Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Gorrin and Thompson join the relegation battle
TROY Deeney has begun the overhaul of his Forest Green Rovers squad by signing Alex Gorrin from Oxford and Dominic Thompson on loan from Blackpool.
Gorrin, a 30-year-old midfielder, arrives at the New Lawn having spent the last four-and-a-half years at League One Oxford.
The Tenerife-born player came through the ranks at Sunderland but left the Black Cats to join Australian A-League side Wellington Phoenix.
He appeared in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy against Rovers earlier this season in a 1-0 win for Oxford.
Rovers boss Deeney shared his delight at getting his first signing over the line, saying: “Alex is somebody that we had in on trial under Dave (previous boss David Horseman) and Lou (Louis Carey, Horseman’s assistant), and they chose to not take him for whatever reason.
“Personally, I saw in that time what he could do, not necessarily with the ball, I think he was only in for a week, but more for what he does around the place and the organisation.
“I think he has a huge role to help with the development of Harvey Bunker and Alfie Bendle, so while he will add value in the short-term, also in terms of playing and getting his career back on track because he has played at a higher level, so he will be adding quality to the group.
“He has also got a role in terms of mentorship by explaining and talking those guys through their dayto-day or what it is like to be a top professional, not to say that they are not, but there are levels as to what you have to do.
“You look at Adrian Mariappa at Salford, 37 years old, gets a penalty. Granted he dived, but gets a penalty off of anticipation and just 15 years of knowing more football than Callum Jones, that is the kind of thing we need,” Deeney said.
Defender Thompson is on loan until the end of the season, having made 11 appearances this season.
A left-sided player, he arrives with good pedigree having started his career at Arsenal. The 23-year-old then earned a move to Brentford, where he made 19 appearances, including two in the Bees’ maiden Premier League campaign.
During his time at Brentford, he enjoyed loan spells with Swindon and Ipswich. He left Brentford to join Blackpool in the summer of 2022 for an undisclosed fee.
He has played over 40 times for the Seasiders, including an appearance in Blackpool’s 3-0 win over Forest Green in the FA Cup second round.
Upon joining Rovers, Thompson said: “It’s great to be here, and I’m hoping to get a lot of games under my belt and to have a big impact on this team. I’ve spoken to the gaffer a couple of times and we had some great chats. He’s one of the biggest influences in me making this move.”
Late yesterday, Rovers also signed 19-year-old goalkeeper Tommy Simkin on loan from Stoke. He had been at Solihull Moors.
Forest Green play at home to Harrogate this afternoon.