TOMMY HITS OUT AT POSH SANTOS SNUB

THURROCK chairman Tommy South has blasted Peterborough United for reneging on a pre-season friendly agreed when they signed Ricardo Santos back in 2014, writes John Lyons.

Posh snapped up the Portuguese defender, now 21, after Fleet boss Mark Stimson recommended him to them and he’s already made 70 appearances.

Santos wasn’t on contract and therefore Peterborough weren’t obliged to pay a fee, but Ryman Division One North outfit Thurrock hoped the Football League club would help them out with a friendly.

South said: “We didn’t want to stand in Ricardo’s way and waived the usual seven-day approach. When he signed Peterborough offered us a pre-season friendly with the first team in the summer of 2014, but nothing happened at all.

“I spoke to (director of football) Barry Fry and he said they would sort something out and offered me a date. I rang my manager and then called back and spoke to the secretary at Peterborough. She said the date had gone – but it was only five minutes earlier I had been offered it!

“I then asked if they would make us a donation instead, £3,000 or £4,000. Barry said they had no money but they might make a donation when they sold him for a million! It just leaves a bad taste in the mouth.” Last week, Posh were accused by Boreham Wood of poaching striker Morgan Ferrier from under their noses and South added: “They did that to Boreham Wood and they did it to us, too. To a club at our level, £3,000 would pay a couple of weeks’ wages and it wouldn’t have hurt them. The boy is just 21 now.”

But Fry insists his conscience is clear on both counts.

He told The NLP: “We did say we would go down and play pre-season, but we couldn’t fit it in because their pitch wasn’t ready or something.

“I certainly haven’t fallen out with Mark Stimson over this and everything we did was with his blessing. Mark is brilliant and worked for us for a period of time on a parttime basis. Thurrock made him an offer and we didn’t ask for compensation. It works both ways.

“I don’t want to fall out with anyone and we’d be happy to play a pre-season friendly with them next year or when both sides haven’t got a midweek game.”

As for Ferrier, Fry revealed he is no longer on trial with Posh. “Boreham Wood hadn’t signed him and his agent spoke to our manager Grant McCann and asked if we would like to have him for a week,” he said. “He’s not with us now and he’s a free agent – if Boreham Wood want him they should make him an offer.”