Went to the game on Saturday, more for the opportunity to take my 4 year old daughter to her first game which she really enjoyed - gives me hope as my son really isn't arsed at the moment.
The two trialists on show gave the match another dimension, which was interesting....
Sissoko is well worth a contract imo. He is as fit as a flea and despite a bit of understandable rust he was extremely athletic alongside Yacob, broke play up and most importantly looked to bring it forward and pass it along the midfield to get us onto the front foot.
Chamakh only managed 25 minutes, at which point he was taken out by the sort of tackle you would associate with a still inebriated Sunday league player and had to come off with a huge cut on his shin (the Delhi player was ordered to be subbed straight away). Didn't see much of him but he does have a nice touch and always wants the ball. His future will depend on what he's show in training and will maybe need another private friendly so he can be assessed. Now his hair is receding the do he sports is more ridiculous than ever.
Two more positives, even though the opposition wasn't the best and the game played with clear orders to be as non contact as possible for obvious reasons, were Nyom, who is very quick and loves to overlap his midfielder and get the cross in and Chadli who was head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch in regards to touch, skill and the general way he moves around the pitch. Phillips was also very good and looked to be forming a little partnership with Chadli.. We also have an academy stacked with some very useful looking kids, including Smith who scored the goal. There are loads of them with squad numbers up to 70 on show amongst the 12 who were used!
A worthwhile exercise overall, unless your name is Chamakh, with a nice opportunity for the new lads and alot of goodwill built up with our guests from India and alot of the local Asian community.
