Stickied Confirmed Signings 2024/25

[CaliforniaGull]

That is a statement of intent by Chesterfield. This season's sack race is going to be quite something. Pressure on Parkinson, Rusk, Burchnall and Rowe to maintain title form from the start, impossible for them all to achieve. At least one of them will bite it, you have to think. Then you have us, who don't realistically have a chance of competing for the title, but too many of our lot expect it anyway because of last season, meaning Johnson is in trouble. Brown and Hurst are in for a rude awakening, too, as Southend and Grimsby don't look like contenders.

Then you have the likes of McMahon at Dagenham, Searle at Aldershot, and Dowson at Woking, who for very different reasons have already got pressure to make things happen quickly. I think Weymouth's Brian Stock isn't particularly liked by his fanbase either. Garrard seems to have underperformed, but maybe gets latitude with this Tshimanga news? Can't be sure how Strevens has kept his position at Eastleigh with the money they've invested. Imagine Ardley has expectations at Solihull, too. And then there's Kewell at Barnet, who have assembled quite a decent looking squad, surely expecting something, but I'll bet Notts County fans will disagree.

About the only manager with any real security this season is the one who is going to ultimately end all the others: Unless he somehow manages to Devonshire himself!

 

[jacobncfc]

That is a statement of intent by Chesterfield. This season's sack race is going to be quite something. Pressure on Parkinson, Rusk, Burchnall and Rowe to maintain title form from the start, impossible for them all to achieve. At least one of them will bite it, you have to think. Then you have us, who don't realistically have a chance of competing for the title, but too many of our lot expect it anyway because of last season, meaning Johnson is in trouble. Brown and Hurst are in for a rude awakening, too, as Southend and Grimsby don't look like contenders.

Then you have the likes of McMahon at Dagenham, Searle at Aldershot, and Dowson at Woking, who for very different reasons have already got pressure to make things happen quickly. I think Weymouth's Brian Stock isn't particularly liked by his fanbase either. Garrard seems to have underperformed, but maybe gets latitude with this Tshimanga news? Can't be sure how Strevens has kept his position at Eastleigh with the money they've invested. Imagine Ardley has expectations at Solihull, too. And then there's Kewell at Barnet, who have assembled quite a decent looking squad, surely expecting something, but I'll bet Notts County fans will disagree.

About the only manager with any real security this season is the one who is going to ultimately end all the others: Unless he somehow manages to Devonshire himself!

There'll be a degree of pressure on Burchnall from the fans to maintain title form from the off, probably not so much from the owners. We'd have to be bottom half and out of play-off contention for us to change manager next season probably.

 

[Wooderson]

Boreham Wood chairman Danny Hunter to the club's website on Kabongo Tshimanha's transfer

"The fee we had set was a top League 1 or Championship club but that also shows the ambition of the Chesterfield manager and the faith Chesterfield have in his judgement"

Come on lads.. what was the fee?

 

[Stocky]

Looks a good signing to me, especially once Asante is fit they should be a real handful.
It really is looking an ultra competitive league this season and one of Stockport, Wrexham, Chesterfield or us are going to run out of money before getting promotion I think.
We may not have the big names but there's no way we're breaking even either.
In our long term favour, the owners father is a billionaire, not just lottery Euro millions rich. If they leave, and they all do in the end, hopefully it won't leave us in the utter mess we were before they came. It isn't all that bad down here, still go to every game, go for a drink with friends after and am very happy that the club seems financially secure.
I don't think all four clubs are as secure as the money they're spending suggests. Both Stockport and Chesterfield look all in to me.

I'm not sure on us. Stott has the wealth tbh and he looks in it for the long haul. He's probably put more money off the pitch with long term infastructure moves with the stadium, academy, scouting system, training ground, community etc than on it so far. We could be "all in" in terms of what budget we're using for the playing staff and if we are, I'd agree. It's more than competitive budget for this level and it will be up to the scouts, development squad investment, the director of football and the coaches to start maximising it all. It's not shit or bust type stuff though from what I've seen. I banged on last season about us just not being a real team, just didn't have that consistency or togetherness, that needs to be built this year and we look quite strategic this summer. Signings in early, those not rated out when the best offer comes in to take their wages off.

 

[Stocky]

Boreham Wood chairman Danny Hunter to the club's website on Kabongo Tshimanha's transfer

"The fee we had set was a top League 1 or Championship club but that also shows the ambition of the Chesterfield manager and the faith Chesterfield have in his judgement"

Come on lads.. what was the fee?

He's said Rowe was like "a dog with a bone" and praised the ambition of the manager.

That's all well and good but we could all be a dog with a bone and be ambitious when it's not our money. The manager doesn't set the ambition. I don't know what's going on there, it's going to be fascinating. I do fancy them for league as of right now.

