Pre-season is for managers.
It’s training, that’s all.
Sure, if your club goes to Singapore or Seattle or LA, it’s promotion for the brand. And for the Premier League, although the EPL is now so so successful globally that it doesn’t need more promotion.
The EPL provides loads of entertaining matches and many spectacular goals.
And Arsenal have been a big part of that since 1992, when English football sold its soul to Sky.
Centreback Gabriel, a fine athlete, looked very good against Singapore Select.
And so he should because Singapore Select are not a team.
Everton and Stoke are teams and Stoke looked superior but lost the penalty shoot-out.
That was a good for Arsenal because they’ll now play Everton.
Let’s face it, the results of pre-season games, including the Community Shield, don’t matter.
But the first 10 league games matter a lot.
What will Arsenal be like without Sanchez, their best player, for five games?
Summer is golf time, cricket and tennis time.
But we always glance at the football news in July.
I see that Pellegrini likes Raheem Sterling’s pace but says he won’t play for Man City this weekend:.
He said, “I’m sure that he will be important in our team, especially for his speed.”
St Andrews is so soggy today that it looks like wetlands, the kind of habitat that attracts birds with very long legs.
I’m annoyed because I really wanted to see what Jordan Speith could do today.
Since I’m at the gym this afternoon, I’ll miss the Davis Cup on Eurosport this afternoon.
Would love to watch the Ashes, even with Aussies now 337-1 at Lords, but have to work till 1pm.
Enjoy your Friday!