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Frank holds tight
Story courtesy of
Gresley Rovers manager Frank Northwood will not be rushing out and making a crop of new signings in the wake of the Boxing Day battle against Hinckley United.
Apart from dropping two precious points, four front-line players were added to the casualty list at the Moat Ground – midfielder Richard Denby and the entire strike force of Tracey Norton, Graham Jones and Paul Acklam.But Northwood, football’s archetypal transfer wheeler and dealer, was quick to scotch speculation that his remedy would be to go out and snap up half a new team.
“I won’t be signing anybody for the sake of it. I’m happier with my current squad of players than I’ve ever been,” said the Gresley boss.
He was quick to add, however: “If nothing else, our current problems prove to the knockers, that you can’t make too may signings.”
Indeed, it’s a measure of the depth of talent at the Moat Ground that Northwood can patch up his injury-scarred team with tried and trusted players.
Kieron Smith, top scorer until the arrival of Jones cost him a regular place, stylish midfielder Graham Fearn and the versatile trio of Paul Fernihough, Peter Perry and John Bottomley are all waiting in the wings hoping to stake new claims for first team recognition.
“Graham Fearn for one will be dying to prove a point,” said Northwood.
That opportunity could come in a wide attacking role as Gresley attempt to overcome the certain absences of Norton and Jones in the holiday games at Harrisons tomorrow and Malvern on Monday.
The full extent of the damage to Jones’s ankle will not be known until next week when, with the holiday is over, the former Oldbury striker finally gets to see a physiotherapist.
Norton, meanwhile, was mildly optimistic that the groin injury which required hospital treatment may not be as serious as first thought.
He said last night: “Fortunately the doctors don’t seem to think that I’ve torn anything. That’s what I feared when I went down because the pain was horrible. I almost passed out in the dressing room. They’ve checked my pelvis to make sure no bones were broken and seem to think that I may have wrenched my groin and the lower half of my stomach.”
“The frustrating thing is that it was such a stupid accident. I was going for a challenge at full stretch and caught my foot on top of the ball which made it that much worse.”
