Firstly, I haven't had a chance to get myself down to a pre-season game yet - I'm hoping to get to Colchester on Tuesday but we will see. The following does come about what opinions/views people have shared though.
But I sense optimism and positivity in regards to how the squad are shaping up, including how the new signings are settling in and how refreshing it is to see the youngsters be given an opportunity to give themselves a chance for the season ahead.
I like what I've heard about Flynn Downes. In particular, what Stuart Watson had to say about him. Stuart labelled him down as tenacious, which is quite rare for someone of his age to bring into competitive football, but also describing him as a player who drives forward in possession - to me, this sounds like Bishop in 14/15 season, just with added aggression/tenacity to his game. I hope this lad gets a few opportunities across the season.
Tristan Nydam is another who has had high praise for what he's done at LB. Seen a few people say he may well even start the season at LB given the ability of the lad. I look forward to seeing him on Tuesday.
It seems Dominic Iorfa is reminding people of Mings. Effortless long strides which eat up the ground. Let's hope he has the same defensive ability as Mings though, as then we could have a very good player for the season.
Bersant Celina sounds like another lad with a bit of quality to his name. I watched a couple of videos on youtube in regards to his loan spell at FC Twente - he looked like he had a very similar playing style to Tom Lawrence - direct and willing to get at his man.
I like what I've heard about Joe Garner. I knew what to expect from him because of his Preston days. A player who is putting himself about and not letting defenders have a clean header away, a player who's running the channels well and a player closing the defenders down and not giving them the time they want on the ball. The goals seem to have got off to a good start as well - presume TC has ironed that out of him on the training ground?
Only disappointing thing I've seen is that Webster has been out with an ankle injury. Do we know if this is a recurrence of the same ankle that kept him out for half of last season? I read somewhere he will likely play on Saturday, but is this a serious injury?
However, it does all sound good and I look forward to the new season ahead. I do think other teams around us look strong though - especially Brentford and Nottingham Forest. We will see how well we can compete though. |  |
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