Ten Commit to Gresley

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Latest The Midland Football Alliance News

The Midland Football Alliance

Baker Joiner Midland Alliance newcomers Gresley FC have confirmed ten of last year’s East Midlands Counties....

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Published 14th July 2011

Gary Norton

...League championship-winning squad have signed forms for the coming season, with six more expected to do so over the next week.

However, last season’s top scorer, David Blenkinsopp, and former Burton Albion midfielder Danny Holmes have followed supporters’ player of the year Brian Woodall in leaving the club.

Woodall is now preparing for his first season as a Football League player with Dagenham & Redbridge, while Blenkinsopp and Holmes have joined Daventry Town and Leek Town respectively.

The only new addition so far is Richard Hanslow, who scored eight goals in sixteen appearances last season before leaving the club in search of more regular football.

Those already signed up for the Alliance campaign include last season’s skipper and vice-captain, Carl Slater and Jamie Barrett, goalkeepers Gary Hateley and Darren Keeling, Tom Betteridge, Lee Barrow, Royce Turville, Mickey Lyons, Richard Butler and Gareth Langford.

Rob Spencer and Adam Betteridge have been offered deals and are expected to sign, while manager Gary Norton has yet to speak to Barry Woolley, Jordi Gough, Matt Hill and Oliver Hancock — although he is hopeful all four will put pen-to-paper at the Moat Ground.

While pleased with the success rate in retaining players, the Gresley boss admitted losing the likes of Blenkinsopp and Holmes was a blow.

Norton said: “The fact that we’ve got the majority of the lads from last season in is good.

“David Blenkinsopp has joined Evo- Stik Southern League Division One Central side Daventry — and we’re not that surprised.

“He was travelling in with Brian Woodall, and he can’t do that now, and Daventry are closer.

“That was the reason he gave us.

“We couldn’t offer him the deal we did last season, because that was reliant on a sponsors` money, and they never paid up, so it ended up coming out of club funds.

“We tried to offer him a deal as close to last season’s as we could.”

Spencer and Adam Betteridge are both looking for more prominent roles next season, and Norton understands their decision to wait to see which new faces arrive at the Moat Ground.

He said: “I am 95 per cent certain on Rob, but he wants to play up front more and a couple of the lads we’ve had on trial play there.

“Adam wants to see who comes in during pre-season and see if he’s going to get a run of games.

“If we can’t keep them, then they’ve been great servants to the club.” On the re-signing of Hanslow, he said: “He missed a lot of last season with injury and hit the ground limping rather than running.

“He then found himself on the bench and decided to leave.

“But he’s a proven goalscorer, and hopefully he can get a full pre-season behind him.”

[Source: Burton Mail]