Pre season friendlies…hmm

The excitement mounts! We have pre-season games against Wigan, Blackpool, Vauxhall Motors, the usual suspects with a few behind closed doors too. We never learn a great deal from pre-season games, they mostly are about building up team fitness and testing out trialists and new players. They are though a bit like drinks in the pub on Christmas Eve, a tradition that is repeated but not always enjoyable.

We can, at least, be thankful for small mercies. We no longer have to tolerate Liverpool supporters crowding Prenton Park for what became an annual pre-season match versus the red noses. Having kids coming to watch what was often a Liverpool 'C' team, sneering at our club, was an unsavoury experience. It made us money, no doubt, but not everything that makes money is a good thing. 

I find it hard to think of a good friendly over the years. Back in the 1970s there were occasional tours of Scotland, in the 80# and early 90s there was the Isle of Man tournament. Both of these provided supporters with the opportunity to have a bit of a boozy weekend and watch a bit of football. Times however have now changed.i think the last enjoyable friendly I went to was versus Walsall, about 5 years ago, when the match was abandoned as the rain lashed down. The game itself was a none event but it was the first time I had seen a match abandoned in August. 

I can't recall, either, any preseason match where a loanee or new players suddenly made me realise we had discovered a gem. More often than not you see glimmers of promise that fade by the time we play our first League Cup match (Is it still Cabaro this coming season?). It's fitness though, the aim of preseason games is to get the team fitter. This season the summer break seems inordinately long, so I might be tempted by the Blackpool game. However, I might also be heartbroken to see Rob Apter bag a brace against us. It would feel wrong. I'll probably stay away and then be accused of not being a proper fan, because proper fans go to everything, home and away, first team and youth games. Hmmm....

I suppose the best thing about the announcement of pre-season friendlies is that it shows we're not too far away from real football coming back. Just over two months now, with the fixtures due in three weeks time. In the interim there are the Euros and the distraction of a General Election. Yet we all know the important thing, the return of League fixtures, is all that matters.