It was players that Shots boss Terry Brown was after and it was players he got as the club announced last night that it had signed three new faces shortly before the transfer window closed.
Thes first player joining the Recreation Ground in a one year deal is centre half Greg Heald.
Enfield youngster Greg Heald played 11 times for the Norwich City youth side in 1989/90 adding to his two appearances the previous season. After failing to break into the Norwich first team, he returned to play for his home-town club. He left Enfield to join Peterborough and by the start of the 1997/98 season had made 105 league appearances for the Posh scoring 6 times.
He joined Barnet, as their record signing, in the early part of the 1997/98 season and scored on an early appearance in the 3-1 Coca Cola Cup victory over Norwich City. He made 43 appearances during 1997/98 scoring three goals. Barnet were relegated to the Conference on 5th May 2001 despite Heald's efforts in the 39 league games he played (taking his total to 141 games and 13 goals). As a result of the relegation, every player at Underhill was placed on the transfer list. In April 2002, Greg was selected for the England non-league international side to play Holland on April 24th
On March 27th 2003 (Transfer Deadline Day), Barnet were forced by financial pressures to sell Heald and team-mate Wayne Purser to Leyton Orient for a joint fee of £18000. In the summer of 2003, Orient manager Paul Brush honoured Greg's talents and leadership by naming him club captain for the forthcoming season.
Under new manager Martin Ling, Greg was unable to secure a regular first team place at Orient, especially following the signing of John Mackie from Reading in January 2004. On March 15th 2004, Greg was released from his contract in order that he could join Rochdale until the end of the 2003/04 season. Another year with Rochdale followed but he was released in June 2005. He was reported to have signed for York City at the beginning of July 2005 but later backed out of the deal.
Greg signed for Burton Albion and played in their opening day Conference clash with Grays Athletic on 13th August 2005. Two days later though, he transferred to Unibond Premier Division side Ashton United who had offered him the security of a one year contract. He's recently moved back down south and has been signed by Terry Brown to help add some experience to the Shots dodgy looking defence.
With thanks to http://www.ex-canaries.co.uk
The second face to join is young Northampton Town striker Matt Gearing.
Matt joins in a loan deal that both clubs expect to last the entire season. He has not appeared for the Cobblers first team, however he has been a regular in their reserves and is keen to gain some first team experience in the hope that he can push for a regular first team spot. Shotsweb described him as "a player in the Jake Robinson mould" so a lot will be expected of him in his spell at the Recreation Ground.
The final player joins on a one month loan deal and is Bristol Rovers winger Ryan Williams. Williams made the decision to join the Recreation Ground following the Pirates making a loan signing of Michael Leary from Luton Town. website 4thegame.com have stated that Williams did not even know his name had been circulated for loan and was a little upset. Two clubs offered him a deal and it was left to him to decide if he wanted to stay at Rovers or to take up one of the offers.
Williams decided to join the Shots until October, gaining some fitness and experience before returning to Bristol to fight for a new contract.
Shots fans will remember Williams during his loan spell with Forest Green Rovers when he single handedly took our defence apart during the clubs two matches over the christmas period.
| Ryan Williams (Bristol Rovers) Information | |||
| Date of birth | 31 August 1978 | Height | 5.4 |
| Place of birth | Mansfield | Weight | 9.6 |
| Nationality | Position | Midfield | |
| Comments | Squad No. | 16 | |
Recent Career History By Club (1999 onwards) | ||||||
Team | Debut | Apps (+ sub) | Goals | Yellows | Reds | |
| 22/01/2005 | 12 (11) | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 11/12/2004 | 7 (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 01/11/2003 | 16 (7) | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 11/08/2001 | 47 (14) | 3 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 77 (7) | 9 | 3 | 0 | |||
Recent Career History By Season (1999 onwards) | ||||||
Season | First App. | Apps (+ sub) | Goals | Yellows | Reds | |
| 06/08/2005 | 2 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 10/08/2004 | 17 (10) | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 14/10/2003 | 17 (4) | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 10/08/2002 | 17 (9) | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 11/08/2001 | 29 (5) | 2 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 12/08/2000 | 45 (7) | 9 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 20/11/1999 | 32 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Appearances 159 (+ 39 as sub); Goals 17; Yellow cards 10; Red cards 1 | ||||||
From www.bristolrovers-mad.co.uk
Shotsweb have also reported that Terry Brown is looking to add another young striker to the side by tonight.
The un-named player is currently not under contract at a club and would therefore not be effected by last nights transfer deadline. He has reportedly recently been looked at carefully by a Coca Cola Championship side and his ability has caught the eye of several league scouts.
We will of course, bring you more news when it happens.