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Does the picture of him in Gloucestershire live show him being tackled by Matt Coupe?

Please note that there has been no official announcement from the club on this signing.

Presumably the side will be augmented with loanees again. I think this makes it more difficult to bring through our own youth players but we need to cut our cloth to suit at the moment.

As was mentioned at the AGM, part of the the Football Working Group's remit and rationale is to look at the long-term improvement in throughput of youth and Academy players to the senior squad. Although the manager has shorter term goals and has to be pramatic, I was pleased to hear that Jerry also is of this thinking.

Presume Mann to be announced at 8.30.

And the lanky Robbie Cundy

Good signings. We definitely need height at the back.

Shaping up nicely.

Need another midfielder in my view. A battler/terrier

Well we've got two Yorkies

Ho ho!

Ryan Brunt signed. Another striker, this time with plenty of experience in League 2. Not an amazing scoring record at that level but at 6 foot 2, he'll provide some more height.

Ex Rovers, Plymouth and Exeter.

Marc Monitor wrote:As was mentioned at the AGM, part of the the Football Working Group's remit and rationale is to look at the long-term improvement in throughput of youth and Academy players to the senior squad. Although the manager has shorter term goals and has to be pramatic, I was pleased to hear that Jerry also is of this thinking.

It must be a bit disheartening though for any players joining the academy to realise that they have a very slim chance of making it into the first team. I see that both Adam Forster and Oaklan Buck have moved on - I appreciate that the latter wasn’t a youth team player - and for all the time and effort that Billy Clark puts in the only player who has come through to hold down a regular place is Dan Bowman, and we basically seem to be developing players for local Western and Southern League clubs.

While Jerry may well be keen to bring on young players (even if they are from City and Rovers!) as Marc says it is about getting results in the short term which the squad being assembled at the moment certainly seems capable of doing.

James Morton back on loan is good news if he shows some of that form from last season. Midfield flair and goal power very evident now. Just hope we are strong enough at the back and can get hold of the ball in midfield.

Rigg, Morton, Artus, Richards, Stearn and Raynes sounds good to an extent but I would say that a couple of injuries and we are at our bare bones. Richards can't be relied up for a whole season, I wouldn't have thought; I didn't think Raynes was signed to be a regular straight away and, obviously, Morton is just here until Christmas. I would have thought there will be another one in there before deadline day even if it is only another loanee. Mann definitely looks like he can play in midfield if needs be.

The defence of Straker, Batten, Ball, Amankwaah and Cundy all look good and I wonder if Jerry is considering Raynes at cover for one of them as well (as he was at the Rovers game). He did ok but looked much happier in midfield.

Obviously, upfront we look fine. I think that maybe another two players - possibly loanees - before deadline day.

I would imagine tomorrow’s line up at Weymouth would give an indication of what Jerry thinks his best team is as he must have a pretty good idea after 7 friendlies.

It will be interesting to see if he goes for 3 at the back (Batten, Ball, Cundy?) with wing backs, and if he does whether he then goes 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 - we seem to have the players to carry off both.

If he goes with 4 at the back the question is who will play at right back - Amankwah would seem the obvious choice, but his injury has already flared up twice in pre-season. Playing Raynes there would seem to be a gamble as it isn’t his natural position and he is also stepping up a level.

Midfield seems pretty well covered, especially with the addition of Morton, and on paper at least we have an ‘embarrassment of riches’ in attack. Whatever the 11 selected to face Dartford, we should have a pretty strong bench so I wonder if Jerry will persist with Hodges as one of the subs?