The unofficial AFC Rushden & Diamonds messageboard

The only point worth going through from those questions is on the striker position. I'm not fussed if Harris is retained as a squad player, we've had the debate on him months ago and it seems I'm swimming up stream on that one.

@SJFC I have played with/against Bowen numerous times. I think he should be retained in the squad, I just don't think he's going to be that 25 goal striker that will lead us to promotion. Would LOVE to be proved wrong though.

@Dowlo Bowen is 21/22 (my age). Your point about strikers who score lots of goals playing at a higher level lacks substance. Kings Langley had a player who got 29 goals this season, firing them to promotion. Imagine what those extra 14 goals would have done eh? I've watched Tom Lorraine in well over 20
matches (good scouts only need 3) and I think we could do better. Imagine if we had a player as good as Dolman/Hoban at Striker. Someone who dominates this level as Alfie did at UCL1, would be fantastic. I appreciate he works hard, but strikers have to be judged at some point on their goalscoring output, and 15 in 47 isn't good enough. PS if my ideas are so ridiculous, how come our priority retains are the same?

Dowlo wrote:As for Bowan "not being the answer". He is only 18 and clearly has bags of potential! He make great runs for himself and for the benefit of others, controls the ball well, takes on players, and is calm under pressure. Add to that he clearly knows where the goals is!

I'm pretty sure Bowen's older than 18!!! I mostly agree with you, not sure about keeping Hall though, he's been absolutely atrocious recently and gets in a strop when things don't go his way.

ParcelFace wrote:

Dowlo wrote:As for Bowan "not being the answer". He is only 18 and clearly has bags of potential! He make great runs for himself and for the benefit of others, controls the ball well, takes on players, and is calm under pressure. Add to that he clearly knows where the goals is!

I'm pretty sure Bowen's older than 18!!! I mostly agree with you, not sure about keeping Hall though, he's been absolutely atrocious recently and gets in a strop when things don't go his way.

We'll call him 18 and a bit then

hall is either man of the match or missing in the match.
shanks is a trier, much like berwick was.

therushden wrote:hall is either man of the match or missing in the match.

I agree, and on what I've seen (half a dozen matches so enough for a scout) Hoban is exactly the same.

He's either going to win you the match on his own or you might as well play with ten.

With regards to strikers who have scored at a higher level, they will come down a level for a couple of reasons; one will be money another will be that they recognise their legs are going and can't hack it as Step 2 or 3 anymore.

To truly progress the club then I believe that you would be better off going and getting a Jack Bowen, at 21 he has six years before he hits his peak, and working with him to become that 25/30 step 3 goal a season man.

Otherwise you end up with a Step 3/4 equivalent of the UCL Long Buckby mafia.

@SJFC How about bringing down a player from higher leagues (Hoban, Dolman), and keep Bowen as understudy? As much as building for the future is great, we should be aiming to get out of this level as soon as possible. For Bowens development, there's nothing more beneficial than having someone above you who is accomplished to observe and learn from. All he's going to learn from Tom Lorraine is how to score 20% of the chances you get, how to win a few long balls and how to run around a pitch. I think we can set our sights a little higher and improve in that position. You can't put a price on goals. As steady as Peaks was as a player, I don't think Bowen is going to learn how to score 25/30 goals a season from him alone. Just a thought!

Oundle Diamond #2 wrote:@SJFC How about bringing down a player from higher leagues (Hoban, Dolman), and keep Bowen as understudy? As much as building for the future is great, we should be aiming to get out of this level as soon as possible. For Bowens development, there's nothing more beneficial than having someone above you who is accomplished to observe and learn from. All he's going to learn from Tom Lorraine is how to score 20% of the chances you get, how to win a few long balls and how to run around a pitch. I think we can set our sights a little higher and improve in that position. You can't put a price on goals. As steady as Peaks was as a player, I don't think Bowen is going to learn how to score 25/30 goals a season from him alone. Just a thought!

Fair points, although I refer you to my previous point about Hoban being Pauper as often as he's Prince. However I would say that Bowen needs to play to develop. He's scored goals regularly at the level below and obviously wants to look to play at a better level. He will learn minimally from sitting on the bench.

I would also ask you what is the point of getting out of this league if the players that take you out then decide that they don't want to travel/don't think they can play at the next level/ get pressure from the missus about being out three times a week for football and stay at Step 4. Are you going to go out and get a complete new team, bearing in mind consensus was that didn't work this season or throw a load of players from the U21's into S/NPL football.

It's not all about the 11 on the pitch, you need to have a decent supply of players coming through and be able to meet ground grading. You need to take an holistic approach which sometimes gets forgotten by some on here who think there is a never ending pot of money for players.

As for Bowens coaching, I understand Biff (the deluded one) knows where the goal is.

All flashy wingers blow hot and cold. His performance at Royston when it mattered was nothing short of superb and I'm sure that if he played against St Ives instead of Hall we would have had a much better chance of winning the game. I've seen players with less natural talent playing in the football league. He's honestly a joy to watch.

I understand your point on the holistic approach. However, the forum post was what players would you want to see at the D&D next year. If I wanted to decide on macro-strategy on player recruitment I would be contributing to the board not merely a jovial part of a fans forum. If we look purely at playing ability, I'd like to see a new striker who is better than what we have at the moment, and I think this is the most important area for us to look at, unless of course Sharif looks fantastic pre season or Sandy starts well. I'm confident in the fact Peaks knows this (I'm assured given his transfer activity regarding strikers in the back end of last season) is our weakness and I'm sure he will go and pull of the marquee signing we need to kickstart life in NPL1.

As you say, it's all down to preference, it should be noted that the board do not get involved in player recruitment though.

On the Hall v Hoban debate, even when he's not playing well, Claudiu still works hard on and off the ball, he still looks interested, and still wants to make something happen. Hall, on the other hand, mopes around looking thoroughly disinterested, putting next to no effort in unless the ball is right at his feet.