GREENE SNUBS BID FOR IMPRESSIVE O'CONNOR
Courtesy of www.thisiswindsor.com.
SPITFIRE striker Craig O’Connor was the subject of a £5,000 bid from Gravesend & Northfleet but Windsor & Eton boss Dennis Greene snubbed the deal, writes Gary Chappell.
O’Connor, 22, impressed Gravesend manager Andy Ford with his lightning pace and committment to the team in the match with Harrow Borough three weeks ago. Greene, who guided his new-look Royalists into the third round of the FA Trophy this week with a 3-1 win over Ryman Premier League side Hitchin Town, said: “Ford phoned me the day after the match when I was doing my grocery shopping in Tesco’s.
Greene...Turned Down Bid For O'Connor
“He asked if we’d be interested in letting him go and said he knew how much players at Craig’s level went for.
“When he said £5,000 I just knew that it was no good to us, we might as well keep him.”
Greene would be hard pushed to replace O’Connor and £5,000 would equate to around £100 per week for a new striker.
Greene added: “Craig is currently doing to work of two strikers. If we sold him we would need two players and then have to revert back to a 4-4-2 formation. We just cannot replace him for £5,000.
“Craig has still got a lot to learn and he knows that. He has only been with us for just under a year and if he stays a bit longer then it will not be Gravesend that comes in for him it will be a bigger club and they will be offering even more money.”
If O’Connor moved to Gravesend it could block a possible move into the football league for the young striker who has shown enormous talent during his time with Burnham and now in a Windsor & Eton shirt.
Greene said: “Gravesend could slap a £100,000 price tag on him and that could out-price him for a move into the football league. But clubs could come to us for around £20-25,000.”
DENNIS Greene has signed goalkeeper Steve Williams from Wycombe Wanderers on a month’s loan.
Greene has also signed Rob Saunders of Maidenhead, Tony Reid from Lewes and Julian Renner-Thomas from Harrow Borough.
The Royalists’ boss hopes the signings will take his side past the challenge of Thame Utd, their next opponents in the FA Trophy.
Greene said: “Money is more important to me at the moment. A big draw could help strengthen my squad.”
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