What did we learn from pre-season?

 

A big fat ZERO, basically....   (So, for once, this is only going to be a short post!)

The pre-season friendlies are always a rather dubious guide to form, selection, or even tactics, because managers are often using them more as a PR exercise (especially on overseas tours), or just as an opportunity to try out a few youngsters, rather than to do some serious workshopping on ideas for the season ahead.

But this year, there have been such generous extra rest periods bestowed on everyone who was involved in the Euros or the Copa America (even those who were only shining the bench with their buttocks), that a majority of the leading players have only got token minutes, if any at all, in this year's games - rendering them completely useless as any sort of form guide for the opening weekend.

Past experience should have taught us not to get over-excited about pre-season performances, and yet... many people still do.  In recent years, it seems, in fact, to have become something of a curse, with so many of the outstanding players in the warm-up games then succumbing to major injuries on the eve of the season. Mainoo and Chukwuemeka were sensational last year, but....  This year, poor Oscar Bobb is the latest victim. Let's hope there aren't any more.

The other headline-grabbing displays this year have come from Jacob Murphy, Yankuba Minteh, and Morgan Rogers. But it would be a rash punt for FPL to splash cash on any of those, when they're still far from being sure of a start.... and certainly not a regular start. 

Minteh wasn't wanted by Newcastle last season (wasn't even recalled from loan in the depths of their injury crisis), so I'm not convinced that he can be ready for an automatic start in the Premier League yet. And Brighton, anyway, are geared towards making money from developing promising young players, and have to rotate a lot among a bloated squad; even if he were to assert himself as the first choice, he probably wouldn't start every week - especially when he's competing with the likes of Adingra, March (when he's fit again), and their new Croatian acquisition Gruda. Rogers, likewise, might get a few starts early on - but it's difficult to see him holding his place against the likes of Bailey, and the soon-to-return Buendia. Jacob Murphy is probably the strongest bet for the start of the season; but the poor lad has been very injury prone, and Barnes or Almiron might well be preferred in the attacking role on the right flank. 

So - sorry, I think I'll pass on all those. (For the first week or two, at least!)

The only team who did show us something worthwhile in pre-season, I think, were Arsenal. (Well, OK, Liverpool too...  And arguably Chelsea;:at least we saw the system Maresca wants to try to implement, but probably not with all the players he's actually going to use. And so far, it's not working.)  They actually played something like their proper starting eleven in most of the friendlies. And the message that sent out to the rest of the League was: Be afraid; be very afraid.  They're still showing their need of an outright striker, but they're getting more and more fluent, and developing some new attacking ideas; and generally, they're so much more stable and balanced with Partey available to take the holding role in central midfield. (Declan Rice might just be the best value midfield pick from them now, over Odegaard and Saka.....)

Fantasy Football Hub had the best round-up of the pre-season games I could find this year.

They also have a pretty good listing of this summer's transfer activity so far.  [I used to like the Fantasy Football Scout website for that; but their updates haven't been so prompt or helpful over the past couple of years. I've got a nasty feeling they're starting to restrict their free content, or are making it just a little bit more crap.... to try to goad you into buying beyond their paywall.]

"Once more unto the breach, dear firends..."