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30 July to 4 August 2005 |
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30 July to 4 August 2005 |
Alty striker Kieran Lugsden (right) hit five goals last night for Alty Reserves as they won 7-3 away to Old Altrinchamians.
Details of the first-team and reserves' friendlies are here.
Canvey Island have signed Allan Tait from Crawley for £2,000.
"David McGurk has rejoined York City in a six-month loan deal from Darlington... The 6ft centre-back made seven appearances for City last autumn before being recalled by Darlington and featuring in ten first team games... But former Darlington striker Paul Robinson has now left KitKat Crescent after agreeing a financial settlement... McEwan will now decide the future of the club's trialists in the coming days". These include "Right back Jamie Price and midfielder Emmanuel Panther... defender James Dudgeon... right sided midfielder Ryan Mallon... former Bradford City striker Danny Ekoku and ex-Azerbaijan under-21 international Farhad Afandiyev" reports This is York.
"Rob Newman used Tuesday night's match... to take another close look at big Nigerian striker Folawiyo Onibuje. Having now signed three players for next season in Paul Atkins, Dave Daniels, and Nick Robbins and agreed terms with seven more, Newman will assess a French central midfielder [Guy Lopez] against Forest before making a decision. Andy Duncan is the latest player to agree terms, joining David Bridges, David Chick, Mbiyeye Medine, Parys Okai and Mark Peters, while West Ham Academy goalkeeper Darren Behcet has agreed a season's 'work experience' with the U's" reports their website.
"Jason Blunt has become the second player in as many weeks to leave Halifax Town. The 27-year-old former Leeds, Doncaster and Scarborough man joins Darren Hockenhull, who made a shock departure last week. Manager Chris Wilder would only say that Blunt had been released from his short-term deal... But Wilder is stepping up the chase for Leeds duo Justin Bowler and Brenton Leister, who he hopes to tie up on loan deals", says the Halifax Courier.
"Terry Brown, manager of Aldershot Town, has continued his rebuilding programme by signing three players. Firstly 20-year-old Ahmed Deen joins on a one-year contract after appearing for Peterborough United last season... Brown has also signed youth team player Ryan Scott, who has impressed in midfield... A further one-year deal has been agreed with young goalkeeper Dan Weait, who was previously with Basingstoke Town" reports NL Daily.
Altrincham FC have now re-signed Richard Norris (right) and Kirk Hilton on non-contract terms for next season. Graham Heathcote also hopes to sign George Melling in the next few days. This now gives Alty a 24-man squad. However, it must be borne in mind that several players are sidelined, in some cases for long periods, at the start of the season. Those affected include Gary Scott, who has to undergo a hernia operation and is awaiting a date for this. Also, Eddie Hussin had a cruciate ligament operation last weekend and will be out for at least 6 months. Both Richard Norris and Kirk Hilton are recovering from injuries whilst Steve Aspinall is just coming back to training after his summer operation. Chris Adams, too, is getting over an injury. In addition Marcus Hallows has been out of contention following his bad leg fracture.
The squad currently comprises the following names. Positions given below are, in some cases, arbitrary as certain players are equally at home in, say, defence, as midfield:
Goalkeepers
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
Match report here.
Right: Lutel James after the game.
Halifax Town "have announced that former Scarborough midfielder Jason Blunt has left The Shay. Blunt, 27, had been given a short term deal at the end of last season, however Blunt has now been told he can leave the club".
"Following further discussions with the Football Foundation regarding a grant to assist with the refurbishment of the Northfleet End, Gravesend & Northfleet have run into a problem with doing a full refurbishment of the Northfleet End. To qualify for a grant the club need to have the gradient of the steps in accordance with the Guide to Safety at Football Grounds. Applying the stipulated gradient all the way up the terrace would mean those at the back part of the Stand not being able to see properly with their heads close to the roof. At this stage the club are therefore planning on refurbishing to halfway back the terrace and looking at options for the remainder of the terrace thereafter".
"Andy Duncan has agreed terms with Cambridge United for the new season and will sign a contract this week. Duncan rejected the contract offered at the end of last season... The 27-year-old defender... swept the board of 'player of the year' awards last season".
"Forest Green Rovers boss Gary Owers has agreed a one year loan deal with Northampton Town to bring defender Luke Graham to The Lawn... He started at Northampton as a trainee, and was on loan to Kettering last season". The BBC reports that "Owers has been impressed by trialist Bas Savage and is likely to offer him a deal. The 23-year-old striker was released by Reading".
