Five Conclusions (Page 15)

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The first win is on the board for Chris Hargreaves. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t convincing, but who cares?! They all count. Here are Ian’s conclusions from yesterday’s 1-0 win.

We showed that we’ve got defensive resilience. Chris Hargreaves made some changes bringing in Alfie Pond and Ben Richards-Everton and it worked. The second half was an exercise in attack versus defence and marshalled by the impressive Josh Staunton, the Glovers kept free-flowing Dagenham at bay. They defended resolutely against a barrage of of corners. It was talked about in the build up to the game about the importance of seeing matches out and the players delivered for the manager, keeping a clean sheet and getting that all important first three points!

Image courtesy of Mike Kunz

 

It was a captain’s performance from Josh Staunton. With Alfie Pond making his debut, and Ben Richards-Everton returning from injury after three matches out, all eyes were on Josh Staunton to be the rock at the back. His performance was probably the best of the season so far. He saw the danger that Josh Walker was causing in the first half and took it upon himself to make sure Walker wasn’t allowed to do it in the second half. When the Glovers had to defend successive corners, Staunton was in the thick of things, putting his body on the line ensuring that Dagenham didn’t get an equaliser.

We’ve got a player in Alfie Pond. There’s a long way to go in Alfie Pond’s career, and as an 18-year-old he will have bad games at some point, but yesterday he looked the part. He had an early duel against one of the League’s best strikers in Paul McCallum which set the tone for his day. He was calm in possession of the ball, won his battles in the air and looked more than ready for the rigours of the National League. Having kept a clean sheet with Max Hunt dropped and Morgan Williams at wingback, there is plenty of competition for places at Huish Park at the moment.

Alfie Pond. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.


We seemed to show a lack of urgency at times. I’m not sure if it was our defensive focus, but we certainly sacrificed some of the Harg-Ball in favour of being secure. Before we took the lead through Jamie Reckord, there were groans at the lack of urgency and unwillingness to play forward, but our patience paid off and we got what turned out to be the winner. But in the second half, when we were really under pressure, I felt like we never got going and when we did have the ball we took our time to move it forward. It paid off in the end and we got the win but it would have been a little more comfortable…wouldn’t it?

It’s time to push on. We’ve got the first win in the bank now, on Friday we secured two new signings and we’re at a stage where we’ve got genuine depth and competition in each position. We travel to Wealdstone tomorrow and welcome York to Huish Park this coming Saturday and if we’re going to be a side that flirts with the playoffs, we should be getting six-points from those two games. We’ll have to deal with the absences of Charlie Wakefield, Sam Pearson and possibly Lawson D’Ath, but as we showed today we’ve got options. Hopefully we can get on a bit of run, build some confidence and some convincing victories on the way.

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Urgh.

Another near miss, three points snatched away from the Yeovil Town right at the death as Altrincham pegged the Glovers back twice to grab a 2-2 draw.

Our man Ben was in the Press box for BBC Somerset at Moss Lane and here are his conclusions from a frustrating afternoon in the North West.

Altrincham Away ? Ben Barrett

Oh, what might have been.

It wasn’t quite as free flowing as the game against Barnet but HargreavesBall was still the order of the day for the Yeovil Town.

The switch to a 4-4-2 from the off had me thinking we might change our style, but that wasn’t the case, we kept it simple, on the floor and tried to still use our threats from wide angles to creat chances.

Chiori Johnson added a bit more bite to the midfield, the former Torquay man isn’t afraid to put a tackle in, whilst Lawson D’Ath added a calmness to the centre of the park. With Altrincham dominating possession in a way Barnet did not on them previous Tuesday night, he helped utilise what we did see of the ball.

This is our style of play, win, lose or draw, home or away.

Lawson D’Ath. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Speaking of D’Ath. Jeez, we’ve got a classy footballer on our hands.

It’s nothing we haven’t said 100 times before, but a fit and firing Lawson D’Ath is too good for the National League. He can do it all, run with the ball, spray passes, tackle, block, get forward, defend the whole nine yards.

The point here is, how do you now manage a player who is just so influential? His first 89 minutes of the season, with two games in three days at the back end of the week on the horizon and a history of injuries that says you cannot push him too far.

It’s just as important to know when to (when we can afford to) leave him out as it is, to know when to play him.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Something was up with Charlie Wakefield.

