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Are all these pre-season Spanish fixtures a mistake



wallyback

Well-known member
Jun 22, 2011
1,406
Brighton
We need to be primed for the roughty tufty Championship football
 






Bladders

Twats everywhere
Jun 22, 2012
13,672
The Troubadour
Plus they'll be no Harveys at Getafe's ground.

Barber Out!
 




Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
Yeah, I'd rather a tour of local non league clubs like the old days, with a quick tour of Ireland for some fisticuffs on the pitch :rolleyes:
 




mejonaNO12 aka riskit

Well-known member
Dec 4, 2003
21,494
England
Putting a pre-season schedule together is pretty much lose-lose in terms of PR.

The risks you run:

1 - Picking lower teams. Fans response "why are we playing teams worse than who will be facing week in week out".
2 - Picking higher teams - Fans response "Why are we playing teams who could just turn us over. This isnt the standard we will be facing week in week out".
3 - Picking a team from your division - Fans response if team loses - "This is terrible. It's a sign of things to come this season. How can we lose to IPSWICH".
 


Diego Napier

Well-known member
Mar 27, 2010
4,416
That's right, it didn't help us prepare for last season did it, we only finished....um, 4th
 


HawkTheSeagull

New member
Jan 31, 2012
9,122
Eastbourne
We need teams to challenge us, as well as games to ease the players back into playing.

Playing a mixture of teams like Whitehawk, Crawley, Norwich and Villarreal will do this.
 




Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
3 - Picking a team from your division - Fans response if team loses - "This is terrible. It's a sign of things to come this season. How can we lose to IPSWICH".

Does anyone play pre-season friendlies against teams in their own division?
 


Getafe are a good side, finished 10th in La Liga, they will be a good test for us, probably better than us. Sporting Gijon are in Div 2, although the Segunda isn't as strong as the Championship so we should be better than them. Pity we aren't playing them the other way round.

But these trips are as much about team bonding as they are about the football. and doubly important this year with a new boss.
 








gordonchas

New member
Jul 1, 2012
230
Sporting Gijon are in Div 2, although the Segunda isn't as strong as the Championship

I beg to differ. Bearing in mind the differences in style they are broadly very comparable.

Apropos nothing, from a support base point of view there couldn't be a sharper contrast between Getafe and Sporting.
 


Thunder Bolt

Silly old bat
That's right, it didn't help us prepare for last season did it, we only finished....um, 4th

Pre season Portugal - won league one
Pre season Portugal - finished 10th
Pre season Spain - finished 4th

It is also useful for team bonding especially for the newer additions to the team. And the weather is nicer.
 




I beg to differ. Bearing in mind the differences in style they are broadly very comparable.

Apropos nothing, from a support base point of view there couldn't be a sharper contrast between Getafe and Sporting.

I think the top third, maybe top half, of the two leagues are pretty similar standard, but the quality in the Championship edges it a bit in my opinion. Last season, there were very little to choose between teams, everybody was beating everybody else. Didn't Peterborough do the double over the Champions Cardiff yet still get relegated? I think the quality of Segunda A teams varies more than it does in the Championship. But I do agree they are different styles.
 


HastingsSeagull

Well-known member
Jan 13, 2010
9,257
BGC Manila
No league is as balanced as the Champ, but I agree with the above point yeah. Big drop off in Spanish pyramid (and most others) from British league.

That said I think they've picked a good balance of clubs, ability and domestic/international wise.
 




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