Assessment Of The Summer

[James M]

Right, over the last few weeks we've had plenty of rumours, plenty of moaning, but ultimately plenty of action. Whether or not we sign Naismith (or any other player), I think it's fair to say patience has been the key for us. I for one am delighted with the signings. We've got 2 wingers, one who will replace Murray over the next 2 years as the flying-get-into-the-box type, and one with a left foot for the first time in ages! We've signed a top class striker, regardless of the fee. I honestly think Trundle can get the 15 goals we'll need to stay up this season, not to mention he is a proper footballer who likes to have fun, and that will hopefully encourage us to be one of the more exciting teams to watch which is good. And to this we've added a young, steely midfielder...someone who people wanted but we would have settled for not landing one given our other needs. Let's not forget, either, that our pretty young team have had another year with eachother (particularly the defence, which seems to be going from strength to strength), and we have a few young lads who want to get first team action in Wilson, Ribeiro, Artus, Plummer, and Jenno. Unfortunately the friendlies haven't gone so well, but I'm not too bothered by that, though a win at the weekend would be good to close off the preseason.

I'm confident we can finish outside the relegation zone, I'll even be 'optimistic' and say we can finish comfortably in mid table, say 15th or so, which I think would make a damn good season for us, stability is what we need. I can't wait for the next 2 weeks to pass just to get down the Gate again for Championship football.