Pre-season friendlies and new squad
Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 1:41 am
OK, I didn't go to Spain to see the two friendlies played there, but apart from a narrow win against a very lowly ranked Spanish team, we have yet to win a pre-season friendly in 2016.
And Barnet will be no pushovers on Saturday either. they will want to show their credentials against opponents from last season.
This is not good for confidence.
Against Leicester, we actually played some decent football when we had the limited opportunities to do so. But Leicester were playing this like a training game and had many more chances to score than we did.
Against Brighton tonight, my fears about the present squad were kind of confirmed. Firstly let me recognise this as being just a pre-season friendly and not a full blooded competitive match. But we were outplayed entirely and by a very wide distance, for about 88 of the available 90 minutes. This against a team just one division above us and who had lost to the likes of Stevenage just last weekend.
We must surely be able to give them a better match than a 4-0 home reverse, which save for the MoM Eastwood, could so easily have been many more. We were 2nd and 3rd best in all departments.
I am truly concerned about our present squad. I believe it is not as good as last year's squad. Last year's first choice XI would beat this year's, on that I have no doubt. And this year's squad is way too thin with very little in reserve, in reparation for a season where the short term loan system has gone. We probably need another 5 or 6 players, of which 2 need to be top quality strikers, and at present the nearest we have to a winger is Macdonald who is injured, and full backs who don't really do overlaps. This does not bode well.
The positives are the almost unrecognisable (from his previous spell at the club) Eastwood, who now looks to be a very solid keeper indeed, together with the sublime passing and coolness under pressure of Lundstram, Maguire who is top draw when his mind is on the job, and a very much improved Ryan Taylor.
I fear we have too quickly thrown away the talent that got us promoted, and replaced them with mediocre also rans. The loss of Wright and Hylton, both self-inflicted wounds, has been silly and unnecessary. I am led to believe that Luton offered Hylton an extra £1,000 a week to us and an extra year contract to us. We've taken in £4.6 mill in transfer fees, but have not spent the money wisely replacing talent with talent.
Of particular concern to me is Wes Thomas. I've seen the 3 friendlies he has played in in England, and not in one of them did he perform well. Very little effort from him, no defence from the front, chasing down lost causes. Just a gently trot around in each game, generally losing control on the occasions that he positioned himself well enough to receive the ball. For a big man, he gets tumbled very easily.
I make it a squad of 16 with some first team appearances mostly at League 2 or below, which includes Crocombe who is on the way out and Rob Hall who is a long term injury.
All I ask this season is to avoid a relegation battle. Anything above that will be a bonus. I think it may well be a difficult season ahead.
And Barnet will be no pushovers on Saturday either. they will want to show their credentials against opponents from last season.
This is not good for confidence.
Against Leicester, we actually played some decent football when we had the limited opportunities to do so. But Leicester were playing this like a training game and had many more chances to score than we did.
Against Brighton tonight, my fears about the present squad were kind of confirmed. Firstly let me recognise this as being just a pre-season friendly and not a full blooded competitive match. But we were outplayed entirely and by a very wide distance, for about 88 of the available 90 minutes. This against a team just one division above us and who had lost to the likes of Stevenage just last weekend.
We must surely be able to give them a better match than a 4-0 home reverse, which save for the MoM Eastwood, could so easily have been many more. We were 2nd and 3rd best in all departments.
I am truly concerned about our present squad. I believe it is not as good as last year's squad. Last year's first choice XI would beat this year's, on that I have no doubt. And this year's squad is way too thin with very little in reserve, in reparation for a season where the short term loan system has gone. We probably need another 5 or 6 players, of which 2 need to be top quality strikers, and at present the nearest we have to a winger is Macdonald who is injured, and full backs who don't really do overlaps. This does not bode well.
The positives are the almost unrecognisable (from his previous spell at the club) Eastwood, who now looks to be a very solid keeper indeed, together with the sublime passing and coolness under pressure of Lundstram, Maguire who is top draw when his mind is on the job, and a very much improved Ryan Taylor.
I fear we have too quickly thrown away the talent that got us promoted, and replaced them with mediocre also rans. The loss of Wright and Hylton, both self-inflicted wounds, has been silly and unnecessary. I am led to believe that Luton offered Hylton an extra £1,000 a week to us and an extra year contract to us. We've taken in £4.6 mill in transfer fees, but have not spent the money wisely replacing talent with talent.
Of particular concern to me is Wes Thomas. I've seen the 3 friendlies he has played in in England, and not in one of them did he perform well. Very little effort from him, no defence from the front, chasing down lost causes. Just a gently trot around in each game, generally losing control on the occasions that he positioned himself well enough to receive the ball. For a big man, he gets tumbled very easily.
I make it a squad of 16 with some first team appearances mostly at League 2 or below, which includes Crocombe who is on the way out and Rob Hall who is a long term injury.
All I ask this season is to avoid a relegation battle. Anything above that will be a bonus. I think it may well be a difficult season ahead.