Pre Season Preview

 As we start our pre-season program tonight with a fixture against MK Dons I'll be looking at how we may line up in the coming season, where we still need to strengthen, and our summer signings so far. Ryan Peters spoke to the Maidenhead Advertiser last week where he said that the club were "pretty much done with their summer business" before admitting that they’ve "kept one or two positions open just in case anyone becomes available who can offer that additional spark." 

 Summer Signings

Joel-Michael Odeniran - Centre Back - 20 y/o - Folkestone Invicta

 A much needed left-sided centre back, a position which has been a real problem for us for a number of seasons. Odeniran received good reviews from Invicta fans and he was part of a very strong defence last season alongside ex-Magpie Kevin Lokko which kept 17 clean sheets. He will offer much needed covering pace alongside Manny O and Remy/MWH. 

Christian N'Guessan - Defensive Centre Midfielder -  27 y/o - Dagenham & Redbridge

 Ryan Peters has stated that N'Guessan will offer us stability in midfield as he is more defensively minded. He was very highly thought of a few seasons ago when at Ebbsfleet and made the NLS Team of the Season. Reviews from Dagenham were not glowing... he has been described by their fans as "rubbish", "grossly incompetent", "painfully slow" and "one of the worst players in their history".  However, these need to be taken with a big pinch of salt as they said similar things about Josh Umerah. 

Joshua Johnson - Centre Midfielder - 21 y/o - Oxford United

 Probably the signing I am most excited about, if not for injuries I'm sure he would be playing at a much higher level. After our struggles to find a consistent partner for Robinson in the centre of midfield last season I'm hoping this signing solves these issues. Johnson looked great on loan in the National League and his signing should hopefully allow Peters to rest Robinson every now and then without completely crippling the creative output of the side.

Josh Coley - Attacking Midfielder Wide/Central - 27 y/o - Ebbsfleet United

 Another returnee. Coley was superb for us in the lockdown season, earning a move to Exeter. He still looked really dangerous for Ebbsfleet in our defeat to them at York Road last season. I suspect he'll play in a Number 10 role behind the strikers but he also offers an option out wide which may prove really useful. Coley has a lot of experience and will need to use it in order to hopefully replace the output of Josh Popoola.  

Freddy Dunham - Striker - 18 y/o - Abingdon United 

 The highest scoring teenager in English football last season with 35 goals and 8 assists to his name, where he also had a trial at Championship Oxford United. I imagine he may end up on loan to gain a bit of experience as we now appear to have a raft of options up front, but he is definitely one I am excited to see in the flesh. Signing a young, local, highly regarded talent is exactly the kind of transfer a lot of fans have been calling for, so it will be really interesting to see if he can break into our first XI. 

Connor Hall - Striker - 28 y/o - Brackley Town  

 Hall is a penalty box striker with a great eye for goal who has consistently scored goals at Step 2. I imagine he'll start alongside Josh Umerah and I have high hopes for the partnership. He has also scored goals off the bench in the National League and he brings crucial experience which I hope Alfie Pendlebury, Dan Nkrumah and Freddy Dunham can all learn from. 

Daniel Nkrumah - Striker - 22 y/o - Worthing 

 Another young, hungry forward who was very highly thought of as a youth team player at Leyton Orient, where he earned a move to Middlesborough. Spent the second half of last season on loan at Hampton & Richmond from Worthing where he scored a number of goals for them. A player who has been unlucky with injury, I hope he can get a decent run of form and fitness to prove his undoubted potential. 

Possible Line Up and Squad Depth

I have shown below two possible formation options; a more likely 3-5-2, with Coley playing in the Number 10 role behind two strikers, and a 4-4-2 with JML returning to the wing opposite Coley. In both line-ups it is clear that we are very strong at Centre Forward, meaning we should be able to give Umerah more of a rest this season as he looked knackered at points last season. I have shown Nkrumah as back up for Coley at Number 10 as he is less of a traditional striker than Hall or Dunham but I suspect he may end up playing further forward if Dunham is loaned out.  

 

Reinforcements

Last season we left it late to sign Liam Dulson and Josh Popoola after a successful trial. Despite Peters’ comments in the Advertiser I am still hopeful we can sign a couple players to bolster out the squad. It is rumoured that we have Michael Bareck on a trial, he is an attacking central midfielder with 26 goals and assists last season at Step 4, who would provide cover and competition for Coley at Number 10. From the look of the team sheet for the MK Dons match there are at least two trialists starting and another seven on the bench so I would be very surprised if we didn't add a few more to the squad before we play Truro on the opening day. 

If we do play a 4-4-2 then we definitely need at least one more wide-player, who can ideally cover either side. The full-back area is also a worry with an over-reliance on Ragguette and Remy remaining fit.   

As I previously stated, I suspect we are more likely to play a 3-5-2 and if so, it is very clear that we need further defensive cover. Manny O struggled to play on plastic pitches last season, Remy Clerima will always miss games due to other work commitments, and I'm not sure McMenemy is ready to play at this level yet. This leaves us with just MWH as cover. In an ideal world, we would look to sign a player that can cover both left wing back and centre back as I think we'll struggle to budget for two more players who won't be first choice. If this is the case I would look to the loan market and see if Oxford, Reading or Wycombe have any young players who could help cover these positions. 

 The next blog will be more of a season preview with a few more thoughts on the new signings. Until next time, see you on The Bell End. Up The Mags!