18 months ago, City dipped into the National League to pick up a young striker called Ben House. On paper, his goals return was average, and his arrival was, with the greatest of respect, overshadowed somewhat.
We needed goals at the time, and in came Morgan Whittaker, John Marquis, and Liam Cullen. Even Charlie Kendall, with a hatful for Eastbourne Borough, got pulses racing. House seemed like a project, a player who might come good. However, fans didn’t see what Jez and the recruitment team knew – Ben House had the ability to play much higher. Here we are, close to the end of the season, and he’s one of the five names I keep seeing bandied about as a possible Player of the Season. He’s got into double figures, almost all of them utterly crucial, and we’re going into next season thinking we don’t actually need a number nine; we need the players who can adequately support the one we already have.
Kudos to the recruitment team, kudos to the coaching team, and most of all, to Ben for seizing his chance.
Will we be looking to the National League once again? Chances are we will, but who should we be targeting? Look, I’m not going to come here and say we should be signing Paul Mullin or Macaulay Langstaff; that’s utterly ridiculous to think we’d be in with a shout of those players. Langstaff is surely Championship bound, whilst Mullin would represent a big outlay for little onward reward. No, if we do go into the National League, and I’m not saying we will, it will be with a more savvy eye on the players who might not grab headlines, but who would add value to our squad, immediately or perhaps down the line.
Who are those players? I’m not a scout, but these have all caught my eye as the season has gone on. I’m leaving out Notts County and Wrexham, so no Ruben Rodrigues. I’ve used a combination of Wyscout, third-party reports and a bit of my own opinion to throw these names together.