[baldy]

He can't know for certain what positions need replacing, hence the deadline for a current player to sign before such a date then he has something to work off!

Money always plays a part but to me, if a player signs early on it shows an indication he wants to play for the club, rather than waiting around hoping for a better deal elsewhere.

Obviously players will go if they can get a better deal somewhere else which you can't blame them but Stanley aren't in a position to offer a lot of money compared to most clubs so there would be no point waiting for a player to wait a month or so then come back to Coley and say "this club have offered me £****, I'll sign for you if you offer me £200 more"

And as Lancsdave has said, a player can start looking for a new club in January for the following season, so they have a "opportunity to secure the best deal while they can"