I must have had the benefit of foresight, let alone hindsight, because this was obvious to me last summer for the reasons stated. Both had been RELEASED by clubs at or below our level the previous season. Indeed, in Saunders' case he was released by a club known for giving young players more opportunities than most.
I was less sceptical a few years ago when we signed Sean Canham from Team Bath. He had been released earlier in his career by Exeter, but had an exceptional goal record in the Conference South which appeared to make him a legitimate punt, especially as we hadn't got a bean to spend on strikers at the time, but even this prospect never materialised. Last heard of playing in Australian lower league soccer I believe.