The unofficial AFC Rushden & Diamonds messageboard

Dowlo, why assume the worst? We elected this board to run the club in our best interests and have they done anything yet to give you the impression they aren't? The last financial report was great and they are fans as well. If we can afford to run with this then let's do so. If we don't get promoted we'll cut our cloth accordingly. Perhaps it's a short term deal with no long term financial impact as we had some savings. Let the board do their jobs and make their decisions and TRUST them to do it.

Everything's a short term agreement at this level. All clubs are seven days away from losing any player not under contract

Strong signing but, as we saw at Oadby, it isn't easy to accommodate quality signings from day one. Saturday's game is absolutely crucial and the last thing we need is a disjointed system while players familiarise themselves with each other. Hopefully Berwick's undoubted quality will overcome these concerns. And close, big games tend to get decided by referees anyway!

And yes, I'd be surprised if we're spending more on players than Holbeach & Spalding before them.

We'd all love to see U21 players come through but if we relied mainly on that we'd be mid-table at best, and not many fans anywhere in the country like to pay through the gate knowing they're a few years away from seeing a promotion challenging side. The demand is always instant, such is life

Surely the management are working to the budget authorised by our Board?
I am happy to back our Board. We were only saying a week or so ago that we needed 2-3 quality signings. Well that's what we have got. My only concern is with Parky's permanent departure and no news that Jamal who is dual-registered with Daventry will return so we might have a problem in central defence, that SRJRC alludes to, with any injury/suspension to Liam or Jack unless, of course, the management consider Brad is adequate cover. I would like to see Jamal recalled to our squad for the Holbeach match.

I think the U21's is a bit of a smokescreen. Andy's had less than a season with them and started with a brand new squad. As most of his squad are around 18 then he has to have at least three seasons before he's expected to push players through.

It's a long term plan and we have someone with a proven track record in the driving seat.

You say about the Under 21 Dave but I honestly can,t see that league surviving next season ?

There are a few other options Tony

Dowlo wrote: When we first started a senior side we signed young,hungry players, now we just seem to be signing any big name and lets be honest journey men who switch clubs for an extra tenner. They all say "I'm excited about the AFCR&D project etc etc". But come on guys be honest they wouldn't be half as interested if a nice bit of wedge wasn't coming their way too!

Isn't that the case for most clubs though? We're not going to get to where we want to be signing players from Thrapston and Burton Park Wanderers for the next few years.

Personally i'm delighted with this signing and i'm confident he'll score a shedload for us. I'd put it in the same bracket as signing someone like Russ Dunkley, it's a marquee signing and a signal of intent. If you haven't seen him play before then you're in for a treat. Saw him on numerous occasions for Corby last season and he looked a cut above, and that's two leagues above this one!

Only negative is that If this had been done pre-Thurnby we might not be in this position now.

STAGMAN wrote:You say about the Under 21 Dave but I honestly can,t see that league surviving next season ?

There is an advert in todays NLP from the UCL inviting clubs to submit an under 21 team for next season, so they clearly have intentions to run the league again..

I've always believed we were able to win the league with the squad we had back in September, and with signings of this calibre, I see no reason why we should widdle it away. Hopefully having Tommy around will encourage the rest of the squad to squeeze that extra few percent from their game - if everyone does that, we've got a darn good chance of taking away that shiny promotion place (and a trophy!)