Rooke's retirement paves the way for Dudley at Cheltenham

Courtesy of info provided by Giles Rooke himself (thanks Giles!), it turns out that Ben's joining from Cardiff coincides with Giles finally hanging up the pads. Giles had decided to call it a day last season, for the chance to spend more time with his family and for his body to finally get the chance to rest after 400+ games for Cheltenham, but the transfer of his desired replacement fell through, leaving the club in an awkward position. Not wanting to leave his team in the lurch, Giles decided to carry on 'in between the posts' for the Gloucestershire side, aware of the need for his presence and talents for the side to succeed this season, with the intention to pass over his mantle after Christmas. And with perfect timing of Ben Dudley becoming available, Giles could retire happy in the knowledge that he was being replaced by a starting goalkeeper with national league experience joining a side growing through a rebuild, with plans to push up the table ambitiously.

I'm sure Giles will be surely missed by his team mates and around the league, with the impact of being such a committed goalkeeper and veteran of the league, but there's only so much elite competitive level sport a body can take and his body will probably be thankful for it! And as another example showing how much life and off-pitch circumstances affect us as amateur athletes performing to a high level without the security of it as a job!