Great signing! Pacey Left Winger signs a 2 yr deal with the Mighty Mariners...
https://youtu.be/2DPS-rKXlBI

Sam Kelly joins on a 2 year deal!

Looks as though we are going for young, hungry and pacey players for this season. Like it!!!

Rose - 22
Dembele - 20
Kelly - 23

Hope we sign some physicality at the back and up top as that is something we are lacking.

Think we've now got Right Back and Wingers covered now

[tweet]869871540023721984[/tweet]

I wonder why port vale have released him ? Hope he turns out to be a good signing utm

Wait and see but not particularly excited by any of the signings or re-signings yet

Which defenders do we have now?

Davies
Mills
Boyce

We needed width and pace. Slade hasn't wasted any time.

Pretty sure I read port vale offered him a new contract?

In his interview, he said he had offers from League 1 but wanted to work with Slade and Wilko, who he knows from Norwich.

I await the "he's sh1t because Port Vale fans say so" type posts.

'Allo 'Allo Sam.  :)

Contract was mutually terminated

From the clip i saw on here of him he is

A) always wanting the ball
B) played LW, RW and ACM
C) looks to run at people at every opportunity
D) has very good close control / dribbling skills

I like the look of this guy

Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?

Wonder if he'll be a replacement left-back? I think he'll be a decent squad midfielder definitely a positive signing, time will tell.

We've replaced the token 'Club Ginger'. Looks like a young Craig Disley :-)

Quoted from 935

Great signing! Pacey Left Winger signs a 2 yr deal with the Mighty Mariners...

Anyone with pace at this level and some ability will do well if they have the right mindset.Hope Slade gets the best out of him.

Quoted from ClarkyGTFC

Contract was mutually terminated

Probably felt he wanted some more game time, didn't get much first team football there and was often behind others in the pecking order and might have been the same at other league one teams that were interested. Dropping down to come here he'll probably be thought of as a starter rather than second or third choice.

Quoted from ginnywings

In his interview, he said he had offers from League 1 but wanted to work with Slade and Wilko, who he knows from Norwich.

I await the "he's sh1t because Port Vale fans say so" type posts.

'Allo 'Allo Sam.  :)

he's shiite.  ;)port vale fans over the moon that he's gone.best i could find is quoted below


Kelly is possibly off to Shrewsbury? Not heard that one round here!

Again can't say I'd be too fussed either way, he's always promised a lot but failed to deliver imo. A strange Vale career, flatter to deceive is probably the phrase to describe it but aside from a few picturebook goals in his first season I'm struggling to think of anything too positive. He seemed as though he was in the side for period then would be frozen out and you'd think his Vale career was over for him to suddenly force his way back into the squad again.
That said I thought he might have been useful in League Two perhaps but if he's found himself another League One team you can't blame the lad really.


it's all fenty's fault anyway :)

As my boss who is a season ticket holder at Vale just said "he is shite I cant believe anyone would give him a contract, runs around alot but no end product",  (as that video shows). I used to be able to run around a lot in sunday league for 90mins but that didnt make me a good player.

Not concerned by Port Vale fans opinions of him as they gonna be upset by all there players as they got relegated.
They also have a thread on how awful Martin Patterson was so I don't hold there opinions on anything.

On videos I have seen he likes to look for and receive the ball, make things happen, is creative, quick and mobile.

Think with him on the left and Dembele on the right we can be a real threat this term.

Working his way down Everton to Ipswich to Port Fale to Grimsby (in terms of leagues) Will be in the conference in 2 years it will be the only level he hasn't failed in yet.

Quoted from Madeleymariner

Working his way down Everton to Ipswich to Port Fale to Grimsby (in terms of leagues) Will be in the conference in 2 years it will be the only level he hasn't failed in yet.

wow, just wow

Quoted from Madeleymariner

Working his way down Everton to Ipswich to Port Fale to Grimsby (in terms of leagues) Will be in the conference in 2 years it will be the only level he hasn't failed in yet.

looking forward to seeing him at bp then madeley?  8) 8) 8) ;)

I shall wait to pass judgement until i have actually seen him play in a GTFC shirt. I am not bothered what some Vale fans think tbh.

