LOAN STARS

(Lots of Anonymous Nonentities)

..

****************

..

For a club which is only recently emerged from the perpetual darkness of annual re-election battles and financial chaos into the heady days of promotion campaigns; Cup runs and Wembley appearances, it’s hardly surprising that a fair proportion of the content of TTP reminds us of the bad old days if only to make us realise what a transformation has occured.

There are many things which make this improvement apparent on the field –  we’ve got a team to be proud of with average gates around four times those of the dark days of the 80’s. We’ve seen improvements to the ground, if not the pitch, and the club is at least tapping the potential in the community. Perhaps one of the least recognised illustrations of this progress has been the extent and quality of County’s dealings in the transfer market and particularly loan transfers.

Not so many years ago it was unknown for County to actually loan players to other clubs. Not only was the playing staff in those days far too small to consider reducing it by a loan deal but to be brutally honest neither was there the type or quality of player that other clubs might want. Such is the strength now that Gannon, Williams and Finley, (for each of whom County paid a fee), have all been out on loan this season. It’s not too long ago that actually paying a fee for a player was almost unheard of never mind being in a position to do so and then afford the luxury of not playing him.

So County’s forays into the loan market were generally inward with an assorted bag of players being taken on for a month just in order to ensure that there were eleven players to turn out. Not for us the benefit that some clubs made of the system by giving up and coming youngsters from Division One clubs the opportunity for experience whilst at the same time maybe improving team performances. Paul Merson had a spell at Brentford and it’s not so long ago that Andy Cole scored against us for Fulham. We never enjoyed this aspect of the market – anybody brought in was generally not catching the side at a struggling lower division club.

A few names at random demonstrate the quality of player we used on loan – almost without exception after their spell at EP they faded out of the game. Who remembers Willie Raynes, Phil Malley, David Byrom, Ian Vaughan or Ken Brannigan. Those who stayed in the League have hardly had glittering careers, witness Simon Farnworth, Alex Jones and Brett Williams. Indeed only three signings added anything to the team. Paul Smith hit the target regularly before Murphy failed to persuade the board to come up with the cash to buy him. Andy Gorton was eventually brought in permanently and should be remembered as a good keeper rather than for his alcoholic exploits and Les Robinson, signed after a loan spell, was eventually, to the shame of the board, sold for nothing like his true value. Maybe my memory is fading but I can only recall Steve Lovell having anything like a respectable career after his spell at County.

A transformation has taken place. There’s strength in numbers if not depth at the moment. The two Williams, Finley, Barras and Carstairs probably haven’t totalled 20 games between them this season and very few of us would be too unhappy if any of them were to play regularly. We have even got the luxury of employing a reserve goalkeeper who played a fair few games in the Premier League last year. The benefit of this strength is shown in our progress.  No longer do we have to rely on bringing in players temporarily who in general have little commitment. There are many things the board can be criticised for, as the pages of TTP regularly and rightly show, but cash has been made available to ensure that we have a team which can give us ambitions of further progress rather than merely fulfilling fixtures as was the case for far too long. .

..

April 1994