Pre season observations to date including v PNE

[Christies Child]

OK only 2 games to date against inferior ( ) opposition but a number of things that I have noticed.

We have played it more on the deck with a lot of accurate passing.

We are crossing the ball into the box on a regular basis probably to provide Oliver with the service he needs to be successful.

Fleming is playing with more thought about going forward and to date is the Fleming of old and showing the potential that he used to show before stagnating.

Both of the new full bakcs are over 6' which could mean that we have a back line each over 6' assuming that Jimbo decides to play them all in the same selection. No17( the Doncaster loanee) impresses me every time I see him

Our goalkeepers haven't really been tested.

Both centre back triallists need more time to see if they have what it takes although No21 v Lancaster impressed me. A Scottish defender with considerable experience in Scotland and a former PNE player I understand.

Reece Deakin needs to be signed on a proper contract rather than on U21 Development forms otherwise he could be poached by another league club.

Overall a number of positive things on show, with few if any negatives.

[John L]

Both centre back triallists need more time to see if they have what it takes although No21 v Lancaster impressed me. A Scottish defender with considerable experience in Scotland and a former PNE player I understand.

I agree that the no.21 is worth further games as he looked very assured yesterday. Thanks for the hints as I'm sure I've identified him...

[mainy]

The number 21 trialist is called Brian McClean. Here's his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_McLean

[John L]

Well, I didn't want to spoil it...

[Seasider9601]

Well, I didn't want to spoil it...

This ^

+1

[Shrimpy]

Who is going to be the first one to reveal the identity of the other trialist then?

[bill ding]

Who is going to be the first one to reveal the identity of the other trialist then?

That's how we lose potentially decent player when some knob is hell bent on finding their identity out . Just leave it as A trialist FFS

[Seasider9601]

This is the way to do it .....

[parceldave]

Bladdy ell things must tight if Alfreton have taken all our Trialists , except A.Trialist of course who we get every season .

[shrimper]

I thought Alan Triallist did really well on Saturday and was surprised no-one was chanting his name.

"One Alan Triallist, there's only one Alan Triallist!"

[Christies Child]

A further 2 trialists on view v PNE including as seen before trialist No5 and McLean who have impressed me to date especially Brian McClean who has the experience and pedigree to be a more than welcome addition to the squad. No5 has had a terrible last 12 months thanks to the red tape of the EFL and deserves a chance to prove his potential recognised by his former club prior to the problems.

The trialist goalkeeper ( no idea who he was ) who I assume was in as a temporary replacement for Baz and back up to DN who I would expect ot be first choice until Baz is back in contention did OK but his distribution was questionable.

The other central defender trialist didn't impress me especially with his distribution.

Oliver could prove to be the ideal target man that in my opinion we've badly needed. If we can play him alongside another striker then with the possilbe addition to the 'destroyer' side of midfield we could prove to be the surprise package going into the coming season.

I understand that Reece Deakin has a slight strain hence his non appearnace last night.

[Seasider9601]

The PNE forum thread from the game last night:

http://www.pne-online.net/forum/showthr ... b9cb101fde

[Christies Child]

The PNE forum thread from the game last night:

http://www.pne-online.net/forum/showthr ... b9cb101fde

.....including their thoughts on a former loanee of ours Grimshaw, the ex ManUtd midfielder. See my seperate post on him.

[JPH]

Keeper possibly from Wigan. To assist with Baz being out for a period.

With Jim's mate Cooky at Wigan may not be the only latic we see?

[marky No.1]

The PNE forum thread from the game last night:

http://www.pne-online.net/forum/showthr ... b9cb101fde

Quote Originally Posted by sf View Post
Barkhuizen is going to be a big player for us.

Definite comparisons to Vardy with his pace, directness and finishing.

Don't need any unneccesary pressure on him but I think he's a class act.
10million+
Its a matter of time I think.

Sunderland? that would fill our coffers up a bit

[JPH]

Sunderland? that would fill our coffers up a bit

Does anyone know what the sell on deal is like? If any..

[bill ding]

Fairly sure there wasn't one , at the time we was on our ars and needed the cash in a hurry !

[Christies Child]

Fairly sure there wasn't one , at the time we was on our ars and needed the cash in a hurry !

Peter Risdale the PNE Chairman took advantage of our situation and helped us out whilst backing PNE's former manager and ex Blackpool boss Grayson who knew all about Barks potential from both their 'pool days.

Risdale has a chequered history but he did help us out which suggests he ain't all that bad.....

As for a follow up sale clause, it's something thst we could hope for but it's highly likely that nothing was agreed in writing but a verbal agreement could be in place.

No doubt we'll find out, maybre later this season if Barks continues with his development which Jimbo and Co have to take some credit for having brought him from the brink of a considered retirement.

[Freez]

Let's be clear, PNE could have offered 50k and still taken him as we had no choice at the time. So fair play to Ridsdale as he did offer three times that!
But there is a 15% sell on, so we do get something.

[Wild Bill]

No a chance we would see anything from a future sale unless there was a legally binding clause. As we basically terminated TB's contract so he could sign for PNE I'd say there is Bob Hope and no hope of one of these being in place.

[Freez]

Horses mouth, 15%. So all is not lost.

[George Dawes]

being realistic with our budget, I'm quite happy with what we've got now attacking wise.

feel we could just do with a Stopper ball winner or two in the middle of the park defending now.

then good to go!

[shrimper]

We need two more centre backs before the season starts (ie more than we've seen in pre-season so far).

Kenyon is fine but I’d like to see him as holding midfielder, with Flemmo and Rose in front of him - otherwise I think we’re lightweight in there.
The young triallist (5) looks decent but I wouldn’t fancy him against some of the big strikers we know we are going to face this season (Matt Rhead, Akinfenwa etc). He'd be good to have as cover and to bring on as he develops physically, though.

We also definitely need another forward.

Oliver could be very good, he certainly has all the attributes, and may have been playing within himself in pre-season, especially having had a slight injury. But I wouldn’t like to think he was who we are relying on for goals – he may not come off at all.
Turner has looked a bit better, if anything, and may get a few this season – but he's a bit of a wild-card positionally and doesn’t strike me as a regular starter and scorer. Campbell is very neat and tidy and could create openings but, again, doesn’t look to have the natural scoring touch.
Kev will always chip in with a few and has looked the same as ever in pre-season. Deakin and Thommo may contribute but, again, I can’t see either of those starting and scoring regularly.
We have a lot of goals to replace, having lost Mullin, Barkhuizen, Stockton and Molyneux from our list of top scorers from last season – and there were only four teams who scored fewer than us.

Interesting last week-and-a-bit of pre-season ahead!

[seasonsinthesun]

Couldn't agree more shrimper.
Having seen the game last night, your assessment is spot on.
Apart from Winnard,we are short of League Two standard centre backs as you say, and Oliver is not the answer up front. He looked to me like a confidence player, in that I think he will fade out of games if it isn't going his way.
Once again with a Morecambe side, I don't think we have enough strength and muscle throughout the team compared to other teams at League Two level.

[The Marksman]

From a York fan at work:

"seems better on right of a front 3 than as a target man. Big, powerful, but head goes down quite easily if it's not going his way. Tends to do ok if team is built to suit his game, so hopefully you have a system in place already that works for him. "

Told you....