Pre-season friendlies 2014

[Drew_3]

What was the attendance like? Did Swansea bring many fans?

Think it was approx 5k in total... 1k of them Swans

Yeah that's probably about right though when there is that few there it actually looks like less!

[LoyalRoyal22]

Sounds like Pearce & Morrison were poor. No surprise.. Playing them both together is a disaster. Lack of pace\confidence & passing ability in a team which will attempt to pass out from the back. This will be one frustrating season. Literally only positive is some of our academy prospects.

[Pepe the Horseman]

It's a shame that because of our midfield problems, Hector hasn't had a chance to prove himself as a cb. Sounds like Morrison and Pearce haven't exactly covered themselves in glory.

[mambo3]

It was Pearce for the penalty, the most blatant handball I have seen for some time. Would definitely have walked in a league game, no way in pre-season. Though the ref did warn him

Well given all our players would get blown over by a stiff breeze we don't have the players to play a more direct game either

On what I've seen today Kuhl and Tanner should both be playing ahead of Hector and Edwards (sorry Pepe) next week

Are u a relative of Tanner?

[Drew_3]

It's a shame that because of our midfield problems, Hector hasn't had a chance to prove himself as a cb. Sounds like Morrison and Pearce haven't exactly covered themselves in glory.

Judging by today's performance and in the brief stint he had at the end of last season Hector could be the CB we need, comfortable with the ball at his feet and good passing ability. He doesn't look rushed when he has the ball but neither does he dwell on it either.

[Ian Royal]

No defence is going to be comfortable with a totally patchwork midfield ahead of it. The result pretty much as I'd expect with that sort of team, if not better. Nice to see Blackman put one away. That was a nice strike.

We may start slowly, but with the ownership getting sorted and possibly a few signings to come in, lets hope we don't let it hurt our confidence. It's not like starting badly in the Championship ever hurt McDermott's side. We can pick up from there when we start getting people back from injury and (hopefully) some signings bedded in.

Don't want too many new bodies though. One of the things to look forward to in this season of likely mid-table mediocrity is seeing more of the Academy players tested in the first team.

[paultheroyal]

Pearce and Morrisson looked subdued all game. Real can't be arsed about them. Hector needs to go centre back.

A midfield 5 of Edwards, Hector, Taylor, Blackman, Akpan should be playing against Newport County not Wigan. That's how much I fear for us in that game.

No service upfront and no real attacking intent.

A striker, an attacking midfielder and another winger an absolute priority this month.

Gut feeling also is that McCarthy is a goner. Feds will start on Saturday and McCarthy will be sold on.

[cactuswood]

Nice to see the Academy players come in, Kuhl's awareness and looking to play the ball forward was a breath of fresh air. Would like to see him given more chances early on.
Normal service from the catering team, bad beer and know idea what they were doing (Quote "never worked here before"), could be interesting with a large crowd.

[Basingstoke Royal]

It was Pearce for the penalty, the most blatant handball I have seen for some time. Would definitely have walked in a league game, no way in pre-season. Though the ref did warn him

Well given all our players would get blown over by a stiff breeze we don't have the players to play a more direct game either

On what I've seen today Kuhl and Tanner should both be playing ahead of Hector and Edwards (sorry Pepe) next week

Totally agree. Kuhl looked more hungry and better quality than most of the other players when he came on. Him and hector should start in centre mid.

We need obita on the left wing. He is wasted at left back and had no option down the line as Taylor is not a winger. Cummings and obita on left is a better combination than obita and taylor.

Tanner and pog as a little and large combination front in a 4-4-2

I would love hector to play centre back in place of either of the other two donkeys, but until Guthrie or Jem are back he will have to play centre midfield.

[winchester_royal]

It was Pearce for the penalty, the most blatant handball I have seen for some time. Would definitely have walked in a league game, no way in pre-season. Though the ref did warn him

Well given all our players would get blown over by a stiff breeze we don't have the players to play a more direct game either

On what I've seen today Kuhl and Tanner should both be playing ahead of Hector and Edwards (sorry Pepe) next week

Are u a relative of Tanner?

No, I just thought Edwards looked like a little boy lost out there, whereas in his 10 minutes Tanner actually found space, turned, and played people in.

