May 2008 - Posts
Boro have been very busy with transfers in the last couple of weeks. Here is the list of players that Westley has brought into the club:
Ashley Bayes. Ashley is a goalkeeper from Crawley Town. He is expected to replace Alan Julian who is set to move to Gillingham in the next few weeks.
Gary Mills. Gary is a midfielder from Kettering who is set to replace Sammy Moore/Molesley after he was released from the club.
David Bridges is also from Kettering and is a midfielder.
Eddie Anaclet. Eddie is a 22 year old right back who can play comfortably in the midfield position. He has signed on a two year deal and has come from Oxford United.
Craig Westcarr. Westcarr is a 23 year old striker, who is also from Kettering. He is a possible replacement for Morison who put in a transfer request last week.
Anthony Thomas. Anthony is 24 years old and has come from Barnet. He is a striker and he made 14 appearances for Barnet last year.
Michael Bostwick. Bostwick is a 19 year old midfielder/defender. He played for Ebbsfleet in their FA Trophy victory last Sunday, and made 46 appearances for them last season.
And finally...
Daryl McMahon. McMahon has signed for the club on a two year deal after impressing Westley.
Westley is set to announce 2-4 signings in the coming 4-6 weeks so I will try my best to keep you all posted. That is eight signings that he has made now, and I have to admit they look promising.
Obviously, we have to judge these players on how well they play, but I have heard good things about the majority of these players so that has got to be something.
Hopefully this could be THE season. At least this time round they have a long time to prepare themselves and gel together as a team.
There have been a lot of changes this week with regards to transfers.
Steve Morison has requested a transfer. Personally I don't blame him. He has been brilliant for the club and deserves to play in the league. I think if he does go it will be to a league one or championship club. He has said that if no offers come in for him then he will stay with Stevenage and try and get us in the league. I really respect him as a player, so if he goes, I just hope we get a good replacement and I wish him all the luck.
Alan Julian has also said that he wants to leave. It has been reported that Gillingham our in talks with us about him moving there. It will be a shame to see him go, but he is a quality keeper. I wish he had gone somewhere else though, other than the Gills. I guess he has friends there, but considering he was rumoured to have Southampton interested in him, I would have gone there as they are a bigger club.
Mark Molesey, Tyrone Berry, Ally John, Tes Bramble, Damion Batt, Isaiah Rankin, Junior Lewis and Jamie Eames have all been released by the club.
I will do a piece on 'transfers in' as well shortly.
I have had time to gather my thoughts on Westley returning to Boro. At first I was completely shocked. I would have never thought that he would return to Broadhall Way. If it was mentioned it was in a jokey way, as if it was never to happen.
I couldn't understand why PW would even want him back. Ok, he did ok for us last time, and I didn't really dislike him as a manager, but I didn't really like the way we played our football and I just didn't think he could get us into the next stage, the league.
When Stimmo came the football was a lot better. It lifted the club a bit. Ok there was a dodgy period at the start but he knew how to get the best out of our players.
This is what worried me. We don't want to go back to square one. We want to get in the league.
I was unsure, and I am still unsure whether to renew my season ticket. I don't want to be one of those fans that just walks away after a loss, as I hate it when people do that. I like to stand by my team. I stick with them through thick and thin. I don't think anyone can argue with that. Especially as I am a Spurs supporter also, so it has not exactly been the greatest season for both my clubs. Yet I am still here. I just don't want to have to sit through rubbish football again.
I will give Westley a chance though. He deserves that much. If he has got the guts to come back to a club, where the majority of fans were disappointed with his arrival, then he must be passionate about the club, and believe that he can get us into the league.
PW has claimed that he has "changed". I personally couldn't see how someone could change that much. But after putting together the press conference video, you couldn't help but admire him. He has changed his approach to the club. It is not just about winning anymore, it is about entertaining football. I fully agree with that. A loss is a lot easier to take if the boys look like they really tried, and you can take positives from the game. That wasn't happening with Taylor. Ok, we need to get in the league, but if we start playing well, we will. Players will want to be in our squad, they will want to play for Boro, and most importantly they will enjoy their football, which as a result should see us getting results.
I am willing to give Westley that chance. I will see who he brings in, and the kind of quality that the squad can offer. I may end up renwing my season ticket after all, if I see promise in the side.
If he has changed as much as we have seen the last couple of days, and can put this into practice in his managerial role, then I have high hopes for Boro.
Even if Julian and Moro leave, (which looks likely - Julian has not renewed contract and Moro has put in a transfer request, which was rejected but if the right offer comes in he will go) there still could be some hope if we get the right players in.
I guess this whole Westley thing is a kind of wait and see operation...
To see the press conference with Westley click the link below:
http://www.thecomet.net/content/comet/multimedia/video/story.aspx?brand=CMTOnline&category=Media_Video&tBrand=HertsCambsOnline&tCategory=videoCMT&itemid=WEED06%20May%202008%2017%3A15%3A25%3A107
Graham Westley has been appointed as manager alongside John Dreyer on a one year contract. I can't quite believe it.
I'm speechless.
Word on the street is that Graham Westley may be coming back to Boro. Last night at the fans forum, apparently Phil Wallace said that he was considering re-appointing Westley as manager as he has "changed".
I can't for certain say that this happened as I wasn't able to go but numerous people have mentioned this comment, and everyone seems somewhat confused by the situation.
We can't bring him back can we? It would be a step backwards, a major step backwards. Only a few years ago fans were chanting "Get Westley Out", so how can PW possibly think he would be wanted back here?
Westley obviously has a love for the club, as he made it known that when Stimmo left, he would love to come back. But I just can't see how this could be a good thing.
If he came back at all it would have to be as assistant coach or something. He can't solely manage Boro again because he just couldn't get us any further.
If managed alongside another conference manager, I think everyone would be a lot more accepting of the situation.
It has come as a complete shock. I can't believe PW is even considering this. He has obviously had in depths talks with Westley, but I hope he realises how upset the fans will be if Westley comes back.
I think it would be good if he came back, but only in an assisant role. A bit like how Gus Poyet is for spurs. I don't think Westley is strong enough to do this by himself. he may have 'changed' but by how much? It would have to be milestones in my eyes.
The last thing the club want is for fans not to turn up anymore. Supporters were already saying that they were not going to renew their season tickets when Taylor was here, then that all changed and everyone felt uplifted again. Now everyone has gone back into that turmoil and is questioning the club once again. It just doesn't make sense!
Come on Phil sort it out!
Note: We have now set up a forum on our mini Boro website for those of you who would like to discuss what is going on at Boro.
http://www.thecomet.net/CS/forums/1657/ShowForum.aspx