With respect to Melksham Town, who once again proved to be friendly, accommodating and professional hosts, James Wilson was never going to experience a brutal defensive examination on his first outing in a Bristol Rovers shirt.
As the 9-0 scoreline suggests - 6-0 in the 45 minutes Wilson was on the field - there was a very visible gulf in class at Oakfield Stadium on Friday night.
Then again, that was always going to be the case. But while the Gas’ previous trips to Wiltshire under Joey Barton have produced mixed results of 1-1 and 6-1, for the third meeting, they were able to fully emphasise the difference in quality.
Littered with bright attacking displays from Scott Sinclair, Luke Thomas, Luke McCormick and, in patches, Aaron Collins, Jevani Brown, John Marquis, Ryan Loft and triallist Teo Kurtaran, there was little, if anything, to find fault with in the final third.
But Wilson’s performance was still of note, certainly to Barton, just not in an obvious way in terms of influencing the scoreline beyond a first clean sheet against the Southern League side.
Lining up to the right of James Connolly, as a central defensive pair, he saw plenty of possession in deep positions, shook off a couple of early and bruising digs momentarily after the ball had gone from Melksham striker Paul Cronin - a student at SGS College, just a few miles from the Mem - and won his headers when required. Nearly all in areas far from Jed Ward’s goal but, nonetheless, still important in alleviating any sense of pressure.
However, what was apparent and crucial in the context of why he’s been brought to the club and the desire for 2023/24, was his communication and organisation. The cosy confines of Oakfield meant players could be heard clearly at times and Wilson’s instructions were audible from the first minute; demanding possession, guiding teammates in the space they should cover and bringing the line up together on his mark.
Even a casual observer of last season would conclude that the Rovers backline, while individually talented, lacked structure, particularly in broken play, and a directorial voice - the coaches can only do so much from several metres away on the touchline - and in Wilson, as was anticipated when they pursued him with contract exporting, the Gas appear to have their man.
It was also noteworthy to see him alongside Connolly, who experienced a sophomore slump after the glory of his first season for the Gas. At 21, perhaps nobody was adversely affected more by the lack of a senior figure in defence than the Liverpudlian, who clearly suffered with confidence issues but now has a guiding figure beside him.
"You're watching for little things," said Barton. "And he wasn't going to be defensively stressed due to the nature of the opponent, but if you watch the game, James Connolly being a young centre half in there, with Willo you could see him driving the line, organising and getting them up at set-plays.
"With the greatest of respect to our lads last year that's something that comes with a 400-game career. We brought Willo in because we were looking for some leadership in key areas and, obviously, winning the league last year and being a huge part of the Plymouth team we felt, with the younger players around, a senior mouth and a leader like that would really enhance the performance."
If Wilson delivered some early examples of what he’s all about, Scott Sinclair presented a reinforcement of his talent and perhaps what he could be capable of in 2023/24 with a full pre-season behind him.
It was a slightly overlooked aspect of his campaign back in blue and white that the winger arrived at The Quarters at the start of October in excellent shape but bereft of match sharpness. Granted, his experience and football IQ served him well over his 30 appearances, which yielded five goals and three assists, but after a disciplined post-season programme, by all accounts he’s reported back for duty fitter than ever.
Operating on the left side of Rovers’ attacking three in the first half at Melksham, he was a livewire, always on the move and keeping possession alive.
He took his two goals with real efficiency and panache - a behind the heel flick to open the scoring from James Gibbons’ low cross and then a drop of the shoulder to feint past goalkeeper Joel Manning (once a triallist at Rovers) when placed through 1vs1 by Luke McCormick - and also helped guide Ryan Jones through his job at left-back; a role not dissimilar to the one performed by Wilson further infield.
Barton spoke post-match of the need for more leaders to emerge in the dressing room following the release of Paul Coutts, and in Wilson, Sinclair plus midfielder Grant Ward - who has taken on a greater degree of responsibility regarding that part of the game - looks to have found them.
"He's come back in incredible shape, which is testament to him... Benjamin Button!" Barton added, referencing the 2008 David Fincher-directed film in which Brad Pitt's character ages in reverse.
"You get rewarded for the work you do. It would be easy for Scott to coast back in due to the career he's had but he has the bit between his teeth and he's set the bar for the rest of the players."
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