The Saxons French Connection

The news was tres bien for Stockport Sports this week as they completed the signing of two French attackers Gomez Dali and Franck Atangana, while there is the prospect of a further French addition to the squad this week.

Gomez Dali, a former Woking player has been described by a previous manager as 'a very powerful, strong, dominant and lightning quick striker, while his new manager at The Saxons, Peter Withe is also impressed by the attributes possessed by his new signing;

“When I first saw Gomez on the training pitch I couldn't believe how good he was with the ball at his feet. For a big lad he has great ability on the ball. He will be a handful for any defence at any level because of his presence, he's a very strong lad with great pace, and he has been scoring for fun in all the sessions”.

Club chairman John Hindley was also delighted by the signing of Dali;

“He arrived for pre-season training two weeks ago and has been in for training every day, including the double sessions. His fitness levels have increased, but he is a naturally fit lad anyway, his physique is phenomenal, and for a big lad he is technically very, very good”.

Atangana had previously been on trial at Hyde FC, netting in two of their pre-season friendlies, however in spite of other offers too he decided to join The Saxons. Club chairman Hindley was equally delighted by this capture of;

“He had options to go and play at a much higher level, but once he had spent time training with us full time he made it clear he wanted to sign here. So we had him in for a weeks training and he fitted in great from day one. He speaks fluent English so there's no language barrier at all, he enjoys the banter with the lads and ability wise he is a great talent. He has great pace, is very strong and can finish”.

Peter Withe too was thrilled by the signing of Atangana;

“We became aware of a young French forward on trial at a local conference side, he was rumoured to be quick and can score goals so we sent one of the back-room team over to watch Hyde against both Stalybridge Celtic and Curzon Ashton. He was impressive on both occasions, more so in the game against Stalybridge. The report came back that Franck was very quick and had great strength, and the lad can finish. So we brought him back for pre-season and worked with him for around eight days, doing double sessions. His levels of fitness are very good and his pace is phenomenal. Alongside the other strikers in training Franck was brilliant, and so we asked him to play in a pre-season friendly on Saturday. The Saturday came and Franck started up front and scored the opening goal against Gap Connahs Quay in a 2-1 win. His goal was typical of the report back and his showing in training. He used his physical strength, pace and power to get through the defence and smash the ball home from a very difficult angle. The lads got ability, there's no doubt about that”.

Both players are expected to feature in The Saxons squad for Saturdays friendly against Droylsden. The game will take place at Seel Park, home of Mossley FC and will kick off at 3pm. All are welcome.