I know it’s something that shouldn’t need be celebrated but it’s progress that both players we offered deals have both signed as soon as they was back from their holidays, unsure if either had many options but it’s a small positive.

By the way, I want to be clear, if I was in charge I'd want to get Oforborh and McGurk to sign extensions, they are both players worthy of keeping onboard.  I'm just saying that their extensions do not improve us from where we were at the end of the season.  They do not fix anything.

A signing like Clarke is what we need (on paper at least), plus another 9.

Did we?  He came to us for a reason, just like four or five others.  Their clubs had already told them they were being released at the end of the season and we were willing to keep them on their existing contract but give them playing time.  If someone was really keen on him, they'd have stepped in at that point.  He didn't play much, so did nothing to show other clubs he was more worth the risk now than he would have been in January.

Same for Ofoborh - he had a couple of years to find a club willing to take the risk we were and had no takers.  Again, he seems OK based on a couple of games so far (remember, Khan got man of the match votes last season), but he wasn't picked up by other clubs for a good reason.  In a properly functioning club, he'd be signed as a development option, not someone you have to rely on (not yet).

Someone like Glatzel would have been the only one to worry about - he showed he could play a run of games, which was the stumbling block for most other clubs I presume.

I agree that he is a good player to have.

I disagree that we have a useful squad, as things stand.  It's basically a few of what we had for the last season with one addition.  I am not worried about any of the players who have left, but we remain about 9-10 players, of first team calibre (in the main) short.

Considering we all thought he wouldn't sign and that a decent club would be all over him, it's very good news.

Doesn't make it "not good news" and personally I think he will improve us with a pre season in him.Imagine the furore if he hadn't signed(or Ofobohr for that matter). We saw Crawley get out of this league with an average squad and we have the basis in June of ,I feel, a useful squad.

The relentless nature of watching the past four seasons via iFollow and seeing the demise via small trips back.  When you live and breath being a part of it, I can totally understand being able to quickly drop concerns and get enthused, to enjoy the day out rather than the match itself etc.  Not unlike coming back to Swindon the Town and seeing the demise of that as well - when I lived in it, the mess was much harder to see because it was just part of it.

On the plus side (for a cynic), I seem to have gradually infected Atlanta Utd as well.  To start with it seemed like I'd have a local club that won lots of stuff and was fun to watch.

You used to be the happy clapper Rob, what happened!

(I realise the answer is "following Swindon Town" and sympathise fully)

I know its been said before and is frustrating, but we just have to be patient. Hopefully 2 or 3 of these new signings will materialize this week to give us all some faith.

With McGurk i think we now have 16 players signed up, but i would count McGregor, Dworzack and Johnson as youths not to be considered in a 2 per position squad you want. So that's at least 9 gaps, plenty of movement to happen. And we may shift some people out (Aguiar..).

The ownership group must cream their pants every summer.  Their incoherent and incompetent approach to running a football club has managed to bring down expectations to such an extent that players signing contracts now garners as much interest as a new signing.

Don't get me wrong, I think McGurk is worth a contract, but he's hardly the answer to improving us, given he was already "us" when we meandered to our worst ever season finish.  He showed some nice flashes, but we need a first team capable of keeping a player like Kemp guessing as whether they would get a start - we are so far off that.  On top of that, nothing about the club has changed to suggest a good season would be anything more than a bit of luck, maybe reliant on one or two people - like Chorley.  There is nothing in place to sustain anything good still.