Midfield Two

I have never been a fan of pre-season games. Win 5-0 or lose 5-0 I will feel the same. The result will also not give any indication as to what lies ahead.

That said, I am interested in a few things. Who were the triallists yesterday, what is their background and how did they play? Also, what was the crowd?

The crowd had to be around 4,000, although mainly made up of people in white shirts from where I was stood.

As for the trialists, we did a bit of Googling during the match and the lad Hamilton, who scored for us, has had a bit of a no-mark career to date, pitching up at Gillingham, Dover and a Cypriot club. Chris Arthur was at QPR and didn't really do much as far as I could see, but the keeper from Derby was our man of the match and kept things down to a reasonable scoreline when in reality we could have been overwhelmed at times.

And then there was Andy Todd - 35, a thug and never managed more than 26 league appearances in a season due to repetitive suspensions and a catalogue of injuries. I guess of all the trialists he has the best chance of being offered a contract. Well, he played at Derby with the manager didn't he....

Thanks WednesburyBrewer. I had looked Hamilton and Arthur up online and was distinctly underwhelmed by their respective careers to date.

I was unaware that it was that 'Todd'. Well I never. He would be a good signing.

Who is Kasiam?

Agree that early pre-season games are not much of a guide. Atkins made several good saves and I would be quite happy to see more of him. Thought the full back, Hamilton looked ok for 30 minutes. Has a good long throw on him. Arthur and Kasiam didn't do a lot.
Nice cameo from Marcus Harness - 15 years old, with a Valderama haircut. First touch nutmegs the Derby left winger then runs past another! This must be the lad Arsenal are supposedly sniffing around.
Bockarie & Munn also caught the eye. Would be worth a place on the bench for experience. Got to look to the future.
Andy Todd? Why would we want a(nother!) 37 year old slow coach at the centre of defense?
Has Greg put a bit of weight on? Looked to have bulked up a bit, which is a good thing.
Liked the look of Palmer, especially after he switched to the left.
Still looked like we were going with Zola up top on his own with Mags playing off.
Derby looked a step above us for most of the afternoon. Brayford looked class.
The rest of our pre-season puts us in the role of 'higher league' opposition.
Interesting to see if we can be a as clinical against Alfreton, Tamworth, Solihull and Telford.
Pesch says (in the mail) that he's talking to a couple of strikers who were needed by their clubs this weekend. Have to keep watching to see what materialised.

I hope he gets on with it and signs one or both of these strikers in the week ahead. Less than 3 weeks to go until the season starts - one pre-season friendly down - the new player(s) need time to settle and get used to the other players and the style of play.

After last season, I must say that I want to see some improvement in the style of play.

And then there was Andy Todd - 35, a thug and never managed more than 26 league appearances in a season due to repetitive suspensions and a catalogue of injuries. I guess of all the trialists he has the best chance of being offered a contract. Well, he played at Derby with the manager didn't he....

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Actually Pesch left Derby a few months before Todd arrived.

Got to be honest Strider, I'm not an avid DCFC watcher, so only took my info' from Wikipedia. That'll teach me!

Even so PP has got good form when it comes to picking up on anyone who has previously worn the white shirt. Bolder, Jackson, Boertien, Hughes and Moore immediately spring to mind. To me it means the man doesn't have anything like an extensive contact list that is needed in the game, and now Todd pitches up.

I was sort of hoping Matt Duke would be considered given that he's on a free and was at Derby, albeit briefly, last season. But then it looks like Bertrand Bossu may have that shirt covered....