Great news!

Cracking news that. Really good player.

It’s been a good couple of years for him, injury niggles aside.

Great news, hopefullly he can get over these niggling injuries he's had this year and really push forward

Great news this. Really impressed with Michee last season. His absence from the playoff run shouldn’t let us forget, which it’s easy too, just how much of a vital player he was last year, at both ends of the pitch.

League 2 left backs simultaneously gulp.

It's good that all new signings are getting 2 year deals, it means we're going to keep a settled squad for the following season.

Excellent! Really rate Michee

Brilliant - enjoyed watching him last season! 2 year deals are good security too for both club and player

Lets hope he can shake off that "injury prone" tag next season as there's a bloody good player in there!

Brilliant, had sort of resigned myself to him leaving for some reason.   Defence is taking shape nicely!

Glad he's signed think going up has made his mind up..

Great stuff, it's shaping up to be a pretty good back four.

Good news.

Think he may well have been a league player anyway had we not got promoted.

Think he will get stronger and better over the coming seasons.

Excellent, He had a great season And I think will get better

Yeah, great news that is.

Cracking but of news this is, makes my Monday almost bearable...
Wonder if it'll have an affect on croppers decision though??

When I ranked players in order of likeliest to sign, he was next to bottom, Fox was bottom and he went. Thought that if a southern L2 club came in for him he’d be off. Suspect the two year contract given his injury riddled season has swung it for him.

Good to see another two year contract as well. Shows a bit of faith in the players we’re signing and means there’s already a group of players ready for 22/23.

Orsi is quoted as signing partly on the recommendation of the southern originated players at the club - maybe Efete being one of them - hence Efete has signed. Excellent - signs are good.

Quoted from Mariner_09

Good to see another two year contract as well. Shows a bit of faith in the players we’re signing and means there’s already a group of players ready for 22/23.

Always good to have players signed up, but then they have to perform to a certain standard. If they fail to deliver the goods in the first season then we are stuck with an underperforming player for another season.

Quoted from Northbank Mariner

Wonder if it'll have an affect on Croppers decision though??

That was my first thought. We have an all new attacking option which has provided brilliant results, but where does that leave Cropper if Efete has signed. You can only play one right back.

Personally I think Cropper is a bigger asset for the club going forward.

Quoted from WayneBurnettsJockstrap

Always good to have players signed up, but then they have to perform to a certain standard. If they fail to deliver the goods in the first season then we are stuck with an underperforming player for another season.



That was my first thought. We have an all new attacking option which has provided brilliant results, but where does that leave Cropper if Efete has signed. You can only play one right back.

Personally I think Cropper is a bigger asset for the club going forward.

With Efete getting a 2 year deal, I assume Cropper has been offered a 1 year deal which, given his injury record over the last couple of years is probably the best he can hope for this season.

Maybe Efete will play further forward as a winger? With Cropper playing behind as full back?

Or we just have 2 right backs as we will need 2 players for every position.

Competition for places is normal and Cropper will know that.

Quoted from ginnywings

Or we just have 2 right backs as we will need 2 players for every position.

Competition for places is normal and Cropper will know that.

As I said elsewhere Croppers going to know he’s guaranteed being in the 18 man match day squad. With 7 on the bench and 5 possible subs, that throw is a real asset to have off the bench of chasing a game.

Quoted from ginnywings

Or we just have 2 right backs as we will need 2 players for every position.

Competition for places is normal and Cropper will know that.

Plenty of evidence of players permanently displacing others last season too, if they are able to offer up superior performances to others. Crocombe, Amos and Scannell (up to his injury), plus it’s easy to forget now that Waterfall didn’t start the season first choice.

I see no reason for Cropper to be put out by Efete signing a new deal, and unless he’s got other offers from league clubs offering him a seemingly better chance of a first choice berth then I doubt today’s news will have any bearing on his decision.

Gr8 player, ace news.

Quoted from WayneBurnettsJockstrap

Always good to have players signed up, but then they have to perform to a certain standard. If they fail to deliver the goods in the first season then we are stuck with an underperforming player for another season.



That was my first thought. We have an all new attacking option which has provided brilliant results, but where does that leave Cropper if Efete has signed. You can only play one right back.

Personally I think Cropper is a bigger asset for the club going forward.

Yeah I am very much 'shrug' about effete. I think he's good at some things not so much at others, wouldn't have bothered me if he'd left. He is good in the air for a full back though, maybe the best right back for us would be Cropper throwing to Efete in the box to nod in!

Long throw aside, I'm not convinced Cropper is that good defensively or offensively. If he stays as back-up then I'm happy enough, but I wouldn't be that bothered if he left.

