Pre season

At the risk of all the div comments it will get can I just ask if anyone has actually learnt anything about the club in the pre season games?
I know its about levels of fitness, about bonding sesions with players and there are lots of positives to be gained from these pre season games and "cups" but do we the fans ever think wow I would never have thought we would play such and such together, play that formation or even that player (yes I remember Jo last season).
Its just we tend to build up things and possibly see what we want too rather than whats there.

It seems to be more about marketing as far as the club goes, building the brand and other such bullshit that has taken over football. As you say its the fitness thing and getting the banter going within the squad, its not like years gone by when they come back overweight but sharpness and mental attitude are important. It seems as though Mancini has his set routine for training and formation so never any surprises, we do look a better unit this year and with minimal additions we need to hit the ground running. Mancini is learning all the time, and i think its showing already.

AMDP - i agree with the marketing. mutd go to the far east and america.

arsenal went to china and even though they only had 20 odd thousand at a match, they had more than a million online in china.

it's all about money and a bit of bonding.