I spent the majority of the second half trying to figure out what wasn’t quite clicking with Charlie Wakefield.

He looked… a bit sad… like he needed a hug, he got one from Lawson D’Ath at one point.

A couple of times the ball slipped under his foot and out of play, a couple of crosses and shots weren’t at his usual standard and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.

With the team now Tom Knowles-less it does feel like a lot more eyes are looking at Wakefield to be the star man (pun fully intended) and as he adapts to a new style and new role when playing wing back, the general consensus is that he’s doing just fine.

I hope he’s okay and just had one of those days, we’ve all been there.

Max Hunt vs Bournemouth

It’s time for us to talk about attacking set pieces.

I feel that it’s not been a huge strength of ours over the last couple seasons and for me, it stood out against Altrincham.

Only Notts County have had more possession this season than Alty, which means when you get the ball and the chance to get it in the box, you cannot waste it.

Sadly, we did on a few occasions, and on the times we did get a ball into the right areas, I wasn’t ever totally convinced much would come of it.

Both Josh Staunton and Max Hunt did connect with a header each from a dead ball situation, but both lacked the direction and/or power and it might be an area we have to look at improving.

There will be plenty of times this season where we give up the lion’s share of possession and I’d like us to look more dominant.

I guess we have to end with the new cult hero don’t we?

Gime Toure made a wonderful little cameo from the bench, got his goal of course, but added so much more.

He was trying to impose a little bit of game management (something we lacked after the clock ticked past 90 mins), he was trying to be clever, to buy a free kick, to slow the game down whilst also not being afraid to get on the ball and play – he and Jamie Reckord worked really well together a couple times on the left.

We’re nowhere near seeing the fittest version of Toure and that might be a while off, and the one thing we’ve been told is that there’s inconsistencies to his performances, but he looks bang up for it at the moment and he will provide an alternative to the Fish ‘n’ Mal combo which has started brightly.

All in all, it was so close, but so far from that elusive first win of the season.

Urgh.

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Football can be cruel mistress.

Laurie Walker had a night to remember at Huish Park as the Barnet ‘keeper single handedly kept his side in the game long enough to allow for a couple of late suckerpunches as Barnet took a 2-1 win from Huish Park.

Here’s Ben’s five conclusions, he’s slept on it and it hasn’t really helped.

If that game was played out on Football Manager or FIFA 23, you’d rage quit, without saving your progress, throw the controller at the wall and promise you’d never play the game again ever… until next week.

I cannot truly explain just how dominant Yeovil were for 98% of the game across 98% of the pitch.

Some of the football we played, particularly in and around the midfield was genuinely brilliant. Quick, one-touch, confident football  the likes of which we haven’t seen in quite a while.

But… and you knew this was coming.

None of that matters if you don’t put the ball in the onion bag.

I’m not going to have a go at the three chances which led to genuinely brilliant saves from the Barnet ‘keeper, that can happen.

But there were occasions where we’d worked a position but couldn’t convert, Linton fired a shot down the keeper’s throat, Pearson produced a tame effort in the second half when bearing down on the keeper and Fisher did amazingly well to bring a ball down from a free kick only to fire it straight into the waiting arms of the flourescent keeper.

Fine margins, but as the manager spoke about, its time to start being more ruthless… the neanderthalic football fan in me thinks that in some cases that means… just leather the bloody thing.

Sam Pearson

Sam Pearson is the real deal and needs to stay with us beyond his month.

I think the midfield three of Worthington, Perry and Pearson properly excites me.

Perry was right in this game when I felt he went missing in the game against Scunthorpe, Worthy is a new man, he’s the senior man with a licence to get forward – is this the Worthington Dale Gorman was holding back?

But Pearson has all the attributes to go far in the EFL.

Strong, fearless, attacking, needs to add more nous and experience will help some of his decision making but everything he does is exciting, he battled through an injury and some… agricultural opposition to put on. a very good show.

Now, I’ve mentioned him once, but the it was the Ghost of Christmas Past in Dale Gorman who will be the talking point for many.

Yes, he should have been sent off, yes he could of – and arguably tried to – hurt someone, but I wanted to make a wider point.

The contrast of style of play Gorman and Worthington have shows we are very much in a new era of YTFC.

