Sorry Andy, I don't normally disagree with you, but I'm going to offer a slightly different opinion here ...
I don't think there's another club that takes its rejects and cast offs back like we do.
Under Lee and Canoville we were guilty of taking back too many of our former rejects and cast offs (Joachim, Dudfield, Parker, Bastock and Silk spring to mind, plus pre-season trials for Hocking and Stevens). But is this still the case under Dennis Greene? Apart from Silk last season, have any of Greene's other signings actually played for the club before? And in Silk's case I think Greene was actually putting right one of Graham Drury's mistakes!
I doubt it Pat.......and if I remember not too many people wanted to see the back of Miller in the 1st place........can't say the same for Semple.
I thought Ryan Semple did a good job for us in his previous spell, and plenty of people were sorry to see him leave. I think the reception he gets when he returns to York Street as an opposing player proves that point. (Compare it against the reception that someone like Jamie Yates gets when he comes back). Semple did lose his way a bit under Lee and Canoville, but wasn't that more a reflection of the management team than it was of Semple? He got 15 goals in a struggling Corby side last season, so under the right management I think he is still a player with something to offer.
Looking at the Bury Town website Semple was virtually ever-present for them this season up until 14th December, when he was injured against Harrow Borough and had to be substituted early in the game. He hasn't started a match there since. If there is a doubt about him, then my concern would be more around his current fitness rather than his previous track record.
I noted with great interest Danny Higginbotham has just joined Alty.........why doesn't our manager go looking for experienced ex pro's, not non league journeymen? Our turnover of playing staff is extraordinary and its a big reason why we're probably going to fall a bit short (although its a massive improvement on the last 2 years)........
I agree that our turnover of players doesn't help us. I know you're only using Danny Higginbotham as an example, but I think Altrincham were only able to sign him because he is based near there. Every time we try and sign a player from further afield - Holsgrove, Sansara, Hall, etc - it always seems to end up a short-term fix rather than a long-term signing and then adds to our player turnover. Realistically, our catchment is within the constraints of Peterborough, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield. Marrs would be a great signing if made permanent, but I'd have concerns about the long term viability of that if he remained based in the North East. There might be hundreds of players out there looking for clubs who would add plenty to our team, but these players are much fewer and further between when you take geographical and financial issues into account.
By the law of averages there must be players within our catchment who have the experience of someone like Higginbotham, who are currently without clubs and who could add to our team. But I follow the game in this region quite closely, and to be honest I'm struggling to think of one! Can anyone name names?