[winchester_royal]

It was Pearce for the penalty, the most blatant handball I have seen for some time. Would definitely have walked in a league game, no way in pre-season. Though the ref did warn him

Well given all our players would get blown over by a stiff breeze we don't have the players to play a more direct game either

On what I've seen today Kuhl and Tanner should both be playing ahead of Hector and Edwards (sorry Pepe) next week

That's a tad harsh Hector was our best player in terms of first touch and passing today, he also broke the play up nicely In front of the back four and was very disciplined in terms of his position which he needed to be given his role. I would agree Kuhl looks decent though and I would have him in the side for Taylor.

Not sure how you could have come to the conclusion of Tanner needing to start, granted Edwards didn't achieve alot although his work rate was good, but Tanner was only on for less than 10 mins was it?

Just don't think Hector is a midfielder, although what he did he did well...he wasn't doing the right things. He wasn't showing for the ball when necessary, he didn't know where to position himself in certain stages of the game, and that led to us losing the ball quite often and being broken at with ease. He'll be a fantastic defender, in fact I'd argue he should be playing at CB ahead of the two muppets we saw playing there today, but I thought the whole performance went up a good 20 notches with Kuhl and Tanner on the pitch.

[Royal Rother]

How many notches are available on your scale?

[winchester_royal]

How many notches are available on your scale?

10.

[Simon's Church]

Well given all our players would get blown over by a stiff breeze we don't have the players to play a more direct game either

On what I've seen today Kuhl and Tanner should both be playing ahead of Hector and Edwards (sorry Pepe) next week

That's a tad harsh Hector was our best player in terms of first touch and passing today, he also broke the play up nicely In front of the back four and was very disciplined in terms of his position which he needed to be given his role. I would agree Kuhl looks decent though and I would have him in the side for Taylor.

Not sure how you could have come to the conclusion of Tanner needing to start, granted Edwards didn't achieve alot although his work rate was good, but Tanner was only on for less than 10 mins was it?

Just don't think Hector is a midfielder, although what he did he did well...he wasn't doing the right things. He wasn't showing for the ball when necessary, he didn't know where to position himself in certain stages of the game, and that led to us losing the ball quite often and being broken at with ease. He'll be a fantastic defender, in fact I'd argue he should be playing at CB ahead of the two muppets we saw playing there today, but I thought the whole performance went up a good 20 notches with Kuhl and Tanner on the pitch.

Why do you suppose big nige hasnt given them a huge amount of playing time in the first team this pre-season winch?

[Ian Royal]

With Kuhl the answer must surely be that he thinks he needs more development time, having only started playing for the U21s last season(?) and us having far more options in midfield - even if half of them are injured. Tanner is the one I'm more baffled about given our massive dearth of attacking talent and him being older and more experienced.

Be interested in Winch's insight too though, seeing as he's been paying a lot of attention to them all.

[Simon's Church]

Thanks ian

I guess at 18 kuhl doesnt need to be rushed but being picked behind akpan and a centre back doesnt bode too well for his first team prospects this season

[P!ssed Off]

Because pre-season is about getting fit.
If Adkins had started an U21 instead of a 1st teamer then the 1st teamer would be unfit, or forced to go and play with the the U21s would become unhappy.

It's far easier for the players to stick by and large to their own sections during pre-season.

No point the likes of Akpan, Hector and Kuhl splitting game time for one spot in pre-season. Better to be able to choose from 3 ready players come first game of the season.

[yappy]

Just don't think Hector is a midfielder, although what he did he did well...he wasn't doing the right things. He wasn't showing for the ball when necessary, he didn't know where to position himself in certain stages of the game, and that led to us losing the ball quite often and being broken at with ease. He'll be a fantastic defender, in fact I'd argue he should be playing at CB ahead of the two muppets we saw playing there today, but I thought the whole performance went up a good 20 notches with Kuhl and Tanner on the pitch.

Personally thought Hector was pretty good today. Do agree that he would be better of at centre half, however he contributed a lot more in midfield today than Akpan did. I would have Kuhl & Tanner in for Akpan & Edwards.

[SCIAG]

The issue with Tanner is that he's lightweight. He's bulked up (well, that's probably just naturally growth) a lot in the past two years but he's still maybe a bit precocious.

PO is probably right on the money too, avoid marginalising senior players by playing them in matches that are "below" them.

I don't really understand using Edwards centrally and Taylor on the wing, but Edwards played centrally in Australia and Taylor has played wide before so it isn't totally crazy.

[Simon's Church]

Because pre-season is about getting fit

Is it not also about integrating new players into the team developing partnerships and an understanding of each others game? Which, like fitness, is best done in match situations.