25 November 2013
After Craig Thompson closed the door to Paul Sanderson's office, the manager shook his head.
"Craig is the third player who's come to see me about the way we're playing," Paul explained. "Yes, I think we're underachieving, too. I'm beginning to wonder if it's me..."
His voice trailed off, and he took a long sip of tea. "I've been thinking about making some personnel changes, but will that turn things around? I guess we'll have to see."
A 1-0 victory home to struggling Lisburn Distillery of Northern Ireland was sandwiched between a heavy 1-4 defeat at York City and a heartbreaking 2-3 loss to Southend at Spotland. Joe Webb had the equalizer in his sights, having eluded the last defender and fooled the keeper, but banged the ball harmlessly off the upright.
Here's how the league table looked today:
(There are 24 teams in Group A of the Royal First Division. The whole table won't fit on my laptop screen at once.)
"We've been busy signing new players," Paul said. "Just the other day, we signed another lad who was looking for a club. He's called
Sam Dawson. He's 20, and he's going to be a very good player. He's versatile, and he can push several players for a spot in our first team.
"We're also talking to Ronique Linton. He's older than I am (40), but he's been playing well for Tranmere, when he's had the chance. He won't be cheap, but we've got some room in our wage budget.
"We'll have even more room, if we can sell a few of the guys I'm hoping to move..."
Paul smiled, shaking his head. He wouldn't reveal who those players were. "We have a few guys who aren't earning the wages they make," he explained. If we're going to get out of the middle of the table, we have to be better. If our current team isn't going to get us there, well, we need to find the players who will.
"We could have a very different team on the pitch for the New Year."