Pre Season Friendlies - Too Many Played?

[Ian Pethick]

Lively debate going on elsewhere in the forum about admission prices charged for pre season friendlies, but it got me wondering about how many are played nowadays.

Admittedly distant memories and recollections are unreliable, but I am certain that back in the 80's and 90's clubs usually played four or five of these but, based on what I see on various clubs social media and websites, it seems more like seven or eight now with them starting earlier.

Few thoughts I had on these were;

Do clubs play these instead of training sessions as players won't commit to anything other than playing matches?

Are they an extra revenue stream with, not factoring in money taken at the gate, food and drink sales providing a bit of much needed cash?

And, lastly, are players just generally fitter these days and don't need endless sessions running up and down sand dunes etc, etc with working on tactics and formations seen as more worthwhile

 

The main questions are do clubs play too many of them and are people that bothered about attending them (outside of the high profile "glamour" fixtures)?

[Footy Detective]

I seem to recall that Steve Massey stated that he was vehemently opposed to PSF starting way too early and that they were getting earlier and earlier. 

[Uwdi Krugg]

The pre season friendly is a bit like the exclusive floppy disc you occasionally got with NME.

Not very good, often poor quality but you'd make sure you had it if it was your fave kinda music.

In a summer when there's little TV sport other than Men in Pyjamas playing rounders (20/20 cricket) or the mass-coverage BBC 14 day tennis sick fest, most Football fans can't wait for an obscure friendly at a remote location in the middle of nowhere.

I know I do, pending admission price of course 😄

 

 

[Both Sides of the Tamar]

Seeing SWPL teams have 6 or 7 pre-season games does seem excessive. Some PSFs I 'get'  Saw Buckland v TUFC last night (1211 crowd) a good occasion and a cash injection too  Many games though are over-priced training sessions or mismatched fixtures. 

Surely 4 PSF games is enough? SWPL West season itself only 32 games.

[RAPPO]

Always remember Trev running us into the ground twice a week for about 3 weeks before we even touched a ball!! At least 2 beach sessions included in those 6 running on dry sand!! Can still remember the cramp at 2am in the mornings downstairs standing on a cold kitchen floor naked! He usually went for 4 friendlies after that, two we would quite possibly lose and have to run our bollocks off, i.e Argyle, Exeter, Torquay, then one against an evenly matched Western league team Liskeard, Saltash, Bideford etc and then a confidence boosting usual goal fest against a Combo or East Cornwall team a week before the first league game. Never more than 4 until the Brewery Cup formed then it might be 5 total!! Seen teams with about 8 recently! Think less is more in my opinion? 👍⚽️

[Ian Pethick]

On 09/07/2022 at 09:55, Both Sides of the Tamar said:

Seeing SWPL teams have 6 or 7 pre-season games does seem excessive. Some PSFs I 'get'  Saw Buckland v TUFC last night (1211 crowd) a good occasion and a cash injection too  Many games though are over-priced training sessions or mismatched fixtures. 

Surely 4 PSF games is enough? SWPL West season itself only 32 games.

Reports from yesterday of depleted sides and called off games. Just feeds into that, "too much pointless pre season football is played" feeling. Is it just a case of "everybody else is training in June and playing 7/8 friendlies,so we should as well?"

 

[Both Sides of the Tamar]

5 hours ago, Way Of The Park said:

Reports from yesterday of depleted sides and called off games. Just feeds into that, "too much pointless pre season football is played" feeling. Is it just a case of "everybody else is training in June and playing 7/8 friendlies,so we should as well?"

 

Saw a bare bones Bodmin team win 2-0 at Bere Alston yesterday. Apart from minutes in the legs for both teams what could be learned from such an  encounter I couldn't guess at all. That some clubs are charging steeply for such fixtures is risible.

Free yesterday though!