"Moor Green have been running the rule over Frenchman Bertrand Cozic following his release by Kidderminster Harriers... Another former Harrier, Richie Appleby, could be turning out for Moor Green as well" reports the NL Daily.
Exeter City have arranged a game on Wednesday when "the full squad [will be] in action, playing against each other. Alex Inglethorpe will put out an under 23 team against the more senior (over 23) team in an 11-a-side match with some training routines thrown in. You may even get the chance to see the manager himself in action... Entry is free".
"Veteran full back Chris Vinnicombe is on the verge of re-signing for Exeter City after impressing manager Alex Inglethorpe... Left back Vinnicombe... is expected make the move back to St James's Park 16 years after leaving... to join Glasgow Rangers". Inglethorpe said, "I looked at our squad a couple of days ago and I thought we were a little bit youthful in particular areas. His experience and desire to win will really help us" says This is Exeter.
Confguide says that "The FA has thrown Paul Fairclough’s position as Barnet Manager and National Game Manager into question. The official Football Conference position on the National Game Manager is that the person appointed should be wholly independent of any club. This has always been the position of the Conference and was the position when The FA appointed Paul Fairclough. However, after his appointment by The FA, Mr Fairclough also accepted the position as manager of Barnet, which many clubs did not consider to be an acceptable situation. It was allowed to continue during the season for the sake of harmony but at a recent board meeting every club chairman or director present expressed dissatisfaction with the National Game Manager also being the manager of a club... Also discussed at the board meeting was the proposed new European Competition at National Game level which, while announcements have been made, little or no details have been provided by The FA to clubs or to the Conference who will be most affected by its introduction".
The Hereford unofficialwebsite says that "Graham Turner's latest addition to his squad is 29 year-old Stacey Coldicott from Grimsby, where his contract expired at the end of last season. He has signed a two year deal with United and is the sixth signing of the season... After Grimsby returned to the first division in 1998, he was signed from West Brom for about £125,000 and has made over 160 League appearances for the Mariners. Coldicott is a 5ft 11in tought tackling, defensive midfielder weighing just over 11 stone".
Gary Williams is a striker, who made his Alty debut v Lancaster City on 26 July 2005 and scored. In January 2000 he moved from Accrington to Doncaster R. for £60,000 and played 16 games for the Belle Vue side. He returned to Accrington for £25,000 in September 2000 and had a month each at Southport and Chester on loan in late 2001. In March 2002 he went on loan to Rossendale Utd for whom he signed that summer. In September 2004 he joined Leigh RMI.
Alty entertain Hednesford Town at Moss Lane on Tuesday. Their last meeting was at Keys Park when Alty were thrashed 5-0 after going the preceding 13 Conference games without defeat. (Kevin Ellison, now at Hull City, was in the Alty side that day and is seen in action [right] during that game). Hednesford had also won the earlier game at Moss Lane in 1999, 1-0. After Alty's relegation from the Conference in 2000, Hednesford followed them in 2001 and joined the Southern League. But
this season, they will start in Nationwide North. Their website has a report on their latest friendly in which only a few first-teamers started. The Pitmen lost 5-4 to Rushall Olympic. (Alty fans will recall that our star striker of 1998-99, Keith Russell, played for both of those Midlands sides). They also conceded five in their previous game, a friendly at home to Walsall. Town's
current players include top scorer Andy Bell and former TNS man Steve Anthrobus. Amongst their young players to watch is 18 year-old Shaun Findley.
On Wednesday at 7pm, Alty Reserves play at Old Alts ground at Dane Road (Crossford Bridge), Sale.
The York City unofficial site says that the club is "expected to award extended run-outs to former Azerbaijan under-21 international keeper Farhad Afandiyev, together with one-time Scarborough winger Dave Pounder and ex-Halifax Town forward Ryan Mallon. Meanwhile it has been revealed that teenage midfielder Byron Webster will miss the start of the campaign after fracturing a bone in his arm in the midweek victory at Ossett Town. Fellow schemer Levent Yalcin and trialist centre-back James Dudgeon are also currently sidelined with hamstring problems". However, "The proposed move of former £1.5 million striker Paul Robinson to Ross County now appears in serious doubt following a late hitch in talks" but "York City are rumoured to be on the verge of signing Darlington centre-back David McGurk on an extended six-month loan deal... York are particularly short of numbers in the middle of their defence and currently have only one recognised centre-back available in former Scarborough defender Mark Hotte".
