Six things we learned from the Accrington Stanley friendly

As I said in my preview of the Accrington Stanley friendly, I’m not a big fan of preseason games. I find them frustrating to watch even though I know that they’re meant for building fitness rather than entertaining the crowds.

Having said that, there are a few things we can take away from the game which are quite interesting. Here are six things I noticed:

1. Nahki Wells may have to play deeper to get game time

Last night Nahki Wells played in the second-half 11, alongside Laurent DePoitre. I thought this may have represented a change in formation to accommodate two strikers but it seems that Nahki played deeper, as a number 10. He later played in central midfield when Kasey Palmer replaced Mark Hudson.

I don’t think he’s likely to play in the midfield two for competitive games, I think that was just a move to allow Kasey Palmer to play in his preferred position. However, I suspect he may be competing with Kasey Palmer for the number 10 position.

Nahki Wells improved his build up play substantially last season and often dropped deep to pick up the ball and distribute it to the wings. His pace and goal-threat might not be best used in the advanced playmaker role, but the arrival of Mounié and Depoitre may mean he’ll struggle to play in his preferred role as striker.

2. There were lots of players playing outside their usual positions last night

Here’s a quick list of who played in unusual positions:

• Nahki Wells – as mentioned above, he played as a number 10 and then later in central midfield
• Sean Scannell – the winger played as a right-back in the first-half. Given the new arrivals in the team, it may be that Wagner sees Scanell as a backup fullback rather than an out and out winger
• Harry Bunn – played in central midfield instead of out on the wings
• Dean Whitehead – partnered Mark Hudson and then Martin Cranie in central defence. I can see Whitehead being able to play this position well, particularly when we’re up against smaller and less physical strikers
• Martin Cranie – we signed him as a centre back but he’s played more for us as a right-back while at the Town. Last night he played both positions, having to drop into central defence when Mark Hudson left the field

3. David Wagner is likely to stick to 4-2-3-1

As you can see from above, there were some square pegs in round holes last night. Mostly because Wagner played entirely different teams in each half but doesn’t have two players for every position. Also, it’s a friendly, so minutes playing football are more important than playing in the right position. However, we stuck to the 4-2-3-1 system despite it not suiting the types of players on the pitch.

I predict that we’ll stick with this shape for the majority of the forthcoming season. This may mean some of our better players get left out because there’s someone else taking their spot. I trust Wagner when it comes to tactics, and I think he’ll look to play a variety of styles within the one basic shape on the pitch.

4. Tom Ince can make goals happen

One of the most pleasing things to come out of the game was Tom Ince getting a goal. It was a bit scruffy and involved a goalkeeper blunder but he managed to latch onto the ball in a dangerous area and get a shot off.

In the Premier League, we’ll have games where we’re not on top and have to hang in and hope we can nick something. Tom Ince is the kind of player that can take advantage of those half-chances that popup even when you’re struggling to control the game. His goal at Accrington Stanely is exactly the kind of goal we’ll need.

Last season we needed a shedload of chances before we’d score, often hammering teams and only winning 1-0 or -2-1. Hopefully, Ince will be able to finish his chances more efficiently than Town’s forward players managed last season.

5. Pre-season training is tough

David Wagner has had the team doing double training sessions on every day of pre-season so far, apart from yesterday where they training during the day time and then played a match in the evening. I know that playing football is hardly hard work, but it’s clear that David Wagner is doing everything he can to get his team fit and firing for the Premier League.

Personally, I think this is great, as superior fitness is something that helped Town a lot last season. It’s no coincidence that we regularly both scored late goals and held on to narrow leads last season. Being fitter than the opposition means you can finish games strongly and helps you pick up points. Let’s hope hard work put in this pre-season can give us the edge on some of our Premier League rivals.

6. We’ve got quite a few injuries in the squad

I don’t know if it’s related to the above point, but there seem to be more players with injuries than you’d usually expect at this stage of the season. Here’s a run down:

Jon Stankovic – Long-term knee injury

Tommy Smith – Broken foot sustained during the playoff final

Michael Hefele – Achilles injury, estimated to be back with 7 days

Collin Quaner – Ankle knock, so presumably not out too long either

Kasey Palmer – played but presumably not completely match fit because he was on the bench until Mark Hudson came off

All but Stankovic should hopefully be available for the first game against Palace but if they miss too much of pre-season it could take them some time to get fully up to speed compared to the rest of the squad.

Why is there no match report?

I didn’t attend the Accrington Stanley game, so I couldn’t do much of a write-up. But I thought it would be interesting to look at some of the things I noticed from following the game on Twitter and reading fans’ reports of the game.

Once the season properly starts there’ll be full match reports for every game posted on TerrierSpirit.com as well as previews for upcoming matches and all the latest news about HTAFC.

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