OK, it’s not up in the OS yet, but the long awaited “big” pre-season friendly has just been announced. And it is…………..
…………. fanfare………….
Yup, Wycombe. The same mob who sodomised us in the FAC first round last season. The same mob who showed us the difference between a side who want to do it and a side who have actually done it. A side who were rampant in the beginning of the season and taught us a footballing lesson we’re still learning from. And a side who, deep down, we want to be.
OK, it’s not Arsenal, or Man United, or Chelski or even Palace, but we could have had worse. Franchise for example. This more or less completes the PSF line up, barring that one outstanding game on the 13/14th July. And while I stand by everything I said a couple of days ago, it does show what sort of teams you can now get as a Conference side.
Remember, last season we started off at Croydon Athletic. I guess we’re now an outfit that League teams will be more interested in playing at this stage of the season. Even the Watford/Luton friendlies from a few years ago were basically their kids giving us another footballing lesson. Either way, that can only be good for the real reason for PSFs, mainly to give the team decent preparation for the season ahead. If truth be told, I don’t think we would gain too much as a Conf side just constantly playing the Sluttons and Ks.
OK, the rest of the fixtures are uninspiring, but people do seem to have an affinity to Wycombe. I put that down to something I stated above, namely they’re the sort of team – and club – we aspire to be like. No, Wycombe will never be the biggest, but I’ve done some PA games down there and you can identify with them as an AFCW fan. It proves that with sound financial management, some decent planning and marketing, and sensible on-pitch handling, you can become an established lower league club.
After all, where were Wycombe 20 odd years ago?