Woking have "turned down Burton Albion’s latest offer for striker Justin Richards". John Buchanan, Woking’s Chairman, said the offer "was only for £10,000 plus a few thousand on top for appearances. This falls a long way short of our valuation".
Kiddermister Harriers boss Stuart Watkiss has "confirmed that ex-Scunthorpe midfielder Wayne Graves has agreed to sign... He joins his ex-Scunthorpe team mates Mark Jackson, Gareth Sheldon and Russ Penn at Aggborough... [But] the search for a striker is set to intensify this week... Trialist Gary McPhee will be invited back... as the boss seeks to take a closer look at the former Coventry man".
At Gravesend & Northfleet "Three more players have signed full-time contracts with the club. Goalkeepers Aaron Kerr and Craig Holloway and defender Danny Glozier have now joined the club, signing one year contracts".
Forest Green "are pleased to announce that Ryan Harrison has joined the club on a year long contract. The young goalkeeper previously was at Wrexham... having been on Swansea City books before then".
Crawley Town "Manager Francis Vines has swooped to complete his fourth summer signing for Crawley Town bringing midfielder Danny Brown to the Broadfield stadium. The 24-year-old ex Oxford United and Barnet player has agreed a one-year contract... Brown becomes the second signing this week following defender Chris Giles and previous summer signings midfielder Richard Hodgson and winger Lee Elam".
"Glenn Cockerill, manager of Woking, is hoping that Mark Rawle will become a Cards player this week, although he appears to be in a two-way fight for his signature with rivals Aldershot Town. And the Cards’ boss is confident Justin Richards will remain at Kingfield, with the club preparing to stave off any further bids from Burton Albion". The player said, "I’ve got a bit of talking to do with my agent and the club but I would like to sign because I do like Woking". Cockerill, who has brought in former Stevenage Borough assistant boss Jimmy Dack purely as a coach... is also weighing up whether to sign another trialist, defender Carim El-Salahi... Cockerill hinted that Gary MacDonald and new signing Jimmy Aggrey were shaping up to be his preferred central defensive partnership" says the Woking site.
The BBC says that "York City are having to carry out emergency roof repairs on Kitkat Crescent ahead of Monday's friendly against Sheffield Wednesday. The unscheduled work is another unexpected cost that will contribute to the club's losses. Finance director Terry Doyle told BBC Radio York: "We're having to do emergency roof repairs in the main stand to make sure next Monday's game goes ahead".
NL Daily announces that it has "linked up with Nationwide Building Society, sponsors of the Nationwide Conference and England team, to offer the chance of winning a pair of season tickets for every Nationwide Conference, Nationwide North or Nationwide South club. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning the pair of season tickets is to enter your email into the free prize draw at their website."
The Hereford unofficial site says that "Guy Ipoua is joining the club from Doncaster. He has agreed a one year deal".
Grays Athletic "have completed the signing of striker Jamie Slabber. 20 year old Jamie played for Aldershot Town last season after being released from Spurs".
Cambridge United's "squad for the new season is taking shape, with five of the trialists agreeing terms... Youngsters Paul Atkins, Dave Daniels and Nick Robbins put pen to paper... Now Rob Newman has received verbal acceptance of terms from David Bridges, David Chick, Mbiyeye Medine, Parys Okai and Mark Peters... He will also finalise the details of a season-long loan for West Ham's teenage goalkeeper Darren Behcet... Veteran keeper Paul Crichton has also spent pre-season with the U's but he had talks with Boston this week... Former York City defender Sean Davies is expected to play against Northampton tomorrow and a decision will be made next week, along with former Luton striker Luke Maitland, while Newman is considering offering 30-year-old Dave Robertson the chance to join the squad on a non-contract basis".
Scarborough "have swooped to sign Dave Elebert from Preston North End. The 19-year-old Irish centre-half, who had attracted interest from Arsenal before joining the Deepdale outfit has joined Boro on loan until January".
Halifax Today states that "Town skipper Steve Bushell could miss six games at the start of the new campaign after receiving Lilleshall's assessment of his broken leg... It is a big blow to Town boss Chris Wilder who was hoping to have the kingpin fit and raring to go... Goalkeeper Ian Dunbavin has shrugged off a side strain. Town's first-choice keeper may play for 45 minutes [in a friendly] as Wilder also looks at James Salisbury between the posts, who has been released by Wigan".
