#1 ·
I feel like every single year, the hype cycle for summer friendlies is exactly the same. Fans go crazy over a massive win against a top-tier club, or they start writing the season off because the squad looked sluggish in a mid-August warmup.
Personally, I’ve always found it a bit silly. It’s basically just high-intensity training disguised as a game. Sure, seeing how a new manager sets up a formation or how a specific player slots into a new system is interesting for the nerds like me, but the actual scoreline feels so hollow. It’s all about testing depth and fitness, not necessarily the final standing.
That said, I do think there are little breadcrumbs to find if you're looking for them—tiny tactical shifts that might hint at how a team intends to play when the real points are on the line. But is it worth overanalyzing every single mistake made when the players are clearly just trying not to pull a hamstring?
Do you guys treat pre-season as a serious litmus test, or do you just tune in to see the new signings get a few touches?
Personally, I’ve always found it a bit silly. It’s basically just high-intensity training disguised as a game. Sure, seeing how a new manager sets up a formation or how a specific player slots into a new system is interesting for the nerds like me, but the actual scoreline feels so hollow. It’s all about testing depth and fitness, not necessarily the final standing.
That said, I do think there are little breadcrumbs to find if you're looking for them—tiny tactical shifts that might hint at how a team intends to play when the real points are on the line. But is it worth overanalyzing every single mistake made when the players are clearly just trying not to pull a hamstring?
Do you guys treat pre-season as a serious litmus test, or do you just tune in to see the new signings get a few touches?