Non League Gems?

[edwin_price]

We do sign players from non-league, just like every other club at our level. The problem is that although it looks from the outside like a bottomless resource of potential, for every David Wheeler, there's a Gareth Cheeseman. And just because a player is playing at a lower level, doesn't mean he's necessarily desperate to drop everything and move across the country to sign for us a bottom of the ladder wage. A lot of part-time players have a meaningful career alongside that they're not gonna throw in the bin for a 1 in 5 shot at making it at a tier 4 club.

 

[grecIAN Harris]

Or maybe Graham Cheeseman.........

 

[CREDYGRECIAN]

Or you could turn that on its head and say because we have a good rep regards development we were the club that Wheeler chose to approach.

He prob asked loads of clubs

 

[Spoonz Red E]

He prob asked loads of clubs

And then chose us. Must be because we can't choose players to save our life can we? Unlike all those other clubs he asked who were great at spotting his potential.

 

[CREDYGRECIAN]

And then chose us. Must be because we can't choose players to save our life can we? Unlike all those other clubs he asked who were great at spotting his potential.

Or maybe we was the only club who offered him a deal

 

[Spoonz Red E]

Or maybe we was the only club who offered him a deal

Well that's good then isn't it? Well done us.

 

[STURTZ]

Or maybe Graham Cheeseman.........

Nice to see The Cheesemeister mentioned on here again!

 

[Number13]

We do sign players from non-league, just like every other club at our level. The problem is that although it looks from the outside like a bottomless resource of potential, for every David Wheeler, there's a Gareth Cheeseman. And just because a player is playing at a lower level, doesn't mean he's necessarily desperate to drop everything and move across the country to sign for us a bottom of the ladder wage. A lot of part-time players have a meaningful career alongside that they're not gonna throw in the bin for a 1 in 5 shot at making it at a tier 4 club.

Gareth Cheeseman was a Steve Coogan character? Dearth of a Salesman in the Coogans Run series?

 

[Andy Holloway]

To take this subject a bit further and to name David Wheeler it could also be questioned as to why Brighton and/or Crawley did not spot him when he was 'banging them in' for Lewis.

The reason that he played for Staines was because he was a student at Brunel University in Uxbridge, supplementing his student finances with a semi professional footballers wage - good business sense me thinks!

Looking around the 'local' leagues i notice that Dean Stamp is now playing for, a fairly good 'outfit', Bristol Manor Farm and scoring fairly freely. He obviously still has the ability at that level but it's whether he, or any other non league player, can or wants to make the commitment, or has the AMBITION, to step up to the professional game. As previously stated in an earlier thread, some of them might have good jobs that will pay them well after their footballing days are over and into retirement. There's also the point that these days a lot of wives have, possibly lucrative, careers which they want to continue, and not give up to move to another part of the country for 2 or 3 years on a not too lucrative, lower league footballers wages!

As Ant so rightly says on most subjects raised under the 'conspiracy theory' headings; 'How do we know the club hasn't or has?'

A club is hardly going to post on it's web site that it's looking at so and so who plays for 'Dog & Duck Rover' and thereby alert, not only that club but, other clubs as to a potential 'non league gem'!

 

[Jason H]

My tuppence worth on the Wheeler "he came to us" theory leads me to two possibilities - the first more plausible I suspect in that he'd have been known by Garry Haylock who'd have either recommended Wheeler to City or vice versa.

The other could be that Wheeler and Rhys Evans (remember him?) would have played in the same team together at Staines and Evans might have recommended him to us (or vice versa).