McPie

Yes I'm sure the club wouldn't be spending money on taking trialist on a tour to Germany without the radar due diligence. It would seem that if most of them are given contracts, it wouldn't leave much room for more signings.

Aside from the fact that the players and staff are in Germany, what could be behind the the lack of new signings? Could it be that spaces still to fill in the squad will be made from the current trialist and we are just waiting to see who is good enough? Are we still actively searching for a new number one goalkeeper or is the trialist Maks Baruc the likely candidate? Could it be we waiting to see if there are any outgoings, if so who might leave?

Absolutely agree. What might have been eh?

I’d go back to 1983 when we had Glen Roeder on loan. I remember making a contribution to the collection to help the club sign him on permanent basis. Sadly we couldn’t raise the funds. I’m sure he would have made a massive difference to fortunes going forward. He was different class as a center back. I just wonder what could have been!

I think the captain should be a real leader. Not just on the pitch, but in the dressing room. Someone who can encourage, motivate and has real personality. Someone who can take individual players to one side and inspire them. Not sure if Matt Palmer fits that criteria. Maybe one will emerge before the start of the season

Its true that we shouldn’t place to much importance on preseason friendly results, but you do hope to see some signs of the way the team is shaping up and indications of who might be in the starting lineup for the first league game. The concern is that after watching todays game, we didn’t seem to have any identity as how we will play as a team, it all looked a bit chaotic. Not to mention after 3 friendlies, not one of our strikers has scored. Has anyone noticed any standout performers?

I think Martin comes across as a coach who is clear on what he wants and looks to be a real leader. I get the impression that when the technical board meets, he will certainly have a major input. Hopefully this will lead to progress on the pitch and a strong team we can all get behind.

I thought there was some encouraging signs for Martin's post match comments today. Firstly, he emphasised that there is a lot to work on (which is fine as it's only the first pre-season friendly) but more importantly, he clearly knows how to fix it. He also mentioned that there will be changes of personnel, which possibly indicates transfers in and out. He didn't gloss over the fact that we didn't play particularly well however we still won. So hopefully he is instilling a winning mentality, which will be needed to get promotion. Did anyone pick up any other positives?

You would think that the way the owners work they would already have a replacement lined up. Selling your senior goalkeeper with no back up and with pre-season games and a tour in Germany coming up soon, just wouldn't make sense.

The announcement on the website seemed to suggest only relevant members of the technical board will meet before games to discuss tactics and selection and that the head coach will have the final say. “relevant members” would seem to imply that doesn’t include the owners. I would think they will only be involved in the periodic meetings, probably reviewing the progress etc.

I think listening to his interview on our website, it's seems Martin's problems at Burton Albion were due to having the pressure to almost do everything himself. With this technical board, he will have all the support he needs so can focus more on the team and improving individual players. That could be the difference this season. We have some good young players that just need help to improve and then promotion could be a real possibility.

Martin Paterson just might bring the fight, determination wining mentality we've been lacking. This video when he was at Tampa Bay Rowdies as a player seems to indicate this might be the case.

I think with the long wait, speculation and anticipation, this appointment in the first instance seems somewhat underwhelming. However, he might turn out to be a big success. My only concern is that he seems to have previously worked with Roberto Gagliardi at Leyton Orient and is possibly his recommendation. Looking at some of the early signings, I’m not yet convinced about his judgement.

Denmark 1-0 up and looking good

The longer we await an announcement of the new head coach the more it seems likely they know who it is but can't yet announce it. Add to the fact that the statement released when Stuart Maynard was sacked said "our work is well underway to identify the correct coaching team" could possibly indicate it's Steffen Højer. If not him someone else whose contract will end in the near future. Whoever it is, lets hope we are pleasantly surprised!