I went to the game today and actually enjoyed it which is rare based on previous preseason friendlies, anything below is based on today only so its a disclaimer for the rest of the season!
Coventry first half were awful, have no idea if that was there normal team but they didnt seem to really try.
That said we passed the ball about quite well and you can see there is a change in style, we will have more of the ball this year so its good to see preseason has been spent working on that.
Bartley reminded me a bit of GMac in that he is no nonsense, nothing flashy but looks an out and out defender, was quite impressed, Hegazi was decent too except for a mistake first half where they missed a sitter.
I thought Gibbs played well and got forward a lot, which suits him as he is better going forward than at the back, again this should suit us as the onus will be on us to break teams down. Crainie was okay but i wouldnt want him to be our first choice right back, i dont normally like squad players but with somebody like Crainie who can slot in here and there in a number of positions i can see the appeal of giving him a deal, as a regular though - no.
Brunt will be starting the season centre midfield (think OldburyWBA will be over the moon about that!) , he was the playmaker and everything went through him, i would imagine teams this season will pick up on that very early this season and try and stop him playing so hopefully we have other plans. I thought him and Livermore both had good games, bit rusty with their passing but it is preseason, it helped massively having Morrison in front of them, a actual natural attacking midfielder rather than somebody filling in there like last season.
Phillips was Phillips, decent enough but you always think he has potential to be so much better than he is. Barnes was very impressive, you can tell within 2 minutes he is a lot more of a natural footballer than Burke, just by his touch and awareness.
Robson-Kanu got better as the game went on, again i can see the appeal in keeping him, at this level he will be quite useful but i am not sure you would want him as your main centre forward.
Going forward we looked threatening and you can see we tried to play football and be creative even if sometimes it didnt work, however second half when Coventry upped their game a bit, we did look a bit suspect defensively, if the Barnsley game and today are anything to go by, its going to the reverse of the last few years, not sure about 0-0, 1-0, 1-1, will be more 4-3, 5-4!