In our friendly game against Wolves U-23’s on Tuesday, we saw that three trialists featured for 45 minutes in the second half. In today’s game against the Shrews, we had only one. But what positions were they? And what does that tell us?
Let’s start with the obvious one. There is a goalkeeper on trial. How did I work it out? Pure genius! We all saw the young keeper play the second half against Crewe at the weekend, and although we are unsure whether he is the same one, the fact that Roberts only played 45 minutes means we have a keeper on trial. It doesn’t really tell us a lot, as we all were expecting to see a trialist keeper in pre-season, if we hadn’t already signed one.
Moving on, I think we have a striker on trial. With Sam Perry being brought off on Tuesday, I cannot see him being replaced by another midfielder, as we are loaded in this area, so I think that we changed up the formation to go 4-4-2, with the trialist taking up the Target man role that DC has admitted this is a role he is after. In today’s game, Gordon was replaced by a trialist, and with no other striker coming on, it almost confirms we have a striker on trial.
The third trialist is the one I am slightly unsure of, as it doesn’t keep in line with DC’s position hunt. James Clarke was taken off, and with only three defenders on the pitch, I am unsure whether Foulkes and CCM became three CB’s alongside Sadler, or whether this trialist was indeed a CB. All will be revealed if we sign him, and expect to never know if we don’t, but it was an interesting one with DC never mentioning that he was after a CB.
I could be wrong, and Foulkes could well be a CB/RB, but with Norman coming on later, I cannot see a trialist in that position being played there. Another factor is Jaydon Campbell and his versatility, and whether or not he could play as a wing-back too. A lot of unknowns for this player, and the position he was in
What do you think? What positions do you think they were? Let me know in the comments!
Often as not, trialists ( such as goalkeepers) turn out for several teams, just to get match fit, so I don’t read much into this. You bet we don’t sign any of them, as their agents will just have touted them around various clubs at this stage. If one of them catches DC’s eye, he might pursue it, but I think they’re just making up the numbers.
I have to agree with you here. We have seen it multiple times over the years where players come and go for games as they are invited to train. I think the youth that are playing gives us an indication on where he is looking to recruit.