Just had the paper work through new signing, Paul Booth from Leigh Genesis.
[i]Paul Booth - Defender
TRANSFER DATE TO LEIGH GENESIS :
Fri 08 Feb 2008
DATE OF BIRTH :
WED 22 OCT 1986 (AGE 22)
CAREER EXPERIENCE :
Paul was a former youth team player at Oldham Athletic and made a few starts for the reserve team before being released from Boundary Park in May 2006. He signed for Unibond League side Leek Town and in his first season 2006/2007 won the club’s player’s player of the year award and made the step up with Leigh in the Blue Square North in February.
Profile
Defender Paul Booth is a strong centre-half who has made a big impact since coming to Leigh. He made his debut in March 2007 and in his time in the side showed determination in his game and proved to be a valuable member of the squad.
No disrespect to Pritch but it had to happen sometime. However, I have a feeling Pritch will not go without a fight, which can only be good for us and the team.
WHS.
I think that Pritch has been at his best over the last few seasons when his place hasn’t been guaranteed. IF (a very big IF) his place is now under threat, then i’m sure we’ll see him roll his sleeves up and show he’s still our top defender.
His form has possibly been a little patchy over the last couple of games, but there have been games recently when he’s looked the only player likely to pass the ball to one of our players. Plus it can’t be easy playing in a different back 4 every other game!!
First of all I would like to welcome Paul to the club - let’s hope he is a top signing and a Witton player for many years to come, unlike many recent signings!
Secondly, I find it direspectful to Pritch that anyone could talk about him being replaced in this current team. When we signed Brockley nobody raised the point of Pritch being replaced so what has changed now - nothing at all. I believe that a Booth / Pritchard partnership at centre half is the most likely outcome from this most recent signing, after all Brockley can also play left back.
Eli that is well out of order, I hope it was tongue in cheek, you haven’t even seen this new signing play ! He’s had 5 games only for Leigh this season, get a grip, look how good the rest of the Leigh players that we have signed have been ! Pritch has struggled all season with injuries but carried on, with no help from any other defenders (Greg Smith excluded in that). Comments like that intended or not do nothing to help Pritch.His time will be up eventually like everyones is, but if we had 11 players with his heart, we wouldnt be propping up the table. And to put other people straight Pritch did not instigate the arrival of the new manger and had no desire to be called a “coach” or words to that effect.
Pritch will probably bollock me for this post but sometimes I get totally pissed off. He has WAFC at heart, this is not sentimentality (is that a word ?)on my part but … rant over.
Strange how easy the written word rather than the spoken can be so easily misinterpruted.
I can see how easy Eli’s post, read as a statement, could so easily upset some fans, but when read as a question, it takes on a totally different meaning.
Brian Pritchard has no doubt been Witton Albions best ever servant,a credit to the club and non-league football and his experience at this particular bad time for the club will surely be needed. Having said that this is a forum and this section is for News and Views so lets not be afraid to say what we want if we sometimes feel it necessary.
Pritch has arguably been better over the last two seasons than the previous 11!
This year he has played alongside;
Coyne
Burke
Dunne
Brockley
Lenders
Scott
Smith
Schwarz
Part of the reason for our frailty in defence is that fact he has had 8 different players alongside him, plus was forced out through one injury (and is carrying another injury since)!
Anyone with any understanding of the game will realise that our defensive problems are more to do with midfield than anything else! If we allow opponents so many opportunities in our third then we will concede goals.
Pritch remains the first name on the team sheet, nothing to do with sentiment.
Personally I would have thrown Schwarz in some weeks ago, although a young lad he has come from Walsall’s academy and has shown positive signs when he has played (he had a very good second half at FCUM for anyone that bothered to stay and watch). Whilst he has not had much first team football he would give speed at the back and youthful energy, I also think he would listen to instructions from Pritch and learn quickly.
In my opinion we should give him a run of three or four games to prove himself, we may already have the answer to the ‘other centre half’ without going out to recruit more!
Pritchs place should be as under threat as anyones, because quite frankly the whole defence(yes including pritch) has been poor this season. And the best in fact of the bad bunch of defenders has been schwarz and donnelly. NO DEFENDERS have a right to be the 1st name on the team sheet at the mo. My team for today would be: G. Smith, Schwarz, Booth, N. Smith, Scott, B. Thornley, Olsen, Linford, Smyth, Thompson, Moseley. Subs:Pritchard, R. Thornley, Drew, Thaker, Millie, Skelton, Donnelly.
ok then lets let sentiment take over like we did wiv nige and NOT do whats best for the team. God it seems some fans are very content with being bottom of the league lets just stay there shall we? Great stuff!
Brian Pritchard has been, and still is a great sevant of this club. However failure to replace older players has cost many teams there status. Even Manchester United made that mistake when they did not have a clear out after winning the European Cup in the sixties. Because they did not they spent 20 years or more in the doldrums. We should not make that mistake, if new players are better than the ones we have we must put them in the team, sentiment has nothing to do with football.
WHS.
