Season Three: Winter Transfer Window
Transfers Out
With a fair few players discontent at a lack of game time, there was surprisingly a lot of transfer activity during January, no fewer than 6 squad members moving away from West Leigh Park.
Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 33 years old
Key Attributes: Reflexes, Determination, Eccentricity
The ageing shot stopper Jaimez-Ruiz was the first departure, and having been forced to sit on the bench for the entirety of the season, I can understand him wanting to leave. He was a good player in the Conference for us, and so the least that can be done is to thank him for his service to the club, as well as wish him all the best at Oldham.
Jerome Okimo
Position: Left Back
Age: 23 years old
Key Attributes: Pace, Acceleration, Stamina
Okimo was a player I was desperate to get rid of, as he was nowhere near to the standard of League 2 football, and was just a hindrance to our wage budget. He hadn’t played all season long anyway, so was just as happy to leave the club, for first team football.
Joe Oastler
Position: Right Back
Age: 26 years old
Key Attributes: Determination, Tackling, Marking
Oastler is another player who has had a lack of playing time for Havant, and is likely to leave come the end of the season. Bath have taken him on loan in the meantime, the Vanarama Conference more suited to his ability.
Austin Lipman
Position: Striker
Age: 21 years old
Key Attributes: Natural Fitness, Anticipation, Free Kick Taking
With Bubb and Akinfenwa ahead of him, as well as one of our new additions, Lipman doesn’t really have much of a chance of getting in our side. A loan deal will give him the opportunity to prove himself, but going from his goalscoring record while with us, he is also unlikely to earn a new deal.
Ashley Hemmings
Position: Winger
Age: 25 years old
Key Attributes: Flair, Agility, Pace
In a similar situation to Oastler and Lipman, finding himself way down in the pecking order, Ashley Hemmings has been loaned out ahead of a permanent exit in the summer. He should be a decent player for Hednesford, which says it all really – he’s not on our level, at all.
Ian Morris
Age: 29 years old
Position: Central Midfielder
Key Attributes: Long Throws, Composure, Determination
Having done a decent job even in League 2, I didn’t originally plan for Ian Morris to leave the club, but arrivals kind of forced me into this. With players in his position coming in, and already having the role of back-up, Morris wanted to go elsewhere – his contract eventually being mutually terminated.
Transfers In
Although the existing players had done an excellent job in the matches up to January, I felt that if we were going to sustain our automatic promotion challenge, we were going to need more quality in the squad. With the original target set at avoiding relegation, the board decided to give me more funds and increase the expectations, paving the way for new arrivals.
Eoin Doyle
Age: 28 years old
Position: Striker
Key Attributes: Work Rate, Teamwork, Natural Fitness
While Bradley Bubb and Adebayo Akinfenwa have been brilliant, we always needed another striker, to bring some diversity to this role. Eoin was a great candidate, with a decent goalscoring record, affordable wages and some solid looking attributes. Hopefully he can quickly settle in and give the other two attackers a real fight for a first team spot.
Alex Cisak
Age: 28 years old
Position: Goalkeeper
Key Attributes: Handling, Bravery, Jumping Reach
After the sale of Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, a new goalkeeper was urgently needed. First off I set about searching for a player that wouldn’t mind being number two but soon found out that Alex Cisak was without a club, and snapped him up immediately to become my new number one. We have another good goalkeeper at the club in Lawrence Vigouroux however Cisak has that bit more quality and experience, which can even be beneficial to Vigouroux, in that the deputy will be able to be tutored by the first choice.
John Swift
Age: 21 years old
Position: Central Midfielder
Key Attributes: Natural Fitness, Bravery, Fitness
John Swift is probably the most pleasing transfer of the window, a player with bags of ability for this division, and even more potential. Still only 21 years old, he could become a key player for the club, hopefully he will stay here for many years to come.
Matthew Dolan
Age: 24 years old
Position: Central Midfielder
Key Attributes: Strength, Passing, Long Throws
Dolan, released by Bradford, is again a player who brings something different to the table. A more defensively minded central midfield player, he is always up for a battle, and gives us an extra competitive nature to our game.
Adil Chihi
Age: 28 years old
Position: Winger
Key Attributes: Dribbling, Technique, Flair
Playing in the Bundesliga for a lot of his career, Adil Chihi has a lot of pedigree, so I was really glad to bring him to Havant. Technically he is good, giving us more balance in midfield considering the amount of players we have who are more about their physicality. He didn’t cut it at Fulham, but has a point to prove for us.
Ricky Holmes
Age: 29 years old
Position: Winger
Key Attributes: Work Rate, Corners, Free Kick Taking
If I’m honest the signing of Holmes may have been a bit of a panic buy, and he may not have been the best of options, but he will still beef up our wide options, at least. A hard worker and dead ball specialist, he is a good player and although he is at the prime age of 29, should justify the fee paid.
Ben Purrington
Age: 20 years old
Position: Left Back
Key Attributes: Determination, Teamwork, Aggression
Danny Grainger was the only left back at the club, so clearly, we needed to bring in some cover in this position – Ben Purrington arriving on loan until the end of the season. He’s a player who we have come up against in the past when he was playing for Luton on a loan deal, and I’m sure he can do a decent job here, as well.
Jack Barmby
Age: 22 years old
Position: Winger
Key Attributes: Flair, Dribbling, Pace
As you may gather by the signing of three wingers during this window, this was an area I had targeted for improvement. The final signing was former Manchester United youngster Jack Barmby, a promising player with decent pace, dribbling and crossing ability, with plenty of promise too. He can play on either side but will be primarily used as a left midfielder.
Last Update: Season Three: December and January
Next Update: Havant's new midfield maestro?