Sacrificial lamb back at Reading
By Wendy Gee - 
With Raymond returning to Reading after a suspension-interrupted month at the Silverlake Stadium, Spitfires boss Ian Baird has replaced him with another loan signing Graeme Montgomery from Aldershot Town.
After a promising start to his month at Eastleigh, Raymond was sent off for an alleged head butt at Tonbridge on his fourth appearance for the club and received a three-match ban.
Prior to that, Baird had been looking to take him on a season-long loan but, on reflection, the boss felt the squad needed strengthening elsewhere.
"It's nothing to do with Frankie's ability," said Baird. "It's just that we've got one or two players who can fill the left-back role and we've had to make Frankie the sacrificial lamb because we need to strengthen in a different area.
"I've spoken to Frankie's dad and to Reading's academy manager Eamonn Dolan and explained the situation.
"It's a shame because I would love to have taken Frankie. I felt he was getting better and better as a Conference South player. But I can only have two loans at a time."
Both of those loans now come from Aldershot with 23-year-old Montgomery joining Shots' clubmate Henrik Breimyr at the Silverlake.
Breimyr, an 18-year-old midfielder, has had his stay extended by a further month although, unlike Montgomery, he will not be eligible for the FA Cup.
Montgomery, a pacy, left-footed midfielder/winger, played non-League football for Wealdstone before giving up his administrative job to step into the pro game with Dagenham & Redbridge in December 2008.
He made 22 appearances for the Daggers and had loan spells with Hayes & Yeading and Aldershot boss Dean Holdsworth's former club Newport before being released by the npower League Two outfit in May.
He was reunited with Holdsworth after successful trials at Aldershot and signed a one-year deal in August.
With Danny Smith and Ross Bottomley nearing fitness and Ryan O'Hara having made a comeback off the bench at Dartford last Saturday, Eastleigh should be approaching full strength for tomorrow's early-season 'six-pointer' against basement boys Hampton & Richmond Borough at the Silverlake Stadium.
After a run of three games undefeated, the 18th-placed Spitfires have been knocked back by defeats against Bromley and Dartford, making three points a necessity tomorrow. "Even at this early stage, this is a very, very important game," said Baird. "Hampton did have a healthy squad that hit the post and crossbar of Conference National football having been beaten in two play-off finals.
"Now the money's not there like it used to be. They're a mirror image of us really."
Gritty midfielder Jamie Brown is again suspended tomorrow, but will be back for next Tuesday's intriguing trip to ex-Eastleigh boss Paul Doswell's Sutton United.
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