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2023-24 - Pre-Season Friendlies

Moroccan Sunset said:
Glad we've given Tooting a friendly. Least we can do for them at the moment after what they did for us 5 years ago.

Strange that there's no Palace friendly there? Must admit, I'm surprised at the line up - playing a lot of sides below us. (Although I do have to keep reminding myself that Aveley are in the division above us now!)
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We're playing 4 clubs from lower levels and 4 from higher levels, plus Altona. It looks like a good balance to me. I'm sure Palace get a lot of requests and I don't expect to play them every year.

Personally I'm not interested in watching 9 of these matches with multiple substitutions and anonymous triallists. I'll do Altona because it's the first one, Aveley and Welwyn because they're ground ticks, and maybe one of the other Saturday games if I've got nothing else to do.
 
Pink Panther said:
We're playing 4 clubs from lower levels and 4 from higher levels, plus Altona. It looks like a good balance to me. I'm sure Palace get a lot of requests and I don't expect to play them every year.

Personally I'm not interested in watching 9 of these matches with multiple substitutions and anonymous triallists. I'll do Altona because it's the first one, Aveley and Welwyn because they're ground ticks, and maybe one of the other Saturday games if I've got nothing else to do.
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Welwyn is a bit of a slog from the station (& it's parking on the grass verge of the road outside). It's also a bit of a pub free zone (but a big clubhouse) - Bedtime Beers is newish taproom just outside station but it shuts at 10pm so pre-match only.
 
Pink Panther said:
We're playing 4 clubs from lower levels and 4 from higher levels, plus Altona. It looks like a good balance to me. I'm sure Palace get a lot of requests and I don't expect to play them every year.

Personally I'm not interested in watching 9 of these matches with multiple substitutions and anonymous triallists. I'll do Altona because it's the first one, Aveley and Welwyn because they're ground ticks, and maybe one of the other Saturday games if I've got nothing else to do.
Click to expand...

Not Tooting away, and a tear up with the Tooty Wooty Boot Boys?
 
Pink Panther said:
We're playing 4 clubs from lower levels and 4 from higher levels, plus Altona. It looks like a good balance to me. I'm sure Palace get a lot of requests and I don't expect to play them every year.

Personally I'm not interested in watching 9 of these matches with multiple substitutions and anonymous triallists. I'll do Altona because it's the first one, Aveley and Welwyn because they're ground ticks, and maybe one of the other Saturday games if I've got nothing else to do.
Click to expand...

V true and perhaps some lower level sides will be useful if we're testing a lot of trialists, as I expect we will be! I'd love to know when the last time Palace didn't give us a summer friendly though. Must have been our first season back in the NLS (but in fairness Hodgson did bring a strong side down mid-season to compensate!)

Just been having a look through other teams' pre season's mind and it seems very few pro clubs are playing non-league sides this summer. Hampton haven't got U23/league opposition and neither have Maidstone and I would've thought both managers/clubs were fairly well connected. Perhaps it's a wider issue.
 
pompeydunc said:
They have a choice unlike us! They play a number of their friendlies on the 3G. I guess to protect the main pitch, but presumably this is also beneficial to get used to playing on artificial when an increasing number of teams use artificial surfaces.
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You can see why. My memories of the Tooting pitch walking on it after the Hendon game were that it was extremely uneven and the grass pretty poor. Although maybe the unevenness was a little on my side too... But I'd say the Menace pitch is better by far.
 
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Moroccan Sunset said:
V true and perhaps some lower level sides will be useful if we're testing a lot of trialists, as I expect we will be! I'd love to know when the last time Palace didn't give us a summer friendly though. Must have been our first season back in the NLS (but in fairness Hodgson did bring a strong side down mid-season to compensate!)

Just been having a look through other teams' pre season's mind and it seems very few pro clubs are playing non-league sides this summer. Hampton haven't got U23/league opposition and neither have Maidstone and I would've thought both managers/clubs were fairly well connected. Perhaps it's a wider issue.
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I'm all in favour of not having to watch a Hodgson side play football. Well done to the Board for sparing us that potential horror, say I.
 
Paula_G said:
Apart from Altona and to a degree Bromley I must admit to being seriously underwhelmed by that line up. Just one potential big money spinner at home in that. I realise that the pro clubs’ pre season agenda has changed down the years but even a young Palace side has proved a much better draw down the years than Millwall’s “cubs”.
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Most of the big clubs go abroad pre season and take all their squad with them,and so it’s hard to get dates that work for both sides. Alternatively you may get a game against their youth teams which is not ideal

Pre season is about fitness and developing a team pattern plus looking at potential players. In truth the games are just opposed training sessions

If you are underwhelmed I am unsure what you are expecting. Managers have their own ways of preparing players and if Hal can use games to get them fit then it doesn’t matter who you play. Games against other non league teams are far better preparation for what the season brings.
After all, last pre season gave us a team never fit enough for what lay ahead.
The higher level clubs are good for income but not always useful for player preparation as to get them they are mostly played when our own players have only been in training for a short time.
 
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Moroccan Sunset said:
Glad we've given Tooting a friendly. Least we can do for them at the moment after what they did for us 5 years ago.

Strange that there's no Palace friendly there? Must admit, I'm surprised at the line up - playing a lot of sides below us. (Although I do have to keep reminding myself that Aveley are in the division above us now!)
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Haven’t given Tooting a friendly because they have never requested one until now. Perhaps that is symptomatic of how they have been run.
 
liamdhfc said:
Most of the big clubs go abroad pre season and take all their squad with them,and so it’s hard to get dates that work for both sides. Alternatively you may get a game against their youth teams which is not ideal

Pre season is about fitness and developing a team pattern plus looking at potential players. In truth the games are just opposed training sessions

If you are underwhelmed I am unsure what you are expecting. Managers have their own ways of preparing players and if Hal can use games to get them fit then it doesn’t matter who you play. Games against other non league teams are far better preparation for what the season brings.
After all, last pre season gave us a team never fit enough for what lay ahead.
The higher level clubs are good for income but not always useful for player preparation as to get them they are mostly played when our own players have only been in training for a short time.
Click to expand...
Spot on, I enjoy them as you can enjoy getting to watch the new players and how they develop and especially this pre season, we can see the way Hak’s side will play, if you love football you love football 👚👕👚👕😎
 
Absolutely. In the top three of the world's greatest derbys for me - El Classico, Galatasaray v Besiktas and the Glyn Beverley.

Hope we don't do the 'swap the entire team at halftime' thing.

Any new beers on the bar to look sample? Are we still doing 10% off some drinks for season ticket holders?
 
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