JJunior9 wrote:Thanks for the info saddla - I didn't realise that about the contract extension.
I do get frustrated when I see clubs like Bradford and Oxford getting players like Andrew Davies and Marc Wilson. Surely if a player puts in a transfer request because they want to player at a higher level, clubs won't stand in their way though. I agree that Bonser won't release funds but if, as rumoured, we got £200k for Mannie Smith from Middlesbro, I would like to see the club invest this in young, hungry players.
Ultimately, if we have skilful, creative forward players, the fans will come back because the football we play will be entertaining.
If we get slow, journeymen, lumbering forwards (Parkin, Macken, etc) we are probably forced to play a certain brand of football because they won't have the pace to get 'around the back'.
Young players are fast but don't always have the brains to make the diagonal runs; old players like Macken are great (I would like to see him given another year on reduced terms to help out the younger players like Bowerman) but in my view, Smith desperately needs to freshen things up.
Fans like 'local lads that have done good' but they also like the prospect of exciting signings. I would happily take Davies and Wells from Bradford as a signal of intent (about twenty years ago, we signed a couple of players from a team in claret and orange for money and it transformed our team - both players were in the PFA team of the season). To add interest to the thread, can anyone name them (they would both get in my Walsall best XI from the teams I have watched in the last 30 years)?
Andy Dornan and Graeme Forbes, from Motherwell, in1986.