Pre Season 4

And here it is

Pre season rolls around and we move into the most challenging year of the clubs history

ive been saying that a lot recently, but it's more and more true each time i say it

We've achieved some incredible things, but this year will have to be something else in terms of effort and application as we take a shot at something we have never been anywhere near before

and to start the month, we had a major departure from the backroom staff

After interest from his homeland in Isreal Yossi Benayoun decided against renewing his contract at Salford and left as we entered July

Yossi added some much needed experience to the backroom and will be missed.

See you later Yossi, its been a pleasure

With a lack of star names looking for a Director of Football role we have gone for the most talented candidate avaialble

Former non-league veteran Michael Townsend might not be a well known name, but he's got the ability to spot a player and i'll be looking for him to work with star scout Patrick Busby over the course of the season to help us out.

And then

We needed to say goodbye to some players..

Jasbir filled in when needed

not well

but he filled in

Rochdale wanted him and snapped him up as his contract expired.

Hooper spent the second half of the season on loan at Guiseley but didnt overly impress

i think his injury has really knocked his confidence and he's lost a yard of pace, so we decided it was better to let him chase first team football elsewhere

Jeffrey was always a stop gap, his pace was helpful last season but he just wont be good enough at this level

Moore was an odd one, he started firmly as backup but ended up in our team of the year after a barnstorming second half of the season, but he demanded over £1000 a week and he just isnt worth it

Finally Liam Hogan

the worlds most calamitous defender has finally parted ways with Salford

He is a club icon and rightfully so after 90+ appearances, but it's time for him to find a club at a level he can perform at

Thanks for the memories you clumsy but occasionally excellent centre half

This was one i wanted to avoid

but with 1 year left and a desire to earn more than i am willing to offer any man, Rhys Oates, off the back of an outstanding season scoring over 20 goals and getting 15 assists, left or Portsmouth in a club record 70k sale.

for a man we got for free, and got a very good season out of at only £550 a week we turned more than a 40k profit in the year

good business

but sad to see him go

NOW  

ITS TIME FOR THE NEW INTAKE AT SALFORD CITY 

We start with loan signings

Plymouth yet again were willing to let us take star man Sangster on loan but this time demanded we pay 100% of his wages

and with those being £250 a week, we snapped him up for another year

with his contract expiring at the end of this season, ill be looking to bring him in on a free next year if he doesn't renew at Plymouth

Another renewal is Kian Flanagan

He was ecellent in the second half of the season and i was glad to get him in again on a free wage deal for the season

Another in the last year of his contract, though we will face stern competition for his signature if he continues in the form he showed for us last year 

Next up is Korede Adedoyin from Everton

another young player to act as a good rotational choice up front

with pace, dribbling and determination, Adedoyin should prove useful at this level

and with no wages to pay, it is risk free again

Backup goalkeeper Adam Bruce comes in on loan from Burnley and will hopefully prove far better backup than Singh did

He looks a promising talent, and we might even look to keep him after this season if possible.

again, no wages make this a good deal

And the final loan signing is another from Everton

Liam Connolly i a young defender who can play anywhere across the back 4

with great all round physical stats, and good tackling and marking for his age he will be a very useful utility man

another freebie, i cant see us keeping him for long though as he is touted for big things.

And after these signings we got the draw for the Carabao cup and everyones favourite Competetion

The Checktrade Trophy

A good test

and one of the better teams we could have drawn

Preston will be a lot better than any other team we will face this season, but are beatable

with the tie being at home, i fancy a chance of giving this one a really good go

You know what

I think we have a chance in this one

Liverpool will be tough, but the other teams will be all beatable

I'll see how it goes early on and then play it by ear

And now

we need a couple of non loan signings

We sign recently released by Hibernian Jordon Foster

Jordon comes with boat loads of top level (albeit in scotland) experience and is a real coup for us at this level

at 1.4k a week he isnt cheap, but will certainly be first choice at centre back this season

Songo'o, Forster, Rodrigues

its looking good back there

and then

the big one...

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas

A man most football fans will know

Once an Arsenal graduate he brings experience, pace, strength flair and finishing to the team

He's on loan, but we have an optional fee of £200k in there, so he could well be a full signing if we go up and i start to spend money when we get to the championship

the only problem is that Bury wouldnt let me loan him unless they could Recall him so if he hits the ground running we might lose him

its a risky one

but one im willing to take

He's i would say, the most gifted player we've ever signed

And finally Daniel Pacheco

a young American ive snapped up from the US second division team Oakwood SC

in this league, players are usually on non-contracts and he has been impressing for the USA under 17 team recently

he cant sign until he's 18 

and he hasnt got a work permit yet

but if he gets some game time for the full national team he can join us to play

but if he doesnt, he will still be a valuable asset to sell on or loan to europe with a loan fee attached

A real curveball

Pre season went well

We decided to play some lower teams to get the team playing together without hardly getting a kick of the ball

we did try a game against Leicester, but they fielded a full side and we were blown away

other than that

Promising

A bleak outlook for this season

3/5 to go down

its going to be tough

but then again

last season was supposed to be a write off

and look how that turned out

LETS GET TO IT