Positive signing, hopefully the first of many

Apparently trying to tempt this gentleman
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_Egan

-- Edited by Wallop on Thursday 18th of May 2023 06:15:41 PM

I'll ask Egans dad when I see him at work, what i know is he ain't kicked a ball for a long long time due to injury.

-- Edited by Jamison on Thursday 18th of May 2023 07:27:21 PM

Johnny Hartley wrote:

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I watched the highlights of the staff v fans match, and noticed Warren was playing. He hasn't lost an inch of pace since his playing days, and is as fit as he was during his playing days! Maybe even faster and fitter now! So that is Ade's spot in attack filled! (Hello Warren, you little cheeky secret fan forum watcher you!).

Sadik Balarabe improved us when he joined, so retaining him is good news, as continuity is a big part of football success. Fingers crossed we keep Taylor Curran too.

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 Why Curran out of interest.  Taylor maloney would be my first pick to try and keep out of last year's squad.  

Jimmy, I was being a bit tongue in cheek about the importance of Taylor Curran. When I heard he was in line to be retained I looked up his playing career www.transfermarkt.co.uk/taylor-curran/leistungsdaten/spieler/633154/saison/ges/plus/1 and also on his Wikipedia page (yes, he has a wikipedia page) as he has been with us 2 seasons, but has been so ghostly for various reasons I still have not seen enough of him to know if he is any good or not! Maybe time will tell...

It is bizarre, he has been a player for 5 seasons, but played less than 40 competitive games in his career. That transfermarkt site entry amused me, as it says he played a total of minus 7 minutes in league 2, I couldn't see how that could be! So I looked at www.transfermarkt.co.uk/taylor-curran/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/633154/wettbewerb/GB4/verein/352 and saw he was on the bench 24 times in that league, came on 3 times, each time coming on in the last minute.

But the reason I like Taylor is normally players are smart enough to play the game, and not challenge the manager, in case one gets a reputation as a troublemaker, like last season and since none of our players have questioned Warren publicly, though they will all have private views. So I just remember with a smile a game where Warren was screaming his head off at Taylor, and did Taylor respond with renewed fire? No, he just looked at Warren and shrugged!

Johnny Hartley wrote:

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Jimmy, I was being a bit tongue in cheek about the importance of Taylor Curran. When I heard he was in line to be retained I looked up his playing career www.transfermarkt.co.uk/taylor-curran/leistungsdaten/spieler/633154/saison/ges/plus/1 and also on his Wikipedia page (yes, he has a wikipedia page) as he has been with us 2 seasons, but has been so ghostly for various reasons I still have not seen enough of him to know if he is any good or not! Maybe time will tell...

It is bizarre, he has been a player for 5 seasons, but played less than 40 competitive games in his career. That transfermarkt site entry amused me, as it says he played a total of minus 7 minutes in league 2, I couldn't see how that could be! So I looked at www.transfermarkt.co.uk/taylor-curran/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/633154/wettbewerb/GB4/verein/352 and saw he was on the bench 24 times in that league, came on 3 times, each time coming on in the last minute.

But the reason I like Taylor is normally players are smart enough to play the game, and not challenge the manager, in case one gets a reputation as a troublemaker, like last season and since none of our players have questioned Warren publicly, though they will all have private views. So I just remember with a smile a game where Warren was screaming his head off at Taylor, and did Taylor respond with renewed fire? No, he just looked at Warren and shrugged!

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 Taylors dad Is Howard's business partner and put money into us, end of story really.

-- Edited by Jamison on Friday 19th of May 2023 12:34:22 PM

just a few more days till a new player is name

Spud wrote:

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Mince

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 ???

Spud, I'm sorry, but your post is far too long. Just a suggestion, why not follow my example, and make concise posts?

Gravy!

Lewis white from worthing has signed

Dan Wilks back available after release from Dartford. Kai and Dan would be a brilliant goalkeeping partnership.

Blackfen wings wrote:

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just a few more days till a new player is name

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 How long until the next one Keith? 

Mark.. I think that is a very reasonable assumption for everyone to make. However, I have an inkling that their maybe some movement. It would be just nice to know - officially!

Antony Papadopoulos has agreed a new deal.

