With a steady influx of new faces and a purported emphasis on quality over quantity, Paul Hurst's first summer in sole charge has seen him select the best available players from Conference rivals Macclesfield, Southport and Gateshead, plus loanees from newly promoted Cambridge and local rivals Scunthorpe. He also brought in two trialists and three youth product, to complete his squad, though many expect one more striker at some point.
So how does this season's squad compare to last season's?
1. Scotts swapped; Southport central midfielder Scott Brown (29) comes in at centre-mid, a direct replacement for Scott Kerr (32)
Brown is expected to be a bit more energetic and speedy, may even score more goals.
2. Jack from Macc; 22year old winger Jack Mackreth replaces Alex Rodman, who was apparently Hibernian bound until Terry Butcher's dismissal., only to end up reunited with Gary Mills at Gateshead. Mackreth is an ex-Tranmere trainee with 3 seasons of Conference experience at Barrow and Macclesfield.
3. Scouse centre backs swapped ; Aristote Nsiala also signed from Southport. He isn't quite as tall as the man he replaced; 6ft6 Clayton McDonald, but he is not far off. 'Toto' is a full international for Dem.Republic of Congo, and like Brown, a product of the Everton youth system.
4. Extra youngsters; Three products of the youth system have been retained, as detailed in earlier blogs; Messrs.Walker, Winfarrah and Humble seem to have impressed during pre-season and will be hoping to more than just make up the numbers. When you look at the squad places they have filled, you could argue that they replace reserve 'keeper Jonathan Hedge, back-up striker Dayle Southwell and spare defender Jamal Fyfield, so it appears a sensible decision to give emerging talent a chance, especially when it is an inexpensive option and adds versatility too. Talking of which....
5. Added Versatility; By bringing in defender Carl Magnay and winger/striker Nathan Arnold, the Mariners have added flexibility to the squad. By my reckoning they take the squad slots vacated two predominantly right sided players in Sam Hatton and Joe Colbeck.
6. Two trialists and Boyce is back; as pre-season drew to an end, we were still a couple of players short, and in came Jon Paul Pittman and Craig Clay, taking the places left by Andy Cook and Andi Thanoj. The new pair got mixed reviews from fans based on the friendlies, perhaps fittingly as they replace a couple of players who divided opinion amongst Town fans, who seemed to see Cook or Thanoj as undervalued or overrated. (Almost inevitably, Clay has played for York in the past, as have...... McLaughlin, Brown, Doig, and in recent times, Kerr, Fyfield,Rodman etc etc..) And last but not least is the return of Andrew Boyce on loan, for a month initially. He covers the early suspensions of Nsiala and Shaun Pearson, each of whom must be slightly fearful of struggling to get back in the side!
So overall, we have arguably yet to replace Liam Hearn, and are left unsure as to who this year's Richie Jones, Alan Goodall, Connor Jennings or Oumare Tounkara could be, but most signings have excited the fans. Almost all those departed have been replaced, hopefully with upgrades, and it is likely that Paul Hurst will keep a close eye on potential loanees, as per Pond, Naylor and Boyce in recent times.
We always like to poitn you to good GTFC-related material; so check out CodAlmighty's ever reliable contract tracker; http://codalmighty.com/site/ca.php?article=4202 which reminds us of the important new contracts signed this summer by James McKeown, Scott Neilson and Craig Disley amongst others. It also demonstrates that this squad is almost all out of contract next summer, so have their futures to play for.
Finally, how does early August 2014 compare to early August 2015?
Last season's opening day line up:
McKeown/ Bignot McDonald Pearson Thomas / Kerr McLaughlin Disley Colbeck Neilson / Hearn; subs: Hatton Thanoj Rodman Hannan John-Lewis
This season's first squad: (from; with 3 suspensions, Neilson Nsiala and Pearson)
McKeown /Bignot Walker Boyce Doig Magnay Thomas /Brown Disley McLaughlin Clay Mackreth Winfarrah Arnold/ John-Lewis Hannah Pittman
UP THE MARINERS; enjoy 2014-15!