This is a new edition to my website where blog editor Louis Byers will publish a column of his thoughts on the latest footballing events.
The new football season has arrived - well, partly. Officially, the 2014-2015 English football season is scheduled to get underway in roughly four weeks time but July 1st marks the beginning of the new season. But for now, pre-season gets us underway.
I personally love pre-season because it gets you back into the excitement of the football season for any club in any division, excites you through the introduction of 'big-name' signings to the club, as well as exhibition matches (or as we call them, friendlies) which sees top clubs from various division bring squads down.
Friendlies can be seen as warm-up matches which many clubs and teams compete in. Many of our non-league sides have invited teams from Ipswich Town, Colchester United and Norwich City to bring a team to their ground. These are highly attractive games to the non-league clubs as it can bring high attendances, which supplies revenue to clubs. These friendly matches can also thrilling for the players themselves as they will play against high fully professional players. Fixtures may also be arranged that see teams travel internationally. This can be seen this season with Ipswich and AFC Sudbury travelling to Ireland to play fixtures, while other teams travelling to use the facilities of other clubs (which is reflected with Southend travelling to Spain this week).
However, clubs may decide to take a younger squad or an 'XI' squad where teams may experiment with different players. Rules may also be altered with unlimited substitutes to be used during a fixture.
Another factor about pre-season is that clubs may also alter facilities, clean up stadiums and host events to showcase the club's ground. Many clubs I've researched have seen them 'pull-up' their turf and relay it, to be a suitable surface to play on. This allows grounds to replace worn-out patches to make it safe to play on or to be repainted. I was part of the team at AFC Sudbury a few weeks back where I helped clean the facilities. Jobs includes cleaning the turnstiles and stands, repainting buildings, wash down advertising boards, to name a few. Teams such as Sudbury usually rely on volunteers to assist with matchday duties and always appreciate any assistance from voluntary workers while professional teams will have officials who 'work' at grounds.
Pre-season is always an interesting time during the football season because of some of the factors I have stated. I would always recommend supporters to visit pre-season fixtures because teams will always play other clubs they would not normally play during a normal domestic season and players always appreciate support, whether it means travelling overseas or just down the motorway.
-Louis Byers
FANbase is scheduled to cover 45 pre-season fixtures involving East Anglia based football teams. View the pre-season fixtures calendar HERE.
The new football season has arrived - well, partly. Officially, the 2014-2015 English football season is scheduled to get underway in roughly four weeks time but July 1st marks the beginning of the new season. But for now, pre-season gets us underway.
I personally love pre-season because it gets you back into the excitement of the football season for any club in any division, excites you through the introduction of 'big-name' signings to the club, as well as exhibition matches (or as we call them, friendlies) which sees top clubs from various division bring squads down.
Friendlies can be seen as warm-up matches which many clubs and teams compete in. Many of our non-league sides have invited teams from Ipswich Town, Colchester United and Norwich City to bring a team to their ground. These are highly attractive games to the non-league clubs as it can bring high attendances, which supplies revenue to clubs. These friendly matches can also thrilling for the players themselves as they will play against high fully professional players. Fixtures may also be arranged that see teams travel internationally. This can be seen this season with Ipswich and AFC Sudbury travelling to Ireland to play fixtures, while other teams travelling to use the facilities of other clubs (which is reflected with Southend travelling to Spain this week).
However, clubs may decide to take a younger squad or an 'XI' squad where teams may experiment with different players. Rules may also be altered with unlimited substitutes to be used during a fixture.
Another factor about pre-season is that clubs may also alter facilities, clean up stadiums and host events to showcase the club's ground. Many clubs I've researched have seen them 'pull-up' their turf and relay it, to be a suitable surface to play on. This allows grounds to replace worn-out patches to make it safe to play on or to be repainted. I was part of the team at AFC Sudbury a few weeks back where I helped clean the facilities. Jobs includes cleaning the turnstiles and stands, repainting buildings, wash down advertising boards, to name a few. Teams such as Sudbury usually rely on volunteers to assist with matchday duties and always appreciate any assistance from voluntary workers while professional teams will have officials who 'work' at grounds.
Pre-season is always an interesting time during the football season because of some of the factors I have stated. I would always recommend supporters to visit pre-season fixtures because teams will always play other clubs they would not normally play during a normal domestic season and players always appreciate support, whether it means travelling overseas or just down the motorway.
-Louis Byers
FANbase is scheduled to cover 45 pre-season fixtures involving East Anglia based football teams. View the pre-season fixtures calendar HERE.