2 in from Salisbury one leaves

[dannyboy1807]

From the Official Website.

Manager Paul Doswell has signed defenders Luke Ruddick and Callum Hart from Salisbury City, but has confirmed that Simon Downer will not be in Sutton colours next season. 24-year-old Luke Ruddick is a right-back who has also played for Bath City, while Callum Hart is a 28-year-old left-sided defender who has played in the Football League for Bournemouth and has been with Salisbury for three seasons. Both players appeared regularly in the Conference Premier last season. Paul said: ''These are two good signings of players who have played at a higher level and were very keen to join us. I'm hopefully going to make one more signing next week in central midfield, then the squad for next season should be complete.''



However Simon Downer has left the club just short of his 200th appearance. He first joined U's in November 2008 for a short spell but rejoined in the summer of 2010, playing a key role in the Ryman championship success of 2011 and winning the Players' Player of the Year award the following season as U's reached the Conference South play-offs at the first attempt. Paul said: ''Simon's work circumstances have changed, and made travelling from his Swindon home more difficult, so it's likely that he's going to join a club nearer to home which will be more convenient. He has been a pillar of our defence for several seasons, and I'd like to thank him for his contribution to our success.

[garethl]

Top player Simon. Wish him all the best.

Does this mean Louis John will not be joining us?

Welcome to the new guys.

[Andy K]

Very sad to see Simon Downer go. In his nearly 200 games for us he's been very consistent and one of the few players to cover pretty much the whole Dos era. Not forgetting some very important late goals he got for us.

As for the 2 new players - both are quality and we've benefitted directly from Salisbury's demise. Great work from Dos to act so quickly on two options who probably wouldn't have been available to us a couple of weeks ago.

[localboy86]

Welcome to the two new chaps - further bolsters our defence. Hope this doesn't mean Louis John isn't joining now as Dos has previously stated he's arriving on 1st Aug.

Sounds like the squads looking almost complete with Dos hinting at another centre mid coming in, a very strong assembly of players for the season ahead.

Like others have posted - sad to see Simon Downer leave - he really has been Mr. Dependable for us over the years.

[bh]

Very sad to see Simon go, one of my favourite players over the past few seasons. Welcome to two new lads.

[Amber Aleman]

A Salisbury fan on the Conference South forum has posted that Ruddick and Hart are good players - but that both are injury-prone. We shall see!

Simon Downer was one of Dos's favourite players, and it's a wrench to see him leave. As he's looking for a club closer to his Swindon home, maybe he'll turn out against us for Salisbury or Bath next season.

[Andy K]

So we're looking at a centre back partnership of Clough and Spetch, with Lockwood or Hart on the left and Ruddick or John on the right. Looks like both John (as we saw last season) and Hart can fill in the centre in case of injury/suspension. If John joins (which i'm presuming he will) that's a sorted back line.

[markf]

What a fantastic servant Simon Downer has been to this club. The season we one the RL, his performances as an attacking right back were outstanding while his work as a centre back has been superb over a good number of seasons. Shame he didn't quite hit the 200 apps mark.

Best of luck to Simon wherever he moves on to and a big welcome to the two lads from Salisbury. They do appear to be quality acquisitions. Well done to Dos.

[os]

Really sorry to see Si leave, its worse when it happens in the summer so you don't get to give him the send off he deserves. A big part of our success and I wish him more success in whatever he does next.

Thanks Si.

[liambrownscfc]

Hi, Salisbury fan here.
Both of these guys are good players and great guys too.
Callum was at Salisbury for 3 and a half years, joining us in 2011, when we were in the Southern League Premier, he was very impressive, and he was a great signing, unfortunately, he has had a couple of big injuries in this time, but each time he has come back, and proved to us why he should be playing.
Luke Ruddick, he has been with us on two occasions, our 2009-10 season in the conference premier, and then the last few seasons too. He is only young, and yet has had such problems with injuries, which is really frustrating for everyone involved. He is an absolutely amazing player when fit, and will be the best full back in this league, without a doubt, he would be one of the best in the conference premier too. He loves to get forward and his work rates are high defensively and on attack, and he can score goals too, the only problem is the fact that he really has had a tough career with injuries, and if this season doesn't go well for him on the injury front, I do believe he may consider leaving the playing side of football behind, which is such a shame!

I hope that both guys have injury free seasons, and do a good job for you, because they deserve a proper decent season in football.

[Stewart]

www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/sport/11293020.Two_defenders_leave_struggling_Salisbury_City/

[dave1]

Non League Paper worth a read for more detail on the farcical goings on at Salisbury. Based on that story, doesn't look likely at this time that they'll meet the Conference requirements. Don't think this matter - and its appalling handling by the Conference - will be very helpful in attracting a new league sponsor.

NLP also includes its Conference South team of the season - including Cloughie, Dundo and Jamie Taylor.

[timbo]

Thank you very much for all the effort, and good luck to Simon Downer