Charlie is a real gem!
by Matt Pitman

Saturday 18th December 2004

STEVE Johnson reckons he could have snatched a 'diamond' from under the nose of brother Gary.

Weymouth's head coach is set to swoop to sign 17-year-old full back Charlie Welch to a permanent deal at the Wessex Stadium.

The teenager officially makes the switch once the Glovers are knocked out the FA Youth Cup, possibly in the New Year when they host Everton in the fourth round of the competition.

And Johnson reckons brother Gary may rue the day he allowed Welch to move to their local rivals on an 18-month contract.

He told Echosport: "Charlie is somebody I've kept my eye on for a long time and he's always been a lad I've been impressed by.

"We were a bit short of defenders a couple of weeks ago so I asked Gary if I could borrow Charlie for the game against Havant and Waterlooville.

"He kindly agreed but I wanted to keep the deal quiet at the time because I didn't want to put too much pressure on the lad in what was a big game for us.

"I was always confident he would do well for us in that one and so it proved.

"Charlie had a cracker that day and all of a sudden people after the game were asking me where I found him.

"There's no doubting that Charlie has got ability and bags of potential - and I'm delighted he has agreed to become our player on a permanent basis.

"We've agreed he will play for Yeovil's youth team alongside us while they are still in the FA Youth Cup, but once they are knocked out he'll come to us on an 18-month deal.

"It's a deal I'm really happy about because we've got a player of great potential and Charlie also gets to play first team football at a good level.

"I'm hoping I've found a bit of a diamond which will be great for us - but I'm not sure Gary will be happy if that proves to be the case."

He added: "One of the things most pleasing about the time I've been in the job so far is that the average age of the squad now is a lot lower, because of bringing in people like Charlie and a few others.

"You obviously need that bit of experience in the side but, at the same time, the hunger and enthusiasm of people like Charlie, Danny Byrne and others may have been just what we needed."

Making way for Welch at the Wessex Stadium is veteran defender Paul Gibbs, who only joined Weymouth in the summer.

The 32-year-old former Torquay United and Barnsley full back has quit the Nationwide South club to concentrate on his business commitments.

"Paul has parted company with the club," confirmed Johnson.

"He has decided he has got a lot going on his life with his work at the moment, and wants to concentrate fully on that.

"Paul's a nice lad and we wish him all the best for the future."

Johnson added that defender Nathan Bunce and midfielders Martin Barlow are both undergoing acupuncture treatment to cure aack injuries, and are likely to be out at least another week.