We are no longer the masters of the dark arts, we are no longer trying to worry more about how we rile up the opposition, or trying to slow and break up the game. That’s moved on… quite literally to Barnet.

We’re a football team now.

I’m not saying either is right or wrong, they can both be equally as effective and both as entertaining to watch.

But this is HargreavesBall starting to take shape. The Poop-house has closed for business at Huish Park.

Now, I’d like to break Rule 1 of the Gloverscast (Rule 1. All refs are rubbish at this level, live with it, don’t moan about it).

But I’m not allowed to tell you it might have been the single most petulant, awful, inconsistent, making the game about himself, loves the sound of his own whistle and gives out more cards than your Grandma at Christmas performance from the worst referee I’ve seen at a Yeovil game in some time…. so I won’t tell you any of that. ?

Instead my final conclusion is this…

Getting the first win is gaining importance quickly.

Not because if we don’t win on Saturday we’re suddenly in a relegation battle, because we’re not – I haven’t even invoked the Green Day clause yet (I’ll judge our position when September ends).

But more because the noise will grow, the same negative voices are already starting to make silly comments, and the best way to shut that up is to win a game, even if we don’t play all that well.

I’m genuinely excited by the football this team is trying to play, when we are heavy in possession 3-5-2 is a real asset of ours and I truly believe we have a squad and team to get behind, but then again, I would, wouldn’t I?

See you at Altrincham

? Photos Courtesy of Mike Kunz unless otherwise stated.

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The first match under Chris Hargreaves at Huish Park ended with a 1-1 draw with the National League favourites Wrexham. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions (although it could have been more) from a scorching afternoon of football.

Let’s not write off the 3-5-2 just yet. I wondered if we’d see a back four against Wrexham after the terrible first half against Scunthorpe. What do I know though? It was significantly more effective against Wrexham and we we’re on the front-foot with it too. Charlie Wakefield and Jamie Reckord were wingers more often than they were at full-back. Matt Worthington and Sam Perry got early touches on the ball and we used them in the midfield far better than last week. But for the sloppy opener, it felt like things started to click yesterday.

Josh Staunton was imperious in the second half. In the first 45 minutes, Wrexham got a lot of joy. It felt like Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin were given a bit too much license to dictate. After the half time break, there were a couple of moments where Palmer dropped deep to pick up the ball and Staunton was on top of him immediately to prevent it. He won duels with Mullin in the second half and showed why he’s pivotal in that back three. Based on yesterday, I’d have Staunton at the heart of the defence moving forward.

Matt Worthington. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Because Matt Worthington stepped up and took charge in midfield. It feels like we say every season is a big season for Worthy, but yesterday was one of the best games I can remember him having in green and white. In a trio of Perry and Sam Pearson, Worthington is the experience. He’s always had experience around him, whether it was Charlie Lee, Jimmy Smith, Staunton or Gorman, Worthington has always been the ‘young’ one. But, yesterday he showed what he can be about. He never stopped running, he never stopped challenging for headers that he was never going to win, he put himself about and (just about) managed to stay out of trouble. Towards the end of the game, he went shoulder to shoulder with Paul Mullin and came out on top with the ball and got a move going nicely, which typified his performance.

Gime Toure could be a fans’ favourite. His first touches of the ball saw him wriggle through three Wrexham players and earn a free kick. His second touches of the ball saw

Gime Toure fires a ball in. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

him drive at the right back and flash a wicked ball across the face of goal that was screaming to be tapped in. He showed moments of skill and a real intention to drive forward. He’s a different type of attacker to anyone else we’ve got at the club and hopefully he’ll build off of that cameo and produce even more.

Malachi Linton can be the star of this team. His first game in front of the Huish Park faithful will be one to remember. A goal as good as any you’ll see at Huish Park, smashed home with frustration after missing a guilt-edged chance moments earlier says a lot about the character of Malachi. Like his teammates, he never stopped chasing, he fought for the team and that effort led to the chance that Howard saved. Last weekend he showed enough to make me optimistic and yesterday I thought the same. He’s off the mark now, let’s see where he goes!

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Well, we are off and running for the 2022/23 season and the outcome of the opening game wasn’t what any of us were hoping for.

Ben was there for BBC Somerset and has rattled his brain for some thoughts.

Having watched the game against Scunthorpe from the press box at Glanford Park I feel like I could have 10 conclusions and narrowing them down to five key ones isn’t going to be easy.

