The Lounge

[Windlesham Don]

No problem, Rob. There were also some Powerpoint diagram images of the initial build of the stadium which I am sure would be of interest to WDSA members. Hopefully they will be available for you to link to at some point.

I’d like to see us sign both Oshilaja and James Henry, but agree that our budget may be a constraining factor. IMO we need to make our priority a quality keeper. Erik stressed once again last night that the next few seasons will be difficult in terms of providing a good budget for NA, so it may be a struggle to retain our League 1 status until we reach NPL.

[onyadon]

Windlesham – What did arouse my interest in your informative post was the mention that the new stadium may still be ready for the opening game of the 2019-20 season. Obviously a bit of water to flow under the bridge, but even with this delay (so far) we’re still talking August 2019.. anything further on that you can add?

[Windlesham Don]

Both Erik and Andrew Williams, the Stadium Project Manager, seemed confident that the 2019-20 season was still a runner. The plan is tight, but there is the possibility of overlapping tasks down the road if necessary. It is unusual for Erik to be as confident, as he is naturally conservative when looking at timescales, so that was a good sign IMO.

Apparently two contractors are in the running for the project and one of these has stated that they could complete inside the quoted timescales if needed.

The major stumbling blocks seem to be very early in the project timeline. If Historic England decide to list the stadium then all bets are off and a complete rethink of the project will be required. If Labour wins tomorrow’s UK general election then there will be an inevitable delay in considering HE’s report (whatever it contains) as we will not be top of the agenda. A shorter delay could be expected if the Tories win and any ensuing cabinet reshuffle changes the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, as any new minister will need to be briefed.

Thus, it appears that what happens over the next few months will ultimately determine the likely timescales. At the moment, summer 2019 is still very much on the cards…

[Colum]

So Deji Oshilaja it is then. No real surprise, and Neil Ardley certainly looks a happy fella. He’s every right to. The signings so far look positive. After three of last season’s bunch fell flat, they’d bloody well better be!

[Windlesham Don]

I thought that Deji showed great potential when he was here last time, but I share Rob’s concerns over the allocation of tight funds to another centre back. We now have Will, Darius, Robbo and Deji all good enough to start, I would have thought we could have run with 3 of those and looked to cover with Bas/Kalambayi/Sibbick if necessary. Perhaps NA is going to play 3 at the back more next season?

I really want to see a quality keeper as our next acquisition, even if it is a loanee (although necessarily loan deals are liable to be completed later in the summer).

I’ve probably banged on about it before, but I believe that the next two seasons are going to be very difficult for us, with stronger League 1 opposition and a limited budget. NA’s signings and tactics need to be spot on for us to run out at NPL as a League 1 side.

[onyadon]

Two old faces – Kwesi Appiah and Deji Oshilaja – back with the Real Dons. So what are the chances of a third one? Some rumours (unverified) of interest in Ryan Jackson.. that still leaves a target man and goalkeeper to fill. But Neal Ardley has made an encouraging start to the off-season recruitment campaign. He has got his targets, it’ll just be landing them.

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