It seems the consensus of opinion is that the preseason games didn't matter

Personally, I'd be a lot more confident if we'd played well, scored loads of goals and kept some clean sheets. We haven't and that worries me a bit.

 

The non-scoring of goals is a bit of a worry, but I thought we did OK against Wigan and we aint gonna be playing against that quality once this season.</p>

Once the players get an understanding going forwards I think we will be OK.</p>

 

Id like to see us play more of a passing game. Against league 2 teams we should have been able to outplay them but chose to play too much direct stuff at times. Chest and head high balls 20 yds out with your back to goal isnt my idea of fun.

 

my worries

Mostto isn't going to get the sort of service he's used to (in which case can we sign that bloke with the beard who plays left wing for Cienciano)

Davey's going to feel compelled to play Paul Reid for no other reason than he's been skipper for two years.

A few early defeats will cause the players and supporters to become unduly frustrated.

Johnson doesn't stop his hoofing approach and we end up punting long balls down the field when it's clear that it's a completely ***** tactic and doesn't work. That aside, I have noted that in pre-season Colgan DOES now roll the ball out to defenders rather than pretending he's going to then just punting it up the park.

We become dependant on good performances by Nyatanga then Derby get a whacking huge cash offer for him in January.

 

I'm not worried about the Wigan game

But we faired no better against basement division clubs. Maybe the games were meaningless as many people have suggested, I dunno.

 

We look like we wanted to play against Wigan.</p>

If we have Souza at the back with Nyatanga I would hope that we would try and play some football.</p>

I dont think we have the forwards to play a long ball game anyway. Tall as Ferenczi is , he looks to me like he prefers balls to feet or at least something better than a hopeful punt up the park.</p>

 

RE: I'm not worried about the Wigan game

If theyre meaningless to footy clubs they should play behind closed doors or let us in for nowt. We fans would prefer them to whet our appetite for the coming season.

 

RE: I'm not worried about the Wigan game

I would have expected our last game against Bury to be the team that plays against Coventry.</p>

So in that sense it doesnt bode well , but all being well with a decent crowd behind them the players will step up next week.</p>

Having Devaney and Ricketts on the wings should mean more scoring opprtunities for all.</p>

Lets hope so.</p>

 

I didnt bother with the Wigan game so cant comment.

Lets just hope weve all been conned and they come out and football Coventry to death on Saturday!

 

With Dowie moaning in the papers last week about not having any money to spend , I hope they come with the wrong attitude of a club divided</p>

and we get off to a good start.</p>

 

Having been to all the (first team) friendlies this season...

(and most seasons, come to that), I sometimes question my sanity! You're going to watch new signings and triallists that
you probably won't recognise to start with, and existing players who have changed their appearance just to confuse matters.
For example, I was convinced that Bobby Hassell was playing at Morecambe, despite the reports of him being injured - until
I realised (after a few minutes I have to say!) that it was Reidy who had bleached his hair and had it cut similar to Bobby H's!

On top of that you know you are probably doing a 100-mile round trip (as yesterday) to effectively watch a training session,
and you don't get the same buzz as watching the Reds in a meaningful competitive match. The main reason I go though is
to look for signs of the new players' capabilities, indications of possible partnerships and maybe some clues as to the tactics
we are likely to employ in the coming season.

As others have said, the results can be meaningless. You can have a crap pre-season but perform really well in the league
(as we did in the 96/7 season) and you can win all your friendlies in fine style yet do crap when the real games start!
I presume Davey's approach is to try out formations, any new tactics, and players in covering positions to cope with
injuries. I'm not at all convinced that playing Souza at left back yesterday, when the guy has only been here a couple of
weeks, is learning a new language, lifestyle and team ethic - and is a recognised centre half, does either the player himself
or the team in general any good though, but it's Davey's call.

From what I've seen, there are signs that Ricketts and Werling can be a useful combination on our left flank, Mossto will
score goals once he settles in and his team-mates get used to the way he plays, and Odejayi certainly gives us options
up front that we haven't had in quite a while i.e. blistering pace, height and weight. He's relatively skilful with the ball as well.
We already know about Nyatanga, he's not perfect and he'll make mistakes but he's more than good enough for us. Souza
shows a lot of promise, seems intelligent in the way he uses the ball and could be our next De Zeeuw. He certainly plays in
Arjan's style! He'll also make mistakes but hopefully the fans won't get on his back when that occurs.

Disco has been disappointing, as has Ferenczi - so sod's law dictates that they'll start the season on fire! Likewise, Nya and
Souza could well end up making blunders all over the park, that's football for you! Andy Johnson hasn't impressed me at
all, apart from his vocals, and I can foresee a clash of personalities with him and Howie in central midfield. Again, that's
something for Davey to sort out, should it happen.

The really disappointing aspect of the friendlies from my perspective has been two-fold - firstly our inability to keep a clean
sheet, even against a non-league team like Buxton (no dis-respect) which seems to indicate that our defensive unit hasn't
improved since last season, even though the individual personnel may have. Secondly, there has been a singular lack of
apparent tactics in the five games - there's be no indication whether we are going to play it from the back through midfield,
use the pace on the flanks to get crosses in for the big men, or simply thump it forward from the back. We've done all of
that during the five games, but not on a regular basis. There's been no improvement/variation on our corner-kicks, free-kicks,
throw-ins etc., - which you would expect the team to try out in friendly games. Maybe Davey doesn't think it's necessary to
change our current style of dead-ball situations, in which case fair enough - he's the manager.

My perception is that we've improved on the playing staff, we've certainly got better competition for places now, but whether
or not that will result in better performances this coming season - only time will tell. We'll start finding out from next
Saturday, that's for sure! Bottom line is... if we end up having a successful season, these last 5 friendlies won't matter
at all!

 

I wouldn't say they don't matter...

But I just don't think playing averagely/badly means that we'll be rubbish next week.

Many times a team has a great pre-season and does badly and vice versa.

 

I agree

<div>Wigan just stayed up last season. They aren't a quality premiership side.</div><div>If we were doing anything other than having a run out against Bury and Wigan, I would be more than a little concerned for our fortunes this time around.</div><div>Maybe the bookies have it right, we'll have to see.</div>

 

i,d rather we played well against coventry next week,pre season games mean **** all.i haven,t been to one,i don,t take notice of the results.Barnsley will be the suprise packet inn the championship next season,of that i,m sure,so all these wingers going on about us losing to bury who the fook cares!

 

Have Devaney and Rickettts been on complaining?</p>

 

wingers ff