Evening all, Just back from the game. Powell started with his first choice eleven I assume. Lots of new faces, thought I would give my opinion on how they played. Morrison and Taylor. Does what it says on the tin basically. No nonsense centre backs. Not truly tested as up against one attacker, though he was very tall. Both seemed more than capable. Wiggins. The main disappointment really. OK ish defensively but distribution poor and didn't really make the most of the opportunities he had going forward. Green. Grew into the game. Hit the bar with a free kick and delivered a couple of great early crosses. Hollands. Steady Eddie. Didn't try and complicate matters. Looked decent Hayes. Some nice link up play and touches and a couple of half chances. Can see why he has so many assists. Will ge tbetter. Stephens. MOM. Looked a class above. Has touch, balance, two good feet and got stuck in. Could turn out to be my fave player of the year. Looked like he had more time than others. Overall a decent display against an attacking opposition. Lots of interchanging of positions. BWP did what he did best. One half chance and a beautiful lob over the keeper. Very enjoyable.
On the centre back pairing it seemed to be that Morrison was te ball winner (a new Llera for Mikey) and Taylor was the passer who can defend, Morrison tried as much as possible to get the ball to Taylor and if he couldn't he would sometimes dribble it out of defence (he did this four or five times tonight)
Great summary Sir John Agree re Wiggins although he did have the toughest job. His burst forward for the Jackson effort off the crossbar was very good. Morrison and Taylor will come up against better strikers but they seem ok. Hollands really impressed, seldom gave it away and was capable of turning away from trouble. You could see how much BWP appreciated the better service he was getting, particularly from Green, that bodes well. Hayes is a little like Benson, but his link up play is better. Should have scored with that header off the bar. Overall a decent run out, the trophy was a nice touch. Let's hope it's nor the last silverware we get this season...
I really enjoyed the game tonight lads and for me there were plenty of positives. It was that bit more special for me as it was three year old Franco Jnr's first ever live football match. Hopefully the first of many visits to The Valley (if he wants to remain living under my roof anyway ). The one big thing that was clearly evident to me tonight was that each and every player who played a part in the precedings was happy in possession and actively sought the ball. I'm in no doubt that we have a squad of good footballers at our disposal this year! I thought Morrison and Taylor showed signs of becoming a really good partnership. They are both dominant in the air, physically strong and just appear to love defending (all i want from my CB pairing). Another big plus was the way they were forever talking and organising those around them. Hollands was busy and is pretty well drilled in all the key disciplines that make a good CM. Stephens displayed good awareness of what was going on around him and can certainly pick a pass and use possession productively. Only slight concern where he's concerned was his tendency to drop a little too deep for my liking. Which lead to Hayes dropping too deep in order to plug the gap thus leaving BWP isolated at times. With the vision and range of passing that Stephens possesses, I'd like to see him play more advanced where i genuinely believe he could cause carnage. Hayes looked a little one paced at times and was guilty of dropping too deep, all too often leaving BWP totally isolated. He did however show some neat touches and clever link up play. The deft chip he tried that narrowly went over really would've been a truly special first goal (i thought it was in from the moment it left his boot). Green was simply mustard Imo. Just about everything he did had an end product. Always a real threat!! All in all another good workout against decent opposition. My MOM for what it's worth was Morrison. I just love his no nonsense approach to defending. Imo he WILL be absolutely colossal for us this coming season.
MoM for me was Taylor, some of his long balls out from the back were Lleraesque (except they actually went to the intended player) Also having gone years without anybody with a decent throw we now have TWO in Green and Hollands. They seemed to be having a competition of who could throw it the furthest!
Some good accounts, gents. Interesting to also watch BWP last night. I reckon he's going to have to run twice as much as last season as the number of balls coming his way will surely increase. Was always looking for the ball to be fair to him. Just a quick word on Elliot. Appeared to be vocal, constantly talking to his centre backs and dealt with the long shots well. As for our other two returnees from last season, Jackson and Solly, both looked sound. Solly looked better than Wiggins and Jackson kept things ticking over. Kept mistaking him for Hollands though.
Wiggins had a bad game- that happens. Decent enough in the tackle, just didn't measure his crosses properly. I still expect him to push on and become an integral part of the team, because if he doesn't then evina will be waiting in the wings.
For me it was a good run out and the performances that stood out were those that were below par or attracted attention. Overall I think as a team they played together as a unit and were putting together passes which worked. The midfield was much more constructive than last year. The poor performance that stood out was that of Wiggins who seemed out of his depth throughout the match. His pace was good but distribution seemed a little bit wayward and selection was questionable. Could be his 'mare game and only time and another performance will tell. Enjoyed the cameo by Bover and Pritchard at the end particulalry the sprint reccovery by Pritchard to rob the ball from Den Bosch and break up an attack in the dying minutes. Refereeing was a bit curious, seemed to me that Mr Linnington was doing everything to have the friendly end in a draw and penalties.
When your manager is an ex England international in your position, you bloody well ought to "push on" and become a beter player...!!
Wiggins is tried and tested in League One- just perhaps needs a little more time to fully settle. Not going to read in to anything much from a friendly.
Na it was deffo Taylor... Morrison was the one who looked like he'd left the coat hanger in his number 5 shirt...
Sorry, I thought that's what I said but perhaps my english wasn't very good "Morrison tried as much as possible to get the ball to Taylor and if he couldn't he would sometimes dribble it out of defence "
You wanna get your eyes tested All Hell. It was Taylor who was bringing it out from the back. I can't recall Morrison doing so at all.
It was Morrison, Franco You need to stop whatever it is you are doing that's making your eyesight bad
