Andy Munro watches Blues’ pre-season get under way against Solihull Moors.
The footballing earth isn’t going to move with an opening one-nil victory against non-league opposition, but if Arthur was looking down he would be happy to see a Blues win and a crowd of 3,688 meaning lots of money going to charity.
In watching the match, my attention was squarely on the ‘newbie’ signings in the first half and the youngsters in the second period so here’s a round up…
Ethan Laird looks a steal at under a million- a real handful going forward but lightning quick to also get back so as not to neglect his defensive duties.
Tyler Roberts – Quick and elusive, adding much needed pace to our frontline but only time will tell on the goal-.power front.
Krystian Beilik – A class act and we were lucky to get him at a knockdown price.
Kevin Long – A solid pro who won’t let us down.
The Trialist – If this is the guy from Palace, he’s worth a punt; powerful and direct. Five Moors players had the same name – I wonder if they were related?
As for the youngsters, we already know the quality of the likes of Alfie Chang but the player who stood out for me was forward Brandon Khela, who should be in and around the first team as a lively forward option. As a footnote, though, Chong and George Hall were missing but let’s hope it was through injury and for no other reason.