Archived News from March 2004
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ALL QUIET ON TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY
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All quiet at the Mill on deadline day
CHAD website TRANSFER deadline day passed today (Thursday) without any players coming in or going out of Field Mill. But Stags boss Keith Curle is more than happy to go with what he already has as the club prepares to travel to Yeovil Town for a crucial six-pointer on Saturday (3pm). "We looked very hard and made a lot of calls but couldn't find anyone better than we had," said Curle. "Overall it was a quiet deadline day. And looking at the players who did move, if you take out the top stars who wouldn't come here or we couldn't afford, I don't think there is one player who would be straight into our starting 11 on Saturday. "We have been on a continual search for the right quality players and I wouldn't bring in new faces as a knee-jerk reaction just because it was deadline day. "Sometimes bringing in new faces can be disruptive, too." No firm bids were made for any of Curle's current squad either though Curle did turn down a request from Crewe Alexandra to take striker Andy White on loan for the rest of the season. With Iyseden Christie seeing a doctor about his broken foot today and Laurent D'Jaffo's sciaticatic problems keeping him sidelined until at least Tuesday, Curle is short in the striking department right now and White could still play a role. Otherwise the manager has no other new injuries to worry about as Stags head for Yeovil tomorrow afternoon, determined to settle a score with the Nationwide League's newest boys. Yeovil could overtake Mansfield and knock Stags out the play-off spots if they can win on Saturday. And they already have a 1-0 win at Field Mill under their belts from earlier ion the campaign when they looked a solid outfit. However, Curle said: "We had a lot of players out injured that day but still have a good account of ourselves. "This Saturday we will face them with pretty much a full quota of players. And it is a side that seems to have their belief back. "Yeovil are a team that have been together for a while now and know each other well and we know they will always give you a game. But our preparation will be spot on and I know we can come back with the three points." ------- Dario Gradi told the Crewe official website: "We tried to get Andy White but the Mansfield chairman (Keith Haslam) wouldn't let him come." -------- mansfieldtown.net reports on the latest situation regarding the transfer deadline Curle told the official website today: "I have phoned every club from Macclesfield to Manchester United but the answer has been the same, the managers are trying to keep hold of all key members of their squad. Sometimes bringing in fresh players can do more harm than good if they are not of real benefit to the club. It can be quite disruptive and I believe that we have enough quality in our changing room to reach our goal so I will not be bringing in players just for the sake of it. If they are not better than we already have what is the point?" "I am still waiting on a few calls and something could happen today but it will be much later this afternoon" he added. Curle himself has been subject to numerous calls from interested parties in a number of the Mansfield side. Andy White was the target of first division Crewe but Dario Gradi's offer was rejected. "Andy is still a Mansfield Town player and does figure in my plans, hopefully Andy will get his chance and play some part in the run in of this campaign so I had to reject to Dario's offer to take him until the end of the season." Curle said. Another player targeted was Colin Larkin, this time by Jan Molby's Kidderminster side. Other players too had requests put in for them but these were also rejected. Curle explained "What is the point of me letting players like Larkin and white go, especially as Laurent (D'Jaffo) is suffering from Sciatic pain in the base of his back." Speaking of D'Jaffo Keith Curle said "Laurent is suffering from a sciatic problem, he knows his body and how best to handle it so I expect that he will not be ready for Saturday's game against Yeovil but will hopefully be back for the home game against Cambridge." |
Latest | March 2004