The Annual home glamour friendly...vs Soton in a half open stadium

[HitchinSeagull]

It's about preparation for our players, thats all that matters really.

I wont be going as I'm on holiday anyway. But in terms of team preparation playing a bottom half Premiership team is probably better than a foreign glamour name.

A voice of reason amongst the drama... Peterborough away, with a good real ale pub nearby and a cathedral for the missus to walk about, is more fun anyway.

 

[Tooting Gull]

What's with all the moaning? Since when did we all suddenly start giving a crap about pre-season friendlies?

I seem to recall friendlies at the Goldstone in July were usually played in front of about 2,000 people, and there was a distinct lack of glamour ties, probably a scuffle against Pompey or Oxford United. For the greater part of the time we played at Withdean, it was the same, only with hardly any home games, as the South Stand was still up at St Andrews, or Royal Troon, or wherever it had been packed off to for the summer. It was usually Reading or some such dull opposition. Then all of a sudden we move to the Amex, and people are declaring disappointment because we've not got Man United or Barcelona in town?

I wonder if this all comes down to the endless SkySports football hype. Football used to finish in May, and start again in August. The first game anybody even noticed was the Charity Shield. Now it's LIVE ON SKY! MAN UNITED IN MALAYSIA! for a post-season friendly, followed (allowing a brief break for World Cups, European Championships, international friendlies and so on) by EXCLUSIVELY FOR SKYSPORTS VIEWERS: CHELSEA! BAYERN! ATHLETIC BILBAO! HJK HELSINKI! LIVE ILLINOIS MASTERS TOURNAMENT FOOTBALL FROM CHICAGO! Then on to Johannesburg, where Liverpool are no doubt enjoying a nice runaround- ooops, sorry, I mean a CLASH OF THE CONTINENTS! against the Orlando Pirates, and brief highlights from West Ham's first Upton Park friendly against Hamburg.

I really don't care if we play Southampton, Sporting Lisbon or San Francisco 49ers to be honest. It's a means to get the players fit and ready to go for the first proper game. It's meaningless. If you like friendlies, or are at a loose end that day, then go, enjoy it with a few thousand other keen individuals. If not, well go and find something you do fancy and make the most of the Saturday off. Don't sit here and moan because Southampton aren't important enough for your liking

Exactly.

And also to bear in mind this quality Premier League team probably are doing us a favour by turning up on a Thursday night. I'm sure they would have rather played at the Amex on Saturday. And that will have narrowed the field, because not many decent teams will play Thursday/Saturday in pre-season.

 

[DavidRyder]

We played Norwich last season and Reading the season before. I guess you gave those a miss as well. Decent enough opposition to prepare the team, you will have missed a fantastic goal from Solly March and a chance to relax, watch a bit of football and speculate on the season ahead. Not essential to be a good supporter, but not an unpleasant way to wile a few hours if you are so inclined.

No, i had tickets for our friendly and the league cup first round, before realising that my usual supporter coach wasn't running, so missed both. (for anyone living in T/Wells, public transport is a non starter). The only home game i haven't had a ticket for in 3 years at the Amex was Villareal, and that was due to a wedding.

 

[looney]

You do know we finished 8th last season...?

Thats pretty good for a small club, well done.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

What's with all the moaning? Since when did we all suddenly start giving a crap about pre-season friendlies?

I seem to recall friendlies at the Goldstone in July were usually played in front of about 2,000 people, and there was a distinct lack of glamour ties, probably a scuffle against Pompey or Oxford United. For the greater part of the time we played at Withdean, it was the same, only with hardly any home games, as the South Stand was still up at St Andrews, or Royal Troon, or wherever it had been packed off to for the summer. It was usually Reading or some such dull opposition. Then all of a sudden we move to the Amex, and people are declaring disappointment because we've not got Man United or Barcelona in town?

I wonder if this all comes down to the endless SkySports football hype. Football used to finish in May, and start again in August. The first game anybody even noticed was the Charity Shield. Now it's LIVE ON SKY! MAN UNITED IN MALAYSIA! for a post-season friendly, followed (allowing a brief break for World Cups, European Championships, international friendlies and so on) by EXCLUSIVELY FOR SKYSPORTS VIEWERS: CHELSEA! BAYERN! ATHLETIC BILBAO! HJK HELSINKI! LIVE ILLINOIS MASTERS TOURNAMENT FOOTBALL FROM CHICAGO! Then on to Johannesburg, where Liverpool are no doubt enjoying a nice runaround- ooops, sorry, I mean a CLASH OF THE CONTINENTS! against the Orlando Pirates, and brief highlights from West Ham's first Upton Park friendly against Hamburg.

I really don't care if we play Southampton, Sporting Lisbon or San Francisco 49ers to be honest. It's a means to get the players fit and ready to go for the first proper game. It's meaningless. If you like friendlies, or are at a loose end that day, then go, enjoy it with a few thousand other keen individuals. If not, well go and find something you do fancy and make the most of the Saturday off. Don't sit here and moan because Southampton aren't important enough for your liking

Exactly this.

I may or may not go depending on finances but thats about it.

 

[Hiney]

It's got dick-all to do with who we play, what division they're in, how glamourous they are etc. etc.

It's got EVERYTHING to do with preparing for the season to make sure we hit the ground running as fast as possible.

I would say a friendly against a mid-table Premier League team is good preparation for a season in the Championship. End of story.

Having said all that, the ticket prices will show how much the club agree.