I have seen players arrive at BP with big expectations and they have failed to live up to them and others who have arrived under the radar so to speak and turned out to be pretty good signings.

Sometimes a player arrives at a new club and it just clicks with the coach/manager who gets the best of them. They move on and sometimes it just isnt the same. Let's hope Slade & Wilkinson can bring out the best in him.

I like his age along with experience and  he looks to have some ability and could help us in our attacking play. Our signings already look like they have added some athleticism and dynamism to the team.

Several PV fans opinions...

"Poor Grimsby....

Doesn't like the physicality of League One so will struggle with it in League Two. Can dribble the ball a bit and can score a wonder goal (all be it 3 in 2 years) but other than that most fans were chuffed to see him released.

Will be remembered as much for inexplicably booting the ball into the stand in a mardy whilst the ball was still in play late on in a game we were losing by the odd goal."

"Dear oh dear, what a god damn excuse of a player, amazed he not gone non-league. As weak as a kitten and the heart of a butterfly."

"Grimsby Telegraph reports "He is a physical presence" which has amused OVF this afternoon."

Jon Nolan arrive with plenty of criticism from former clubs fans and he turned out to be a great signing for us.

We sign a player who has played in the leagues above us and it's still not good enough. Honestly don't k ow what people expect.

Players can perform a lot better at different clubs when playing alongside other players and in a different formation. Let's hope Slade can work out how to get the best out of this lad.

Welcome utm

Good age, adds balance, wilko will have a good knowledge of him as a player and as a person having worked with him at Norwich academy, also had time at Everton so good pedigree. I think it will be a real competition between dembele and Kelly for the left sides attacking role and likewise with bolorinwa and browne for the right side. 4 hungry , pacy wingers who hopefully after a good pre season can be real assets. Also looks a talent from the clips I've seen(not that you can judge too much by them)

Always slightly concerning when previous clubs fans are happy to see the back of them, but it's a fresh chance for the lad and a very different one. At vale he was in a club in league one battling relegation, and now at a league two club hopefully battling for promotion. As always we will wait and see but sladey certainly has identified our weaknesses and is quickly addressing them! UTM, hopefully a key centre back and striker on the way and we can keep hold of Collins and possibly andrew.

watching the footage of him he looks useful. Always making himself available and has a turn of pace.

Quoted from Madeleymariner

Working his way down Everton to Ipswich to Port Fale to Grimsby (in terms of leagues) Will be in the conference in 2 years it will be the only level he hasn't failed in yet.

And how many seasons since we were a non league team? People with delusions of grandeur already thinking we are too good for league one players.

Similar to Chris Clements, comes in and turns out to be a solid performer. Very interesting signing, like to seem him in attacking midfield alongside Sam Jones and Ozzy

Oh That Sam Kelly, thought it was this Sam Kelly.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xFudFIOdW0Y/hqdefault.jpg

I trust Russell Slade's judgement more than some bitter and twisted keyboard warrior in Stoke

Quoted from Superdan147

Good age, adds balance, wilko will have a good knowledge of him as a player and as a person having worked with him at Norwich academy, also had time at Everton so good pedigree. I think it will be a real competition between dembele and Kelly for the left sides attacking role and likewise with bolorinwa and browne for the right side. 4 hungry , pacy wingers who hopefully after a good pre season can be real assets. Also looks a talent from the clips I've seen(not that you can judge too much by them)

Always slightly concerning when previous clubs fans are happy to see the back of them, but it's a fresh chance for the lad and a very different one. At vale he was in a club in league one battling relegation, and now at a league two club hopefully battling for promotion. As always we will wait and see but sladey certainly has identified our weaknesses and is quickly addressing them! UTM, hopefully a key centre back and striker on the way and we can keep hold of Collins and possibly andrew.

I thought Andrew had gone to Donny.

Quoted from Grantley

Several PV fans opinions...

"Poor Grimsby....

Doesn't like the physicality of League One so will struggle with it in League Two. Can dribble the ball a bit and can score a wonder goal (all be it 3 in 2 years) but other than that most fans were chuffed to see him released.

Will be remembered as much for inexplicably booting the ball into the stand in a mardy whilst the ball was still in play late on in a game we were losing by the odd goal."

