Player quits Martyrs

Lewis Powell has decided to leave Merthyr Town because of family and business commitments. He said that he will be 36 next month and had other things to consider besides getting on to a football pitch on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He added that he wished he could have played for "this fantastic club and fans in my prime, not in my twilight years."
Injured late last season, he went to Melksham and Cinderford on loan early this term to gain fitness. He returned recently and scored three goals in three games but was ruled out for the win over Salisbury and the postponed weekend trip to Chesham United. Paul Michael, manager, said he respected Lewis' decision . He had proved he could "still do it# after returning to the club but there were other factors involved with "a young family and a successful business."

And latest news- Lewis Powell has rejoined Cinderford Town !!!

Cinderford manager Matthew Driscoll said: "Guess who is back?!
Welcome back Lewis Powell to the Causeway.
Lewis is back with us permanently, he missed us
Manager Matt said, “I am delighted to have Lewis back with us. Really pleased he has decided to re-sign with us. His phone hasn’t stopped ringing since he became available, but chuffed he chose to return to the Foresters”

Disappointing news, but totally understandable from Lewis’s point of view. Shame he couldn’t see out a final full season with us. At Cinderford, expect to see his name on the scoresheet from time to time, even if he is easing off the throttle at this stage of his career. Obviously, not going to be easy to replace, but I feel we need to start looking around early, to add to our front line, now that we have been left a bit lightweight again….. Thanks and Good Luck Lewis.

Conflicting statements. Powell would have left Merthyr to sign for Cinderford, and transfer forms have to be signed by both clubs. It's not as if he decided to leave the Martyrs and later decided to re-join Cinderford !!
There is less travelling in the Hellenic League and I think there may be fewer midweek games but it will entail more travelling to the Forest of Dean. However, it might be less rigorous playing at two levels below which might be important to him at nearly 36.
Best luck to him. He did well in his time with Merthyr.

Yes, disappointing to lose Lewis Powell who was already producing the goalscoring capabilities we expected of him. But no one can blame an 'older' player for putting their family and financial security first and I hope he will enjoy the rest of his playing career and maybe help Cinderford back into the Southern League.
We also know that Tom Hillman is leaving and, again, that's disappointing as he has proved to be a very useful member of the squad. The problem is that, in trying to have a squad available with week-night games, injuries and work commitments in mind, there are bound to be players who will feel they are missing out on game time. It's a difficult balancing act for the manager.
An important factor will be whether Gethyn Hill can replicate his full 90 minutes and influential performance against Salisbury - if so, we are well equipped with other players he can combine with.

It is difficult to keep all players happy. A large number of players are signed at the start of the season but it is obvious that some will quickly depart if they are not regulars in the squad- and, of course, Merthyr players get paid only when they are in the squad.
It does get difficult for midweek trips (as at Basingstoke when there was a reduced squad although Merthyr won) when some players are unavailable on top of the other usual problems.
But it does seem sometimes that some players are signed just with the bench in mind.
It is not easy to keep an unchanged side for successive games at non-league. And Merthyr suffer as they can't sign players on dual role with other clubs as they can in England.
Also, back years ago, Merthyr had a Welsh League side so some players who weren't regular in the first team could still play at a decent level. Now some players don't have much game time- only training. It is surprising how many players turn out for Merthyr in one season. And some are said ti have gone out on loan, but are not seen again at Merthyr.

Like other members very sorry to see Lewis depart but who can blame him
We desperately need someone to fill his boots who can score regularly for the team
Does not matter if he does not have any skills as long as he can put the ball in the net
I do not think hillman though a very skilful player would fill the gap
I remember when ray pratt played for us his work rate was nil but would find the back of the net in most games
We sold him to Exeter for 15000 pound which was good money at the time

Totally agree scamp. Even with Powell’s departure, Hillman was never going to fill that position anyway, as he’s more of a wide man/provider and I think he realised that himself, resulting in the end of his time at PP. A bit more work for the management team to find a replacement(s), because we just can’t cross fingers, hoping to get by with what we’re left with, especially aiming for a play off spot.

It's not easy to sign players at Merthyr, Players at JD Cymru clubs are on good money. But there aren't many JD Cymru clubs in Merthyr's catchment area anyway .Some players from over the Severn Bridge are prepared to join but some are not so keen. Merthyr signed two during last season but they have gone since.
I don't know if the club have anyone scouting the lower pyramid clubs in South Wales. Lyn Jones, when manager, recruited several players from such clubs, eg David Webley, Chris Baird, Ceri Williams, Steve Williams. We can also hope for players coming up from the development squad
A fairly big squad is needed for chasing the play-offs but some players who couldn't guarantee too many appearances may prefer a club where they are more likely to get a regular game and wage, The demand of long trips in the Southern League can also be an issue, especially re midweek games. And we have lost some local derbies in recent years- Cinderford, Clevedon, Weston. Our shortest trio now is Swindon 90 miles away.
It will be interesting to see if the squad is strengthened, having seen several departures lately.