PRE-SEASON REVIEW: A SUMMER OF CHANGE AT MERSEY VALLEY

After one of the most difficult seasons in recent years, there was never any doubt that this summer had to be different at Mersey Valley. There had to be change, but more importantly there had to be a plan behind it.

The disappointment of last season gave everyone at the club plenty to think about. Having gone into the campaign on the back of promotion and with plenty of optimism, the year never developed as we hoped. Results were difficult, confidence suffered and by the end of the season it was clear that simply carrying on in the same way wasn’t an option.

Planning for 2026/27 therefore began early.

The aim wasn’t to rip everything up and start again. There was still a really strong core of players at the club who had been part of the progress made over the previous two seasons. Instead, the challenge was to build a smaller, stronger and more competitive squad around them.

That process has seen several familiar faces retained alongside some important additions.

Sam Deering

Sam Deering returned to the club, while Rourke Neal, Charlie Hill and George Howarth were amongst the summer arrivals. Louis Quinn also returned following two years away with work commitments, Aaron Johnson committed himself fully to Valley and young defender Alex Holroyd earned his place in the squad after impressing during his pre-season trial.

The intention throughout was to create genuine competition for places rather than simply accumulate numbers.

Then came the football.

Pre-season began away from Banky Lane on 25 July and, as expected with so many changes, there have been plenty of ups and downs along the way.

The opening fixture produced a 2–1 victory over Walshaw before Valley were brought firmly back down to earth a week later in a 6–2 defeat at Old Alts.

James Matthews

Further wins followed, including a James Matthews hat-trick in a 3–2 victory on 4 August against Manchester Corinthians Reserves, but the early weeks were deliberately demanding and regularly exposed areas that still needed work.

There was perhaps no better example than the 3–0 home defeat against Poynton Reserves on 11 August. It was a poor night and one of those pre-season performances that forces you to look at everything rather than hide behind the fact that the result doesn’t count for league points.

The response was much more encouraging. Valley beat Styal 3–1 four days later, with Matthews scoring twice and Deering also on target, before Matthews produced an outstanding individual display the following weekend, scoring all four goals in a 4–2 away victory at Sandbach United – following two defeats against lower league opposition, the reaction was to beat two higher league opposition.

The final week of preparation then provided perhaps the clearest indication of the progress made.

A 3–2 away victory at Lymm Rovers, with Joel Riley and two goals from Deering, was followed three days later by the final friendly of the summer at Banky Lane.

Rourke Neal

Richmond Rovers arrived providing one final test before competitive football began, but Valley produced arguably their most complete performance of pre-season to finish with an emphatic 7–1 victory.

Results have never been the only measure of this pre-season.

One of the major changes this summer has been the amount of information being collected from games. Player minutes and individual performances have been tracked in far greater detail, giving the management team a much clearer picture of what is actually happening rather than relying purely on the scoreline.

That analysis has already highlighted areas for improvement as well as some really encouraging individual performances.

Joel Riley

James Matthews has been one of the standout attacking players of the summer. The striker scored heavily during August, including a hat-trick, a four-goal performance and another brace against Styal. Sam Deering has also found the net regularly following his return to the club, while Joel Riley and new signing Aaron Johnson have both contributed during the programme.

There have also been valuable minutes across the squad.

Some players have returned after long periods away, others have been building themselves back after injuries and several new combinations have had to develop across the team.

That was always going to take time.

In many ways, that has been the biggest lesson of the summer.

There have been occasions when the football has looked exactly how we want it to look and other occasions when we have been a long way from it. There have been excellent individual performances, difficult nights and plenty of things highlighted that still require work.

But there is now a far clearer picture of the squad heading into the new season than there was when the players first returned at the end of June.

The group is smaller. Competition is stronger. Expectations are higher.

Most importantly, there is a genuine feeling that everyone understands what last season felt like and doesn’t want to experience it again.

The real test, of course, starts now.

Pre-season results disappear very quickly once league points are available and Mersey Valley begin their Cheshire Football League campaign away from home on Saturday 5 September with a trip to Warrington Rylands, a venue where we have not had the best time in the past two seasons.

Nobody inside the club believes that a good final few weeks of pre-season suddenly means the job is done.

Quite the opposite.

This summer was about putting new foundations in place.

Now we find out how strong they are.