CD Montesinos

By Steve Robinson. Preseason Roundup – A quick view from the commentary box.

SO, despite everything, pandemics, new ground entrance regimes, social distancing, the Valencian FA, etc., Monte completed their usual requisite six preseason games. We now have a list of opponents and we have a fixture list for 202021, after everything else this year, what more could we want? Well, apart from a fitting end to our record setting championship season, supporters would hope that our team could, at the very least, hold our own in this new, higher division and not see a repeat of a couple of years ago, yes? We would hope to see an extension of the free scoring, free flowing football that saw us easily despatch most opponents last year, yes?

So, what could we see in preseason that would indicate that we are to begin to achieve the above and make 202021 to remember?

Well, we might as well start with the downsides: sadly, there's no Morante in defence ( training for a job with the police and playing in the lower leagues with Guardamar), no Pepe bossing the middle of the park and a number of others who have signed but are currently on the treatment table ( Santos and Diego Barroso are two names that spring to mind).

On the plus side, Santander and his management team are still at the helm, Carlos is still between the sticks, Gonzalo doesn't seem to have lost his touch up front and we have an injection of both youth and speed into the squad as well as retaining the services of the bulk of the experienced members of last year's championship winning squad.

The preseason games themselves were the usual mix of opponents, mostly from a higher a season level. Santander, as he often does at this stage of the campaign, changed formations and personnel in each game ( a lot of times due to player availability, it needs to be stated), with some players clearly operating outside their comfort zones.

We showed a mixture of both the good and bad sides from last season and outstanding players in the six games ( for me, at least) were the ever reliable Carlos between the sticks, brick walls Andres and Manu at the heart of the defence, Pamies and Lucas on the flanks and, of course, Mr Irrepressible, Golzalo up top. Keep and eye out for new additions Paco ( midfield) and Kevin Tallon ( winger) as examples of exciting youth players making their debuts in the squad. If the stats of the six are anything to go by, we'll win some, lose some close ones and pick up a couple of draws. If it pans out that way, we'll be OK.

So, should we look forward to the forthcoming season with a heady mixture of excitement and apprehension? Possibly, is the noncommittal answer to that eternal conundrum. Looking back on last year as a initial stage of development, next we should be looking to firmly establishing ourselves in this higher echelon, but pessimistically hoping that we at least, survive longer than we did last time. Incidentally, I don't think that view is automatically a negative one, but one that sets our stall out as to what we aspire to, remember, “a man's reach should always exceed his grasp”.

It does however, make perfect sense to note, that we have come far in a relatively short time, we are, when all said and done, only a small “village team” compared to some we will be playing against. But, we ARE Montesinos, we DO play at the Cauldron and WE, as players and supporters, will always give of our best and I, for one, look forward to following OUR boys as they travel around the region and at our home.

If you can, support local football, come and join us on the next stage of our journey.