Pre Season Training Camp?

I know they're not going abroad as they have the last 2 years and I completely get that, must be exorbitantly expensive. But are they not going anywhere at all this year? I swear they've done some sort of team bonding/residential camp for years.

Our new CEO has enough on her hands getting to grips with ground safety works, new Chair Andrew Pettit, delicate new training ground issues with the council etc.etc. without the expense and faff of fixing accommodation for 30 players and staff to go on a dubious bonding jolly.

Plus, several key players are still injured and some not even signed yet. South Shields is nice at this time of year.

Sustainability will continue to be the mantra. You will have to be content with an extra ration of !!!!!!!! on OS headlines.

They ran down the coastal path the other weekend with a bag of soil.  

What more do they want?  

Maybe Haddock and chips at Steeles?

You can't give top prize straight away.  That just leads to complacency.

I'd have topped out the prize for the winning* side as a cone of chips from Ernie Becketts.   Then scaled down to the losing side having to endure a full meal from Seaway, guarantee they won't come last again.  

*was it first back with the bag or was it aggregated score based on how much soil was actually left in the bag? Because Cam Gardener had about 4 plant pots worth on his face and seemed an unfair advantage/clever interpretation of the rules - you decide.

On a serious note, I saw a couple of digs at that on social media when the club put it out but I thought it looked great.  The compost bag is great, it's not a fixed weight and unlike a weighted vest, a back-pack or even a sandbag it's a better replication of the shifts in added weight you would get during a game.   You add to that how it would have become difficult to handle in the rain (which obviously wasn't part of the plan but just an added bonus).

You could see how some of the teams differed in their approaches to getting back with it, some just used their biggest man to carry it whilst some utilised what they had at their disposal (one I saw was a couple carrying it a t-shirt converted into a hammock).  It's all about getting them to think differently and for themselves.   There's multiple ways to skin a cat and you to my eyes this is just a slight insight into how Artell will send his players out onto the pitch with the expectation and belief that they can and will take matters into their own hands, rather than be robots following strict instructions for the whole 90 minutes.   We saw the extreme at one end from Artell when he first took over and it resulted in no-one taking responsibility when it came to defending and then the other when they were just drilled to within an inch of their lives (as it was what was absolutely needed).  

Think the whole “team-spirit” & bonding aspects were a big thing for Hurst who generally relied on players working themselves into the ground and eeking out another 10% of sheer workrate and effort over technical ability. All well & good until you get one or two not pulling their weight, or you’ve revved the nuts off the squad.

You’re not going to turn a L2 player into Xavi in a pre-season, but I’d sooner have a squad of technically proficient players & an effective way of playing, than a group of workhorses having to adapt to the opposition every week.

Quoted from gtfc98

I know they're not going abroad as they have the last 2 years and I completely get that, must be exorbitantly expensive. But are they not going anywhere at all this year? I swear they've done some sort of team bonding/residential camp for years.

What's wrong with the fitties and a 6 am run on the beach?  

Quoted from Croxton

Our new CEO has enough on her hands getting to grips with ground safety works, new Chair Andrew Pettit, delicate new training ground issues with the council etc.etc. without the expense and faff of fixing accommodation for 30 players and staff to go on a dubious bonding jolly.

Plus, several key players are still injured and some not even signed yet. South Shields is nice at this time of year.

Sustainability will continue to be the mantra. You will have to be content with an extra ration of !!!!!!!! on OS headlines.

Does it guarantee 3 points on a Saturday though??

I met the squad at Warwick uni back in, I think, 2018 when Jolley was top dog. They actually seemed in really good spirits so I’d say that training camps do actually work. It’s hard for blokes to form a bond as it is, so getting to know teammates when just joining a club, without the worry of having to get home for 6pm, I think is a great idea.

Although, I don’t think it would work for fofana and Fernandez at Chelsea for a couple of weeks!!

They were all in the Ainslie St boxing gym the other day too so they are getting some variation.

Also tonight saw Mr Artell and family strolling through the street food fest on the Kingsway, looking very relaxed and happy enjoying Costa del Clee.

I was once told a story about mike Newel’s pre season grimsby  tournament in devon.

The story teller was an ex yeovil player manager whose team were involved in the same tournament, staying in the same hotel.

Naked drunk grimsby town players and management running down the hotel corridors banging on doors and setting off fire extinguishers …..
If memory serves correctly we won the tournament 😂

always stayed with me that story - bonkers really. anybody else hear anything similar from that wretched period ?