What is a tour?

Never mind - that opera they're making about the town will put you on the map...

We are on the map. Somewhere between Reading & Bristol. I don't like opera!

Don't like opera

you got a shock coming then fella...,

Nothing shocks me now, I take the tablets. But if they sing whilst they're winning, then I don't care which song.

Red, I'm surprised. The whole pre season thing is to get all the players away from every day distractions, like the family and make them concentrate on what they are doing.

part of the Italy thing is the issues with strange place, different diet, which the diet chap has no doubt set out, de toxing the body, bonding of them team which you have listed and oh yes, the weather. In particular the effect of the weather on training, sweating off those extra pounds, and sharpening up all the muscles etc. It reaped massive dividends last season.

What price promotion ? if you look locally at The Pox , their pre season is a total joke compared with ours. Its all about preparation, and just how badly you want success.

I don't know SF. From memory, it didn't do us a lot of good for the start of last season. We played better as the season wore on. The season before was even worse.
But then, I'm a cynical old git!

Nothing wrong with you RED. At least you are not afraid of passing comment as you see it. At least we don't do political correctness to the nth degree like some.

The players I have spoken to like Richie, Ferry, Connell and Caddis all rated the pre season saying they were fitter than they had been for years, physically and mentally. They all said it was such hard work but the effort was worth it. Towards the end of the season I saw Richie again and asked him and he said they were even fitter then than at the start. Little by little the degree of fitness had grown and the stamina, but they were then looking forward to a rest/holiday, which is fair enough. We may have lost those four/five games but the mental mind set was there, they knew they would win through, and they did.

Just think on, this summer we are recruiting from the Championship, this time next year we could be recruiting from the Premiership. My ole season ticket is chaffin at the bit to get in the stand.

SF, you are much closer than me to the club. I rely on guys like you for decent info.
But, on a pc thread, what do you think about John Terry in court? He obviously called someone a "teewhat", that would be bad enough, but it seems that the colour of the teewhat is more important! One game in the old Wharfedale & district sunday league would have kept our legal eagles paid for months!

I'm very much in favour of the pre-season in Italy...a far cry from when Lou Macari took the players off to an army camp for a dose of life as a squaddie. To be fair it did seem to have its benefits, although not very popular with the players!

Red,
JT is not on my Xmas card list, never has been. As a bloke I don't like him, and on the pitch he may be good at times, but he is arrogant, and I've always thought him to be a bit sly. Just my opinion, many think other wise.

On the PC question, well in his position, he ought to know better. In the heat of the moment many of us have said things we regretted afterwards and didn't really mean at the time. He has had ample opportunity to apologise and make good. He has chosen denial . The court will now decide. Because it's him the case will go on for ever, inside and outside the courts. The media will do it to death. At his age with his money, perhaps he should pay the fine, donate money to charity, relinquish the Chelsea captaincy and take a lesser profile, but he wont. Genuine remorse, no, just a sly look.