It’s only pre-season but a 5-1 away win at Peterborough is still an impressive result. I’ve had a few concerns about where the goals are going to come from, but with DJ Campbell in such great form and Steve Howard and Andy King looking sharp, we should be ok. The likes of Matty Fryatt and Paul Gallagher will also make a contribution, but I would still like to see another couple of arrivals.

We need another striker to add more cover and to give the manager more attacking options, but top centre forwards are hard to come by. Young Slovenian trialist, Leon Crncic, could be a good addition, but whether he’s ready to make an impact on the Championship remains to be seen.

Steve Howard finished last season well and the sending off against Watford aside, he produced some of the best displays I’ve seen from him in a City shirt. He was particularly impressive in the play-off semi-final second leg at Cardiff when his strength, power and ability to link-up play made him a great outlet for the team. If he can rediscover that form then this could be his season.

Another striker in a rich vein of form is resurrection man, DJ Campbell, who has managed five goals in five pre-season fixtures and seems to be enjoying himself at Leicester City following Paulo Sousa’s arrival. The new manager seems to fancy him and the lad has taken his chance. If DJ can keep banging them in I’m sure the fans will get behind him. He’s 28, so should be at his peak and has good experience of this division. He’s like a lower league version of a young Andrew Cole in that he takes up some great positions and always looks dangerous, but usually needs a few good chances to score. The way things are shaping up it’ll be DJ and Howard starting the season as the front two and Fryatt will have his work cut out to get into the team.

We’re all waiting to see what happens with the potential new investors and whether there will be money available for Paulo to strengthen the team. The club seems to be on hold at the moment and I imagine that the manager can’t do too much until those funds are in place. We can all make assumptions and speculate about new signings, but it’s looking like we’ll be going with the players we have now.

Most of the starting line-up is pretty solid but ideally, I’d like to see a right-back, centre back, a strong and pacey holding midfielder and another striker brought in. The worry now is that it would take any new signings a while to settle in. Realistically it’ll be loan deals and with Premier League clubs having to trim their squads to 25 for the start of the season, it should give Championship sides a great opportunity to bring in some top young talent. The big teams will have some really handy players that won’t even be registered to play and I’m sure Paulo will have his eye on that.

I’ve had my scouting hat on and looked through a few of the big boys’ squads for potential loan signings. In an ideal world here are four names I’d be looking at…

Right-back – Kyle Walker (Spurs)
Centre-back – Craig Cathcart (Manchester United)
Holding Midfield – Abdisalam Ibrahim (Man City)
Striker – Joshua King (Manchester United)

I think we need additions to add depth to the squad, I don’t think many people would disagree with that. We have still got a decent team but we’ve lost players like Wayne Brown, Jay Spearing and Martyn Waghorn and they haven’t been replaced yet. I think it would give the supporters and the players a bit of a lift if Sousa brought a few new faces in. I’m sure there will be some movement; it’s just a case of being patient.

I’m looking forward to seeing how City are going to play under Sousa and how well they can adapt to his favoured passing style. It looks as though things are beginning to click going forward but I’d have a few concerns at the other end with the lads yet to keep a clean sheet during pre-season.

Saturday’s friendly against Sunderland at the Walkers Stadium will be a big test as Steve Bruce’s teams are always pretty hard to break down. The Black Cats possess some impressive attacking talent in Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones, and I rate holding midfielder Lee Catermole too. The City players should be a little ahead of their Premier League opponents in terms of fitness as they kick-off their campaign a week earlier, so that could make a difference.

I’m hoping to see Martyn Waghorn back at club at the weekend, but sadly it looks as though it will only be for the one game, with Bruce unwilling to send Waggy back out on loan. I think he’s playing a bit of a game because he wants the money for him. As highly as I rate Waggy, I think the Premier League is a big step up for him at this stage of his career and another season in the Championship would do him good. There aren’t many clubs in the division that could afford a permanent move for him. I’d imagine he’d cost about £2m and City just won’t spend that kind of money, unless those new investors stump up the cash of course!

Sousa will have his own ideas on who he wants to bring in on loan and permanently. The new gaffer isn’t saying much about potential transfer targets at the moment and has said he’ll only talk about players once he’s signed them… the way it’s going he might not end up doing too much talking this summer!

I played against Sunderland gaffer Steve Bruce a few times for Wigan when he was at Gillingham. Like me he was quite raw back then and enjoyed getting stuck in on the ground and in the air. He went on to have a great career at Manchester United of course, but I managed to keep my nose looking half-human so it’s swings and roundabouts!

From WBA to DBA…

I saw Joe Mattock last week at the Dunton Basset Arms and he was in good form. I asked him how things were going at West Brom and he said, “Chelsea first game of the season,” which sums it up I suppose. Joe’s done well to be fair to him. It’s such a shame that we couldn’t join him in the top flight.

Donkey Derby

No, I’m not talking about Robbie Savage signing on at Derby for another season! I’d like to wish my mate Filbert Fox all the best in next week’s Mascot Race at Southwell Racecourse. I hope he’s been in pre-season training with the lads in preparation. I’d advise him to swap those giant shoes for a pair of trainers though!

An Evening with the Champions

Tickets are still available for my ‘Evening with the Champions’ rugby Q&A night coming up in September. Tigers Director of Rugby Richard Cockerill and club captain Geordan Murphy will be appearing at the City Rooms in Leicester on Thursday September 2nd from 7pm. A two course meal will be provided and Charlie Dagnall is MC for the night. Tickets cost £37.50 + VAT per person. Cockers and Geordie are great value and I’m sure it’s going to be a cracking night. For more information visit www.legendsuk.com or to book contact steve@legendsuk.com.

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