"Dear oh dear, what a god damn excuse of a player, amazed he not gone non-league. As weak as a kitten and the heart of a butterfly."

"Grimsby Telegraph reports "He is a physical presence" which has amused OVF this afternoon."

Well, just like everyone else we will or have ever signed, I'll judge them by what I personally see on the pitch.  I have far more confidence in RS than I ever had in that clown MB.

Just saying !!!

Quoted from Madeleymariner

Working his way down Everton to Ipswich to Port Fale to Grimsby (in terms of leagues) Will be in the conference in 2 years it will be the only level he hasn't failed in yet.

Rob Scott's got a message for you Negative Nancy (32 seconds in)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otwGjlNonQw

Quoted from Les Brechin

Jon Nolan arrive with plenty of criticism from former clubs fans and he turned out to be a great signing for us.

He was absolute shite-compare Towns record before he came with the record of when he was here. Didn.t do Chesterfield much good or any team he has played for--disruptive

Good signing IMO
Don't give  crap what some Port Vale fans think...like a few on here they have their own little axes to grind and like nothing but moaning
RS and Wilko will have done their homework and part of that will be the lad's mental strength
New club, new challenge - good for everyone involved

And.. more to the point...let's judge him when we have actually seen him play FFS!

Why are they making a big deal that he had a trial for McCoist, while Rangers were in Scot league 1 that's like National league North/South level. Surely if they want to big him up they would go on about the Everton stuff.

Sounds an interesting one let's see how he goes.

If he is faster than our last proper left winger he'll do for me. Let's hope he can cross a ball and that we sign somebody who can get on the end of any crosses

Quoted from Mariner_09

I thought Andrew had gone to Donny.

That's you trying to be a WUM-you need a lot of practice or somebody to coach you. If you want to PM me I will give you a few trade tips son  :)

Welcome aboard. Hope you work hard and prove your critics wrong, work hard and you'll be fine. UTM

As I live in Stoke I have a few Vale mates all of which messaged me laughing at me saying good luck none of them rate him at all. They say he's lazy, sulks and goes missing all the time and they couldn't of been happier when they got rid of him.

I'm open minded, but I've pretty much had the same messages off half a dozen different guys now to the same effect.

Nice to see a warm unanimous GTFC welcome. I think some of us need to be realistic when it comes to the talent we can attract!

Vale fans are always thinking they are better than what they actually are and live in the bitter and twisted shadow of Stoke. They just got relegated to league 2 and he was probably a scapegoat, as he doesn't look the type to be good in a relegation scrap, which won't bother us because we won't be in one.

The way Slade plays will suit him as he like to break quickly and put opposition defences under pressure. He's still quite young and one thing he won't be allowed to do is be lazy, because Slade won't allow that. What works at one club doesn't always work at another.

Quoted from sonofmadeleymariner

As I live in Stoke I have a few Vale mates all of which messaged me laughing at me saying good luck none of them rate him at all. They say he's lazy, sulks and goes missing all the time and they couldn't of been happier when they got rid of him.

I'm open minded, but I've pretty much had the same messages off half a dozen different guys now to the same effect.

He doesn't play for Vale he plays for us now so give him a chance. Lots of players play differently at different clubs and vale as a team haven't been pulling up trees lately . Wilkinson has worked with him before so must see something in him. He's young so slade and wilko obviously think they can develop him well and there is a player there. Time will tell but at least give him a chance in a town shirt instead of listening to what others say. We all know players have come here with certain reputations but done the total opposite here. utm

Quoted from sonofmadeleymariner

As I live in Stoke I have a few Vale mates all of which messaged me laughing at me saying good luck none of them rate him at all. They say he's lazy, sulks and goes missing all the time and they couldn't of been happier when they got rid of him.

I'm open minded, but I've pretty much had the same messages off half a dozen different guys now to the same effect.

Welcome to GTFC Sam - this is the mindset of SOME of our fans who will judge you before you kick a ball for us.

Quoted from The Singing Fisherman

He doesn't play for Vale he plays for us now so give him a chance. Lots of players play differently at different clubs and vale as a team haven't been pulling up trees lately . Wilkinson has worked with him before so must see something in him. He's young so slade and wilko obviously think they can develop him well and there is a player there. Time will tell but at least give him a chance in a town shirt instead of listening to what others say. We all know players have come here with certain reputations but done the total opposite here. utm

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Welcome to GTFC Sam - this is the mindset of SOME of our fans who will judge you before you kick a ball for us.

