0Amarillo<P><FONT color=#cccc00 size=4><EM> º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ Amarillo ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°<EM><FONT><P>ddMMyyyy0Falseen-US<P><FONT color=#cccc00 size=4><EM> º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ Amarillo ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°<EM><FONT><P>True 0 Posted July 25, 2005 It occurred to me that with Ashton not playing because of an ongoing hamstring trouble that''s ''not quite right'', he''s far less likely to attract any bids. I know Worthy''s a cunning old fox, perhaps he''ll keep him out for a while yet, then bring him back towards the end of the transfer window...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AJ 1,218 Posted July 25, 2005 Well Amarillo, it is nice to have some positive thinking for a change! Im pretty Ashton will be in the squad for Conventry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stephen Frys Evil Twin 0 Posted July 25, 2005 Doubt it somewhat. The idea of pre-season friendlies is to get the players used to playing matches again, and to improve their fitness.I doubt someone scoring a few goals in pre-season would attract too much attention anyway! Even Carl Cort scored a hattrick the other day... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yella Fella 0 Posted July 25, 2005 Get real Amarillo, Dean Ashton is arguably our best player, therefore it makes little or no sense to risk him for a game of football which means absolutely nothing. Stop trying to spot non-existent conspiracy theories!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Old Boy 0 Posted July 25, 2005 Except, Yella, that these games DO mean something. Clubs have pre-season games to build up match-fitness and to gel the team before the season proper starts. It''s therefore very important that all our first-choice players get as much time on the pitch as possible. This time, most of our best players seem to have got injured early on (for whatever reason - maybe bad luck, but I suspect bad preparation), and that will tell against us in the early games. If we start the season without Safri and Ashton, we''ve lost two of our keys to getting back into the Premiership. You can''t brush pre-season away as if it''s a waste of time - if it was, clubs wouldn''t bother, would they? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trent Canary 0 Posted July 25, 2005 [quote]Get real Amarillo, Dean Ashton is arguably our best player, therefore it makes little or no sense to risk him for a game of football which means absolutely nothing. Stop trying to spot non-existent c...[/quote]Yella - Pre season friendlies are invaluable in terms of fitness. I know its a different standard but my first rugby/cricket game of the season is the one that hurts the most after, as your not upto full fitness.If we didnt have pre season games we would struggle for the first couple of games this season. And Ashton is not being left because he is our best player, ive never heard of any club doing that, so I dont see why we would! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3canaries 0 Posted July 25, 2005 A number of people have questioned the Ashton non appearance during the Friendlies. When the Bosman ruling was introduced during the 90''s, another sub-ruling stated that any player under the age of 24 cannot be tranferred again for a period of 12 months. So inlight of us purchasing Ashton during January 2005 (and from what I can remember, it was late January) nothing can possibly happen until late Janaury 2006 (and hopefully Worthington keeps his phone off the hooked for a few days before the window closes.Rest assured that Ashton will be a NCFC player for Months to come, if not years Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yella Fella 0 Posted July 25, 2005 No need to apologise Trent and Old Boy. I''m afraid these games simply arent that important. Yes they act as a way of improving fitness and yes help the team to gel, however they pale into insignificance when considering whether to risk one''s star player. If Ashton is dodgy in any way, then rest him and let him work harder in training - friendlies simply dont count for much! You cant tell me you would rather have played Ashton - despite the fact he is not fully fit - just because you see such friendlies as being important (fitness or otherwise)! Come on guys, these games count for very little - such pedantic posts really annoy me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trent Canary 0 Posted July 25, 2005 Sorry Yella, when you said "Dean Ashton is arguably our best player, therefore it makes little or no sense to risk him for a game of football which means absolutely nothing" for some reason I assumed you meant at any time, even if he wasnt injured. Now I know your talking about not risking him when he has a little niggle then yes Im 100% with you. Sorry again, damn Monday''s.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Old Boy 0 Posted July 25, 2005 No need to apologise, Yella, for not reading my post! I never said that Ashton should have been played when injured, but he should, and certainly would, have been played if he hadn''t been injured. Pre-season IS important (OK, not the results, but the performances) because of the need to build up match-fitness, while avoiding injury, and the need to integrate new players. As I said, if it wasn''t important, clubs obviously wouldn''t bother, because it costs them money and there''s a risk of serious injury in any such game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites