Exodus of experienced players is ‘par for the course’ for Marlow manager
Marlow FC’s most recent exodus of players is just ‘par for the course’, according to Mark Bartley, as the manager gave his reasons behind Junaid Bell and Kameron English’s departures from the club this week.
The pair were announced to have left the Blues for National League South outfit Hungerford Town over the weekend and unsurprisingly go with Bartley’s blessing as he is ‘super pleased’ to see his players go on to perform at a higher level.
Speaking on players coming to Oak Tree Road, Bartley added that five or six new faces will be present in the Blues’ lineup on the first day of the new season and added that the club is due to launch an u23s team headed by Harry Pelling.
“We have lost quite a few players, especially recently, but it’s just par for the course,” said Bartley. “When a player is offered to make the step up and an attractive financial package, I don’t think there is much you can do as a manager other than give them your blessing.
“I genuinely care about the players that play for me so when they get these opportunites, I am super pleased for them. I know that I am different to a lot of managers in that respect, but I brought these players to the club and they have run through brick walls for me.
“People are saying ‘Wow, these are some big players, why is Mark letting them go?’, but nobody knew who they were until they came to Marlow. These are men that I have identified and worked with over several years and helped them develop into the best players in the league.
“I got Junaid Bell at 17years-old, Adam Richards was with me at that age too, Simon Grant came in at 22years-old, and Kameron English is another one I had from a very young age. I hugely support them moving on.
“If you are a player that is out there and you want to play at step four, you want to develop yourself as a player, and you then want to progress higher, Marlow is the club to come to.
“Why would you not come when, over time, we have demonstrated that we can improve you while competing at the top end of the league? It’s everything you should be looking for as a player really.”
Bartley added: “We still have a core of players who have agreed to stay for next season but the team does need rebuilding and refreshing. It’s not a huge rebuild but, what I would say is, when the first XI takes to the field on the first game of the season there will be five or six new faces in there.
“We are also launching an u23s team aswell that Harry Pelling will be managing. It’s a great step forward for the club as when we’ve previously picked up an injury, we have had and try and bring players in from elsewhere and in mid-season that can be quite difficult.”