OK, we're now staring down the barrel of the gun of a new season, people. It seems to be a close season of turmoil once more for CUFC, with several players gone or expressing the wish to leave, and only a few players coming in. The current owners and the manager have received a lot of negative criticism for last season, with poor performances on the pitch, apparent ineffective management and poor communications to fans. We all think we can do things better, but can we? Well, I guess most of us will never know.
Pre-season friendlies. Last year I only missed the Chester friendly, but this year I'm missing out a few of them. They are a mixed bag, but of the away games I'm only planning on going to Workington and Dean's Fairy Gala. I will of course be standing alongside my Reds supporting brother and uncle at the Workington match! Unfortunately, I've never seen Carlisle beat Workington yet, so it does not bode well!
This next season looks like being a long hard slog for the fans, with more southern based teams than ever before. I've produced a nicely filtered MS Excel spreadsheet which I'm using to plan my away trips. I've picked out all the grounds that I've not done before, and hope to get to them all, barring last minute changes of plans. In some cases I will be sleeping in the car again, but for most of them I'll be doing cheap Travelodge rooms (£9 or £12 per night!), B&Bs or staying with friends.
I can't let this editorial finish without saying a few words about Derek Lacey, who sadly passed away last month. I've always been a critic of his commentaries, in that it could be very difficult to know what was happening during a match. However, that does not detract from his passionate involvement, or the fact that he was a genuinely nice man. I met him first many years ago when we were both working at the then Garlands Hospital. Having lost my father in the 1990s, and a wife to stomach cancer in 2005, I can empathise with some of what his family are going through. My thoughts are with them.
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