Farewell Connor ....

Older readers may remember the "original" !!

I reproduce the original statement issued late yesterday from Stalybridge supremo Rob Gorski - says it all really ...

It is with a mixture of great pride and sadness that I inform you that Connor Jennings has passed a medical and is now a Scunthorpe United player.

Connor started his career with Celtic as a promising young 16 year old with a bit of "bite" in his game. Since then, he's developed enormously, gone on to score goals, made umpteen assists, always given 100% and has become a fans' favourite.

Without going into all the details, I can also confirm that we had a firm bid (very similar package) from a Championship side too, however Connor has chosen Scunthorpe and he obviously goes with our most sincere best wishes for the future.

The details of the transfer will, as always, remain private, but Connor has clearly been sold for a club record fee and of course there is a sell on clause and so fans will have a second reason to follow his development with particular interest. For all of Connor's undoubted talents, I feel that I must also point out the magnificent job Jim has done in nurturing and developing Connor from a raw boy into a wonderful player.

For the record (thanks Trudge!), Connor made 123 appearances for us (89 of those were starts) and scored 51 goals, 44 of those in the league. Connor made his debut on March 3rd 2009, scoring in a 7-1 win over Hinckley, and his Celtic career ended with him scoring with his very last last touch as a Celtic player - very fitting. He is no longer eligible for England's C team so will have the record of one cap and one goal for England too.

We would have much preferred to have had Connor back on loan until the end of the season, but Scunthorpe United were keen to bring him in immediately and although we will all miss Connor, we must remember that we are far from a one man team. Connor was not even our leading goalscorer! We will continue our strategy of nurturing and developing our raw talent and I know that we have a team that is still more than capable of achieving great success.

As Scunthorpe don't have a game this weekend, you will all be able to say goodbye to the "boy wonder" on Saturday as he will be there for the Droylsden game. He absolutely goes with our thanks for his great service and our very best wishes for what ought to be a very exciting and successful career ahead.

... and just for the hell of it - I offer up a small (rushed together !!!) pictorial tribute to Connor - and purely by luck I was able to include his debut (and goal) and his final Celtic game (and goal) ...

Connor Jennings - Stalybridge Celtic - 2009-2012

All the very best to Connor - your first task is to keep Scunny in League One !
.