I was there today, and have quite a few observations.....
-I wasn't particularly confident in either of our keepers that played, esp after seeing McGinty in the warm up, who looked so much more assured with the ball at his feet, very accurate with his left foot and he also made some cracking saves in the shooting drills! Give him a go I say!
-I'm now a bit worried about Sam Long, he plays with his heart and will give it all for the team but every time he got the ball he either turned back, lost it or played it aimlessly forward. I actually thought Forde was much more effective there (tho we were attacking more when he came on) as I feel he knows the position and what to do in it better than Long. Maybe CB is Longy's natural position.
-Findlay will, I think, be great for us, one covering tackle showed his pace, but he will have to get up to speed with the rest of the back 5 quickly, and also needs to learn not to expect Easty to be ready to receive the ball, he's not very good at it! But he's a unit and mobile, I think he will anchor the defence for a few years.
-Moore actually dealt better with the 6'8 beanpole than the short nippy forward, overall he did ok but there was certainly a couple of heart in mouth moments! He likes to bring the ball out of defence often but you're never certain what he's going to do with it!
-I still really do think Seddon could be a decent player but atm he doesn't know if he's a defender or an attacker and didn't do either that well! KR needs to sort him out and coach him this season. Good athlete tho and offers that left balance.
-Cam is THE absolute heartbeat and star of this team, no question, if we lose him we are in trouble, he is the only one in the midfield with it all- ability, vision, energy and football know how. What. A. Player. God knows why the Wombles no. 10 went nose to nose with him, he's way out of your league mate!!
-McGuane did some decent things, especially when he ran forward, but too often he was hassled out of it or dallied on the ball. I'm still not certain that's his best position, further forward may be better for him to be more effective.
-Bodin annoyed me a bit today, he played too deep too often, didn't really do enough on the ball for me and his corners were mainly rubbish, most didn't even beat the first man. Not sure he can do the wide job as he's not quick enough but I'm not sure either he's the number 10 we need supporting Tayls.
-I'm sorry but Marcus Browne was pants in the first half! Then second half when he moved centrally he was a bit better but I still expect more from someone with his background, pace and ability, for gods sake will he shoot sometimes!
-Jodi Jones showed flashes of pace today and obviously has quality but again he didn't really nail down a position, was floating round on the right side somewhere....one good run showed his pace, again KR needs to deploy him correctly.
-Tayls had no service, put himself about as usual, wound up the opposition as usual, but resorted to a shot outside the box as his only effort! But we know we can rely on him, but we do need some more bodies in that position.
Of the subs:
-Gorrin looked like the Gorrin we know but with every challenge we winced to see how he reacted. Good energy when he came on too.
-Murphy looks far too good for this level, but he must quickly realise he can't have the time on the ball you might get a league higher. But he had pace, control, football nous, and a willingness to take players on. SIGN HIM ON NOW!! Please!
-Wildschut similarly excited in his brief cameo, skill and balls in to the box, but let's hope we can see him on the pitch again soon.
-I do like the premise of Sinclair as he is different to Matty and Baldock, yes he didn't have a lot of efforts today but there wasn't much service, he ran the channels a couple of times and a couple of good touches....but would he be a waste of aa squad place?
-Ciaron Brown must be a bit gutted to not be maybe a 'first choice' but it is a squad game and we will need every player. The depth could be the difference this year? He will be used more than we think.
-I liked us better when Jamo came on, with his little flicks, his brain and his experience - yes he's now not the quickest but he will fight, try hard and has quality still. Again a good squad player to have on board.
As an interesting point of note, the group sitting in front of me were Stuart Findlay's wife, sister and bro-in-law, lovely people, and they said he was absolutely delighted to be part of our club, that he was very impressed with the set up, and that one thing he had liked was that KR had had 3 or 4 meetings with the player before signing to get to know him, and that really helped. He's house hunting in Oxfordshire atm, and some other members of his family will be at Derby watching him.
If we do get Murphy, Jones, maybe a player in (either or both) full back positions, a big target man type (Stockton!) and maybe another enforcer type midfielder then I think this could be a hell of a season. Whatever happens, we know it will be a roller coaster ride so strap in and close your eyes!!
Sorry for the essay!!
See you at Derby! COYY's!!