Alan Crockford
Well-known Exeweb poster
The transfer's gone through then, and we finally have a man for our Number 31 shirt; Graham Cummins.
For this season - and quite possibly this season only - we've accepted the club's request to use our 1931 Fund money to boost the budget available for the more experienced striker that City need. We've pledged £20,000, which amounts to around half GC's wages for the 2014/15 season.
In previous years, the 1931 Fund has financed the total cost (or at least the majority of the cost) of a younger, cheaper player, but having seen Elliott Chamberlain fail to get anywhere near the first team thanks to the quality of our own youngsters, it seemed prudent to accept City's 'matched-funding' proposal for a more costly, key player that they couldn't have afforded without us.
While I don't think any Cummins success story would be quite as sweet as our original aim of wholly funding 'an extra player in City's squad' I am clear that had it not been for the 1931 Fund's members, City wouldn't have been able to bring Graham to SJP. So while we're not covering all his costs, he's definitely Our Man - indeed "Our Graham" as Cilla would have it - and I for one am really looking forward to seeing plenty of pitch-time, and please please please loads of goals, from the man in the Number 31.
One final request. Please do give Graham as much support as you can and try to find a little patience if it doesn't click from the off. He won promotion from League Two last season, albeit without bagging a Kellow style goal haul, so he must have something about him. I know a few of you said he looked somewhat rusty (or worse) against Torquay, but perhaps that's forgiveable after a difficult close season for him. We'll know better in a month or two just how good a player we've got for all our monthly £19s.
We hope to build up a relationship with Graham over his coming season in the Number 31 shirt, and we'll use Exeweb as part of that, so hopefully it won't be just us 1931 Fund members who see him as Our Man in the City side.
Up the City and Geddon Graham
For this season - and quite possibly this season only - we've accepted the club's request to use our 1931 Fund money to boost the budget available for the more experienced striker that City need. We've pledged £20,000, which amounts to around half GC's wages for the 2014/15 season.
In previous years, the 1931 Fund has financed the total cost (or at least the majority of the cost) of a younger, cheaper player, but having seen Elliott Chamberlain fail to get anywhere near the first team thanks to the quality of our own youngsters, it seemed prudent to accept City's 'matched-funding' proposal for a more costly, key player that they couldn't have afforded without us.
While I don't think any Cummins success story would be quite as sweet as our original aim of wholly funding 'an extra player in City's squad' I am clear that had it not been for the 1931 Fund's members, City wouldn't have been able to bring Graham to SJP. So while we're not covering all his costs, he's definitely Our Man - indeed "Our Graham" as Cilla would have it - and I for one am really looking forward to seeing plenty of pitch-time, and please please please loads of goals, from the man in the Number 31.
One final request. Please do give Graham as much support as you can and try to find a little patience if it doesn't click from the off. He won promotion from League Two last season, albeit without bagging a Kellow style goal haul, so he must have something about him. I know a few of you said he looked somewhat rusty (or worse) against Torquay, but perhaps that's forgiveable after a difficult close season for him. We'll know better in a month or two just how good a player we've got for all our monthly £19s.
We hope to build up a relationship with Graham over his coming season in the Number 31 shirt, and we'll use Exeweb as part of that, so hopefully it won't be just us 1931 Fund members who see him as Our Man in the City side.
Up the City and Geddon Graham
