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Southampton At Goztepe The Preview

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.

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