Experimentage!
I knew that repeating this seasons achievements would be no simple task, I would have to build on the squad whilst also keeping things fresh by letting players go. I was able to bring in the players I wanted due to my fantastic chairman, without him I wouldn't have brought in half of the players I did in these inflated times. This pre season featured the first ever KRO cup; basically us against three very poor sides. It has given us a confidence boost, the new players performed well too, I have perfected the tactic we will use for the new season. I only used it for the final three games, but as you will see it got some great results.
Results:
Blues 5-2 Monaco
Yannick Djalo 2, Milevskyi 2, Larsson
A very comfortable start to pre season, we missed a penalty but carried on and got a very healthy goal total. Yannick and Artem still look to be in great nick after the break but I have to remember that these games do not matter.
Auxerre 2-1 Blues
Chucho
I experimented with the tactic and as you can see it didn't work out, as I said before; these games don't actually matter. It was good to see Chucho pop up with a goal as I had the confidence to play him ahead of Artem.
Kilmarnock 0-5 Blues
Milevskyi, Diego Renan, Yannick Djalo, Larsson, Michel
A good performance, they are an SPL side so they aren't poor. We were just fantastic, Michel was injured for the last two months of last season but today he came back and was debatedly the best player on the park, competition for places is really hotting up and I am delighted that that is the case!
Blues 7-0 Leatherhead (KRO)
Larsson, Otamendi, Milevskyi 3, McFadden 2
A confident performance sends us into the final, well it sounds better than it looks. I am hoping that this tournament will become a household name in years to come. So what if we will win every game?!
Blues 6-0 Bemerton Heath (KRO)
Jerome, Ayew, Yannick Djalo 2, Ekdal, Ferguson
Wow we are champions... Shock horror! Oh well, it was a decent set of performances to build us up for the Community Shield match vs Tottenham. It will be a chance of a trophy before the season has even started. Hopefully we can get the win.
Preseason overview:
Won: 4
Lost: 1
Drawn: 0
Scored: 18
Conceded: 4
A decent preseason sets us up for what looms to be a tough season, Man City are title favourites whilst we are 16-1. I think that we can challenge and hopefully retain our title, I know it will be no easy feat but I think with the right mindset it is possible. Now we can be acknowledge as contenders as we spent alot of money on transfers, I have spent the entire budget but I am confident that there is easily sufficient calibre in all areas for a complete squad.