Saints now head to Turkey to take on Sport Republic's second club Goztepe, it will be another game with 20 odd players being used and Russell Martin stuck in limbo preparing a squad that will soon be decimated by departures.

This game had been set up as the first historic meeting between Sport Republic's first two purchased clubs, but before the week had barely begun it was tinged with controversy with Saints announcing that they were rewarding some of the club's most loyal fans who had travelled to Turkey for the game, with the chance to pay £55 for a ticket for the game including an opportunity to see the team train.

OK they were also throwing in a T shirt and a half and half scarf, but to be frank it was an insult and a complete PR disaster , whoever thought that this was a good idea should be questioned as to just why they thought that and asked if they have any idea about what makes football fans tick, especially those who spent their hard earned cash and holidays from work in watching the team.

This was soon irrelevant though as it was announced on Thursday that due to the extreme heat the game itself would be moved from Goztepe's Gürsel Aksel Stadium to Bornova Aziz Kocaoğlu Stadium, the 9,138 capacity stadium is the home venue for football club Karşıyaka.

They are fierce rivals to Goztepe, although our sister club played there from 2016-19.

The game has been switched due to issues with the Goztepe pitch due to the extreme weather conditions, just why the Bornova Aziz KocaoÄŸlu Stadium is immune from the weather is unclear, however no blame can be attached to Saints here.

Saints are running coaches for those Saints fans attending the game, although the new venue is only 7 miles or so from the centre of Izmir, by public transport it is a nightmare needing metro and bus to get there.

But it does mean that Saints fans who will be staying in the centre of Izmir will have to travel 4 miles south, to then go back 11 miles to the replacement venue.

If it will be a disappointment that we will not be able to see the game in the Goztepe stadium, the game itself will also be a bit of a damp squid, I would imagine that the crowd would be a lot less due to the travel for the home fans and that it will be another kick around for Saints involving a different team in each half.

The only good thing is that perhaps Saints supporters will get the chance to see the club's two new signings Shea Charles and Ryan Manning, although just how many of their team mates will still be hear in September is debatable.

So little can be taken from this game, it is a run around to get some game time on the pitch, it is not going to be about putting out our best side and showing our sister club who the top dogs are, it is just about getting used to Russell Martin and his tactics in a game situation.

Photo: Action Images

derbydog added 08:52 - Jul 15 Will the damp squid get to flex his mussels or will he just be a prawn in the game?
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Ifonly added 09:29 - Jul 15 All squid are damp. You probably mean "damp squib". The phrase comes from fireworks. A damp squib causes a disappointing explosion. As for the game, it is probably a desiccated squid. It is a stupid idea to train in Turkey in July. It's obviously a financial decision. A football decision would be to train in the mountains where you can put the work in, play in realistic conditions and improve fitness.

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Boris1977 added 09:40 - Jul 15 Sports direct drop another bollock. As long as they remain in charge we'll remain a championship club as their raison d'etre is buying lower league European clubs to develop and feed bigger clubs with players. A system which will stunt the clubs development.
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Boris1977 added 09:53 - Jul 15 https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jul/14/reading-mess-men-women-relegate This article makes sense of why Reuben Selles is now managing Reading. His experience managing a chaotic rudderless club made him the ideal candidate. I'm hopefully going to be wrong but this could be our future while these mercenaries are in charge of the club.
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Block8 added 10:29 - Jul 15 Not sure what you expect here Nick, virtually all, there are very few exceptions, football clubs see their fans as merely a source of revenue extra to what the TV brings in and we are milked to the full. I've had a season ticket for many years and can't remember one meaningful gesture of a financial kind ever! A pin badge & 10% discount off of already extraordinarily high prices for kit and alcohol (provided you turn up two days before the game lol) are the limits of most clubs. Add to that most of these people live in a world where money is never an issue and this is where we are, us in a world where we struggle to fund our football and them trying to fleece us for that bit more all the time. As for the football, I'm assuming that as they own both clubs the costs of this game are less than they would be normally? Football wise it's just another step in fitness levels and adapting to the "new style" that Martin is introducing. Hopefully these friendlies might even teach some of the guys how to pass the ball with more than a 7% chance of accuracy!

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underweststand added 11:35 - Jul 15 Once again it will be good to remember that the result isn't really that important. It'll be a 45 minute training exercise to help players gain fitness after the summer break. New manager, (yet another) new formation and a squad made up of youngsters trying to impress ...and a handful of regulars who most likely won't still be here come September and who will be replaced by unknown players who are yet to sign. Clearly, RS needs to form a squad that will play "his way" and so; a defeat will mean the building process is still a work in progress, and a convincing win may only show the difference in standard between second tier football in the two countries. It would be nice to see a Saints player ..(anyone) ..get on the score sheet as they may be able to cement a starting position in the early League games. No more, no less. I just hope the heat isn't too much for everyone concerned.

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Monksway added 19:21 - Jul 15 Anybody know who hasn't travelled with the squad?
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Monksway added 21:08 - Jul 15 Looks like ABK, Caletta-Carr, Sulimana, Onuacho, Ladies and Perraud were all missing completely. Are Perraud and Larios still injured? Im
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SanMarco added 10:25 - Jul 16 I know we've been there 100 times before on this one but why cant the window 'slam' shut the day before the new season kicks off? The likes of JWP playing pre-season for us is ludicrous. If the window ended in two weeks time those moving would already be on their way. Squid isn't that damp once it has been battered and deep fried as calamari...
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