Striker a light
The incoming door at Sparrows Lane remains very much intact emphasising the financial constraints that Powell has been put under by the owners. Stories of alleged unpaid bills, loyal employees leaving and out of court settlements have punctured the summer transfer season again and one has to admire how Powell continues to put a brave face on the situation in public meanwhile diligently putting the players through their pre-season paces with help of his coaching team, which is also one short after Nathan Jones left for Brighton. Dagenham & Redbridge were the latest to get the runaround last night.
Adamo Coulibaly who made some kind of impression in the games at AFC Wimbledon and Pompey, has gone back to France and is training now with Lens. According to sources in France and Powelly, he won’t be coming back. Delete him from your list.
Ex-Reading striker Simon Church (photo) is at Sparrows Lane training with the 1st team. Church had quite the reputation at Reading in the Royals last spell in The Championship. He just hasn’t had many games in the past couple of seasons, although he was on loan at Huddersfield last November. He is still only 24 and I’d be encouraged by his signing if CP can make it happen.
Jonathan Obika continues to be talked about and has featured with the Spurs 1st team in some of their pre-season games, although he is not with them currently in Hong Kong.
Powell is still talking about adding maybe 3 strikers and we most definitely need them, but equally he refuses to lose any of his best players, if that is what he is being told he has to do to create a transfer kitty. Interesting also is that Stephens, Green and Hollands remain with the club, the latter pair featuring quite heavily in games.
Powell will have to eek out every penny and be the ultimate salesman internally and externally to add players to his squad before next Saturday, although I think we face the real prospect of starting at Bournemouth with just one senior striker. The transfer window remember runs to the end of August when players, agents and clubs get more desperate.
