Cobbs' Wings future thrown into doubt (From News Shopper)

Cobbs' Wings future thrown into doubt

4:51pm Wednesday 29th April 2009 in Sport By Paul Green

ANDY Ford has revealed Sonny Cobbs will only be offered the chance to return to Welling for pre-season training and not be handed a contract straight away.

The manager already knows he has to reduce his first team squad from 18 to 16 next year, but his decision to keep only an open mind on Cobbs will come as a surprise to Wings fans.

He admitted: “I know some people will question this but I am only going to give him a pre-season.

“Sonny had a bit of a mismatch season with injuries and my plan is to get a new left-back, which is where he has been playing.

“I know he can play in midfield too and I hope he takes up the opportunity to come back for pre-season, but obviously he is a free agent and he has to consider all of his options.”

Ford concedes the reduction in playing personnel is far from an ideal situation, but he accepts the current economic downturn is the deciding factor and the boss is determined to make the most of it.

He explained: “It is just one of those things and hardly any great surprise bearing in mind what is going on in the wider world.

“I would rather go for quality than quantity anyway.

“Hopefully we can get some youngsters to fill in because if we get injuries and suspensions, then 16 isn’t going to be easy.

“I want to keep between eight and 10 of the present squad, so the number of new players we bring in will be determined by how many of those 10 decide to stay.”

Charlie Sheringham and Jack Parkinson have already been offered deals, although neither has agreed to commit as of yet.

“It isn’t really surprising because they have only just found out about it and will need to go away and think about things first before giving me an answer,” added the manager.

The Wings signed off their campaign last Saturday with a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Newport County.

Ford conceded his side were second best on the day but flatly denied the pre-match news Hampton & Richmond would be allowed to take their play-off place had any impact on his side’s display.

He said: “I don’t see how it possibly could because I personally didn’t even know about that decision at the time.

“It would have been nice to finish on a win but we didn’t play particularly well, even though we had enjoyed a good run going into the game.

“We just didn’t seem to get out of the blocks and Newport deserve credit because they played very well.

“They had a decent turnout from their fans and I honestly believe they will be a force to be reckoned with next year.”