Maidstone United miss out on midfielder Alan Pouton
Maidstone have conceded defeat in
attempts to sign former Gillingham and Dover midfielder Alan
Pouton.
The 32-year-old now looks certain to sign for Kent rivals
Margate after rejecting Stones’ pay-as-you-play offer.
Pouton (pictured) has been been
troubled by a long-term knee injury which restricted his
appearances at Gillingham and Dover. At one stage he retired from
the game, only to make a comeback when he joined Dover in June,
2007.
He had been unattached since
rejecting Dover’s offer of a new contract last month.
Maidstone joint-manager Lloyd Hume
said: "Because of Alan’s injury problems, we had no alternative but
to offer him a pay-as-you-play contract because we could not afford
to offer him anything else owing to his history of injuries.
"He went away to think about it but
clubs came in with full contract offers and I believe Margate was
one of those.
"In the meantime, we’ll continue
the search for players capable of strengthening our squad."
Hume also warned that
semi-professional football faces its biggest financial squeeze as
clubs desperately trim wages and the size of their squads.
Thursday, July 02 2009