First friendly for our new team in 13 days!

[Southdowns White]

It all starts again on Tuesday 15th, it all seems a bit early to even think about picking a constructive team with so many possible ins and outs. Will the manager be looking to learn something new about the current players (is there anything left to learn?) or just going through the motions with the players we have and thinking "God I hope this is going to work"

[hovewhite]

I will be at Bromley this coming Saturday for the warm up game!

[paulbrookersmazydribbles]

First team have a behind-closed-doors game against Cambridge at Motspur on Saturday.

[Beamer]

Hardly going to be a first team is it, most of them are either away or packing their bags.

[The Rational Fan]

Hardly going to be a first team is it, most of them are either away or packing their bags.

The Second XI is almost as important especially in the Championship, if we win 50% of the games that either Mitrovoic or Cairney doesn't play then i think we will win 60% of the games for the season (ie automatic promotion).

Frankly, bringing in a few second XI players better than Djola, Cisse, Kebano and Fonte would help our promotion campaign enormously. I would love to see three CF at Fulham with Fonte third (he is a quality #3 CF). 

[davew]

Good chance to view our new signings, hang on we haven´t made any yet!

[toshes mate]

Good chance to view our new signings, hang on we haven´t made any yet!

Yes, but, at least everybody knows who everybody else is and why they are at Motspur Park ... for the moment ... which may be a good place to start a proper preseason.  Of course, it may not last very long and so we should enjoy it while we can.

[grandad]

Who will the first player to pick up a pre season injury which will keep him out till Christmas?

[filham]

Perhaps it is going to be a farewell party for Sess. and Mitro.

[FPT]

I guess more at this point is can the kids stake their claim to be considered? Scott Parker is talking well about the inclusion of young players but it's one thing to theorise and another to actually do. I still find it bizarre to think that Luca De La Torre was excellent at Millwall in the cup with a man of the match performance and didn't play a single minute for the first team again.

I think the Brighton game would be where I'd start worrying about signings, after that it's two games and two weeks until the season starts.

As for what Parker is looking for, I think it's implementing and settling his style with the players he has at the moment. How he wants his centre backs to distribute the ball, how his midfield is formed and the movements required to create chances for the striker. I don't think the football will be Slavisa Jokanovic like, but nor swing so far the other way. I anticipate a little more long ball when necessary and a little quicker in forming and concluding attacks as times.

I think the majority of the first-teamers will play in the behind closed doors friendly rather than at Bromley but that BCD team should still contain Bettinelli, Christie, Mawson, Odoi, Le Marchand, Bryan, McDonald, Johansen, Cairney, Kamara, Ayite and Kebano; and if you ask me, that's a bloody good core to build on this summer (particularly defence and midfield). If Parker can get that lot ready, organised and settled in, we'll be in good shape no matter what business (or how late it occurs) this summer, though arguably the earlier the better.

[FPT]

Who will the first player to pick up a pre season injury which will keep him out till Christmas?

That's bloody pessimistic. Has that happened since Senderos (which was nine years ago)?

[ALG01]

I think our management team are in serious trouble already. No new players and no likelihood until the 7th August and even then I am not holding my breath.

I suspect all the TK apologists will will have to rerun the classics like 'how hard it is to buy players when the sun is out' and 'players do not want to a recently relegated club' or 'there too old/young' 'not enough ticks in the spreadsheet' etc. The friendleis are pretty pointless if you do not 90% of the squad in place.

[Dr Quinzel]

This will be a fitness exercise, but there's a lot to be said for how late we're looking to be leaving it again. Guardian has the expenditure of the top 5 leagues as being at 1.7bn so far this Summer, so it isn't like things haven't started as of yet.

[Matt10]

I'd love a signing this week, but I'm still excited to see what Parker does with the current team members that are available to him. The lack of public activity does not mean there isn't any activity I'm sure. Scott's just as much as that process as anyone, which is even more exciting to me. 

[Dr Quinzel]

I'd love a signing this week, but I'm still excited to see what Parker does with the current team members that are available to him. The lack of public activity does not mean there isn't any activity I'm sure. Scott's just as much as that process as anyone, which is even more exciting to me.

It's not the lack of activiity, it's the lack of results in terms of things having actually happened and players being ready to be in the team for pre-season that is the concern to the poster above.

[Matt10]

I'd love a signing this week, but I'm still excited to see what Parker does with the current team members that are available to him. The lack of public activity does not mean there isn't any activity I'm sure. Scott's just as much as that process as anyone, which is even more exciting to me.

It's not the lack of activiity, it's the lack of results in terms of things having actually happened and players being ready to be in the team for pre-season that is the concern to the poster above.

I can understand that. I stay in my lane on what I can control though. I think worrying about things you can't control is just unneeded stress. So to remain positive, I see that for once we have a manger who wants to work with TK and his scouting team directly - and hopefully something comes of it. In the meantime, we seem to have a good squad that is in training and ready to challenge eachother.

Hopefully watching preseason matches online will be easy this year!