However, we will have a go.

Firstly. 3-5-2… simply didn’t work.

It’s a thoroughly boring subject to most people if you want to get deep into the nuances of tactics and their pros and cons, at its best, with plenty of the ball and a rock solid spine, 3-5-2 is lovely.

Wing backs flying forward, crosses galore and plenty of extra bodies in wide areas.

At its worst… well, it looked like that first 50-odd minutes.

Two huge holes of space where full backs would normally be gave Liam Feeney and others all the time in the world to create and attack.

It made players like Morgan Williams move out of position and kept Charlie Wakefield far too defensive.

It might be better at home when we have more possession, but it cannot be the go-to set up with that personnel.

However, credit where its due, the change to bring on Pearson and the switch to 442 sparked us into life.

This is something of a double header conclusion actually because I am really excited to see what Pearson brings to this side during his time with us.

Fearless, exciting, quick, direct, strong and powerful. More of that please, he has to start against Wrexham.

The ‘jekyll and hyde’ performance showed just how important the senior players will be.

Staunton probably didn’t have his best game in a midfield that was getting overrun with ease, especially in the first half.

But Smith made big saves, Reckord was outstanding on the left and Fisher was desperately trying to make something happen and grab a moment by the scruff of the neck.

There were shaky moments for Hunt and Richards-Everton, but with time I think they can be a formidable partnership in both boxes.

It was only when I looked at the team sheet and saw a very youthful bench did it really hit home how much we need some significant and senior players in the door

The match was crying out for Lawson D’Ath, how amazing would it have been to bring a senior front man on instead of a young lad who has goals at Warrington Town on his CV and not a lot more. I’m excited by the young lads; Grivosti, Perry, Pearson, Craske, Hulbert etc etc, but we cannot be asking them to save us or win us games.

I’ve got to end on a positive note haven’t I?

What I saw in the first half was a shell shocked, undercooked, rabbit-in-the-headlight side who didn’t know if they were coming or going. But, the last 20 minutes showed me enough that there’s something to build on, to learn from, to be excited about, to get behind.

We did look dangerous and if Alex Fisher’s studs were longer or their keeper doesn’t pull off a couple of good late saves, we would be talking about a point or maybe even three. It’s a big week coming up for a lot of people at Huish Park, that’s for sure.

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With pre-season now at an end, Chris Hargreaves’ next match day squad will be for the National League opener at Scunthorpe United. BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins was at the last friendly in Weston-super-Mare where the Glovers sealed a 1-0 victory. Here are her five conclusions…
We look to be enjoying playing a back three, but it can be fluid. This was the first time I have seen the Glovers play three centre backs and as was so clear last season, that area of the pitch looks very good indeed. Charlie Wakefield at wing back is an interesting prospect and, as ever, if you give him the ball, he is so dangerous. Jamie Reckord won the penalty getting high up the pitch on the left side and we looked dangerous – particularly in the first half. I am looking forward to seeing the system develop as we switched back to a four in the second period.
Ben Richards-Everton could be the experienced head we need. He was my man of the match against a stubborn Weston side who offered a lot going forward. He put his body on the line, had good positioning and was commanding. I also noticed Morgan Williams was much more vocal than I have seen before, and our new signing could really guide him through after what was a brilliant campaign last season for the centre back/right back/left back!
Striker Alex Fisher 
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.
We may need goals, but we have one ridiculously hard-working striker. The manager was honest about the lack of goals in the side currently, and we need not only more bodies but our midfielders and defenders to ensure they are chipping in too. However, Alex Fisher never stops running – and now I remember his first spell at Huish Park was very much about that tenacity. I try to forget about the 2017/18 season as much as possible, but he always played for the shirt. I hope his goal is the first of many because his attitude and endeavour is second to none and he had some nice layoffs too. Feed the fish etc…we all want to see that GIF again.
Lawson D’Ath. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.
We need a relatively injury free season. This may seem obvious, but for real success this season, management of players will be crucial. With Lawson D’Ath having his minutes managed, and a few niggles for our key creative players yesterday, it is apparent how much we need those star players. Any team which does well often has luck on their side injury wise. I think we are definitely due some!
Chris Hargreaves is so excited to be back in management. It was almost written in the stars that Chris Hargreaves’ first match would be on BT Sport after his punditry work for them. But it is infectious to see just how excited he is to be in the dugout for the opening competitive match. I am so pleased we got him in early, so he had time to get to know the players he inherited and add his own characters. Speaking to fans yesterday, there is no doubt they are supporting him, and I am sure he will get a fantastic reception at Glanford Park. Here we go again – let’s hope for a good start!

