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Even if there is little real news with regard to the transfer window, the preseason rolls on. Today's opponent is storied SuperLig side Fenerbahce. I am pretty certain that the Turkish side have had better years in their history- while their results on the field qualified them for the Champions League (they're scheduled to enter the competition in the upcoming second round), but there is a small matter of a match-fixing scandal that could still yet preclude them.
Fenerbahce should prove the sternest test of the preseason to this point, and I should think that Alan Pardew will field a close to full strength side to test the squad's progress against a team that could potentially be joining the Mags in the Europa League at some point. Reports from Lee Ryder suggest the pitch is fairly soggy, so even if we do see a lot of starters , it would seem likely that we could be in for another less than exciting brand of play and they may not see a ton of time to try to keep them healthy...
Kickoff is in about an hour and 20 minutes, but let's go ahead and get this kicked off early.