What are you saying I have said?



I have just asked questions throughout the thread, and repeated several times about fringe players and the fact that our dual registration partner club don't start the season until two weeks after us. Thus as far as fringe players go there is a potential issue at seasons start.

No. You said the team looked "undercooked" when the season started and has done for the last few years. You used your extensive knowledge of everything in the world to give the reason for this too:

And where did I state that we should be playing more for the internationals? or more full stop? I asked the questions, and I gave an opinion, hence "I felt".



They have looked "undercooked" when the season started in my opinion, and hence why I raised the issue of our partner club not starting for two weeks after and could this be an issue for the fringe players.

I've seldom seen (if at all) a team that doesn't look rusty at the start of a season. Fact of life. You can't re-create a fully competitive match with league points on the line in training or in friendlies.



I see pre-season games as a bit of a gamble. The weather is often awful and makes it difficult to run through attacking plays effectively. They do offer a level up from training games and may give a little extra fitness value that you can't recreate on the training ground. The downside is that you rarely use your full first team and you can't show too much too soon, and yet it's cold and wet and you are risking injury - acute or something chronic a player ends up carrying all year.



Play one or two with your full team to get them warmed up and switched on at a speed above a training game. Beyond that I would think the risks outweigh the potential benefits.

Where did anyone say you said we should be playing more internationals?

You quoted Andy Gilder, and he certainly didn't say that.

In saying the team looked undercooked early in the season and that was because they didn't play enough pre-season games, you weren't saying they should play more pre-season games?

Classic.

I have to ask straight away to avoid pages of you saying one thing when something else is being talked about. Thought easier that way.

Well you tell me Richie? You seem to believe you have the answers.



If you would like to go back to the opening post of this thread which you were quick to quote on a couple of posts back, tell me where the words team and side were mentioned? By doing that you will have more relevance to what was mentioned. The word specifically used was "Leeds".

I think the reason that neither I nor the rest of the board have a clue what you're writing about, is because you don't even know yourself.

So you don't have the answers? Then stop being a know it all patronising - in that case, then no problem. You made a fool of yourself on the VT the other day doing something similar.

sorry but to me "and a couple of games this time where the actual first team players all play" sort of suggests different to what you're arguing now.

In other sports, where there's a higher turn over of playing staff, the preseason friendlies are probably important for working out combinations and people getting used to each other. We don't really have thay to contend with. And the intensity isn't really that great, so I can't see them really improving sharpness that much.



GH has said before that the Christmas game is important for the keeping the finances ticking over during the off season.



I personally can't say I've wished for more preseason matches.