Rating Our Previous Summer Signings Part 2

Now that we are finally announcing some summer signings I’ll be analysing them in next week’s blog. Hopefully, we’ll have even more new arrivals by then and I’ll also be looking at the squad depth and possible formations. 

But this week is Part 2 of my look at The Magpies’ previous summer transfer windows. The review of last season’s signings will be a lot shorter as I’ve already written about them in depth.

2023/24

An off season with a large number of first team players including many of those signed the previous summer on their way out including Kpewaka and Arthur.  Emile Acquah would be hugely missed up front and Sam Barratt had earned his move to Barnet with a some great displays for the Magpies over the past few years. Regulars Dan Sparkes and Ryan Upward were saying goodbye to York Road after sterling service, and Dan Gyollai had also turned down a new contract after establishing himself as an excellent first choice keeper.
 
James Golding (Loan) - Football cliches alert.. but he’s an absolute Rolls Royce of a defender. I was gutted we couldn’t sign him permanently as he was particularly good this season. Verdict: HIT

Daniel Jinadu - Signed as a back up keeper. Didn’t really ever look like breaking into the team. Verdict: MISS

Lewis Kinsella - Came in as a solid back up option but barely played a game and also spent some time on loan. Verdict: MISS

Kevin Lokko - A solid NL centre back. Was disappointed when he left due to our training schedule. Verdict: HIT

Jayden Mitchell-Lawson - A brilliant signing who I believe would be playing at a higher level if it wasn’t for injuries. Verdict: HIT

David Omilabu - I was excited when he signed from Crystal Palace. A classic of the genre of “young exciting wingers with potential signed and never played by Dev”.  Verdict: MISS

Harry Parsons - He never looked quite good enough for the National League, don’t think he scored for us and went out on loan. Verdict: MISS

Casey Pettit - Our best CM since James Comley. Well deserved POTY that year and one of the few to play ok the next season. He earned his move up the pyramid. Verdict: HIT

Craig Ross - A very good first season at the club. Less good in his second season due to injury and inability to kick a ball but still a decent goalkeeper. Verdict: HIT

Tobi Sho-Silva - Hopes were high when he signed on as a direct replacement for Acquah. Injured more often than not and when fit looked like he couldn’t be bothered. Verdict: MISS

Chanka Zimba (Loan) - Probably the worst player of the National League era. Absolutely dreadful. Verdict: MISS

Overall Verdict: MISS - 5/10. The only 100% hits here were Casey Pettit and JML. Whilst Craig Ross did well for a season he was a downgrade on Gyollai, Lokko didn’t stay for long enough to be deemed a complete success and Golding was only a loanee. Sho-Silva was a terrible signing and Zimba was genuinely one of the worst strikers I have ever seen. A real drop in quality all over the squad. 

2024/25

The main departures that summer were the loss of both full backs; Zico Asare and Sam Beckwith, who had really stood out the previous year with their quality. Losing Ash Nathaniel-George was also a blow along with Charlee Adams who despite falling out with Dev was still a fans favourite. 

Joseph Ajose - See the entry for Omilabu. Rinse and repeat. Verdict: MISS

Zac Bell - This felt like a coup at the time but unfortunately he wasn’t a touch on Zico Asare and struggled to settle in the side. Was sent out on loan by the end of the season. Verdict: MISS

Ruben Carvalho - Described as the Non-League Neymar, there was a lot of excitement around this signing and he started the first league game of the seaon. However, he was out of the team by September and never really given another chance before being loaned out. Did I mention Dev had an issue with young wingers with potential… Verdict: MISS

Owen Cochrane (Loan) - A good squad player who has had excellent games for us but never seems to have had the full trust of either Dev or Ryan Peters. Verdict: HIT

Harvey Collins - Signed as a Number 2 for Ross but got injured when needed towards the end of the season. Verdict: MISS

Tyrese Dyce - Apparently fell out with Dev due to his attitude. Occasionally looked dangerous going forward but a real downgrade on Sam Beckwith. Verdict: MISS

Nathan Ferguson - Was believed to be an upgrade on Ferdinand. Played like he didn’t want to be at the club and went missing when needed. Verdict: MISS

Joshua Johnson (Loan) - A rarity this season, a good centre midfielder. His season was somewhat spoiled by injuries but when he was fit he really looked the part. Verdict: HIT

Thierry Latty-Fairweather (Loan) - He initially joined on a short term loan deal which was extended until the end of the season. Showed flashes of quality but didn’t have the grit required for a relegation dogfight. Verdict: MISS

Tariq Uwakwe (Loan) - Can’t remember him contributing much at all before his loan ended in October. Verdict: MISS 

Miles Welch-Hayes (Loan) - I have really liked MWH this season at CB since he signed permanently. However, as a loanee I thought he was pretty average. Verdict: MISS 

Overall Verdict: MISS - 2/10. The only positives were Owen Cochrane who is a squad player and Josh Johnson who looked good before injury ruined his season and curtailed his loan spell. This transfer window would play a huge part in our subsequent relegation as quality players who departed were replaced with footballers not fit to lace their boots. 

2025/26

The off season saw a mass exodus following our relegation from the National League. Although this allowed us to get rid of some of the deadwood we also lost Reece Smith, probably the best player the Maidenhead Academy has ever produced. Tristan Abrahams, Shaun McCoulsky and Brendan Kiernan would all require replacing in attack and club legend Alan Massey also departed amongst others. 

Corie Andrews - Never looked like scoring. Never looked fit enough. Good riddance. Verdict: MISS

Ryan Bartley - A good solid member of the back line. Verdict: HIT

Liam Dulson - Superb. His injury scuppered any real chance of promotion. Verdict: HIT

Callum Harriot - Injured then released. Verdict: MISS

Emmanuel Onariase - Good defender but is he good enough for his very high wage? Verdict: MISS

Josh Popoola - Huge talent, one of the best players in the division when on form. Verdict: HIT

Harry Pritchard - Not the player he was due to injuries. Verdict: MISS

Jordan Raguette - Very good at getting balls into the box. Some question marks around his defending. Verdict: HIT

Matt Robinson - Fans POTY. His importance was shown by how poor we were in the games he didn’t play. Verdict: HIT

Josh Umerah - Best striker since Acquah. Verdict: HIT

Jordi Van Stappershoef - Shaky start but came good towards the end of the season when he made some vital saves. Verdict: HIT

Miles Welch-Hayes - Impressed at Centre Back. Verdict: HIT

Kai Yearn - I rate him highly and would love to sign him but he just wasn’t given a proper chance in the team before his loan ended in January. Verdict: MISS

Asher Yearwood - Flattered to deceive. Verdict: MISS

Verdict: HIT - 7/10. Whilst there were some real disappointing signings such as Andrews and Harriot, the capture of Robinson, Popoola, Van Stappershoef, Dulson and Umerah meant we came out on top. All of them are NL level players and Bartley and Raguette were also improvements on the players they replaced whilst MWH was also a pleasant surprise. Even Yearwood and Yearn weren’t disasters, the bigger issue were some of the players retained.

This summer’s recruitment is looking very promising and I’m looking forward to having a proper deep dive into the new players in next week’s blog post. Until next time, see you on The Bell End. Up The Mags!