Summer 2019 - Possible signings

[grecIAN Harris]

Possible signings - Elliot Frear...

Interesting call that. Let go by City but has gone away and done OK for himself at FGR but now released by Motherwell. He called time on his stay at Motherwell by refusing to sign a new contract. He's a good age at 28 now. 27 first team appearances for Motherwell last season scoring four times and setting up six. Very obviously a local lad so coming back here wouldn't be an issue. Motherwell finished bottom of the mid table clutch of teams last season (8th) so whilst they aren't brilliant by any stretch they've got players good enough to be going to clubs bigger than City (they have the boy Turnbull upfront who is on the verge of signing for Celtic).

 

[andrew p long]

I think you have to be very careful about those stats at Motherwell. On appearances less than half have been starts. The majority have been coming on as a late sub. Only 29 starts in two seasons. I checked his last 8 appearances and 7 of those were as a sub, starting only once. No wonder he wanted to leave

Of his four goals last season three came in a home League Cup mauling of Edinburgh City - a Scottish Division Two side, which is the fourth tier of Scottish football - by Premiership Motherwell. As this was mid July 2018 another way of looking at his recent scoring record is that he has one goal in the last 11 months.

 

[grecIAN Harris]

I think you have to be very careful about those stats at Motherwell. On appearances less than half have been starts. The majority have been coming on as a late sub. Only 29 starts in two seasons. I checked his last 8 appearances and 7 of those were as a sub, starting only once. No wonder he wanted to leave

Of his four goals last season three came in a home League Cup mauling of Edinburgh City - a Scottish Division Two side, which is the fourth tier of Scottish football - by Premiership Motherwell. As this was mid July 2018 another way of looking at his recent scoring record is that he has one goal in the last 11 months.

Fair enough, it has to be said I didn't go digging that deep into his appearances last season.

 

[Temporarily Exiled]

He'd also be playing in a role where we're pretty well-stacked. In terms of wide players (or players Taylor likes to put out wide), we have Holmes, Williams, Lee Martin, Law, Sparkes and Collins. I don't see it as an area that would overly benefit from investment (compared to fullback, centre-half, striker or keeper.

 

[grecIAN Harris]

Since when has Archie Collins played wide?

 

[Temporarily Exiled]

Since when has Archie Collins played wide?

He was considered a wide player before breaking into the first team.

 

[Saint James]

He was considered a wide player before breaking into the first team.

When he spoke at the East Devon Grecians a few months back he said he has always played centre mid

 

[Temporarily Exiled]

When he spoke at the East Devon Grecians a few months back he said he has always played centre mid

Dorchester described him as "a versatile player who can play up front, just behind the striker, wide right, wide left or in central midfield" when he signed on loan for them in 2017/18. Likewise, he was described as "having the ability to play up front, off the shoulder of the main striker, right wing, left wing or in central midfield" when signing for Weston-super-Mare earlier that season.

https://dorchestertownfc.co.uk/2017/12/18/dorchtownfc-sign-archie-collins-on-loan-from-league-two-side-officialecfc/
https://www.westonsmareafc.co.uk/8804-2/

 

[Saint James]

Dorchester described him as "a versatile player who can play up front, just behind the striker, wide right, wide left or in central midfield" when he signed on loan for them in 2017/18. Likewise, he was described as "having the ability to play up front, off the shoulder of the main striker, right wing, left wing or in central midfield" when signing for Weston-super-Mare earlier that season.

https://dorchestertownfc.co.uk/2017/12/18/dorchtownfc-sign-archie-collins-on-loan-from-league-two-side-officialecfc/
https://www.westonsmareafc.co.uk/8804-2/

I'm not sure that makes one iota of difference when the player himself says he's a central midfielder. It's pretty standard stuff for a club to describe an incoming player as versatile it doesn't mean de facto that he is a wide player in our squad.

 

[IndoMike]

Collins is centre midfield :I'm sure Matt T would have played him at RW when needed if he thought Collins could play there, but I don't think he did. And we have Holmes, Williams and even Law to play left wing, so we don't need Frear imo.