Football365 but very valid for knee jerk pre season reactions
I thought about this paragraph between two central stops on the London Underground. The first weekend of last season West Brom were gubbed by Chelsea. Arsenal got a draw at Anfield thanks to Pepe Reina's clanger for 10-man Liverpool. United tonked promoted Newcastle - I can remember the build-up, about how Newcastle actually drew at Old Trafford at the start of the season they were relegated. Spurs were held by somebody in between their Young Boys qualifiers. And Blackpool, in a game that would have been at Bloomfield Road had it been ready, scored four or five at Wigan, making that kid famous for a day or two.
I could add to that now I have had more time to think but I feel I have made my point to my own satisfaction: it is easy to remember league results from last August; incidents, too. But throw your mind back another couple of weeks; can you remember anything from 2010's pre-season friendlies? I could sit on a Tube from Aldgate to Amersham, or Epping to Ealing, and still draw a blank.
Down the years there is the odd story arising from a friendly that sticks in the mind. Alan Shearer ruptured ligaments at Everton in 1997, setting in motion a sort of X-Factor hunt for a new England striker ultimately won by someone with two league appearances to his name. More recently Steven Gerrard, for two bookings, and Wayne Rooney, for a straight red-card offence, were both dismissed in friendlies, leading to some rather tedious complaints from Manchester United and their fans, which surprisingly demonstrated that they did not know the rules.
I have been to a few pre-season games down the years, at different clubs. A chance to see a player who is new to England; a chance to catch up with friends you haven't seen since May; a chance a few seasons back to confirm that Charlton had a sponsorship deal with the only network that you could not get a signal for in The Valley. Who actually won any of those matches, though? I cannot say. Even the Community Shield, which used to stand out whether I went to it or not, is lost these days in the blizzard of four-team sponsored trophies. The world's most hyped curtain now takes more than a month to be raised.
The results of these matches are as meaningless as they are unmemorable. There is a new dimension, a purpose that is about marketing not sport, taking teams around the world (or to venues closer to home, such as Ireland) to entertain and lure in fans who are unlikely ever to get to Stamford Bridge, the Emirates, White Hart Lane, Old Trafford, or Anfield (or to have heard of the Etihad Stadium). It is easy to see why Arsene Wenger resisted the development for so long - and also that his complaints about international friendlies have been weakened by the perhaps Stan Kroenke-led move, now that Arsenal have joined the jetset.
Yes, some players get acquainted with new team-mates, but other places in lineups are taken by unwanted pros who at least get to demonstrate their fitness and therefore suitability for transfer. Entire different XIs play a half each. The top priority for every player is not to suffer the fate of Shearer or that of Rooney, rather than to win the game. Everyone knows these games do not matter. So while I would defend the quotes pieces that arise, I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would publish or read a match report about these occasions.
Do something sensible this weekend. Don't watch, or read about, actual football unless it is the Copa America.
("Actual football" ruling out the SPL, obviously.)
Philip Cornwall
I judge preseaon for what it is.......getting the players fit....however one fact I have come to the conclusion on is.....if Adam starts, Gerrard should be standing in or on the edge of the box during corners and nowhere near the flag!!
