Thorley's good as it gets for skipper
Stafford Rangers acting captain Bobby Wilson has hailed the permanent signing of midfield partner Tom Thorley as on a par with any summer capture in the Blue Square North.
The two stood side-by-side last season as the club fought to safety from relegation, and will now lead the charge for 2009/10 after accepting terms to stay at Marston Road.
They were reunited in the friendly against Worcester last Tuesday and are set to play for a strong Rangers at Stone Old Alleynians tonight.
Thorley became a free agent this summer after he was released by Premier League Stoke, turning down trials in the Football League and a move to Worcester themselves to return to his hometown club, where he spent five months on loan last season.
Wilson - one of the first to commit his future - thinks so highly of his teenage partner in the middle of the park that he believes even the big guns in the league would be hard pressed to bring in a better player for the season ahead.
The 20-year-old said: "He makes such a difference, he calms the game down and brings that bit of class to the ball. This league can be very rush-rush, so for us to have a footballer and a key player like Tom is a real difference for us.
"The potential we have in midfield is frightening, it's a young squad but if we can keep everybody here and start well, then I truly believe anything is possible for us."
Wilson seems to be furthest ahead in the race to win the vacant captaincy at Marston Road, after skippering the side against Worcester and at Hednesford last Saturday.
Experienced defender Nick Amos had opened pre-season with the armband at Kidsgrove, with Wilson absent due to work commitments as a community youth coach at his boyhood club Nottingham Forest.
All three players - along with striker Nick Wellecomme - are expected to form the outfield spine of Chris Brindley's side for next season, with the manager still searching for players before the season opener at Hyde on August 8.
But Wilson is still taking nothing as gospel.
He added: "I have been captain for the last two games, but you can rest assured that I won't be taking anything for granted until the team and the skipper is picked for our first game."
