The Club is delighted to announce the first signings of the summer made by First Team boss Garry Wilson and his Assistant Danny Bloor. All four players were much sought after by other clubs, but after meeting with the new management duo, they have bought into United's positive vision and plans, and agreed terms for the 2015/16 season.
Supporters will be pleased to learn that goalkeeper Josh Pelling will be returning for a third season at the Pilot Field. The former Brighton & Hove Albion scholar has enjoyed an outstanding couple of years with the U's, and is rated as one of the best, if not the best, keeper in the Ryman League Division One South. He will once again form a solid last line of defence for United.
Three ex-Lewes players have also committed themselves to the Club.
Combative midfielder Jack Walder will bring strength and leadership to the middle of the park. Having come through the youth ranks at Lewes, his ability to pick a pass enabled him to quickly establish himself in the heart of the Rooks' midfield during their 2009/10 Conference South campaign. Injury ruled him out of the entire following season, and he then moved to the Pilot Field ahead of the 2011/12 campaign, but made only seven appearances for the U's, before returning to the Dripping Pan as club captain.
Ollie Rowe will be another familiar face for U's supporters, although he will initially not be available until mid-August as he is away teaching and coaching in Thailand. The stylish and versatile defender joined the Rooks from Eastbourne Borough, and can operate at either full back or centre half. Rowe started his career at Brighton and Hove Albion as well, while in recent years, he has also played for Chelmsford City and Eastbourne Town, and spent the second half of the 2010/11 season at the Pilot Field, scoring three goals in eighteen appearances. He finished the 2014/15 campaign as Lewes' second top goalscorer.
Completing the former Lewes contingent is attacking left sided defender Sam Cole. A strong and mobile presence at the back, Cole spent his early career at Sussex County League sides Hailsham Town and Rye United, before comfortably stepping up three divisions to play for Eastbourne Borough in the Conference National. After three successful seasons at Priory Lane, the classy left footer, who can also play in midfield, again linked up with manager Wilson by signing permanently for Lewes during the summer of 2014.
Meetings are ongoing with a number of other potential signings, both in terms of players from last season's squad, and further potential new acquisitions, with quality strikers being high on the list of priorities. Positive news on this front is anticipated in the near future.
-- Edited by Dan on Wednesday 10th of June 2015 08:07:08 AM
Certainly agree with all the positive comments above. These are excellent signings and the suggestion of more positive news soon to come is yet more welcome.
Really good news about Pelling and Rowe. Ollie looked classy in a higher league and, a few years on, should do a great job for us. I know little of the other two but have total faith in Garry's judgement.
Great news for the club. For me Sam Cole is the one that really interests me. Every time I have seen him he has impressed me and finally solves the left back issue after 2 years of trying.
Didn't Ollie Rowe win goal of the season at the Pilot Field 2-3 years ago? remember a 35 yard screamer at the Pilot Field.
Think he did John yeah. The Observer report also mentioned that Garry is also prioritising in signing a striker, which obviously is a must. But Liverpool said they wanted signings, not sign-Ings...
very good signing look like we are throwing money at another promotion effort. good to get player in early need a striker urgently i think. wont get to excited after all hype last year but look good at monemt. walder good player but think injury and suspension problem with his dicipline make it that he not always on pitch
As Peter says above, the absolute priority is to get a quality striker. To get out of this league (in the right direction that is) we will need to score something in excess of 80 goals (it might be quite a lot in excess of 80 if the goals we concede is average or worse). We cannot expect to do that unless we have a first choice striker scoring around 30; and others chipping in with worthwhile contributions. Such players do not come cheap at any level and the competition among clubs is likely to be intense for those who are prepared to play in our league. Oh for Ade at his best!
Don't expect a lot of goals, as Gary has always preferred to win 1-0 to 4-3, his pragmatic approach will probably mean we are set up to win and not entertain. Having seen a lot of games at priory lane, I think if he manages in a similar style we wont see many goals but we will see a lot of wins. But would accept that to get out of this division.
I'm delighted by the new signings and the thought of even more quality players to add to those already announced. I think we all need to bare in mind though that this is the start of a rebuilding process. Myself, I would be delighted with creeping into a play off place but we must be sensible in what we expect, you only have to look at last seasons expectations pre season and where we finished. Be positive however let's not get over excited.
Just been looking through the Lewes website and it said that Jack Walder only made 5 league appearances all season with a total of only 438 minutes played, he also managed to pick up 3 yellow cards in the process!
Does anyone know if he was loaned out anywhere last season or was he injured or is he still injured?
