Experienced duo put pen to paper
The familiar faces of Matt Oakley and Jamie Cureton put pen to paper on permanent deals with the club this morning, much to the delight of manager Paul Tisdale.
The experienced duo, 34 and 36-years-old respectively, have been training and featuring in friendly matches for the Grecians in recent weeks but they are now permanent members of the squad and will take squad numbers eight (Oakley) and 12. (Cureton)
Oakley, who kept in touch with Paul Tisdale since their Southampton days, left Leicester this summer having captained the side and played nearly 150 games for the Foxes after joining from Derby.
He had a successful loan spell with the Grecians in late 2011 where he may have played in just seven games but the Grecians picked up 11 points. To put that into perspective, in the ten games before his arrival City had picked up just five.
Cureton returns to St James Park for the third time after a short loan spell from Leyton Orient at the tale end of last season. Injury restricted the former Reading and Norwich striker, who has scored 230 career goals, to just five starts during that spell but in the 2010/11 season though he hit 20 goals and won the Player of the Year award by a landslide.
“They’ve been talked about and organized for a fair while now and the players had to, as much for their benefit as mine, complete some training and to establish fitness,” manager Paul Tisdale said.
“We are all happy with it and they are two very good additions to our squad.
“I think the important thing is that I know they both fit here. And we suit them. I suppose there comes a point in your career where you want to be at a place where you fit. I think they both enjoy it here and that counts for a lot.”
Come and watch them in action tonight when Torquay United come to St James Park in a pre-season friendly. (7:45pm)
Keep visiting the Official Website for video and written interviews with both players as well as manager Paul Tisdale.