Pre-season finished with a 2-1 loss to Stoke, here are some ramblings
That`s it then. Pre-season is finished. By most accounts, it was a decent performance from Bolton, a brace from Joselu late on saw us fall to defeat against Stoke City. That defeat didn`t come however, without a sublime chip from Adam Le Fondre over Jack Butland, which gave us a lead we kept until the 78th minute.
The starting team gave us a huge clue as to who may play next week, with the formation being the thing more in doubt than the personnel. In the end, Phil Parkinson stuck with the 3-5-2 which got us up in the last few weeks of the season, with Stephen Darby getting the nod at right back, and Adam Le Fondre and Gary Madine renewing their partnership up front. Surprisingly, Sammy Ameobi was only on the bench, he is a player we should be trying to slot into the team in some way, as he`s probably our most naturally talented player.
The squad, as mentioned by these pages and countless other people, is still short in several places. The club seems to recognise that, and have promised signings in the next few weeks, although I`d be very surprised if more than one senior player was signed up prior to Sunday.
One player who has departed is Ben Amos, joining Charlton on a season-long loan. Our highest earner has gone out for mainly financial reasons, and the Addicks will only be footing some of the wages.
The start of the season is just over a week away, it could be a long, hard slog, but it`ll still be more fun than weekends spent shopping, or watching cricket matches being rained off. Bring it on.