 

It struck me the best approach is for the manager to sign some players and the director of football (or whoever in the club also makes signings) to make signings, so responsibility is shared.

Let's say the Director does all the signings, then you have the problem of a manager playing a team he hasn't actually wanted in the first place, and that gives him that as an inbuilt excuse if the team doesn't do well.

But if you let the manager sign all the players and he is sacked, or leaves, then the new manager has the identical problem of fielding a squad he hasn't actually wanted in the first place.

We made 4 signings so far, I saw another team in our League has just made its first signing, and lots have none announced, so, all things considered, things are on track for the new season.

Well done to all working on this behind the scenes. It appears most of last season's squad weren't Warren choices, but if whoever chose them is involved with recruitment this season I trust it will be another really good recruitment, I'll look forward to seeing the 4 players already signed up.

Jamo wrote:

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What are you talking about?? The recruitment last year was appalling, absolutely appallin. one of the worst squads Ive seen at PVR in 40 years of watching. Whoever was responsible for most of the recruitment last season (and I think I know who was) should never ever be allowed to waste more money again this season. 

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This is why I love this forum, as it is such an interesting honest thought provoking sharing of views from independent minded people who really know what they are talking about.

I remember Chi did an interview on our channel mid season where he said he wanted to play in a more attacking position, and the team to play more to its strengths. That was actually so impressive of him to be so straightforward, as no other players dared raise a single word of disagreement with Warren's management. Warren is such a grudgeful insecure little man it was no surprise he immediately dropped Chi. Warren in my opinion was like a beaten dog, so battered by all his failures and sackings he incorrectly set us up to be safety first, just to try to save his job. So he set us up so wastefully bloody defensively, great attacking players like Chi, Taylor M, wasted as defensive players. 

In the last 8 games the team gave up on Warren's crappy safety first approach, and really went for it, really finally fulfilling the team potential. So it wasn't a bad squad, just a great squad that was hopelessly mismanaged.

Chatting to someone knowledgeable in the club they put the late improvement down to us playing young hungry players. That interested me, a new idea, I hadn't thought of that. Our last 8 games, with us playing with the brakes off, was against teams trying to boost play off spots, or Ebbsfleet champions by 20 points, and we w5 d1 l2 of these really competitive games. 

In the same way I hope Steve King comes back to finish off his unfinished business with us, I would love to see as many as possible of last year to come back, to show what they can do once they are free of a hopeless manager who plays one isolated guy up front and packs the defence, then says he does not understand why we do not win more often.

I am totally lost on who makes our signings, if anyone knows I would love to know too. Peter Taylor's squad was so weak, I have heard the view that they underperformed, but in my book they were just really bad, only Dipo, Max, Aaron, Chi and Olu had quality in my view at least, so unless it was a small budget to account for it, whoever did the signings didnt shine that season! Warren told me he wanted to bring quality into the team, and he did that in his 10 games that kept us up, rebuilding the team so quickly was impressive.

Last season was a bit like a murder mystery, trying to work out who was to blame for our under performance. Poor initial signings? Signings by who? Underperforming players? Poor management not getting the best out of the squad? A mix of some or all of these?

I put it nearly all on the manager, I am trying not to swear, but he was such a toxic crap of a manager he sucked the energy out of his team, hence the underperformance. When one looks back at last season one realises he is an egomaniac who makes the whole thing about him, not the team. All his attention grabbing screaming at players, all his view the fans are unimportant, he thought he was the only thing that mattered, and the team suffered as a result. It struck me it was like the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, with him being the Wicked Witch making everything toxic and miserable and frozen. He's gone, and suddenly things grow, comms and engagement with the fans reappear, it's like getting the proper club back.

Last season was the owner's first season, and I am sure they will have learned so much from it, as already important things are being done better than last year.

In an interview with Chi at the end of the season he said (diplomatically) one had to trust the process, but as I commented there, players don't trust the manager's process, assuming there even was a process. The ground development will be a massive part of the process, the new pre-season comms show a process.

I was really worried, but am reassured now.

I don't think anyone can underestimate how much damage Warren did to the team last season. I remember their body language before kick offs as the season went on, trudging out rather than being fired up and full of enthusiasm. That was because they had a demoralising horrible man manager, always telling them they weren't good enough, weren't consistent enough, not as good as him. That abusive behaviour sucked the energy out of them. A player at his new club used to be managed by him at another club, and said, I hated being at Linfield. I hated the manager. Im not afraid to say it. I hated Warren Feeney. I thought he was a bulls****er.

