Pre season friendly thread

[Indian Dan]

You’re right, results in friendlies mean nothing but application and effort plus getting used to whatever system will be played in league games IS important. If you’ve got 4 or 5 new signings on view for the first time I’d have thought effort would be the least to expect. Strolling around isn’t the point, fitness build up is.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Of course you always want application and effort from training to PSF to competitive matchday, yes it’s disappointing to read but it means so little. Nolan has no history at Notts of letting players be free passengers, strolling along. He’s not that sort of character, he wasn’t that type of player.

The players have been back in training a while now so these games aren’t about fitness levels, I’d be very confident in saying the players are pretty damn fit after all the cardio work, and running they do in the initial weeks back.

Could be a great wake up call, might be a boot up the ass that they needed/or in fact never needed.

In previous pre seasons we have looked like world beaters, with results to match against higher opposition and then the season was complete dump.

Anyone who has a meltdown over a PSF must be either be daft or new to football.

 

[Indian Dan]

Ah well. Not too long to wait and find out now!

Looking forward to it for some masochistic reason.

 

[Habbinalan]

I'm starting to get worried. We seem to be strolling through our pre-season games and scoring goals for fun. I could do without a relegation battle and a bit more than mid-table would be nice.

A tonking by Millwall on Saturday may be our chance to rescue the season before we meet Vale in a proper match on the opening day. So far it's gone

U's 5 - 0 Port Vale
St Neots 1 - 7 U;s
City 1 - 8 U's
Royston 0 - 4 U's
Chelmsford 1 - 4 U's

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

An old Oxford United fan once told me in a pub “The better you do in pre-season , the worse the (actual) season will be”

He’d had a few by then, and it was 24 years ago but I think there is something in it

 

[Indian Dan]

I’m older than Oxford United!

 

[Greenacres]

I’m older than Oxford United!

My car is older than MK Dons.

 

[Captain]

We've won our opening two friendlies so far. 3-1 at St. Albans in midweek and 3-2 vs Portsmouth yesterday. We've got St. Neots on Tuesday before three matches at home vs Coventry, a Palace XI and a Watford XI.

 

[Youpies]

Friendlies are only really there for fitness and practice. Getting worried at being tonked in them is daft (especially if said team is a top championship side) , they rarely ever reflect how things will go. I remember us doing really well against Galatasary only to get relegated that season. Fotheringham looked a class above in that game.
That alone told me never to put too much on how these games go

 

[GTFCfish]

An old Oxford United fan once told me in a pub “The better you do in pre-season , the worse the (actual) season will be”

He’d had a few by then, and it was 24 years ago but I think there is something in it

We won every game in pre season 15/16 including beating Derby, Notts County and Peterborough so we were all pretty optimistic for the season ahead.
Non league forum members from other clubs were piss taking saying it meant fuck all.
We ended up promoted beating some tinpot outfit called FGR in the play off final at Wembley, in one of my greatest days ever supporting GTFC, lovely stuff.**


** Ok so we were actually dogshit for a lot of games that season, Hurst out chants aplenty and but for a brainfart from a Braintree defender we'd have lost in the play off Semi, but fuck it it all worked out nicely in the end.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

One of your greatest days ever supporting GTFC involved FGR??? Ouch!

 

[Optipez]

I think they're a pretty useful guide really, not the results but if you watch individual players you can gauge what they're like but how the season goes can be a million miles away from results and performances pre season.
We lost 7or 8 one to Forest four days before kick off having just been relegated. We ended up champions.
Last season we looked awful, only beating tier 9 teams by having a team for each half and wearing them out. We made the play offs.
The Moniz Dutch revolution had us playing quite nicely pre season but it ended with a national humiliation on TV losing to Salford and a relegation battle.

 

[The Jovial Forester]

One of your greatest days ever supporting GTFC involved FGR??? Ouch!

We are the stuff true footballing memories are made of - the quorn pie, the wet terrace, the wide open fields full of livestock (and I don't mean Grimsby's back four).