If you both open your eyes a little and actually read what I put

Quoted from sonofmadeleymariner

As I live in Stoke I have a few Vale mates all of which messaged me laughing at me saying good luck none of them rate him at all. They say he's lazy, sulks and goes missing all the time and they couldn't of been happier when they got rid of him.

I'm open minded, but I've pretty much had the same messages off half a dozen different guys now to the same effect.

I am always open minded about who we sign, I am merely passing on what I have be messaged which includes a lot of laughing in my general direction over this one.

Quoted from sonofmadeleymariner

If you both open your eyes a little and actually read what I put

I am always open minded about who we sign, I am merely passing on what I have be messaged which includes a lot of laughing in my general direction over this one.

But you have mentioned it a lot. No need to bang on about the negatives. New club fresh start. See him in a town shirt then make your opinion

Quoted from The Singing Fisherman

But you have mentioned it a lot. No need to bang on about the negatives. New club fresh start. See him in a town shirt then make your opinion

I made one post

Two or three thoughts -

One, he's been in L1 and we are in L2 so at his age I would expect he has some ability to show us.

Two, he is unknown to us but a known quantity to the management, so they will have a plan in mind that he will fit into and will use his strengths.

Three, if he throws a wobbler or doesn't cut the mustard he will not last long in a Slade team.

Always makes me laugh at the ' I've got a mate' and he's shite brigade.Same goes with the often over the top expectations of a player with promise. At this level neither are really true.  Like most businesses different managers get different responses from there employers. Vale had just gone through a disastrous Foreign coach experiment and was left with a young inexperienced Michael Brown who was known for his aggression than silken skills.
Whatever you think of Slade he has the experience and decent man management to get the best out of a signing. Welcome Sam Kelly - the best is yet to come.

Quoted from sonofmadeleymariner

As I live in Stoke I have a few Vale mates all of which messaged me laughing at me saying good luck none of them rate him at all. They say he's lazy, sulks and goes missing all the time and they couldn't of been happier when they got rid of him.

I'm open minded, but I've pretty much had the same messages off half a dozen different guys now to the same effect.

I'm the one person that's given you a tick Son Of.  I made an exception to my rule of ticking/crossing the post as opposed to the poster.

I would like to think that my son would stick by me if I was posting twaddle as well.  Family loyalty is more important than football loyalty that's for sure.   ;D

Pleased by this signing, we've been crying out for a left footed winger for a while in my opinion, just to add a little bit of balance. Looks like he can play either flank or in the number 10 role, looked comfortable receiving the ball and while he's got it. I think he'll link up well with Chris Clements as they both look like they want to play a bit.

Only thing I'd say about that video is that there isn't any goals or assists in it, and at times looked like he had one to many touches, but that's just playing devils advocate to the video.

I'm not bothered what the Vale fans said, that's in a league higher so maybe this is his level, he's clearly got something about him, your not at Everton and Ipswich without being a decent player.

Overall an exciting signing, welcome to the club Sam.

Ron Rafferty,

Unfortunately your original witty post fell on stoney ground.

Don't put your daughter on the stage Mrs. Worthington.

Quoted from jimgtfc

Pleased by this signing, we've been crying out for a left footed winger for a while in my opinion, just to add a little bit of balance. Looks like he can play either flank or in the number 10 role, looked comfortable receiving the ball and while he's got it. I think he'll link up well with Chris Clements as they both look like they want to play a bit.

Only thing I'd say about that video is that there isn't any goals or assists in it, and at times looked like he had one to many touches, but that's just playing devils advocate to the video.

I'm not bothered what the Vale fans said, that's in a league higher so maybe this is his level, he's clearly got something about him, your not at Everton and Ipswich without being a decent player.

Overall an exciting signing, welcome to the club Sam.

I seem to recall Chris Clements joined with warnings that he was lazy.  

And Jon Nolan was a load of trouble.

Welcome Sam.  :)

Quoted from cannylad68

Ron Rafferty,

Unfortunately your original witty post fell on stoney ground.

