Cod Almighty | Diary

Let Ahkeem Rose live up to his own dreams

21 December 2016

Middle-Aged Diary writes: 18-year old Ahkeem Rose has signed an 18-month contract with Town. Rumours that Craig Disley and Danny Collins are pressing the club to make it policy to offer contracts whose length in months matches the players' age are yet to be denied. Or confirmed.

What do we know about Rose? The man himself has confirmed it is Ahkeem, not Akheem. The jury is out whether he is Jamaican or Trinidadian. He joins us with the very best wishes of his former club, Heather St John, a Leicestershire club playing in the Midland League Division One. Their manager Steven Rigby's comments tally with what we have heard from Neil Woods:

"I'm delighted for Ahkeem, he's a great lad with a great attitude and work rate, he has frightening pace and deserves every chance that comes his way, this is a huge opportunity for him... He has developed and improved his game massively in the last year and if he continues at this rate he will be fine. Ahkeem has been a pleasure to manage and coach and I wish him every success in the future".

It sounds like other clubs were interested in taking a look at Rose, so it is something of a coup that he has agreed to sign for us. It would surely not have been possible without our Football League status, not to mention Woods's contacts in the Midlands.

You are dull of heart indeed if you are not privately nourishing some heady dreams about what he might achieve in the black and white. Keep those dreams private by the way. Rose is only 18. It'll be hard enough living up to his own dreams without being expected to fulfil all of ours as well.

However, as Rich Mills discusses, there is a long road between an 18-year old obtaining a professional contract at Blundell Park and him making regular first team appearances. Rich is keeping track of your comments for a follow-up article, so keep them coming on Twitter or through our feedback page.