With the start of the new football season less than a month away, pre-season plans for clubs across the EFL are well under way, as squads travel across the UK and beyond to be put through their paces.
Oxford United continued their pre-season tour in Ireland on Monday with a 5-1 victory against Longford Town, but some may have noticed a change in the U’s matchday commentary.
Rob Hall, a popular midfielder at the Kassam Stadium, was let loose on the club’s official Twitter account to provide, in a rather unorthodox fashion, a live text commentary of the U’s friendly.
The 24-year-old was unable to feature in Oxford’s second match due to injury, but still made his mark off the pitch, with many fans calling for Hall to take over Twitter every week.
ahhh bare subs... basically bare man come off , loads come on, my boy Nels is on jheeeze, and shaun derrys on! told ya !
— Oxford United FC (@OUFCOfficial) July 10, 2018
Meanwhile, with most teams going on tour for matches and training camps, some clubs have also found time to fit a few creative team bonding sessions into their busy pre-season schedules.
Wycombe Wanderers headed to Wales for a three-day training camp that included an array of orienteering challenges on the first day, before watching the World Cup action.
A day of team-building activities in the Brecon Beacons is underway... #Chairboys pic.twitter.com/MHuuNzvWTT
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) July 10, 2018
Meanwhile, Birmingham City and Middlesbrough took a day out of their training programmes to go white water rafting in Haiming and to the Gesause National Park respectively, both in Austria.
Blues players and management staff took to the water in Haiming for a day of team activity and bonding #BCFC in Austria pic.twitter.com/cwtpZ6I3zi
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) July 10, 2018
Middlesbrough, who play in Germany on Saturday, finished their 10-day stay in Austria with a friendly against Sturm Graz, losing 1-0, before defeating Spennymoor 2-0 on their return home.
After four early starts and gruelling sessions, a bit of downtime for #Boro on the river rapids in Austria 🌊🚣♂️
— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) July 2, 2018
More photos 📸➡️ https://t.co/3yfKgLttlu #UTB pic.twitter.com/YRO26BO8DH
Austria has proved a popular destination, with Rotherham United returning there for the second successive season. Boss Paul Warne will be hoping the trip will have a similar effect to the 2017/18 campaign, which saw them promoted to the Championship via the Play-Offs.
Back in England, Bristol City manager Lee Johnson maintained bragging rights over his father Gary, as the Robins beat Johnson Senior's Cheltenham Town for a third successive year.
📝 Two goals from @NiclasEliasson, 🎯 from @AdamWebster31 and another for @matthewtaylor69 ensure the #JohnsonCup is staying in Bristol 💪
— Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) July 10, 2018
Newly promoted League Two side, Tranmere Rovers, kickstarted their pre-season friendlies with a narrow 3-2 loss to Premier League outfit Liverpool, while two other sides back in the EFL met in a behind-closed-doors friendly – Championship side Stoke City seeing off National League champions Macclesfield Town by five goals to two.
Debutant Benik Afobe was one of five different forwards on the scoresheet, a statistic that pleased boss Gary Rowett.