Don't put your daughter on the stage Mrs. Worthington.

you must be older than you look. ;)

Can't believe people are questioning a player with 49 appearances in league 1. Furthermore, we have finally added some balance and pace to the team.

Quoted from sonofmadeleymariner

I made one post

Sorry my bad! Someone else  was banging on about it too. Was mistaken.

Quoted from The Singing Fisherman

Sorry my bad! Someone else  was banging on about it too. Was mistaken.

Best to know your Madeleymariner from sonofmadeleymariner.  ;)

Ooh, a left footed winger. I don't know anything about him, unsurprisingly.

I wonder how he compares to:

[img]http://legacymedia.localworld.co.uk/275785/Article/images/13546593/3251479.png[/img]

[img]http://humecityfc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/39_Nick_Hegarty.png[/img]

[img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/RizzoCrystalPalace.jpg/220px-RizzoCrystalPalace.jpg[/img]

I remember Slade got a tune out of Gary Cohen when nobody else did. Hopefully it'll be the same with Kelly. Not sure there will be room for Jones and/or Osbourne if Slade plays the way I think he will.

Quoted from Chris Packit

I remember Slade got a tune out of Gary Cohen when nobody else did. Hopefully it'll be the same with Kelly. Not sure there will be room for Jones and/or Osbourne if Slade plays the way I think he will.

Cohen was certainly good quality, although I remember us being pretty weak out wide last time around. I'm not sure if it was the way we played or the recruitment but Mendes, Andrew, Goodfellow and when he played out there Toner all seemed to struggle.

I trust Slade and Wilko to get the best out of him,

Do not listen to other clubs fans they never tell you the truth,

When my Wigan supporting mate ask me if Bogle was any good,

I told him he was crap and we would have taken a lot less money for him.  ;D

Quoted from Chris Packit

I remember Slade got a tune out of Gary Cohen when nobody else did. Hopefully it'll be the same with Kelly. Not sure there will be room for Jones and/or Osbourne if Slade plays the way I think he will.

Perhaps you are assuming too much about positions in the side. Jones has been played as a striker a lot of the time but he may revert to a 'proper' midfielder. Osbourne has been all over the shop really as well. Both are good enough, probably better than we have seen with the subbuteo team moves of the last manager, they just need to be settled into a side that knows what it's doing.

Quoted from ginnywings

Best to know your Madeleymariner from sonofmadeleymariner.  ;)

Exactly his views are nowhere near as extreme as mine :) but I object to being called bitter, yes it is hard having to live in Stoke area but I am just about over the bitterness now.
The point about Fale fans view is no one Ive spoken to rated him before he left. Normally some fans will back a generally unpopular player or they split opinion eg LJL. Nolan, Hegarty etc. but I have not heard one positive about him. Keep red crossing if you wish and I really do hope I am wrong about him we will see in a few months

Quoted from sonofmadeleymariner

If you both open your eyes a little and actually read what I put

I am always open minded about who we sign, I am merely passing on what I have be messaged which includes a lot of laughing in my general direction over this one.

Well !  just laugh back at them mate,  do you remember the poolie Idiot that came on here dribbling shite about how they had taken two of our players and us being their feeder club, Where are they now ;D, I bet he doesn't come on here giving it large again. Lets hope Sam plays well for us and he can stick two fingers up to your PV mates, while you're at it just remind them they are PV not PSV.  :)

Well, just for a bit of balance, I also asked my mate who is a ST holder at Vale....

"Very good. Proper creative midfielder. Loads of Vale fans hated him for no reason, I thought he'd left to stay in league one!

We've offloaded a load of shite so with a few decent signings we could stand a decent chance. Could do with our owner selling up though really, he's chucked a few million at it already so rightly he's said he won't keep doing... should be an interesting season anyway!"

Looking at the video clip he as fast feet, good control under pressure and good vision but he does not look like a winger more like a midfielder controlling the game.

Clips are deceiving though you only see the best bits  but looks the sort of player Alan buckley would have loved a footballing player comfortable with the ball at his feet.

Looks a good one welcome aboard Sam.

