Preseason 23/24

[DiV]

…in all seriousness though - pre season results have & always will be highly contextual…

[Ides of March]

I’m usually very pessimistic but in the 60 minutes of what was really Bristol City’s starting XI vs our equivalent, we more than held our own. Yes, we weren’t perfect and still had some defensive issues but it was obvious to see some real promise in there. The other 60 was a mix of City youngsters, our fringe players and Ward. Not a lot to be gained/learnt from that.

This Hereford friendly meanwhile, meh. No first team players involved so pretty irrelevant.

[RobertT]

I mean, today's "game" wasn't even one, not really.  It was a high pressured training session, the result of which is secondary to seeing who can take what they have learned on the training pitch into a game situation, where do we have issues that still need work, where are we missing players who can do what the Manager wants etc.

Friendlies are pointless - in a literal league campaign sense, but very important for a Manager and for players to get minutes into their legs under strain rather than the well planned training sessions they'll have been getting.

The only downside I can see is we haven't really played any up and at em types as yet.  We know we have some players that can attack well, play the ball about, and no doubt a team like Bristol City will have tested our defensive shape to the extreme.  However, we probably don't yet know how we'd fare against a Sutton.  We know, having watched all of last season, we seem very frail under the high ball and next to useless at our own set pieces.  Would be good to have had a test like that.

[Batch]

Trialist A from tonight

https://twitter.com/stfcjosh/status/1681363720792842240?t=TUFVVkIFClibQROX0H0H9g&s=19

[Jimmy HaveHave]

I've no problem with getting beat in friendlies but do question the opposition of the last two games and what we've gained from them even more so today when part of the line up was made up with a few Bristol City youngsters.

[RobertT]

I've no problem with getting beat in friendlies but do question the opposition of the last two games and what we've gained from them even more so today when part of the line up was made up with a few Bristol City youngsters.

We've seen how we might get undone by a team higher up the league, that plays good football.  Nobody should be better than City, so we know the worst.  We also know whether or not we can create opportunities against a better defence than we will see this season.  A stress test if you like.  It confirmed a lot of what most us already know, but Flynn only got to see last season on video I imagine, not how the entire 11 is moving and reacting.

[Batch]

Trialist A from tonight

https://twitter.com/stfcjosh/status/1681363720792842240?t=TUFVVkIFClibQROX0H0H9g&s=19

a man named Mo apparently

[Frigby Daser]

It would help if some of our games weren’t publicised at all, or at least publicised as a Swindon XI, rather than the first team. But, it seems the way now that you get full comms and live streams of matches that previously we’d never have known about years ago.

[adje]

a man named Mo apparently

The fifth one we've had?

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

a man named Mo apparently

Thought it was Fankwe

[Jimmy HaveHave]

We've seen how we might get undone by a team higher up the league, that plays good football.  Nobody should be better than City, so we know the worst.  We also know whether or not we can create opportunities against a better defence than we will see this season.  A stress test if you like.  It confirmed a lot of what most us already know, but Flynn only got to see last season on video I imagine, not how the entire 11 is moving and reacting.

I imagine it was great to play at their state of the art training ground.

[Lemis]

Are we actually benefiting from these pre season games?

Arguably, first half of the city game was a good exercise for the first team against decent opposition, and the second half could be seen as a bit of scouting

[ChalkyWhiteIsGod]

Nah no ones got a clue whats they are doing and Flynns winging it. Those 60 minutes earlier were pointless

I can see the logic in wanting a proper look at some of the potential youth signings, but it rendered some of our lads involvement in it pointless. Should have just had a normal friendly and stuck around to watch the youths and reserves of city that didn't play have a game after or something. The likes of Cain and Darcy could have started against Hereford tonight then.

[Batch]

Mo Sylla (villa) could be Trialists

[Bob's Orange]

Mo Sylla (villa) could be Trialists

Based on that picture from the weekend, it certainly looks more like him than Fankwe to be honest.