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What do you do when none of the Gloverscast trio are at a game? You put out a call to arms.

Thankfully, Elliot from our friends at WeLoveYouYTFC was there at the Avenue Stadium and he had five thoughts he’d like to share with you on the 0-0 draw.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Signings are needed. It’s no secret we have a small squad, however we need more bodies, otherwise we may have a real issue with squad depth this season. Last night, for instance, we had a couple of injuries and all of a sudden players were having to play out of position, Charlie Wakefield a prime example of this. Which brings me to my next point..

Charlie Wakefield is wasted at right wing back. Charlie was at his best last season when given license to run at defenders, and in a way, neglecting any sort of defensive role. Which makes you question where he fits into a formation with 5 at the back? You’d imagine Hargreaves and co. have a plan for him, and hopefully that isn’t back up right wing back.

Josh Staunton modelling the 2022-23 kit. Picture courtesy of YTFC.net.

We look solid defensively. We may have a new manager this season, but the personnel defensively remains largely the same as last season, and it shows. We look very good defensively, it is clear to see the centre back trio of Morgan Williams, Josh Staunton & Max Hunt have played with each other for a while now.

Sam Perry is a very good signing. In previous friendlies against Exeter and Plymouth respectively, Sam Perry, alongside the majority of our team, hasn’t seen as much as the ball as he’d perhaps like, but tonight he excelled with the ball at his feet. Walsall fans evidently see something in him, and rightly so.

Sign up number 24 + 25 (Trialist b + c). Out of all the trialists we have seen in action over pre-season, these two, for me, have shown the most talent, and are the most deserving of a contract. Trailist b played at left wing back on Tuesday night, and showed pace and skill, as did trailist C. As previously referenced, we need more bodies, and I’d like to see these two signed up.

We’re you at the game? What did you think?

Thanks to Elliot for helping us out on these five conclusions.

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Charlie Wakefield holds off his marker

After a couple of draws in their opening two pre-season friendlies, Yeovil Town suffered their first defeat of the campaign at home to League One side Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.

Having held their opponents at bay in the first half, Chris Hargreaves’ men were undone by two goals from the visitors’ Ryan Hardie and Finn Azaz in the opening 15 minutes after the restart, before Matt Worthington and Plymouth wing-back Bali Mumba saw red for a scuffle.

Here are Marcus Duncomb‘s conclusions on a difficult afternoon at Huish Park…..

 Max Hunt. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Our trio of centre-backs are very solid. It seems as though Chris Hargreaves is set on lining up with a back three/five, depending on which way you look at it. The three centre-backs of Josh Staunton, Morgan Williams and Max Hunt were all key players last season and know each other well. This showed against a very strong Plymouth side who struggled to break us down in the first half after putting six past Torquay United in midweek. I think these three will be important.

Don’t expect the cards to disappear. Under Darren Sarll, Yeovil were no strangers to cards – in fact we consistently had the most cards in the leagues. It seems like that might not change immediately. When Matt Worthington and Bali Mumba got into a scuffle the whole Yeovil team and dugout instantly went into defend their teammate – this was only a friendly! We also saw Chiori Johnson, who had a tough afternoon, foul tricky wing-back Mumba time after time and he almost certainly would have been booked if it weren’t pre-season.

Chris Hargreaves wants runners in his side. The midfield trio was made up of Worthington, Sam Perry and Tom Knowles slightly more advanced. Yeovil fans already know all about the work rate of Worthington and Knowles – they are probably the two Yeovil players who have clocked up the most distance over the past two seasons and Perry is no different. Up front, Alex Fisher never gives up and his work rate in that position has been much missed over the past few years while Malachi Linton’s quick pace and eagerness to press gave Plymouth defenders little time on the ball. Let’s see if they’re still doing this come Boreham Wood away in April..