 

[Optipez]

I'm not sure on us. Stott has the wealth tbh and he looks in it for the long haul. He's probably put more money off the pitch with long term infastructure moves with the stadium, academy, scouting system, training ground, community etc than on it so far. We could be "all in" in terms of what budget we're using for the playing staff and if we are, I'd agree. It's more than competitive budget for this level and it will be up to the scouts, development squad investment, the director of football and the coaches to start maximising it all. It's not shit or bust type stuff though from what I've seen. I banged on last season about us just not being a real team, just didn't have that consistency or togetherness, that needs to be built this year and we look quite strategic this summer. Signings in early, those not rated out when the best offer comes in to take their wages off.

I hope not. I really don't like seeing clubs go under, whether it was Maidstone years ago or Bury.
I'm old enough to have seen plenty of clubs go for it , not make it and have the hangover for years. Down here with no parachute payments, small TV and sponsorship deals and lower gate receipts it's hard to see any way other than the owners pockets how this all gets funded. Okay this year but on three year contracts we've all seen teams have to do fire sales when it goes wrong.

 

[CaliforniaGull]

There'll be a degree of pressure on Burchnall from the fans to maintain title form from the off, probably not so much from the owners. We'd have to be bottom half and out of play-off contention for us to change manager next season probably.

Might you have said similar about Ardley last season or was he always on borrowed time with the owners/fans? I remember tracking major threats to our promotion and always had Notts County as a genuine title threat right up until Ardley got the boot.

 

[Optipez]

There'll be a degree of pressure on Burchnall from the fans to maintain title form from the off, probably not so much from the owners. We'd have to be bottom half and out of play-off contention for us to change manager next season probably.

Our owners are just as ruthless as the next, they're perhaps just more methodological when sacking. If we keep conceding goals and don't look like keeping in touch i suspect they'll sack him. After all, he is largely unproven.

 

[Wooderson]

Might you have said similar about Ardley last season or was he always on borrowed time with the owners/fans? I remember tracking major threats to our promotion and always had Notts County as a genuine title threat right up until Ardley got the boot.

We were never a title threat under Ardley.

 

[jacobncfc]

Might you have said similar about Ardley last season or was he always on borrowed time with the owners/fans? I remember tracking major threats to our promotion and always had Notts County as a genuine title threat right up until Ardley got the boot.

Ardley was under no pressure from the fans at all really. He went because his more old school style was always a bit of an unhappy marriage with our owners (he was here before them), I think the timing was just that they'd been keeping an eye on the manager they wanted and he was available.

All you ever hear from them really is about the long term and there being much more important things to look at than results in the short term. As long as we're playing the dominant, attacking style they want and the young players are developing, he's more than safe I predict.

 

[Optipez]

Might you have said similar about Ardley last season or was he always on borrowed time with the owners/fans? I remember tracking major threats to our promotion and always had Notts County as a genuine title threat right up until Ardley got the boot.

I heard that promotion was a must for Ardley last season from a friend who's usually pretty reliable. Once he fell behind the PPG needed that was it according to him.

 

[GTFCfish]

Heard a rumour that Chesterfield have put Tshimanga on furlough for 10 days until the season starts.

 

[CFC91]

Boreham Wood chairman Danny Hunter to the club's website on Kabongo Tshimanha's transfer

"The fee we had set was a top League 1 or Championship club but that also shows the ambition of the Chesterfield manager and the faith Chesterfield have in his judgement"

Come on lads.. what was the fee?

Despite not really liking BW that interview is pretty good…very open and honest

As for the fee, when I heard yesterday it was 125k but with add ons taking it north of 250k which would break our transfer record.

 

[CFC91]

Looks a good signing to me, especially once Asante is fit they should be a real handful.
It really is looking an ultra competitive league this season and one of Stockport, Wrexham, Chesterfield or us are going to run out of money before getting promotion I think.
We may not have the big names but there's no way we're breaking even either.
In our long term favour, the owners father is a billionaire, not just lottery Euro millions rich. If they leave, and they all do in the end, hopefully it won't leave us in the utter mess we were before they came. It isn't all that bad down here, still go to every game, go for a drink with friends after and am very happy that the club seems financially secure.
I don't think all four clubs are as secure as the money they're spending suggests. Both Stockport and Chesterfield look all in to me.

We’ve certainly gone for it.
I’ve tended to be realistic, pessimistic maybe, about us but I think we should be up there. We don’t really have any excuses with the midfield and strikers we now have.
Our defence worries me slightly but I can see us being fun to watch at times.
The games against Stockport, Wrexham and Notts are going to be mega if we are all flying. 10k+ crowds everywhere

 

[Wooderson]

Despite not really liking BW that interview is pretty good…very open and honest

As for the fee, when I heard yesterday it was 125k but with add ons taking it north of 250k which would break our transfer record.

I’m certain given everything we have seen from BW over the years that their chairman may be prone to the odd spot of exaggeration, but £125k up front doesn’t strike me as a ‘championship/high L1 fee’..

There can’t have been a NL pre-season like this, ever. Big six figure fees and huge three year deals being handed out like confetti. As I alluded to previously, Michael Cheek must be block booking driving lessons as we speak!

