2 December 2017
November was a much better month for us. We achieved better results on the pitch, opening up a little more ground between ourselves and the relegation zone. I was able to reinforce our roster a little bit, too.
We opened the month with an ugly 1-1 draw with Braintree Town at the County Ground. Our temporary home seats over 14,000, which makes our tiny crowds of 300 or so seem even smaller. The folks who came out got to see the referee pull seven yellow cards, and one attractive Wantage goal.
Mick Hart stepped into the path of a lead pass from
Aiden Harris, turned on the jets, and beat the Iron keeper with a well-placed shot.
The next Saturday, we welcomed Dagenham & Redbridge for a FA Cup tie. The board didn't expect us to make many waves in the Cup, and I figured our League Two opponent would be a bit too much for us to handle. With a league game coming up on Tuesday, I selected a rotated squad.
To my delight, the lads performed above expectations. Two of our best young prospects looked especially good: goalkeeper
Adam Rowland, who made two especially fine stops, and striker
Pearce Lynn, whose first senior goal gave us a highly respectable draw.
We lost the replay at Victoria Road, but the game was a treat to watch. We refused to bow to a bigger team, showing the kind of fight I expect from a Wantage side.
Our improved play really made a difference in the league. The Dover game reminded me of the kind of performances we used to enjoy as we worked our way up the leagues--solid defense combined with authoritative attacking play. Three Alfredians got their first career goals, including
Aiden Harris, who coolly dispatched two penalties. Aiden had been catching some grief from the fans, who wondered if he'd ever redeem our faith in him. It was wonderful to see the young winger finally find the net. He followed up on that performance with a brace against Dag & Red, and he's also improved his ability to set up his teammates, too.
We lost to Aldershot Town on a stoppage-time goal, but bounced back against AFC Wimbledon, courtesy of a
Malte Seidel goal.
The three points we took from the Wimbledon match gave us a little more breathing room. We're four points ahead of the drop zone now. We're far from safe, but the trend is positive.
Danny Beadle's loan expired, so he's back with Barnsley now. In his place, I've brought in another midfielder,
Andrew Fenton. Andrew comes to us from Newport County (League Two). He can play anywhere along the middle of the pitch, and he can also fill in on the wings. Fenton isn't as pacy as Beadle was, but he is a savvy veteran (age 32) with outstanding mental qualities.
Remember when I mentioned the young players I brought in on trial? One of them will be joining us on 1 January.
Pakie Kerley will arrive from Irish club Avondale United. He's a quick, hard-working central midfielder with a deft first touch and bags of pace. Pakie turned 17 yesterday, and scout
Ryan Ryder believes he has the makings of a League One star of the future.
Along with Pakie, we're bringing in Northern Irish teenager
Nathan Nicholl of Carniny Amateurs. Nathan is a midfield conductor in training, able to carve up a defense with his dribbling or slice through it with a nifty pass. The two youngsters will slot immediately into our Under 21 team, and I plan on letting them taste some first team action, too.
Both Kerley and Nicholl possess another advantage. They're willing to play for wages we can afford. Wantage Town have the lowest wage bill in the Conference Premier. Nine clubs pay their squads at least three times more than we do. It's therefore somewhat difficult to bring in players who could make our team better, because we can't afford to pay them the going rate. Our scouts have discovered more than a few players who would be fantastic additions to the squad, only to discover their salaries are way outside our budget. What's more, it's going to be very difficult to keep our existing players in green and white hoops. As core players like Hart and Harris and Seidel,
Tom Wilkinson and
Ryan Bellamy and
Chris Beesley reach the end of their current contracts, they may well demand more than the board pay them. If that's the case, we'll have to let them go.
And, if that becomes the case, I might be on my way out, too.