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We don’t really know where Charlie Wakefield fits in yet. Wakefield hasn’t been fully fit to start a friendly and the only position we’ve seen him play is right wing-back. Yeovil fans know that Wakefield can offer so much more than a wing-back. Last season while we mainly saw him operate on the wing, he did also feature up front and very occasionally at wing-back towards the end of games. There are no out-and-out wingers in Hargreaves’ current system and Knowles has been placed in the no.10 role while we are waiting to find out where Wakefield’s long-term future is. Surely he wouldn’t have signed the contract extension if he was told he’s going to be a backup wing-back?

It will be interesting to see how we play against weaker opposition. Our final two friendlies against Dorchester and Weston-Super-Mare are more likely to give us an idea of how we are going to play. Against Plymouth we probably had about 20% possession and so it was really an exercise of defensive structure. We barely saw Yeovil with the ball, but when we did it looked promising. One particular move in the first half started with Grant Smith and ended with a Knowles long shot going narrowly wide. But the ball never went in the air once and it was all played along the ground nicely through most of the team, beating the Pilgrims’ press.

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Yeovil earned a 1-1 draw against Exeter yesterday on a hot summers day, Ian was there and here’s five things he thought of the game.

We’re definitely improving. Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was my better vantage point at Huish Park compared to Taunton but we are progressing. A draw against League One opposition who are a week ahead of us training-wise is good in the grand scheme of things.

We’re organised defensively. But for a couple of moments against Taunton we never felt stretched it was the same yesterday. We reduced Exeter to shots from distance and our back five of Johnson (who looked much better yesterday), Williams, Staunton, Hunt and Reckord look like a strong defensive unit. 

We look fit. Chris Hargreaves told us on the Gloverscast that he’d have the players working hard and that was evident yesterday. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but it’s pretty hot at the moment and both sets of players didn’t stop for 90 minutes (but for a couple of drinks breaks). 

Tom Knowles scores goals ? Mike Kunz.

Tom Knowles is being given creative freedom. Playing behind the front two of Malachi Linton and Alex Fisher yesterday, Knowles was his trademark self, buzzing around defenders, winning fouls and causing problems with his direct running. His goal was a typical Knowles goal – picking it up out side the box, putting the afterburners on through the Exeter defence and slotting a left footed finish into the bottom right corner. It looks like we might see a bit more of him centrally this season and I’m all for it.

With all that in mind, there’s still more to do obviously. These games are all about fitness and building relationships on the pitch and we’re seeing that develop. Despite retaining players we still a new team with a new manager and we need to be patient. The manager still wants to add and there’s plenty of time to do that. Some of the trialists from Tuesday remained and there were a couple of extras included yesterday. Those that are still around must have something as we seem to have moved others on quickly

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It’s difficult to conclude anything from the first preseason friendly with so many changes through the game, but it’s been a while so why not try eh?

Matt Buse looked the best of the trialists. It’s not particularly a secret that one of our anonymous trialists is former Torquay midfielder (and local lad) Matt Buse. In the brief time he was on the pitch last night he looked calm in possession and probably the one trialist who looked ready to step up and be a part of the squad.

It was good that the owner was in attendance. We’ve had plenty of pops at Scott Priestnall for not going to games, but you can’t complain if he arrives in Taunton for a pre-season . There were plenty of conversations with Chris Hargreaves and both Stuart Robins and Martyn Starnes were in attendance too, so there was executive representation at the match which is a positive. Let’s just hope they saw enough to know…

…we need a lot more! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand the squad isn’t where it needs to be yet. Equally, I’m of the mind that it’s still early days. We’re a bit of an unknown quantity, we don’t know what system the manager will prefer (although it was a back five with wing backs) and as he said when he spoke to the Gloverscast, managers will want to get a couple of weeks of preseason in before deciding on the futures, or lack thereof, of their contracted squads.

It will be interesting to see which trialists remain. Some of these may be back for Exeter and get another chance of for a run out but, as with last year, many will move on. (Come back Harlain!) The manager spoke intently to a couple of them after the match so he and his coaching staff must have seen something. Other than Buse and Chiori Johnson nobody stuck out.

I won’t read too much into this game. It’s fitness, it’s minutes under the belt and it’s avoiding injuries. We went into this match without two key players in Lawson D’Ath and Charlie Wakefield and I imagine Ollie Hulbert will be a starter too. Hopefully we see some additions in the coming days and we’ll get more of an idea about the style of play Chris Hargreaves wants to implement as we progress towards the big BT kick off at Scunthorpe.