(Ollie Rowe) He finished the 2014/15 campaign as Lewes' second top goalscorer.
This was the statement was in Dan's first post but according to their website Elliot Romain, Sam Cole and Luke Blewden all scored more goals than Ollie Rowe! He only scored 3 League Goals and 3 Cup Goals all season according to them?
It's certainly right for Barrie and Bob to caution against over enthusiasm; but the initial signings are to my mind very good ones. Along with the reputation of the management team, they are indicative perhaps that the team will take a more combative approach than the 'passing game' style attempted (with little success) by some of our teams of the recent past. To give ourselves the best chance of getting towards the top of this particular league, with the players our budget can command, I would welcome direct pressing football. It's worth continually repeating though, that it's the manager's call and that time, and a lot of it, must be allowed for what ever approach is adopted to bring success.
It looks like it was Sam Cole rather than Rowe who scored the goals that the club statement referred to Adrian, looks like he got 7 in the league ( he may possibly have played LM rather than LB possibly? )
-- Edited by Dan on Friday 12th of June 2015 10:32:14 AM
Interesting reading in the county times. Dom saying he does not expect any of last years Horsham team to be re signing including striker Tony Nwachukwu. Now he would be a quality signing and perhaps a return for a slimmer fitter Vickers?
Tom was not the most mobile player even before his achilles injury. He really struggled in the Hastings-Horsham game when playing for Horsham. Personally I hope we go for fitter, more mobile players.
Tom was not the most mobile player even before his achilles injury. He really struggled in the Hastings-Horsham game when playing for Horsham. Personally I hope we go for fitter, more mobile players.
Agreed Tim, Tom was certainly not at his best in that game; but Achilles injuries are recoverable with time and therapy and I would hope that our management team would have him on the radar to see if he might recapture the exceptional form he has shown for us in the past. I thought it was unfortunate - while he was still with us after his injury - that he resumed first team football as soon as he did. Better perhaps if he had given himself more time.
lets get things straight we are a side trying toconsolidate let's not run before we can walk. players will come players will go we are nothing but a ryman div 1 south side the sooner we except that the quicker we will learn. mid table will be a start. anything else will be a bonus ?
We are the biggest club in the division, in terms of history crowd size potential we have just vastly under performed as a club for many years. We should be able to build a side to challenge for top spot this coming season, it is realistic to expect a strong promotion challenge. Most sides will have 5/6 players from last season ma so they will nearly all be in a similar position. If Gary gets the players he wants I will be surprised if we are not top 5 from game 10 when the table starts to take shape. We can't at any cost settle for mid table.
I actually agree completely with Chris on this, we can't be happy with a mid table finish regardless of last seasons poor position if we're going to grow our support and links with local businesses, it's a completely clean slate now, new board, new managerial team, good sponsor tied down for 2 years, good financial position compared to most of our rivals, good support and an encouraging level of initial signings from the division above.
Not expecting to win the thing but we really should be looking for a good playoff spot as a minimum. I understand keeping expectations in check but too far the other way and people lose excitement and enthusiasm at a time when we need ( and should be able to with current conditions ) to attract even more fans. Realistic optimism is no bad thing.
I too agree with Chris. Of course, we've no divine right to anything; but we are not in terms of stadium size, resources, following, history, size of town, etc, a typical Ryman 1 South club. We have the immediate potential to be a league higher and - with development - two leagues higher. So we cannot and should not be content with a mid-table position. I'm sure Garry and Danny did not take their positions in the expectation of a mid-table finish. But, it might well take them time to get there. We have to give them that. So, if we're mid-table at the turn of the year it will not be a disaster. No team, however organised and funded, can assume they will get the automatic promotion slot; but we are entitled to expect that we will be in contention for a play-off position by next Easter. If that doesn't happen; well, it will be another disappointment and frankly another failure. So, yes lets be realistically optimistic!
IMO, Garry's appointment has come at exactly the right time. He has the knowledge, experience, tactical nous and motivational skills to make a difference very quickly. He doesn't suffer fools gladly. Just what we need. I wouldn't be surprised if we got off to a flyer, as he's clearly bringing in quality players who can play at the next level. We'll be well organised and fit. Plenty of reasons to be quietly optimistic. I think that last season finally put the BillyBigTime BigFishSmallPond thing to bed, and this has been replaced by a steely determination to improve on and off the field.
I think Steves post is a direct quote from Horshams site or their local paper, presume they have an idea of where he might be going. Decent player though wouldn't mind seeing him down here.
