COLUMN: Maybe Rocks should gamble on Pagham goal ace

Jimmy Muitt is floored during Bognor's defeat to Havant / Picture by Tommy McMillan

There were plenty of positives to take – but once again the distinct lack of firepower is apparent. So what is the answer? Well there are two obvious ones.

First, we go silly and pay stupid money to try to preserve our status in the National South – but if it fails it’s a gamble we may regret for years to come as it will unsettle the squad and affect our financial situation.

Second, we set our sights lower and take a gamble on an unproven striker who is hungry to prove himself at a higher level.

Both options are risky and I believe it isn’t through a lack of trying that a new striker hasn’t been found.

Recently a Football League stiker was offered on loan to us but was demanding more than £1,500 a week, which for our club is totally destabilising and would not be be worth pursuing.

It’s a shame ‘the Billericay era’ has now hit... players can demand huge huge sums and are able to get them elsewhere, even in leagues lower than us.

The past month has shown we can compete at this level, but not having a goalscorer is massive and Havant showed that on New year’s Day as Matt Tubbs prevailed. What we would give for a marksmen like him in our squad.

It’s crazy that you see players like Marcus Bent and Patrick Agyemang linked with or signing for county league sides. Surely they could do a job a little higher?

The second option is something we tried this season with Chinedu McKenzie and Ferdinand Takyi and it just didn’t work – but was that down to the players’ qualities rather than the risk taken. #

I will propose a solution that’s surely worth a gamble – take in Dan Simmonds of Pagham, a player who has scored for fun at most clubs he’s been at, except Shoreham at the start of this season.

He’s a player that thrives on service and the actual build-up play for us all season has been very good, so to have a frontman in the areas you would expect could prove a very sensible gamble, and, hey, let’s be creative.

Don’t offer a huge weekly wage but offer a substantial goal bonus – and you never know what might happen.

Come on you Rocks!