I reckon Jamie Smith and Barry Nicholson were getting around about the same, if not less, than they're getting now.
With Gow, I'm pretty sure that someone from AFC would've enquired, but the simple fact is the lad's going to be on ĆĀ£5k+ at the Huns, and he won't be willing to drop down a couple of grand a week to sign for us. He turned down Burnley because of the money, so what chance would we have had?
I seriously doubt that JC didn't enquire though, he's made it public knowledge that he's a fan of Gow, so he MUST'VE at least made an enquiry.