What was I saying? If you lose a pre-season friendly, you just wait for the boss to say it doesn’t matter because these games are all about fitness, not the results.
Since I have not read a match report, that is the only positive thought I can muster on hearing of our 1-0 defeat at mighty Scunthorpe, and I don’t even know yet whether Roy Keane has said it, or something like it. Feel free to fill me in on the details.
But it has not stopped me making my arrangements to be in my seat in the East Stand for the opening game proper, home to Spurs on Aug 11. Thanks to Ryanair and an understanding wife, the trip is fixed.
Roll on the Premiership. I think.
Not too much to worry about in losing a game when we were on a hiding to nothing anyway.The cynics may say that this shows the lack of quality in the squad but it looks to have been no more than a training exercise as RK used 18 players during the game.Had we won the game by 4 or 5 it might have lulled us into a misguided sense of optimism so best to have our feet kept firmly on the ground.
I always feel that clubs have a cheek to charge fans an entrance fee to watch what normally amounts to no more than a training session.At Ayr during the early eighties I saw the likes of West Ham (as FA cup holders) and Watford ( Blisset and Barnes days)provide a reasonably competitive game.Indeed the last pre-season game I attended was in July 1992 when Sunderland and Ayr met at Somerset Park.Sunderland were coming off the back of a FA cup final and George Burley was cutting his teeth in management at Ayr and desperate to make a good impression.The game however was dire and totally uninspiring.How could the 2 clubs that I had so much affection for turn out such a pathetic display ?
It was however an indication of how the following few seasons were going to evolve for each club with Ayr relegated within 3 years and Sunderland having to wait 4 years for promotion back to the top tier.
I have not been to a pre-season game since then although the Juventas game was tempting the overall cost out-weighed the appeal and it was therefore shelved.My Ayr season ticket however has a free voucher for a friendly and I plan to use that by going to the game against Gretna on Saturday.I am by now suffering football withdrawl so it is a case of ‘any port in a storm’.Hope it doesn’t rain.