been proven right every time though. The last decent striker we had in this league was Louis Moult, who had a decent record in this league beforehand.

We only got him because he followed Wilkin, and Wilkin knew there was a mistake in his contract so we didn't have to pay a fee.

 

[DarkSithLord]

AFC Fylde has made their fifth signing of the summer in FC United striker Kurt Willoughby