With apologies to Squeeze, Simon Wright ponders on the Bulls latest arrival Stanley Anaebonam.
A Caddis signing is clearly on an upward trajectory, will be expected to have secured Player of the Year awards at their previous club and can almost visibly demonstrate hunger. Plus be used to night time training and be near(ish) to the as yet undisclosed Birmingham area base.
In truth, this feels more of a Gowling signing than a Caddis. Mixed race, a man with religious beliefs hailing from foreign lands, moving regularly between clubs and in need of a long-term place to call home. Admittedly, Livingstone also ticks nearly all those categories too (and by strange coincidence, Steve Burr signed them both). Livingstone can demonstrate more consistency and 18 games at our level.
Six foot plus Stanley Obinna Anaebonam was born in Norway and for reasons which are not yet clear, relocated to the West Midlands. He first came to attention, playing in the wastelands for Wolverhampton Casuals.
From there, he played for Solihull Moors Academy during his two-year study period. From there, played full time for Shelbourne but didn’t get much game time and decided to move on to get more game time. He had try outs with Redditch and Alvechurch and even Yeovil without success. Non-league stars take the credit for suggesting to the then utility player that he ought to focus on being a winger.
Truro is not the first choice for a Wolverhampton based baller, but needs must sometimes to get noticed at a decent level. It was an opportunity which was never going to last long. Probably to his relief, Steve Burr took him for Hednesford before Stourbridge realised that he wasn’t contracted and made him an offer. The Black Country side did a “Willetts” after the winger was a thorough pest against them.
Happily for his integration our new arrival has already had a few games alongside Livingstone and rather more feeding Jason Cowley. In a remarkable 5-1 demolition by Stourbridge of hapless St Ives in March, Stanley and Cowley claimed all 5 goals, and four of the assists.
I was at the Stourbridge game post St Ives expecting great things from Stanley. As a wide man, he looked quick, tall and menacing, Unfortunately, he wasn’t, lacking a good first touch and he too often ran into blind alleys. I think he was taken off in the second half. The pattern was repeated on the other two occasions I saw Stanley of Stourbridge. I was disappointed to see so little end product. I could be just unlucky with choice of games or the quality of the opposition defence. Information on step 3 stats are limited, but it’s clear that Anaebonam found the net at least 8 times for Stour in his half season, albeit around half of that total were penalties. With at least two goals scored for Hednesford (v Stourbridge), our new man has certainly reached a respectable double figure tally. Non -League stars claim an impressive 14 goals for the season. And… Stanley claims to have experience playing in at least 6 different positions.
On his twitter account, Stanley explains “Going into the 22/23 season I just wanted to play as many games as possible considering I haven’t had consistent games over past years. 28 games this season is the most I’ve had in a season since the age of 16 and for me personally that is massive.” More accurately, Stan made 28 appearances rather than games and given that he is now 24, really hasn’t had a lot of match time. Originally, his future was with Rushall. According to them, he had agreed a deal on June 6 (but crucially hadn’t signed) and thus was able to turn his car around when the Bulls charged in late.
For me, our new arrival is very much in the “potential” bracket. That’s not to say he can’t improve further with the right coaching.
Header Image: Truro City FC
