Matt Bloomfield column: Karaoke kings
Last updated on .From the section Football
There has been a host of new signings at several League One clubs this summer.
In most cases the new lad will know someone who already plays for the club he is joining, which helps considerably when it comes to the settling-in process.
Joining a new club is an exciting time, finding somewhere new to live and meeting your new team-mates.
However, it seems to be a recurring theme that the one thing a new signing dreads is his initiation ceremony.
In most cases this involves the simple task of singing a song for the squad. Our club is no different and on Friday evening, after our dinner in the hotel in Huddersfield, the time had come for our six new signings to take to the stage… well, stand on a chair in the corner.
The highlight of the night was our striker Elliot Benyon, who belted out 'You're The One That I Want' from Grease.
Team spirit is such a massively important factor in any successful squad, especially in the lower leagues. Throughout the season most squads will enjoy days out together, whether that be go-karting, paintballing or a day at the races.
I'm convinced our team spirit last season was an important factor in helping us achieve promotion.
MK Dons, Charlton Athletic and Sheffield United have all made a blistering start to their League One campaigns. All three are big clubs who were tipped to achieve promotion by their fans at the start of the season, and nothing has happened so far to alter the minds of those supporters.
There is no reason why all three will not still be challenging at the top in May, and I fully expect our opponents from Saturday to be right up there as well. Huddersfield Town are a club which has gone so close in the last couple of years and I would not bet against them going one better this year.
Being able to call on someone of the calibre of Alan Lee from the bench is certainly a luxury that I am sure most managers in the league would love to have.
The transfer window closes on Wednesday night, and although most Premier League managers will still be eyeing potential signings, I think most managers in League One will be spending more time hoping that none of their prized assets are on other clubs' wish lists.
We saw Sam Baldock last week moving from MK Dons to West Ham United and Adam Le Fondre left League Two and Rotherham United behind to sign for Reading.
Having played against both players in the past and seen their goalscoring qualities first hand, I would back both of them to transfer their goalscoring form to their new clubs.
Charlton have been the busiest club in League One and if Paul Hayes scores the goals that secures them promotion, he could well prove to be the signing of the summer.