Quoted from 935

Great signing! Pacey Left Winger signs a 2 yr deal with the Mighty Mariners...
https://youtu.be/2DPS-rKXlBI

Left winger??? more like central midfielder,

Quoted from Mrs Doyle

Left winger??? more like central midfielder,

Exactly. Don't think there's one clip on there where it looks like he's playing left wing.

Quoted from Madeleymariner

Working his way down Everton to Ipswich to Port Fale to Grimsby (in terms of leagues) Will be in the conference in 2 years it will be the only level he hasn't failed in yet.

twit

Been off here for a while due to the moronic views of the doom-mongers who would find fault and put down any player before he has kicked a ball, I hope these masturbators haven't found there scapegoat for next season already. For me its a good signing at this level and I wish Sam all the best UTFM

Quoted from Tommy

Exactly. Don't think there's one clip on there where it looks like he's playing left wing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Kelly_(footballer)

An actual left winger !?!?!?  Wahhayyyy if that is the case. Happy that Slade has clearly identifed the huge deficiency that our previous two managers left us with.

Quoted from 935

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Kelly_(footballer)

Hope that's not the guy we've signed. He's been dead 3 years.

So where did he play for Vale in the middle or out wide?

Slade definitely wants a faster team than we had last season. At this level you can either get "raw" players who have speed or the older ones who are slower but have a head on their shoulders-Bolly compared to Davies . It appears that he is trying to create a mixture which should be ideal to get us promoted but sadly to say there will have to be quite a few changes the following year if we are in a higher division-possibly why 1 year contracts are all that are being dished out. I don't think many people know much about the new signings so all we can do is keep pulling the wishbone.

Here's a bit of trivia for you which might help put this signing into some context.

In the last two calendar years, Sam Kelly has played 49 games in League One.

Who was the last permanent Town signing to have played 49 games or more in League One (or above) in the two calendar years prior to signing for Town?

It's been a while...

LJL played more games for Bury in League1 than that prior to us signing him.

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

LJL played more games for Bury in League1 than that prior to us signing him.

34 in League One. You need to go back a bit further than that.

Derek niven at Chesterfield?

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

Derek niven at Chesterfield?

7, so not even close.

Stockdale?

Quoted from Swansea_Mariner

Stockdale?

Correct, all of 9 years ago. I know very little about Sam Kelly, but his recent career suggests he's up there with anything we've seen in the best part of a decade.

I hear what Port Vale fans have to say, but I think we might be pleasantly surprised by this lad.

Phew that hurt my brain! I figured Niven had played more than that in league 1 then realised not the last two calendar seasons.  

Hopefully he will excel at this level, I just hope he's actually a winger and not another central player as this seems unclear presently.

Quoted from Poojah

Correct, all of 9 years ago. I know very little about Sam Kelly, but his recent career suggests he's up there with anything we've seen in the best part of a decade.

I hear what Port Vale fans have to say, but I think we might be pleasantly surprised by this lad.

Well looking at his whole career including youth career, it suggest a very talented individual, who's either lacking something so far to bring his full potential to the pitch or port vale was the wrong team for him.

He started a cambridge youth product, then was poached by norwich, and then poached again by everton so must have been a really high potential youth player. Big ask obviously to make it at everton, was released. Trialed with rangers but rangers had no money, spent a short time in lower none league before norwich put him back in u21's. Then finally found a team to play professional football with at port vale.

We all know how hard it is to get chance as an english youth player at any level these days, but the way he was poached twice he must have some real talent. This is only his second chance at professional football and he might excel in a team thats not struggling. I hope so

Quoted from WHYWONTYOULETMESIGNUP

Well looking at his whole career including youth career, it suggest a very talented individual, who's either lacking something so far to bring his full potential to the pitch or port vale was the wrong team for him.

He started a cambridge youth product, then was poached by norwich, and then poached again by everton so must have been a really high potential youth player. Big ask obviously to make it at everton, was released. Trialed with rangers but rangers had no money, spent a short time in lower none league before norwich put him back in u21's. Then finally found a team to play professional football with at port vale.



