Squad Status

[yellowportly]

Agree with Mally, Aldershot and Gravesend are both dumping grounds housing wise (I've no idea about Sth Glocs) and are not even near the level of Oxford. But then I suppose any footballer with any sense (if such a beast exists) wouldn't choose to live in a place like Aldershot with Godalming ( and plenty of stunningly beautiful Surrey and Hampshire villages within 20 miles.

Surely Surrey is full of Merchant Bankers ... Why would footballers want to live there ?

[A-Ro]

We're known as Investment Bankers these days.

[boris]

Have the dictionaries of rhyming slang been informed?

[Mally]

I've been away on holiday with no internet access for the last week so was a bit concerned that I'd missed loads of transfer news and this page was going to be hopelessly out of date. I needn't have worried - just the one signing which has been updated on the first page of this thread.

Our first pre-season game just 4 days away and a squad of 15 by my calculation. Even if all the trialists offered deals accept them we have a very thin squad, particularly in midfield - perhaps Jim is going to dispense with 5-3-2 and go for a 6-2-2 or 6-1-3 formation.

[boris]

The front page is wrong, though, Mally. We haven't offered Ngoma a contract. Nor Coombes, to my knowledge.

[Mooro]

Ngomu has left without a deal (I think) - not sure about Coombs. One report on the club site also indicated that there were 3 or 4 more trialists now at the club (tho whether these include Corcoran &amp/or Coombs is not clear).

Don't forget we also have three graduated scholars on three month contracts (end of Sept I think) to try to impress the management as they missed last season through injury.

These are ROS Ben Weedon (LB) Luke Bennett (CB), David Malloy (CM).
Whether any have a chance of anything beyond that I dont know, but I have heard said that Patto ranked them among the better ones among his squad...

[Baboo]

[quote=&quotMooro&quot]
These are ROS Ben Weedon (LB) Luke Bennett (CB), David Malloy (CM).
quote]

&quotLuke Bennett&quot - sounds like footballer
Ben Weedon - played like a footballer on the rare occassions I have seen him play.
David Malloy ??

[boris]

Oh, and if you want to update the released players:

Steve Basham - signed for Exeter City
Chris Hargreaves - signed for Torquay United
Rufus Brevett - retired
Billy Beechers - signed for Abingdon United
Andy Gunn - signed for Oxford City
Chris Zebroski - on trial at Hereford United
Danny Rose - on trial at Bristol Rovers

[YF Dan]

Oxford Mail website is reporting that Phil Trainer has agreed to sign.

It suggests he's a left-sided midfielder.

Must admit, I'm more pleased about this kind of signing than I am about the likes of Brevitt, Johnson etc.

[GodalmingYellow]

Oh, and if you want to update the released players:

Steve Basham - signed for Exeter City
Chris Hargreaves - signed for Torquay United
Rufus Brevett - retired
Billy Beechers - signed for Abingdon United
Andy Gunn - signed for Oxford City
Chris Zebroski - on trial at Hereford United
Danny Rose - on trial at Bristol Rovers

I think there are a couple of other released youngsters who have also signed for Abingdon.

http&#58//www&#46abingdonunitedfc&#46co ... age&#46htm

[Mooro]

A couple???? I now make it 9 players with an Oxford youth connnection:

Jamie &amp Ryan Brooks
Michael Alexis
Josias Carbon
Billy Beechers
Andrew Younie
Danny Meade
Tommy Heyday
&amp Eddie's brother - Anaclet Odihambo

Interestingly (for me, anyway) the three youngsters I thought had the most chance of staying on with us, Gareth Tucker, Tommy Franklin &amp Jerome Anderson have not yet surfaced anywhere (to my knowledge).

Brevitt has taken up coaching roles at both Camberley and Slumdon apparently.

[boris]

Jerome's on trial at Stevenage (hopefully he won't be found guilty, ho-ho).

Brevett is coaching at Camberley, but his role at Slumdon is as a go-between between management and owners, apparently. Odd, and probably unsustainable.

[yellowportly]

Oh, and if you want to update the released players:

Steve Basham - signed for Exeter City
Chris Hargreaves - signed for Torquay United
Rufus Brevett - retired
Billy Beechers - signed for Abingdon United
Andy Gunn - signed for Oxford City
Chris Zebroski - on trial at Hereford United
Danny Rose - on trial at Bristol Rovers

I think there are a couple of other released youngsters who have also signed for Abingdon.

http&#58//www&#46abingdonunitedfc&#46co ... age&#46htm

I thought the normal way it worked was for teams in a lower league than you to feed their players into your first team ...not the other way around ... or have these lads all seen the way it's going and opted for the bigger club

[Snake]

Oxford Mail website is reporting that Phil Trainer has agreed to sign.

It suggests he's a left-sided midfielder.

Must admit, I'm more pleased about this kind of signing than I am about the likes of Brevitt, Johnson etc.

Good, but it's best to wait until we get some official news from Chris Williams before updating the front page of our rag!

Having said that, it's odd that Chris doesn't have a dedicated page for this kind of stuff on that website he runs.

[Boogie]

So, have we passed on Zebroski because we cannot be sure he will be with us for long and we now have Twigg? If so, that is perfect good sense.