 

[Imp in Branston]

We have lost both friendlies against Championship teams so far, 1-3 to Norwich and 0-1 against Sheffield Weds. Norwich were far superior to SW against us though we have played a fairly mixed side with many trialists in both games.

Green and Akinde started together for the first time against SW, I hope and expect they will become a good partnership, should be one of the better forward lines in the league this season.

 

[Trapdoor]

That alone told me never to put too much on how these games go

But we absolutely smashed Truro and Stockley scored a flying volley. Surely we can't ignore that? It's 3 points on the board before the season has even started!

 

[hellogregory]

Carlisle United’s friendly at Kendal Town has been called off due to a not frozen pitch

 

[Chris FGR]

One of your greatest days ever supporting GTFC involved FGR??? Ouch!

It was probably the getting promoted at Wembley part that made it great tbf, although obviously beating a quality side like us should be and is a highlight of EVERY clubs season. Which you failed to do at your place last season when we battered you btw.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Ahhhhh yes the day the Magpies froze in front of another big crowd at Meadow Lane.
I’ll never forget that game Cos I actually saw the Notts undeserved injury time equaliser from within the away section with you and your fellow FGR fans. Bizarre, completely accidental, but a great moment for me.

Sadly I didn’t go to the away fixture , which I believe we won to secure 4 points from the 2 league fixtures last season.

 

[Casey]

We have Ipswich at East Grinstead tonight (our pitch has been relaid). Another behind closed doors game tomorrow (un-named premier opposition), Brighton behind closed doors on Friday and Charlton (at East Grinstead) on Saturday. I would expect a tonking on Saturday after that lot.

I agree that the results of pre season games don't matter but it does give a chance to see new players and how they will fit into the team and any glaring errors the manager is making.

Casey

 

[Vanni]

A 2-2 draw against TOP L1 side Charlton Athletic in a behind closed doors, 4 halves of 30 mins each, PSF at their training ground.

Based on the fact that a TOP L1 side couldn't beat us over 120 mins, I can only reach the conclusion that we're going up this season, most likely automatically.

In Dunne we trust!

 

[Si Robin]

We lost 4-1 to Reading U23s this afternoon, Mo Eisa getting our goal.

We look fooked when he finally goes.

 

[Indian Dan]

A 2-2 draw against TOP L1 side Charlton Athletic in a behind closed doors, 4 halves of 30 mins each, PSF at their training ground.

Based on the fact that a TOP L1 side couldn't beat us over 120 mins, I can only reach the conclusion that we're going up this season, most likely automatically.

In Dunne we trust!

Seems reasonable!

Our youth team is playing Chippenham this evening. Then the first XI play Benfica tomorrow followed by Pompey on Saturday.

 

[The Jovial Forester]

We're getting a bit of a footballing lesson off Leeds but Grubb managed a cracker just before the half so only 2-1 down. Their goalie should have done better for ours though.

 

[GTFCfish]

We're currently 1-0 down to Sunderland.

JOLLEY OUT!!!

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Surely not after the infamous ‘10 Game Journey’

 

[Moomin]

Currently 1-0 up at Bath City.

Matt Jay with the goal

 

[The Jovial Forester]

Ended 2-1 which flattered us some from what I saw

 

[White Army]

We beat Warrington 2-0, a Spanish trialist and Mullin with the goals.

 

[GTFCfish]

We ONLY lost 1-0 to a Sunderland side that will romp to the League 1 title this season.

Therefore from that I have deduced that we are nearly as good as the future League 1 Champions, and we will almost certainly get automatic promotion this season and most likely be Champions.

Or we might be mid table.




Or relegated.

 

[Simpo]

(Ashton Utd 1-3 Oldham)
(Curzon Ashton 0-2 Oldham)
FC United 0-2 Oldham
Trialist Chris O'Grady and Branger-Engone with the goals.

That's three Conference North teams dispatched, now come real tests against Forest, Girona and Preston. Hopefully Baxter and Byrne are back for those after missing the last two.