 

[EnglishRed]

Despite not really liking BW that interview is pretty good…very open and honest

As for the fee, when I heard yesterday it was 125k but with add ons taking it north of 250k which would break our transfer record.

Thats an incredible amount for a Non League team.

 

[Gladders]

I’m certain given everything we have seen from BW over the years that their chairman may be prone to the odd spot of exaggeration, but £125k up front doesn’t strike me as a ‘championship/high L1 fee’..

There can’t have been a NL pre-season like this, ever. Big six figure fees and huge three year deals being handed out like confetti. As I alluded to previously, Michael Cheek must be block booking driving lessons as we speak!

Not really Championship, but certainly league 1, most lge 2 clubs don't really pay transfer fees very often, so non league clubs paying 6 figure fees is certainly out of the ordinary.

 

[doveranddover]

With no transfer window I can’t see an end to this spending.
Any team not making a flying start will just keep buying players.

 

[CFC91]

Thats an incredible amount for a Non League team.

Yep it’s a big signing. It would have been big for us even in League 1.
I remember when we were on the verge of the Championship we had Daniel Johnson on loan from Villa, they wanted 50k to sign him and we said no, he then set 3 up at Deepdale and Preston went on to sign him instead…250 games later for them the rest is history.
Sometimes you have to take a punt and invest at the right times, we didn’t then so let’s hope we have now.

 

[Hollywood Red]

It's an amazing turn around receiving £ 1 million at the end of March and 4 months later spending most of it on one player.

 

[B2TF]

It's an amazing turn around receiving £ 1 million at the end of March and 4 months later spending most of it on one player.

"Turnaround" is generally reserved to describe situations where the subject has worked and succeeded to reverse their own fortunes, and the phrase honours the effort and the achievement. It is NOT generally used in situations where the change has occurred because the subject was given millions of pounds in money to buy their way to success.

 

[EnglishRed]

Yep it’s a big signing. It would have been big for us even in League 1.
I remember when we were on the verge of the Championship we had Daniel Johnson on loan from Villa, they wanted 50k to sign him and we said no, he then set 3 up at Deepdale and Preston went on to sign him instead…250 games later for them the rest is history.
Sometimes you have to take a punt and invest at the right times, we didn’t then so let’s hope we have now.

Sometimes you need to speculate to accumulate. In 2013 Christian Jolley was available for 25k. Our manager wanted him but our board wouldn't sanction the money. Newport signed him and 6 months later he scored the winner against us in the play off final.

 

[Stoney Ground]

I heard it was a million! If the UK government can find £150m for shit PPE gear then they can afford to lend us a oner

Dominic Cummings is fuming, if he’d had gone to Chesterfield instead of Barnards Castle he’d still be in power. Maybe even President of America, that could’ve scuppered that Ryan Reynolds vanity project.

 

[Stoney Ground]

With no transfer window I can’t see an end to this spending.
Any team not making a flying start will just keep buying players.

Or just stop playing

 

[EnglishRed]

With no transfer window I can’t see an end to this spending.
Any team not making a flying start will just keep buying players.

We have a transfer window so won't be able to do that. But maybe Stockport and Chesterfield will have an arms race.

 

[Wooderson]

We have a transfer window so won't be able to do that. But maybe Stockport and Chesterfield will have an arms race.

Stockport started it by buying Madden. Chesterfield responded with Danny Rowe, and the rest is history.

 

[doveranddover]

Or just stop playing

Nothing original to say?

 

[Gladders]

This signing has set some panic into our fan base and rightly so I’d say. Hursts apparent amazing ability to sign a striker (a myth IMO) is set to be put to the test in a big way

According to Stockwood in today's paper we have already gone over budget for this season. Though he did say if Hurst needs more funds he won't say no, but doesn't mean the funds are infinite.

Though reading it in detail it looks like he means they have spent more than anticipated on the club as a whole including infrastructure and new staff, not necessarily that the playing budget is larger than expected.

But to put it bluntly, despite new rich owners we are not putting the future at risk by throwing silly money around to compete with the likes of Stockport, Wrexham and Chesterfield.

 

[Stocky]

According to Stockwood in today's paper we have already gone over budget for this season. Though he did say if Hurst needs more funds he won't say no, but doesn't mean the funds are infinite.

Though reading it in detail it looks like he means they have spent more than anticipated on the club as a whole including infrastructure and new staff, not necessarily that the playing budget is larger than expected.

But to put it bluntly, despite new rich owners we are not putting the future at risk by throwing silly money around to compete with the likes of Stockport, Wrexham and Chesterfield.

Looking at your squad, I bet you've got some high earners already on there that you're trying to shift. You've got one of the biggest squads in the league at the moment numbers wise.

 

[chief]

But to put it bluntly, despite new rich owners we are not putting the future at risk by throwing silly money around to compete with the likes of Stockport, Wrexham and Chesterfield.

It's easy to feel like it'll end badly for one of us, but the reality is ourselves and Stockport are both filthy rich, and somebody is likely throwing a ton of money at Chesterfield too. We'll all spend big until we go up.

I can't see Grimsby leaving themselves behind.