David Preece: ‘Glamour’ friendlies bore me – alien opposition serve no purpose

Pic: David Purday

“The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft a-gley.” “The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft a-gley.” 

ROBERT BURNS there, with sound advice for any manager cruising through pre-season, problem-free. It's a strange old time to judge the form of a side, particularly when you've played against opponents who offer wide range in styles and standards.

For a manager in control of their schedule, it's a fine balancing act between building confidence and fitness levels, whilst testing the players against superior opposition without it having a detrimental effect on them.

Managers and coaches talk of hitting the ground running when that first game rolls around but at the same time acknowledging that it might take half-a-dozen games for everything to be up to full speed. That could be six games too many though as management becomes ever more precarious.

A good start to a season is as important as ever and the chance to rectify a bad one can be a luxury afforded only to the rare and honeymoon periods have become more of a long weekend away.

That's exactly why I think it's a great idea to be involved in tournaments at this time of the year. No matter how insignificant that trophy might be, it at least shifts some of the emphasis from the process to winning. After all, although the process is what is gets you there, it's managing a game where there is something at stake that needs a change of mentality to convert the process into success.

Nausea

We can all stroke the ball about the pitch when there are no consequences to a slack pass, so it's great to have that edge to a game. You might say that a footballer should want to win every game, even when there are no points or cups at stake and that's true, but it's a subconscious thing. You're still motivated but there is nothing like a bit of pressure to narrow the focus, and that's the difference once the season starts.

I remember at Barnsley we had a great pre-season, putting in good performances against the likes of Manchester City, never kicking a ball over 30 yards, playing out from the back at every opportunity but when that first game came around away to QPR, we totally changed tactics, played direct football and lost the game 4-0. The whole of pre-season had been a waste of time.

I always hated low-key friendlies and training games anyway because I missed that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach before games. It verged on nausea at times, so much so that I couldn't eat my pre-match meal. But I'll tell you something, I wish I could get that feeling back now.

I've not jumped out of a plane with a parachute cord between life and certain death, but nothing so far in my footballing afterlife has been able to replace that. Not that I'm chasing it; that would be a course for personal disaster. But it is something from my life that is now missing and irretrievably so.

It is also why I have resisted the urge to play for “fun” after pulling down the curtain on my playing days. The thing is, I don't actually associate football with fun. Not the playing side of it. If I wanted fun I would never have chose to have my livelihood depend on it for 20 years but the apprehension was the kick, perversely.

When people ask you if you miss playing (which they often do), it isn't “the banter” as so many ex-players refer back to. Sure, it's part of it but that's just one of those stock cliches that you carry about with you when you're looking for an easy answer.

What you really miss are the vampire butterflies that eat away at your insides. If there's nothing at stake then it's just taking part and as much as we're told it's the taking part that counts, “they” are wrong.

The first game or two are immaterial. You're finding your bearings again after two months of being unrestricted by the various lengths of white lines of a football pitch. It's amazing how disoriented you can be as a keeper when you return from holiday. That first day feels like you've never caught a ball before and they seem to come at you much quicker than you remember. That's why you need a gentle reintroduction in to the game.

Preparation

Once they are over and you are recognisable as a professional footballer again, you just want the season to start.

Most teams have a wide and varied selection of friendlies, but to save yourself from gathering momentum and being up to speed after a few games into the season, the games need to be real preparation for those games. As you have to plan well ahead, promotion or relegation can play havoc with regards to prepping for those first games of the following season but if you can, you have play teams who are as close in DNA to those sides as possible. It has to replicate them.

Glamour friendlies are nice occasions for clubs lower down the leagues but what service do they serve apart from the income they generate?

And what is the point of playing the under 23 side of a Premier League team when the questions they pose are alien to what you are coming up against? It serves the Under 23 side far more than it does your own.

That's why I think playing the early games of the Scottish League Cup has been a masterstroke for those clubs. It provides competition against opposition of a similar ilk which makes for the best preparation.

Fixture congestion is always a problem with clubs who venture into the later rounds because of rearranged matches and succumbing to the weather, so perhaps it's something that could be looked by using some of the early rounds of the in pre-season? Something worth considering?

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