We all know how hard it is to get chance as an english youth player at any level these days, but the way he was poached twice he must have some real talent. This is only his second chance at professional football and he might excel in a team thats not struggling. I hope so

At this election time it's always excellent to hear a coherent alternative argument. I have to say I have been distinctly underwhelmed by the signings so far. Signings so far=Never had a pro contract, rejected by relegated clubs etc. Etc. I would've liked to have seen some really hungry young players unlucky to have been released by championship or league 1 clubs. At the moment these lads seem to be your atypical mid table div 2 players. I really really hope I'm wrong and that slade and wilko can transform these men. The evidence is probably against them though. Add them to the underwhelming berrett summer field mckeown Clements etc we have a mid table side. Collins is good but he's only a promotion winning player if he's surrounded by ten other of similar calibre.at the moment we don't have that quality ,only potential

Just to play devils advocate even further. Madeley mariner is factually correct with his view that Kelly's projection is ever downward. It is a fact that the fat Scottish Kent ,who, whatever his failings is a v successful manager , has ridded himself of rose asap on 2 occasions, whilst dembele has never been considered good enough by any pro team to be offered a contract. We have a gk who we all know is good conference at best, plus 2 players in their mid 30s and a 30 year old who has hardly played a game in 18 months. Add to that berrett, summerfield and yusuf who are mid table performers at best, and IMHO we will do well to get even close to the play offs. Oh, I forgot, and we haven't got a goalscorer. At least we are not looking forward to Braintree and Maidenhead away, but it don't look brilliant

We'll wait and see what the rest of the close season brings. We weren't that far off a play off place last season, so it will only take a bit more consistency to get in the top seven. Blackpool, Carlisle etc, were not that much better than us. As i've said before, Slade brought in a few players last time that were unknown to most of us and quite a few of them were excellent at this level. Certainly better than any we've had since he left.

Appreciate your putting forward an alternative viewpoint forza, but we weren't far off getting in the play offs last season with all these mid table players you mention. I'm not suggesting Yussuf, Clements etc are top 3 material but we were dire for much of last season and still could've made the play offs in the last few weeks of the season. So it only needs a bit more quality and a more consistent approach from Management.

Also, when Slade assembled his squad for his 2nd season with us last time, I don't remember getting the feeling that we were signing outstanding players who would get us promoted then either. But playing for GTFC, playing for Slade and playing in our system, they got us to 4th in the league.

I think Clements is actually a pretty decent League Two midfielder - played mostly a defensive role for us last season but still scored 4 goals in 16 appearances which isn't half bad and I'd expect he will probably play a good amount next season. Yussuf started very well but then barely had a kick after that which was very surprising. Makes me wonder if there was some sort of an off-field issue with him? If so, I hope it's resolved for next season.

We need at least one more striker before the season starts, not least because none of us really know what Asante will be able to do - will he be fit enough to start regularly and, if he is, is he good enough to score enough goals in the League?

I have faith that Slade has a plan worked out and has a good knowledge of players available - let's face it, he's been up and down the leagues over the past few years so ought to have a good idea about who is any good! Hopefully, we can sign a few more players to improve us in comparison to last season.

Hearn, Pearson and Church (alright, fair enough ;)) had never had a pro contract and they were alright.

He obviously thinks he wont be on the bench then.

Not all Vale fans hate him either..

http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/port-vale-fan-s-view/story-29988126-detail/story.html

Quoted from 935

Great signing! Pacey Left Winger signs a 2 yr deal with the Mighty Mariners...
https://youtu.be/2DPS-rKXlBI

Erm!!!!!

I don't know what's going on with him but at Bideford he really looked good, knocked the ball past his opponent and run onto it at any given opportunity

Yes, but his opponent was a plumber!!!

Quoted from lukeo

I don't know what's going on with him but at Bideford he really looked good, knocked the ball past his opponent and run onto it at any given opportunity

Perhaps maybe he looked good BECAUSE we were playing Bideford.

Quoted from lukeo

I don't know what's going on with him but at Bideford he really looked good, knocked the ball past his opponent and run onto it at any given opportunity

They're three divisions below the Conference ffs.

Quoted from lukeo

I don't know what's going on with him but at Bideford he really looked good, knocked the ball past his opponent and run onto it at any given opportunity

Is that the mighty Bideford who are pressing for a Champions League place this season or the one in the Southern League West pub team division?

Quoted from mariner91

They're three divisions below the Conference ffs.

And after watching the non-performances he's shown for us that about the level he should be playing.