Look at it logically... ED will be 32 in March, a contract would have to be for at least 2 years, and I'm sure Bradford would ask for a fee. If he did get us up then, in his last 2 seasons at Div 3 level he's played for relegated sides. For sure we want to keep him til end of the season, but you have to weigh that against tying up money in an a depreciating asset. Think signing Yates would be much more of a Power thing.
Power has changed his model though.
In the past he has signed only young player worth developing and selling, he quickly found out that for every Luongo you have a Rodgers and for every Gladwin you have a BOO plus many more useless ones.
Would the age 30+ players Doyle, Grant, Baudry, Rose, McCormick and Caddis all have been signed using that model?
I would say definately not, Power has come to realise that you need experience as well as raw youth and if the right players become available and work with our squad then he will sign them, fee or no fee. Power has never been shy of putting up a fee for any player.
There is not one Swindon fan that can say we do not need Grant, Doyle and Donohue for the rest of the season, that also applies to the management and owner too, they arent blind, they can see what and who works in the side and who doesn't.
Its not all about the bottom line of selling a player for proft any more at the expense of the team.
We are not a Youth side any more, we have many players with bags of experience in the side and they compliment each other and are not just a team of raw young individuals after making their way in a career using us as a stepping stone.
There is no doubt at all that every player in this Town side could easily step up a division and perform for at least another 2 years at a higher level, no doubt at all. You state Doyle will be 32 before the end of the season.
Look at Jamie Cureton....shit with us but carried on scoring at a decent level for several years after he left. He even scored 12 goals for Norwich in the Championship aged 35 and carried on playing league football until he was 39.
Steve White who was 35 and still scoring for fun when he left us and carried on for Hereferd and Cardiff until he was 39 and STILL scoring.
Ian Rush playing and still scoring for Liverpool aged 35, Micahel Owen still playing and scoring in the Prem aged 33, Alan Shearer still playing and scoring for Newcastle aged 36, Dennis Law playing for Man City aged 34,
20 goal a season strikers are very hard to come by and worth their weight in gold.
If a player keeps himself fit then he can carry on at a decent level until mid 30s these days easily, Doyle looks as fit as any Town player IMO, even those 13 years his junior.
