And the award for most obvious headline goes to…
So, transfer deadline day is gone, and we now have until January to start signing crappy free agents planning our next moves.
We only made one further addition in the end, so welcome to AFCW Ryley Towler.
A utility player**, no less. He’s from Brizzle City on loan for the season, with a recall clause in January.
** – in our case, a “utility player” usually means he’s crap in more than one position.
He’s also left sided (pressure on Brown?) and he’s 20 years old to boot.
Perhaps more importantly, he’s already a bit of a cult hero before he’s even kicked a ball for us.
How so? Well, a passionate, deeply philosophical pitch over, er, doors and windows has to be one of last season’s highlights.
He’s got a thick Bristol accent at the best of times, and in this it manages to become even stronger as he continues.
Mind you, this is a bit of a classic from him as well…
I honestly can’t wait for his first post-game interview. Hell, the pre-game previews with him will be must-watch viewing.
Obviously, one should base him on a matchday rather than social media, but it’s clear we’ve already got a character in the squad.
We’ve got a few more strong-uns these days anyway, and adding another one isn’t a bad thing.
And while he’s obviously a bit of a dope – you can’t help liking him already.
Earlier piss-taking about utility players aside, I suppose being able to play in a number of positions will help.
We still struggle with squad depth, and some are disappointed we didn’t add more by 11pm last night.
A few noticed that we initially implied two signings and not one, so presumably the other one fell through.
The rumour mill was strongly suggesting Xavier Simons from Chelski before he went to Hull.
So who else was supposedly lined up we’ll never know. But then, that’s what happens when you leave it late.
Whether this is by accident or design, this is what we’re going with until January at least.
We haven’t had a bad rebuild at all. We certainly look better than last season already, though signing your editor would have done that too.
JJ did say that it would take a couple of transfer windows before you get to see “his” team, so we shouldn’t be surprised.
Really, it’s about what our priorities are from now until January. And one senses we’re in a holding pattern as a squad (and as a club) right now.
Staying in the loop, and not having to write the season off by November, is our focus.
It’s a marathon and not a sprint, obviously, and in League Two that cliche applies more than most.
Saving our money for the next transfer window might be the best thing we can do this season.
Could we struggle with injuries? Yes, but even with them we should (and are) good enough to avoid another relegation battle.
We still have a lot of youngsters, but many of them aren’t inexperienced. And we can always recall Zach from Jockoland if need be.
Hudlin is staying with us, according to one of the more reliable sources** your editor spoke to this week.
** – won’t say who, but they are amused that our fans consider them more accurate than even the club.
But that’s why you still can’t beat old fashioned journalism.
With the beanpole though, I’m more concerned that he got a groin strain as soon as he went inside the M25.
An actual injury or a euphemistic one?
Anyway, we’re off to Stockport tomorrow, and your editor will be there.
There won’t be a match report on Sunday though, I have the joy of getting back from up north tomorrow evening then be in Reading for 12pm the following day.
Monday might not happen either. Indeed, don’t be surprised if there isn’t an update until later next week.
But if we’re going to do twenty passes around the back before we aimlessly punt it up field, you could do your own report anyway…