The only ones I'm really hoping will stay now are Harry and Ryan Taylor and maybe Amos. The rest who have been offered renewals I'm not too bothered either way.

Quoted from Roast Em Bobby

Long throw aside, I'm not convinced Cropper is that good defensively or offensively. If he stays as back-up then I'm happy enough, but I wouldn't be that bothered if he left.

The only ones I'm really hoping will stay now are Harry and Ryan Taylor and maybe Amos. The rest who have been offered renewals I'm not too bothered either way.

Bit unfair on Cropper I think, especially when he’d been out for a while when he signed but slotted straight in. Didn’t let us down and did well against some strong wingers.

Quoted from toontown

Yeah I am very much 'shrug' about effete. I think he's good at some things not so much at others, wouldn't have bothered me if he'd left. He is good in the air for a full back though, maybe the best right back for us would be Cropper throwing to Efete in the box to nod in!

When did we last have a right-back who scored 4 goals whilst at the same time missing a decent chunk of the season?

Quoted from Roast Em Bobby

Long throw aside,

But that's like saying crossing aside I don't think Beckham offers much going forward. It's an integral part of the game/ croppers game.

We WILL get throws in the opposition half so Cropper will undoubtedly be effective offensively.

I agree he isn't stand out good at some of the other aspects but he will still offer a strong attacking option

Quoted from Mikey_345

Bit unfair on Cropper I think, especially when he’d been out for a while when he signed but slotted straight in. Didn’t let us down and did well against some strong wingers.

All about opinions I guess. I just don't think he's that good - long throw aside.

Quoted from Roast Em Bobby

All about opinions I guess. I just don't think he's that good - long throw aside.

i tend to agree with you, think Efete is a much better player. However given his injuries and lack of playing time, Hurst may see a lot more potential in Cropper than we've seen

But he doesn't pin the opposition's wingers and full backs back like Efete does, or get involved with neat triangles around the box with Taylor and McAtee and then burst into the box like him either.

Prior to the play-offs I don't think any of his throws came to anything did they?

Quoted from forza ivano

i tend to agree with you, think Efete is a much better player. However given his injuries and lack of playing time, Hurst may see a lot more potential in Cropper than we've seen

Yeah, I'm not against him being backup and/or a super-sub when chasing an equaliser or winner.

Quoted from Roast Em Bobby

Long throw aside, I'm not convinced Cropper is that good defensively or offensively. If he stays as back-up then I'm happy enough, but I wouldn't be that bothered if he left.

The only ones I'm really hoping will stay now are Harry and Ryan Taylor and maybe Amos. The rest who have been offered renewals I'm not too bothered either way.

There is a very strong argument that we only got promoted because of Cropper. Without his throws, the first 2 of those play-off games almost certainly go to penalties and the last 9 minutes of the final pan out completely different.

Cropper came to us in March on the back of injury hell so I think if he can get a full pre-season behind him, he will be a much better player. With pre-season about to start, I suspect he knows that himself and won't want to be looking for a club at the beginning of July.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

There is a very strong argument that we only got promoted because of Cropper. Without his throws, the first 2 of those play-off games almost certainly go to penalties and the last 9 minutes of the final pan out completely different.

True, but you could equally argue that if he hadn't been out-jumped for one of Wrexham's goals then we might not of needed extra time. Or if Efete hadn't scored the goals he did then we might not have made the play-offs.

Like I've said above, I've no major issue with us keeping him on. I just don't think he gets in the team if Efete is fit and on form.

Good sign well done. UTM

Be happy to have both of them in the squad.

The thing Cropper has on his side is his age. Think he's only just 21 and was signed by Burnley from Ilkeston at a young age, but has never really pushed on for whatever reason, possibly injuries. Hurst has probably watched his progress having been Ilkeston manager and having contacts there. Seems he can also play right midfield and scored a few goals in his younger days.

He may well turn out to be a good prospect with fitness issues sorted and regular games.

For me though, he is currently behind Efete, who is a better player than some are suggesting IMO. Hurst has said he has massive potential and just needs to believe in himself more.

Quoted from Mikey_345

As I said elsewhere Croppers going to know he’s guaranteed being in the 18 man match day squad. With 7 on the bench and 5 possible subs, that throw is a real asset to have off the bench of chasing a game.

I’d have been reluctant to retain Cropper otherwise. Having 7 subs and being able to use 5 makes him an asset. If we need a goal with 10-15 mins to go, you throw him on (pun intended) and just load the box. If nothing else it pens other teams in cos they have to defend throws from anywhere deeper than the edge of the centre circle like a corner. Without his throw, I’d say he was a decent non league full back. But remember, had a very very long term injury, has excellent pedigree and will likely benefit from a reset and everyone starting from scratch in terms of fitness levels in July.