I remember things started turning round for us when our players formed a circle before a match for a private talk, you could see they were really suddenly playing for each other, that carried on for the rest of the season.

Warren isn't the brightest of footballing guys so doesn't learn from his mistakes, so keeps repeating them. So with his new team he has already said he doesn't care what fans say about him, just like he did with us, and obviously that will turn his new team's fans against him, just as it did with us, and then it will be draining for everyone. I thought of starting a thread here, "Predictions on how long Warren will last in his new job", as it already has all the signs of a repeat of his problems with us, so it wouldn't surprise if he is gone before Christmas or February at the latest, but thankfully he is gone so focus needs to go on looking forward at us, not at his next mess elsewhere. I saw a Welling U 23 game and women's game late last season. It was so nice and refreshing to see just normal happy games of football at Welling, with none of the anger and toxicity that Warren creates by arguing and shouting with everyone - players, refs and lines men and fans. I remember the chants of "we want Feeney out", and walking out of the stadium hearing fans say "fk off Feeney", and it is great all that is behind us and the players now.

He hates social media as he hates that he can't control what is said about him, and that negative mindset influenced Welling's comms during his time here. Early days yet, but comms are improving now his toxic influence is gone. It feels like we've got our club back, as it has stopped being hijacked by a guy just so he can use it as a platform for his aggro and grudges, as that seems to be his motivation to be in football.

Jamo wrote:

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I agree the manager was limited for sure and I expressed so by the end of October and I was a fierce critic of Warren in regards to his approach, his tactics, communications, attitude and over inflated self opinion.

HOWEVER the sole blame can not be laid squarely with him alone.

A squad was assembled by people in and around the set up very poorly by persons IMO unqualified to do so. Failure and incompetence can not be allowed to happen without consequence and responsibility and to continue doing the same things with the same people is purely negligent. You appoint a manager you believe in, who has his contacts and his methods you have faith in and you back him as best you can to do the job for you. Board members or Academy Directors or Owners friends and family have no business interfering with the playing staff and/or the team management set up as far Im concerned. A first class non league manager with their own ideas and aspirations who know the level and the players in and around it (someone like Steve King wont want to work with people imposing players on them).

You say a great squad managed by a poor manager last season citing the way they played and results improved towards the end of last season. For me it was a very average squad full of big time Charlies who thought they were better than they were. I saw plenty not giving 100% with terrible attitudes and very few that Id wanna see return again this season (maybe 3 or 4 at best).
Going out at the end of the season and getting a few results when it doesnt really matter anymore and things are already decided and you suddenly fancy playing for a new contract or to catch the eye of someone else doesnt wash with me.
It was an awful season with bang average players, who played a dire brand of football on the whole and just about got away with it the only Welling side I can recall being worse was the team the year before.

Enough of decline, enough of settling for surviving and mediocrity, we are Welling United..show some pride, show some ambition and fight and the want to progress. Aside from the brief glimmer of hope of the Steve King season weve had nothing but perennial decline year on year..the next manager must be someone with his own vision, a proven track record at this level who will install a longer term plan and build a squad in his name that we can get behind and support and be proud of. 

This is a huge moment for the club, a sink or swim moment I fear and we need somebody we can believe in who will galvanise management, players and supporters and drag this club back towards where we should be.

-- Edited by Jamo on Friday 9th of June 2023 10:26:41 AM

-- Edited by Jamo on Friday 9th of June 2023 10:28:23 AM

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 The decline started the day the Hobbins boys sold up to Mark Goldberg. Welling Utd was created from nothing by Sid, Grahame and Barry Hobbins. It was their creation. How they got the club to where its at today is down to their hard work. Founded as a under 15 park side in 1963 to run away Southern league champions in 1985 is a modern day miracle for a family owned and run club. Since MG took over its just a possible development opportunity for someone. No one will love the club as the Hobbins did apart from the loyal fans. There was a huge wave of optimism last pre season which rapidly faded. Lets hope the small amount of encouraging words from the clubs statement really are something real.