Having been appointed last week, Brad Cooke and his management team have acted quickly to secure their first additions to the West squad ahead of the new campaign, with Kris Holt and Ash Woods becoming the first names to sign in what looks set to be an exciting pre-season at Brookburn Road.
Ash Woods will be well known to West fans, having made himself a fan favourite over the course of previous stays with the club. An energetic and dogged striker who remains clinical in front of goal, Woods was part of attacks that achieved record goalscoring feats under the management of Steve Settle, and spent last season in the Evo Stik West with Colwyn Bay. His move back to Chorlton comes as The Seagulls move out of the English pyramid system in order to take part in the Welsh leagues.
Kris Holt joins from Runcorn Linnets, another side who ply their trade in the Evo Stik West. Holt made 98 appearances for the Linnets, and will take his place in the centre of midfield, playing as an attacking 8 – although injuries last season meant he was forced to show his versatility in taking up more of a holding role. Runcorn announced the move yesterday, with Linnets manager Michael Ellison stating “It goes without saying that we are disappointed to lose Holty. Over the past couple of seasons, he’s established himself as a top EVO-STIK player and has been an integral part of the squad in our promotion-winning season”.
Speaking on the move, Ash Woods said: ““[I’m] looking forward to being back playing football at Brookburn Road and being part of Brad’s squad. Hopefully we can bounce straight back up to the Premier Division”
Kris Holt said: “To work with Bradders [Brad Cooke], Sads [Rob Sadler], and Wozza [Warren Jones] within football again – not only great within non league football but also some of my best mates – it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down To play for a club the size of Didsbury, with the fan base, [I] wanted to help the journey back to where they belong and hopefully climb the football ladder and see where we end up. [I’m] just looking to get started”
West manager Brad Cooke said of the two signings: “I started off with Krissy at Atherton Collieries 5 years ago, we played central midfield together, built up a really good relationship and always stayed in touch. When I got the job, he was one of the first people on the list I wanted to speak to. Krissy brings everything that I’m looking for in a footballer – he’s energetic, he’s box to box, he’s all action and he gets goals. He’s the calibre of player we’re looking for”
“Ash Woods is an Evo Stik level player, so for him to drop two division to come and play for us is another statement. He was at Colwyn Bay last year, previous to that he was at Trafford, and he had a short spell with me at Atherton Collieries – we built up a decent relationship, and he was on my list straight away. After speaking to him, straight away I could tell he was excited. He’s got West Didsbury at heart, and he’d love nothing more than to fire us back into the Premier Division”
We’ll have interview content with both the new signings and Brad Cooke available on the site tomorrow, as well as Barca Jim’s first chat with the manager – and additional news on the squad will be made in due course.
Season tickets are selling faster than ever ahead of what is sure to be our most exciting campaign in years – if you’d like to be a part of the journey, you can buy yours now here.