I personally think that Cropper is better defensively than Efete who seems to have captured the imagination of many fans for his forward runs more than his defending. Not a huge amount in it and Efete is certainly better when going forward with the ball at his feet, but last season I was disappointed that he just didn't try to get forward often enough. Hopefully, Hurst and Co can get him to improve in this regard!

Now that Efete has signed, I hope that Cropper will also stay to provide a different sort of option and if we can get some competition going between the two, they can certainly push each other to improve.

One thing which Efete should offer is the possibility of playing with wing-backs if required (or desired). I don't think Cropper is suited to that sort of a role but think Amos could play there on the left and Efete would balance it out on the other side.

Quoted from Maringer

I personally think that Cropper is better defensively than Efete who seems to have captured the imagination of many fans for his forward runs more than his defending. Not a huge amount in it and Efete is certainly better when going forward with the ball at his feet, but last season I was disappointed that he just didn't try to get forward often enough. Hopefully, Hurst and Co can get him to improve in this regard!

Now that Efete has signed, I hope that Cropper will also stay to provide a different sort of option and if we can get some competition going between the two, they can certainly push each other to improve.

One thing which Efete should offer is the possibility of playing with wing-backs if required (or desired). I don't think Cropper is suited to that sort of a role but think Amos could play there on the left and Efete would balance it out on the other side.

That's the thing about 'attacking full-backs' - inevitably they're going to be out of position defensively at times.

I could see Efete being an asset as a defensive midfielder for us. Aerial strength, athleticism, runs well with the ball (though head down too often imo).

The wing-back idea is good too, but I'm not sure PH is a big fan of three at the back.

We'll see...

Pleased Efete has signed a new contract because he’s a real player when fit . I half expected him to sign for a southern team . As for cropper I don’t get the negativity about him from some people? He had been out for ages but slotted straight into the team and did well. With an injury free pre season Efete will have some serious competition for his place which can only be good for the team .

Glad to get this one tied up, would like to see Cropper sign too as he evidently offers something differnet.

Great news on Efete, hope he stays fit!

On Cropper, i dont remember him making any mistakes that cost us a goal?

His record for us speaks volumes
Came of the bench once - Lost
Started 10 games - Lost 0, Drew 3, Won 7

He's just turned 22, and i would be very happy if he resigned!

Very happy to have Cropper in the squad. He has a good engine and can learn the art of playing the percentages when on the overlap.

Doigy will school him on when to drive into the box, when to feed JMD or whip a ball in. What he can't do is hang a dolly cross for the keeper to take or attempt to beat a full back on the inside.

For the moment we have to make sure we stay in games and give respect to the opposition. Effete can be given more licence to attack the final third and the midfield have to shore up the gap behind him. If he can show more belief in his abilities we have a good balance of skill and pace on the right side with him and JMD.

I'm convinced that if the dugouts were on the Findus side, we would see a more consistent threat from Effete when attacking the Osmond.

If there's anyone that knows how to defend at full back it's PH so if he can improve Efete's defending and get him to be more confident in surging forward then he's got potential to be a great player. I'm very happy he's signed and would like Cropper to sign as back up, then we're set in that position with Maher also being able to cover there if necessary.

Vive la difference.

Both players with different good aspects for one position.

Love competition for places, snd players then gaving good games when out on the field.

Competition raises the standards - don't we ALL want that to happen?

Injuries also play a part for keeping good squad players !!

No inside knowledge on whether Clifton, Amos etc are close to signing?

Quoted from AdamHaddock

No inside knowledge on whether Clifton, Amos etc are close to signing?

my understanding is that Clifron will be re signing , now that his agent has been able to leverage the FGR  interest into getting a pretty good deal for his client
I'd be amazed if Amos didn't sign. Multiple people who have spoken to him or his family have been told how much he is enjoying being here and how keen he is to stay

I had heard Taylor has already re-signed, but he's probably one that you would assume was pretty much nailed on to stay.

Another one we haven’t heard a peep regarding is Cropper. Same was true of Efete, first we heard of that one was that he’d officially re-signed.

Sounds like with Amos provided we don’t take the proverbial with his contract offer he’ll sign it, a bit like with Waterfall. Sounded like it took all of 6 nanoseconds for Waterfall to re-sign.

All sounds good regarding Harry now as well. Good to heard we’re actually negotiating with players now rather than making pathetic offers and just expecting them to sign, then digging our heels in.

I'd be surprised if most if not all of these are done and the club will release over the next few days or so.

Quoted from Mariner_09

Another one we haven’t heard a peep regarding is Cropper.

Won’t be long now…