Not sure there'll be many replies to this thread, as I reckon we only had 6-8 supporters at the game - reflecting the fact that this was probably a bit too far away for most people when it comes to pre-season friendlies. It wasn't a great watch either, but that was more borne out by the presence of an athletics track around the perimeter of the pitch. You never get much of an atmosphere in that type of stadium. The five hour return journey (not to mention the price of petrol) would have been more worthwhile if the facilities at Chelmsford had been better.
Line-up today was surprising. With it being the last friendly I'd expected us to go with our strongest side, but this wasn't it. Gareth Jelleyman and Ian Ross have already been named as captain and vice captain for the current season, but both began the game on the bench. As did leading scorer and player-of-the-year Marc Newsham. All three must surely start at Droylsden?
Conor Marshall played right back and Gary Silk moved across to the left. I thought Silk was perhaps a little bit wrong footed in that position. I'd expect Silk to be back on the right come next week, with Jelleyman on the left and Marshall probably on the bench.
Nathan Stainsfield was captain for the day and, not for the first time this pre-season, was probably our best player. The loan signing Matt Wilson also had a decent game, but perhaps gave away a few too many free kicks for mistimed tackles. That might improve as he gets more game time.
Mark Jones partnered Korey Dyer-Stewart up front. Next week I'd expect the front line to be Weir-Daley and Newsham. The manager now has to make a decision on Dyer-Stewart. He didn't have his best game today and limped off injured, but on the evidence of the full pre-season, I think he offers something a little bit different to our other forwards; if he fits within our budget and remembering that he's only eighteen, then I think he's worth a chance.
Overall I thought the two sides were fairly evenly matched until Chelmsford scored. Their goalscorer was Anthony Cook, who appeared on the TV Series Football Icon a couple of years ago and almost earned a professional contract with Chelsea. It was a well taken strike from the edge of the area, and Haystead didn't have a chance. Second goal came from a header and the scoreline probably then flattered Chelmsford. The home side also had one or two other ex-League players from Orient, Cambridge and Dagenham & Redbridge.
One other gripe. Why do referees insist on calling time on precisely 45 minutes in pre season friendlies? By my stop-watch the referee blew the half-time whistle after playing 4 seconds of overtime, and the full-time whistle after eight seconds. The layout of Chelmsford was such that the ball often took an eternity to be returned into play. There were two or three occasions for example when Ben Milnes had to personally retrieve the ball from behind the shot put area before he could take a corner. (There were ball boys at the side of the pitch but not behind the goals). There were two or three occasions when the physios came onto the pitch and the nature of the occasion also meant there were plenty of substitutions. All told, I reckon we saw no more than 80 minutes worth of football today. From a player match time point of view and from a spectator value-for-money point of view, the ref was wrong to call time when he did.
