Football Season Guide

Nuneaton enjoyed a very good last season and only the untimely departure of manager, Kevin Wilkin, deprived them of a proper chance of a play-off spot. They finished the season on something of a whimper and a 12th was not really indicative of their heroics in the campaign. Brian Reid was appointed as a manager a couple of games before the end of the campaign and had some time to assess the squad and decide which players to go and which to stay. The former Rangers midfielder, who made his name with Airdrie in the lower Scottish divisions, will be now aiming to replicate the success that Wilkin has and maintain the level of performances that Boro enjoyed last season. That said, he is facing a real challenge as a number of good players from last year’s squad are gone and there is not a lot to work it. Louis Moult and Wes York departed for Wrexham to reunite with Wilkin whole Jon Adams, James Belshaw and Dave Hibbert will be missed as well. There was naturally an extensive recruitment campaign by the new manager and he will hope to have found some good players from the ones brought in. Ben Starosta is an experienced full-back with a good cross and the same applies to Connor Franklin while Antjon Brown and Jack Dyer will certainly boost the midfield. Andy Brown will be the main man in attack again but Reid moved in to sign a couple of new strikers to add alternatives in the days before the new season. Magno Silva Vieira and Ben Hutchinson arrived and they should help Brown in the final third. Still, the wide players do not look too impressive and there is lack of balance in the squad overall. Therefore, the success from last season is highly unlikely to be repeated and Nuneaton look likely to struggle at the wrong end of the table with possible relegation on the cards.