Sido has 289 Friends and One of Them Is Our New Signing

If ever I needed a demonstration of why being a non-league fan is so great, I think I've just had it.

Earlier today it emerged that Bath City have signed a new player named Florin Pelecaci. He is a mid-fielder from Romania and has played top-flight football in both his home country and recently in Hungary. When I heard the news I was a bit shocked. Why are we signing another mid-fielder, and how did we get one who had played at such a high level in countries with decent football leagues?

We can only speculate on both answers. First of all, City are in the midst of a serious injury crisis at almost every position. So far there have been at least eleven healthy players in each match, but hardly more that than for the last three. Although the supporters have been calling for another striker for some time, the club needs people at every position. The second question is harder to answer. It would appear that Florin has suffered from repeated injuries. I say 'appears' because it is hard to find much out about him online. The only detailed profile of him I have found revealed the following: 'Szerződés lejárta: nincs megadva.' My Hungarian has grown a bit rusty over the years so I'm still working on that one.

His Wikipedia entry is lacking any detail on his career, but it does list the clubs he's played for, appearances, and goals scored. Since 1999 he's played for six clubs (Gloria Bistriţa twice), made 110 appearances and scored 8 goals. With a record like that it would appear he has a problem with injuries. On the plus side, he made 20 appearances last season alone with Diósgyőri VTK of Hungary, so perhaps he is on the mend.

Clubs at City's level do not routinely sign foreign players. When they do they are normally Welsh (yes, they count as foreign in the football world) or have already play for other non-league clubs (as was the case with Sido Jombati who played for Dorchester last year). Neither of these apply in this case. This is more of a 'friends and family' type signing. Florin is a friend of the said Sido Jombati and has, according to the Bath Chronicle, been training with the Bath City squad for some time. Evidently both parties are satisfied enough with what they've seen to give it a go.

As I said, I've been scouring the Internet trying to find out more about our new signing, without much success. I am the newest member of Diósgyőri VTK's fan forum, but despite an appeal for information, no one has been forthcoming. I was facing trying to write a blog entry with absolutely no new information to add to the story. A depressing prospect.

But no! I have a quote from Sido Jombati himself about his friend. How did I get it? I sent him a message on Facebook. I've never spoken to Sido before. I introduced myself as a City supporter and asked him for a quote. Here's what he said:

"Thank you yes I thing is going to do well is a experience player is play for eufa cup end 1 divisions on romenia en Hungary I thing is gonna take time because of the different style of football but is gonna make a difference soon"

If Sido rates him, that's good enough for me. Florin is hoped to have gotten his international clearance for Saturday's match against Dover Athletic. I hope it is the beginning of a long run of successful, injury-free play for him. If he's trying to make it back to top flight football I'm more than happy for him to start his journey with City.

But how cool is it that I got a response at all from Sido Jombati! I bet no one playing for Man U ever replied to a Facebook message from a total stranger. Sido is obviously a stand-up guy, and I obviously support the world's greatest non-league club. Welcome aboard Mr Pelecaci!