I don't want to have a go at Hessy but I feel we could of brought in a better selection of trialist's. I can't really name anyone half decent who came in on trial. Jake Cole was good but the less said about that the better! We seemed to only bring in young lad's from local teams I thought we would bring in some player's who excited a bit more! Player's like Dean Brill, Fabian Brandy, Omar Daley and Matt Duke! I know I don't know the inner working's of the club so I can't have a go but I feel this is time to bring some players in who could really make a impact. Obviously you need to try out some youngster's and I understand that but it seems to have been nothing but! Am I being greedy or does anyone else we could have made a bit more of the trialist system.
I'm sorry Lukey but I don't agree with you on all aspects of your thread. Giving someone a trial is exactly that. It's a trial. If you are an established player you don't really need a trial because people know what you can do. I also feel there's still too much negativity about. Feels like people are trying to find any little thing to have a go about. Maybe it's just the frustration of waiting for the season to start or my expectations are far lower than other people's. I don't know. The thing I am sure of is that Hess is doing his best to bring the to us. I think we should give him the support he deserves. He's doing his best with what he has available. He has his plans let's all get behind him and the team. UTG
Spot on Gemini. You want players on trial that are previously unscouted and have a point to prove. Not sure where the Matt Duke suggestion has come from, he was playing Premier League football a couple of seasons ago.
exactly if a player is good enough and well proven enough in and around the football league they often dont go on trails unless there are question marks surrounding them such as fitness etc, or its getting late in the window and they are trying to prove themselves. in their mind they will normally be contacted by a few clubs/their agent will have pestered a few clubs and they be considering offers and dont have time to go on trial at all the clubs. as has been said trials are nearly always for lower league or youngsters to come in and prove they are worth a contract
I mentioned those name's because thet either hadn't played much regular first team football or had a ingury problem. I wasn't saying that all big name player's had to come on trial, I was saying that I would like to see potentially very good players with a point to prove come in instead of loads of kids who were never going to make the cut.
A few years ago Chris Smalling would have been considered a trialist... The rest as they say is history.
Manchester Gill has hit the nail on the head. Although, Stefan Payne joined Fulham from non-league at the same time. Polar opposites it seems. It always has been, and always will be hit and miss. There are youngsters out there that have simply slipped through the net.
You are always going to end up with many of them that are ****, that is why they are on trial as Hess gives a lot a go, but they could be a big name but may still be **** so hess is doing nothing wrong, he has a selection.
Hess signed known players, the trials where just that, a look at players that he didn't know yet had been brought to his attention.
The problem with "being greedy" of using the trialist system is that you run the risk of signing flops i.e the Sinclair's, Yussuff's and Erskine's of this world who would not bring anything to the team. Yes you may find some gems like Smalling but there's no point in signing someone to warm the bench (even harder now with only 5 subs instead of 7) and would just be another added to the wage bill. We need quality not quantity at any level and people after Welling are having their hands over the panic button for if we have an injury list similar to last season. The defence picks itself with Fuller, Lawrence, Frampton, Martin with plenty of cover in King, Richards, Fish and if it goes bad then give the likes of Essam and Davies a run in the side. Same with midfield as we're spoilt for choice for the first time in years. Yes upfront and the keepers are a bit light in back up but things will be clearer when Hess knows how long Birchall is out for.
I would still have King in the first team when he is fit. Maybe I am just putting too much faith in him but when he was fit his defensive quality was the most important thing in that promotion season. Also Fish has done well in the pre-season's and with Barry still not 100% it could be very interesting to see who is given the nod. Has Hessy named a captian for this season yet? I may be wrong but last season Fuller was captian because hess hadn't been here long on just gave it him as he had been captian under Stimmo. Lawrence has to be in with a chance of being Captain as he was captian last year but just didn't have the armband to prove it!
The thing with choosing a capain,apart from the obvious attributes they need, is that they need to be the first name on the team sheet each week. I think that could rule out Fuller as Fish could play there, Lawrence and King because of injury concerns, Frampton possible if he is likely to play every week, but I think the most likely candidate is Charlie Lee. Plays in an ideal position for a captain,very vocal, and leads by example. He'd be my choice.
trouble with lee and frampton is have they been at the club long enough to deserve it. in my opinion the captian is normally someone associated witht he club for a while as well as the name on the team sheet. depending on who he goes for i reckon spills might get it atleast for the start of the season
Spills would be good but I can't see him on the teamsheet every week so it rules him out Charlie Lee is a good shout.
for me atm our left side of the midfield should be jackman and spills, they interchange well making our left side difficult to defend against. plus that gives us both sides of midfield who will work well together with the inseperable pair on the right. to me it would also work better defensively as jackman is a good defender spiller is never afraid to put his foot-in and then lee sitting on the right side allowing whelpdale to fly forward. the only problem i see with this is leaving montrose out, but heck thats our conundrum