What a difference a couple of hours can make.
On Monday lunchtime, with the exception of Matt Bentley, our management team had the same squad to choose from for our New Year fixture as they had for the Tonbridge game.
First phone call. It’s Crawley Town. They’re recalling Antony Papadopoulos from his loan so he can be in their squad for the New Year match against Charlton Athletic. Had it not been for a late weather postponement, he would have started that game in League One.
Within minutes of that call, we get another. This time it’s Sutton United. They’re invoking the 24-hour recall clause – standard for most loans – and Matt Rush is heading back to his parent club. Frustrating, not to play for them, merely passing through on the way to Boreham Wood.
There were a few choice words exchanged between our recruitment committee on the phone and over email in the hours that followed.
As disappointed as I am for our club, I am pleased for Antony Papadopoulos. He made the most of his loan, done the business for us and gave his parent club some food for thought. Dare I say that George and Craig deserve credit for the coaching and guidance they have given him since mid-September. Above all, thanks to ‘Paps’ for the goals and many fond memories.
I can’t help but feel a little hard done by when it comes to Matt Rush. We never wanted him to leave last summer and when the opportunity came to bring him back, we grabbed it. Unfortunately, agents and clubs were working behind the scenes and it was pretty much a fait accompli by the time it reached us.
There is a gamble with every loan. Unless you’re the parent club, you are never in full control.
I am not privy to the undisclosed fee that was agreed between Sutton and Boreham Wood before the recall phone call was made, nor the terms of the contract which I assume will be an investment of some 18-months or more.
To cut the chase, what’s done is done and as frustrating as it is, I cannot change it.
For a second time this season, we’ve been stung by the loan game. It’s the price you occasionally pay to bring these loanees to the club.
To cap the New Year’s Eve ‘bad news’, Matt Bentley’s contract cancellation came through to enable him to return to the United States to start a master’s degree and football scholarship. We’d known about that one for some time and as a club would not want to stand in a player’s way. The playing career is a short one and few plan for a future beyond it.
Rather than us solely wishing Matt well, which it goes without saying we do, he unfortunately became the third headline after the other two.
As I referred to in my programme notes of New Year’s Day, which quickly became obsolete, we had set about strengthening the team and changing the system at the beginning of September, after the Chelmsford home defeat.
That led to the arrival of Antony Papadopoulos, Matt Rush, and Sol Wanjau-Smith. Those additions, plus the extra coaching hours that went into the changing of systems, led to this wonderful unbeaten run in the league and moved us from seventh from bottom into the play-off positions for the first time this season.
The point I am making is we’ve rebuilt before and we’ll do so again. Our recruitment committee has got to step up and support the management team, and let’s see what opportunities might come our way in this transfer window.
We will do so, as we always have, by ensuring the club remains in a stable financial position and protected as a community asset, now and into the future.
Continue to support the manager and his team as we enter this second half of the season. Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
Bill Williams
