Another fine day for a bit of football on Saturday afternoon even if the kick off time was a bit unorthodox at 4pm. Firstly though what a lovely relaxing feel to the MKM with a very family orientated vibe about it. Lovely to see all the kids in various kits and shirts with their families and guardians.

Contrary to the glitches with the online ticketing on Friday night, the pay on the day ticket office was just fine and a nice option to get a ticket with a "sit anywhere you like" option so thought I would take a view I've not had in many a year, just below a box on W10. £30 for two tickets and 3 quid booking fee which I considered a church donation.

A look around the Tiger Leisure before the game paid dividends. A whole host of bargains to clear room for the next lot of merch' for our 25/26 season and bagged a few Birthday and Xmas presents with many shirts and T-Shirts down to a £5iver. (I filled 2 carriers
full)

On to the football. First half. It was clear from the off, Getafe was not here for a Jolly Boys Outing. There was no Del, No Rodders but there was certainly a lot of intent from the Spanish La Liga outfit to let us know we were in a game. In my mind the the first half was the most combatant 45 minutes we've had all pre season and although we showed next to nothing going forward it was a good exercise to see how we coped against a very physical side.

It didn't disappoint and I saw 2 brand new players out there that has had a remarkable transformation. I would firstly have to ask the fella in the number 3 shirt "Who are you and what have you done with Giles?" He had a very confident and brazen first 45 minutes
fueled with a zest for 1 on 1 competition attacking his back peddling opponent on a good few occasions. In fact the back 4 looked as strong as any back 4 I've seen for a while. Drameh and Ajayi are in for a big season as both continue to have solid pre season games.

All in all, I thought the team was as coherent and as fluid as we would wish for regarding possession while moving the ball and the long wing switching diagonal crosses were a breath of fresh air and balls which we would have seen last season being played
as a back pass or short non productive sideways pass. We now appear to be thinking of better more fruitful options.

Palmer another Trojan this afternoon, never stopped scrapping in the face of the energetic and youthful blue shirts of Southern Madrid along with born again Oak Tree, Crooks who's fitness is 200% to what it was when he made his Debut in our 1-0 win away at Millwall back in January.

Speaking of Debuts, John Lundstram. A very solid and competent first half just playing in and around the centre circle, hooking up with Crooks as he played his now signature box to box roll ensured we controlled most of the play despite Getafe putting us on the edge of our seats 3 or 4 times with what looked like missed sitters when they turned defence into attack.

Second half, nothing special and far lacking the quality of the first 45 but I can only put that down to the amount of bodies both sides exchanged around the 60 minute mark for Sergej to have one final butchers at what he's got to tinker with but for me, and the other one of the two "brand new" players I mentioned above is Harry Vaughn. He was where Tinsdale is now about 2 seasons ago. Lightweight, shoved far too easily off the ball and not really sure where he fits in yet, but Harry at this very moment is a solid bench player if not a back up starter. He was inspirational when he came on and I prayed with everything I had that his determination and drive he used skip between two players, had a game of pinball in the box that his curling shot would bury itself in the top right corner rather than fizz over the bar.

I'll finish off with some bullet point highs & lows as I see it.

Ndala. Mesmerizing and another Philogene. Can't wait to see him get going.

Forget Tinsdale this season. A long way off being ready but one for the future. I would send him on a L2 loan period for regular football.

Back 4 as we lined up. Spot on.

Kamara. Sorry, he does not enthuse me in the slightest. His second touch to most balls is an attempted tackle and he really doesn't prove to me he's interested. At all. I would seriously get shut for our money back or loan him out.

We still definitely need more showing up front. Joseph must run 10 mile a game and would say he's that fastest player we have. Does a lone striker work? Or do we need a pair?

Pandur. What was he doing today? His shot stopping and saving ability was superb. His distribution and his insistence in baiting the ball was awful. He alone could have had us walking off the pitch 4 - 0 down after gifting balls away with mistakes and bad choices.

Good possession and we've finally got some muscle on the field now and love Crooks attitude. He takes no prisoners and gives what he gets.

Getafe CF players. If the bloodcurdling screams were to be believed their manager would be crying over the injury list this afternoon. 6 broken legs, a face graft and a broken back. Absolutely embarrassing by them.

All in all a good afternoon's entertainment, some very positive and hopeful signs coming out of the dressing room now so if you haven't got a membership I would advise signing up if funds and circumstances allow because I think we are in for the best season yet under Acun.