7. Trialist A, Trialist B and the same bloody jokes
The first time somebody joked about the Trialist brothers playing for six clubs in one afternoon, it was probably quite funny. By the seventh consecutive summer, the joke had completed more pre-seasons than most professional footballers.
“Oh, Trialist A gets about, doesn’t he? He was at Crewe this morning.”
Yes, brilliant. Let’s all meet back here next July and do it again.
The secrecy itself is often just as tiresome. A club announces a mysterious midfielder, somebody photographs him warming up, and within half an hour everyone knows who he is. Still, the team sheet insists he’s Trialist B, as though we’re protecting the identity of an undercover operative.
The usual explanation is that naming him might alert another club. He’s got an agent, though, and making other clubs aware that his client exists is a fairly substantial part of the job. Does anyone honestly think a player can spend a week trying to earn a contract without his representative exploring other opportunities?
I’ve welcomed Lincoln simply naming trialists. Tell us who is playing and let us watch them, rather than turning a friendly into an identification parade. It also reduces the chances of people like me making an embarrassing mistake and deciding Armstrong Oko-Flex is on trial when he isn’t.
There’s a degree of self-interest in this one, I’ll admit.
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